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Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting are moist and perfect chocolate cupcakes with two cups of zucchini hidden inside! Topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting these are the best chocolate cupcakes I have had!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

You can’t go wrong with chocolate and zucchini! If you are looking for more dessert recipes with zucchini try these Better Than Anything Zucchini Poke Cake, Cinnamon Zucchini Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting or Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies.

Zucchini Cupcakes

This is the first summer that I have been home long enough to plant some zucchini in my garden. Zucchini is easily one of my favorite vegetables. So you know what that means. Be prepared for zucchini recipe overload!

My kids hate zucchini. So I love that you can sneak zucchini into baked goodies without even being able to tell!

As I was baking these cupcakes the smell of chocolate filled the house. It was heaven. My kids couldn’t wait for them to get our of the oven. Little did they know that they had a secret ingredient!

As soon as they came out of the oven they could hardly wait for them to cool and to be frosted. I loved watching them take their first bite into these cupcakes. They both gobbled the cupcake down as fast as they can. They told me they were the best chocolate cupcakes that they have ever had! Well they have to get their veggies in somehow huh? 😉

I have never baked a more moist and perfect chocolate cupcake until now. They turned out so much better than expected. And just when you think that they can’t get any better. You frost them with chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Cream cheese makes every frosting better and then you add chocolate!? Pure heaven! We were all obsessed over how incredible these cupcakes were!

Can you think of a better way to use up your zucchini?? I sure can’t! These turned out amazing. And with 2 cups of zucchini hidden inside they make you feel a little better about eating 2 cupcakes at once. You are going to love them!

How to make Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes:

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with liners or spray with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, mix together zucchini, eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan filling them about half way.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on wire racks.
Close up on Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

How do you shred zucchini?

I like to use the fine side of the shredder when shredding my zucchini. It is subtle and not many people will taste the texture.

If you prefer to have a thicker and chunkier zucchini the larger shredder is best. The flavoring will be more noticeable than the thinly shred.

How to make chocolate cream cheese frosting:

  • In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
  • Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt and vanilla. Continue beating until smooth and whipped.
  • Frost cupcakes.

What is the best way to frost cupcakes?

There are a few ways to frost cupcakes.

  • Kids and a knife: Classic Cuteness!
  • Pipe with a ziplock bag: Fill a ziplock bag full of frosting, zip it closed and snip one corner and use it like a piping bag.
  • Piping bag: I love to pipe with different swirling tips. For a thick, cover the cupcake tip I like to use 1M.

How long do chocolate zucchini cupcakes last?

In our house, they don’t last long, but if you are making them ahead of time they will last between 3 to 5 days in an airtight container.

Store the zucchini cupcakes without frosting is best. Then frost them the day of before sharing them.

Close up on chocolate icing.

Looking for more zucchini recipes?! Here are some!

Close up on Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

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Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

4.67 from 3 votes
By: Alyssa Rivers
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting are moist and perfect chocolate cupcakes with two cups of zucchini hidden inside!  Topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting these are the best chocolate cupcakes I have had!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 24

Ingredients 

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with liners or spray with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, mix together zucchini, eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan filling them about half way.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on wire racks.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • To make the chocolate cream cheese frosting: In a large bowl beat together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
  • Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt and vanilla. Continue beating until smooth and whipped. Frost cupcakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 214kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 177mgPotassium: 91mgFiber: 2gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 148IUCalcium: 15mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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14 Comments

  1. These were phenomenal. I did reduce the sugar by 1/4 and replaced some of the oil with more applesauce. The frosting was amazing and I made according to the recipe. They were gone within 24 hours. Very decadent and delicious!

  2. 5 stars
    These are really good cupcakes! They would be even better with less sugar. When I made the frosting 1 used only 1 cup of powdered sugar not the 3 cups that the recipe called for. And was sweet enough. ♥️

  3. 4 stars
    I made them like the recipe said and they were very delicious they didn’t make 24 cupcakes but I may have filled my tins too full. The recipe is still a keeper.

  4. 8-15-20
    HELLO THESE LOOK SO GOOOOD……I WOULD RATHER USE A LOAF PAN OR EVEN A BROWNIE PAN, REALLY DO NOT LIKE CUP CAKES, TOO MESSY…..ANY CHANGE IN BAKING….ANYTHING ELSE….THANKS STAY SAFE…
    CAN’T WAIT TO TRY THE ICING…..CREAM CHEESE, OMG…..

  5. Hello everybody, here every pperson is sharing these knowledge, thus it’s nice to read this weblog, and I
    used to pay a visit this weblog every day.

  6. These look awesome! Could you make these in a pan and if so, would you use the exact ingredients
    that the recipe calls for? What size pan would you use?
    Thank you!

    1. I would think that it would work but not 100% sure. I would use a 9×13 and bake for 20-25 minutes. Would you let me know if it turns out?