We recently made these one bowl chocolate zucchini cupcakes for our son’s birthday. The cupcakes are delicious, easy to make, and kid-approved (don’t worry, the zucchini is undetectable)! The chocolate frosting is refined sugar free, oil free, nut free, and made with whole food plant-based ingredients.
These tasty cupcakes are also omnivore-approved! My in-laws loved them and even asked for the recipe. That’s definitely a win in my books! We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Update: I’ve included two versions of the chocolate frosting recipe below. They utilize the same ingredients in slightly different ratios. The original recipe using dates is a bit thicker and sweeter. The 2.0 version is just as delicious, but uses date syrup rather than dates. Choose your own adventure!




Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
by: Meg Gray
Plant Fit Meg
Ingredients
Dry
- 1 cup oats
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
Wet
- 1.5 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
- 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1/2 cup date syrup (https://plantfitmeg.com/2020/07/15/date-syrup/)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (or use vanilla powder with dry ingredients)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin pan with silicone muffin cups (or parchment paper liners).
- Add dry ingredients to a large bowl, mix.
- Add wet ingredients and mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Scoop batter into muffin liners
- Bake for 40-45 minutes
- Allow to cool completely
- Optional-Top with frosting (see recipe below)


Chocolate Frosting (Oil Free, Refined Sugar Free, Nut Free)
by: Meg Gray
Plant Fit Meg
Ingredients
- 1/2 cooked peeled sweet potato
- 1.5 cup dates
- 1/2-3/4 cup boiling water (start with 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla powder)
Directions
- Add all ingredients to high-speed blender, and blend until smooth. Add more water 1-2 tbsp at a time to reach desired consistency.
Chocolate Frosting 2.0 (Oil Free, Refined Sugar Free, Nut Free)
by: Meg Gray
Plant Fit Meg
Ingredients
- 1 cooked peeled sweet potato
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup date syrup – https://plantfitmeg.com/2020/07/15/date-syrup/
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla powder)
Directions
- Add all ingredients to high-speed blender, and blend until smooth.
- Taste test. Add more date syrup for added sweetness or more cocoa if it’s too sweet.
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