This quick and easy recipe to make a delicious chocolate zucchini cake with cake mix will become an instant summertime classic in your home!
If you love chocolate zucchini cake but feel like you don’t have the time for all of the steps that it takes to bake it from scratch the old-fashioned way, then this 3 Ingredient Chocolate Zucchini Cake is for you! I came up with this zucchini cake with cake mix recipe in the spirit of my super popular 3 Ingredient Banana Bread and I was a little surprised actually that it worked just as well! What other 3 ingredient cakes are out there for me to discover next? I’m willing to be the guinea pig for this one and let you know as I discover them. 🙂 I’ve found a few really great ones including some other zucchini baking recipes, so I’ll share those at the end of this post as well.
Some may call this a chocolate zucchini bread with cake mix and some may say it’s a cake mix zucchini cake, but either way it’s a great way to use up all that extra zucchini from your garden, and also a really fun baking project to make with kids if you do it this way. It’s so easy and it comes together quickly enough that even the littlest helpers don’t have time to get bored or distracted and decide to start playing with the coffee maker instead. It’s so simple that it’s almost a dump cake recipe, really.
So here’s how you make it!
How to Make Zucchini Cake With Cake Mix
Start with an abundance of zucchini!
2-3 small grocery store sized zucchini should work if you don’t have any in your garden, or you can get 1 large garden-sized one from a generous friend who has zucchini coming out of their ears this summer.
Ingredients Needed for This Zucchini Cake
- Chocolate cake mix
- Traditional eggs, chia eggs, or a plant-based egg substitute, whatever you prefer
- Grated Zucchini
The grated zucchini can be a little hard to measure because it really depends on how much you pack it down in your measuring cup, but don’t worry. We’ve made this recipe with a little more and a little less zucchini and it’s always worked out just fine. We’ve been testing a lot of chocolate zucchini cake around here lately for you. 🙂 The last time I made this chocolate cake mix recipe, I didn’t want to waste the last little bit of zucchini and I added quite a bit to the cake batter. I was a little worried I pushed the boundaries too far and my kids wouldn’t eat it, but I think it was actually their favorite one I’ve made so far, based on their reactions.
A little note on the cake mix: If you prefer not to use a store-bought cake mix, you can actually make your own! My Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix recipe is easy to make in big batches using simple things like all-purpose flour and cocoa powder. Making a few batches of that can be a great way to make sure you always have cake mix on-hand and it can also help you be sure that you’re using a vegan chocolate cake that’s completely dairy-free if that’s important to you.
Simple Method for Making the Cake Batter
Mix everything together in a bowl until it’s thoroughly combined. If you feel like your mixture is a little on the dry side, add in 2-3 tablespoons of water, but don’t add too much because the zucchini will release quite a bit of moisture as it cooks.
Pour your batter into a large loaf pan and bake it in a 350° oven for about 45 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. If you use a high-quality loaf pan life my favorite Emile Henry Ruffle Loaf Baker, you shouldn’t need to line it with parchment paper at all.
Just as Good or Better Than From Scratch
When it comes out, you’ll have something that is just as good or better than a chocolate zucchini cake made right from scratch! If you’re feeling fancy, I should note that adding in 3/4 cup or so of mini chocolate chips is always encouraged, but no one ever complains when I leave them out. It’s chocolatey enough all on its own without being too sweet.
I love how perfectly this turns out every time! It just has that super-chocolatey look to it that no one can resist!
Definitely add this one to your list of must-try recipes! Feel free to experiment too. Check out the comments section of the 3 Ingredient Banana Bread post for inspiration on what to add to your cake or drizzle my easy Chocolate Glaze With Cocoa Powder over the top for the perfect finishing touch.
Here’s the full printable version of the recipe!
- 1 box Chocolate cake mix
- 2 Eggs or a plant-based substitute
- 1.5-2 cups Grated zucchini lightly packed
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Mix all three ingredients together in a large bowl until well-combined.
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Pour the batter into large loaf pan.
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Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to on hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
If you’re looking for more zucchini recipes, check out these few that I’ve been sharing as I’ve been trying to use up my own garden’s huge zucchini harvest!
MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS
- How to Make Zucchini Noodles Without a Spiralizer
- Four Ingredient Zucchini Spice Cake Recipe
- Marinated and Grilled Zucchini
- How to Freeze Zucchini
- Three Ingredient Pumpkin Bread
- Homemade Italian Seasoning Recipe
- Homemade Pancake Syrup
- Lavender Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies With Roasted Almonds
- The Creek Line House Food and Recipe Archives
Have you made chocolate zucchini cake this way before? What are you doing to use up all of your zucchini this year?
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.