One year my mom and I grew zucchini in our garden, yet rather than having a few zucchini for recipes, we ended up having about 20 zucchini the size of our arms. At that point, there was only so much zucchini we could give away to friends or shred and fit in our freezer.
Therefore I’ve been on a mission to bring you the BEST zucchini recipes every year, and have over 30 on my site! These gluten-free zucchini banana bars are from one of the first-ever AK Zucchini Weeks (back in 2017) and OMG I almost forgot how good they were.
If you took your fav banana bread and combined it with zucchini bread, plus some wonderful chocolate, you’d get these wonderful, fluffy and delicious bars.
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Ingredients in these zucchini banana bars
These delicious gluten free zucchini banana bars taste like a fluffy dense banana cake with puddles of chocolate and a sweet cashew flavor. SO GOOD. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Zucchini: this sneaky veggie is actually what gives the bars moisture, so you won’t need any extra oil!
- Banana: mashed ripe banana adds natural sweetness to the bars.
- Cashew butter: the majority of the base is made with natural creamy cashew butter. See below for more options.
- Maple syrup: we’re also adding a couple of tablespoons of pure maple syrup to bring out a little extra sweetness.
- Eggs: you’ll need 2 eggs to help the bars hold up.
- Coconut flour: one of my fav gluten free flours to use. Coconut flour gives the bars a delicious flavor and absorbency so that they’re nice and fluffy.
- Baking staples: don’t forget the vanilla extract, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Chocolate: because everything’s better with chocolate! I like to add chocolate chips right to the batter, plus melt some chocolate chips with coconut oil for the drizzle.
Can I make them vegan?
I haven’t tested these bars using a vegan substitute, but feel free to try swapping the eggs for flax eggs and let me know in the comments if it works! Then be sure to use dairy free chocolate chips.
Optional: try your favorite nut butter
If you don’t have any cashew butter (or have a different favorite nut butter) feel free to swap it! Peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or tahini should all work.
The key to perfect zucchini banana bars
Because these bars are gluten free and grain free it’s important that you do not overbake them. Take them out of the oven as soon as they start to turn golden brown so that they stay nice and moist!
Tips for baking with zucchini
- Use the small side of your grater so that you get little shreds of zucchini. No one will be able to tell there’s a veggie in their brownies!
- Squeeze out your zucchini shreds as much as possible to get all of the excess liquid out.
- Measure the shreds before you squeeze the moisture out.
- Feel free to shred a bunch of zucchini and freeze it for later! Follow my tips and tricks here.
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: I’d recommend leaving the zucchini banana bread bars on the counter for no more than a day or two and then storing them in the refrigerator. They’re especially delicious straight from the fridge anyway.
- To freeze: allow the bars to cool completely, then cut them as directed. Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap, then in foil or a reusable bag such as Stasher bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More sweet recipes using zucchini
- The Best Zucchini Brownies You’ll Ever Eat
- Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake (healthy + gluten free)
- Salted Brown Butter Banana Zucchini Baked Oatmeal
- Grain Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Zucchini Bread (2 different ways!)
Get all of my zucchini recipes here!
I hope you love these paleo zucchini banana bread bars! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Grain-Free Zucchini Banana Bread Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (from 1 medium zucchini)
- 1 cup mashed extra ripe banana (from about 2 to 3 medium bananas)
- ¾ cup cashew butter*
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (56g) coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips (dairy free, if desired)
- For topping:
- 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips (dairy free, if desired)
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil, plus more to thin as necessary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray to prevent the sides from sticking.
- Shred zucchini, then place in a paper towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out all the excess moisture, discard the liquid. Add the shredded zucchini to a large bowl, then add the mashed banana, cashew butter, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla together until smooth and well combined.
- Next add the coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Mine were perfect at 35 minutes. Allow bars to cool on a wire rack.
- To make the chocolate drizzle: Add chocolate chips and coconut oil to a small microwave safe bowl or ramekin. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in-between until chocolate is melted. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the bars. Top with flaky sea salt, if desired. Cut into 12 or 16 bars. Store bars at room temperature for a day, then transfer the fridge.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on July 24th, 2017, and republished on July 5th, 2025.
Hi Monique! Congrats on the new addition to your family 💛
Can almond flour be subbed in for coconut flour in this recipe?
Thank you so much, Tanya! Unfortunately almond flour cannot be subbed and I haven’t tested anything else in replace of coconut flour here.
First heard of your recipes from my daughter. It has quickly spread to the rest of the family with two of my granddaughters making some of your recipes on YouTube, always indicating the recipe came from Ambitious Kitchen. Appreciate always having options using healthy options, which are always good, but not always available.
Amazing! So happy the whole family is loving the recipes 🙂
Do you think I can add a scoop of chocolate protein powder to the mix?! Can’t wait to try!
Hi! I think it will make the bars too dry. You could experiment with replacing some of the coconut oil with protein powder – let me know if you try it!
My husband and I are obsessed with these. Didn’t have cashew butter but used peanut butter in its place because we love the flavor of pb, banana, and chocolate. Usually I don’t love the texture of purely coconut flour baked goods (can be kind of soggy/dense) but I think because these have 3/4 c nut butter the texture was super moist and light!
Perfect!!
Love these so much!! I’ve been making them monthly for the past several months, great to have as a quick snack or breakfast dessert 🙂
Deliciously moist and yummy!
I know you’ve said to never substitute something for coconut flour, but well…I don’t have coconut flour… so I just used what I had and put in 2x the amount of almond flour. It turned out great! I also didn’t do the chocolate drizzle – yummy enough without it!
Not sure if the consistency is different because of different flour I used, but I’d consider this more of a “cake” than “bars.”
Actually, right after I made this, I realized it tasted exactly like https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/grain-free-chocolate-chip-peanut-butter-zucchini-bread-2-different-ways/ , which I loooooved. Only real difference is this one has banana and that one doesn’t.
Oh I’m so happy that worked out well! I think the almond flour would change the consistency, yes. Happy you loved it!
Ambitious kitchen is my go-to for any new recipes! I liked this one but not as much as some of the other zucchini recipes I’ve made. The texture of the bars were a bit more fluffy then bread like- still delicious- but not what I expected.
Totally understood! Glad you tried them. I’d definitely recommend trying my new apple spiced zucchini bread 🙂
I made these according to the recipe except I skipped the chocolate drizzle (feeling lazy, LOL) and just added a few more chocolate chips to the batter. Baked for 35 minutes, as the notes indicate. SO delicious! It’s very difficult to eat just one. 🙂 Will definitely be making again!
I made this as is but added an extra banana. The texture was insane! So good & simple. Everyone needs to make this! (Don’t forget to remove excess water from zucchini!)
Perfect! Glad you loved them!
These sound great excited to make them! Quick question should I squeeze out the moisture from the shredded zucchini, or do you want the extra liquid in there for the coconut flour to absorb? Thanks!
Great question! Yes, squeeze out the moisture 🙂
Thanks so much! These are now one of my go to recipes to make for my 1.5 year old son for breakfast we both love them! Perfect texture and flavor and a great way to sneak in some extra veggies to his diet!
Yes, so good for kiddos! Yay!
Excited to make these! Should I squeeze the moisture from the shredded zucchini?
Wow! This recipe was very delicious! The bananas are the perfect sweetener and the bread was soft and moist. I used mixed nut butter instead of cashew, and honey instead of maple syrup. I can’t wait to make this again! Thanks for this great recipie!
Perfect! So happy you loved them!
Easy to mix up and delicious. Made them yesterday and we are down to two bars tonight! I love them, Husband and 3yo do too! I skipped the chocolate glaze on top and it’s still good (too lazy and sure to add messiness with the 3yo).
Perfect! So happy to hear that 🙂
SO delish! Super moist. And so easy. Love only cleaning one bowl, too. Thank you for the recipe. Keep em coming!
Absolutely! Glad you loved these 🙂
These look scrumptious! Could I make these without the nut butters? (Allergies!)
I would recommend either tahini or sunflower seed butter!
I just made these bars last night and they are delicious! I already devoured 1/4 of the tray as I ate 2 pieces for breakfast this morning as well! I used tahini instead of cashew butter and almond extract instead of vanilla. The consistency was a bit “mushier” than I’d like but it could be because I needed to bake them for a little longer (I had them in the oven for 34 minutes.) Overall, love the recipe and think it will be added to my monthly rotation of healthier dessert/breakfast options. Once again, thank you Monique!
So glad you enjoyed! Yes, feel free to leave them in just a bit longer (and use a tester to check for doneness).
Love how easy these bars are to make!
Why are these SO good though?!!! Another amazing recipe girl, thanks!
Aren’t they delicious?? Glad you loved them!
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thanks for the note on the stars – we’re working on a fix.