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These Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes will blow your minds! Soft, sweet, moist! The Poured Chocolate Frosting will make you want to never pipe frosting onto cupcakes again! This stuff is what dreams are made of. Basically like a cross between my Zucchini Brownies and Chocolate Cupcakes. YUM!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes |A Chocolate Delight
These chocolate zucchini cupcakes with poured chocolate frosting…Lemme tell you, will change your life. They taste as chocolatey and sweet as they look and are pretty fast to throw together 🙂 Shredding the zucchini a little finer, wringing it out and then stirring it into the cake batter keeps these cupcakes moist while going mostly undetected because of all that cocoa powder. So delicious!

Main Ingredients Needed
Start by gathering up these ingredients to make these incredible Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes:
For the Cupcakes
- Butter + Vegetable oil – to flavor and moisten.
- Sugar – to sweeten.
- Vanilla + Cocoa Powder – two flavoring ingredients. Vanilla is more subtle while the unsweetened cocoa powder makes these cupcakes chocolatey.
- Egg – used for structure and texture.
- Sour Cream – for creamy texture.
- Baking Soda+ Baking Powder – to help the cupcakes rise.
- Salt – to balance out all the flavors.
- Flour – this fills out the cupcakes.
- Zucchini – for its high moisture content. Be sure to wring out with paper towels before adding to the batter.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – to sweeten and to add more chocolatey goodness.
For the Frosting
- Butter – for flavor.
- Chocolate Syrup – for that chocolatey flavor (I used Hershey’s brand).
- Milk – for a pourable consistency.
- Vanilla – for flavor.
- Powdered Sugar – to sweeten and to thicken the frosting.
- Sprinkles (optional) – add some red and white sprinkles for festive Valentine’s Day cupcakes.
How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes |Directions
For full details on how to make Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes, see the recipe card down below 🙂
Step 1: Preheat Oven + Grate Zucchini
Preheat the oven.
Wash and grate zucchinis. Wring out excess water and set aside. I used my stand mixer and grater attachment, but a manual box grater will do the job as well. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set them aside.

Step 2: Mix
Add butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, egg, and sour cream in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients. Scrape sides of the bowl and stir again to ensure even mixing. Stir in grated zucchini and chocolate chips.
Step 3: Fill Muffin Tins + Bake
Scoop into lined muffin tins bake until completely cooked.
Step 4: Make Frosting
Once cupcakes come out of the oven, melt butter, chocolate syrup and milk together in a small saucepan. Once butter has melted and mixture has come to a light bubble, remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth.
Spoon over warm cupcakes and top with sprinkles if desired. I was a little heavy-handed, but that is not a bad problem to have. #Ilovechocolate
After everything cools, the tops start to harden slightly and they become even more amazing!

Want More Cupcake Recipes to Try? Check These Out:
- Double Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
- Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
- Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes with Easy Vanilla Frosting
- Oreo Cupcakes
Overall, a great treat for Valentine’s Day!
The printable recipe card is below. Enjoy 🙂

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Poured Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
for the cupcakes
- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 6 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups zucchini grated and wrung out
- 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
for the frosting
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup hershey’s chocolate syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Using a food processor or box grater, grate 1-2 small zucchinis. Wring out excess water and set aside. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
- Stir butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, egg and sour cream in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients. Scrape sides of bowl and stir again to ensure even mixing. Stir in grated zucchini and chocolate chips.
- Scoop into lined muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until completely cooked.
- Once cupcakes come out of the oven, melt butter, chocolate syrup and milk together in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Once butter has melted and mixture has come to a light bubble, remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Spoon over warm cupcakes and top with sprinkles if desired. Serve.












[…] For more frosting options, check out these: Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting, Reese’s Frosting, and Poured Chocolate Frosting. […]
Made these today and they are so so so good! I found them even better than zucchini-less chocolate cupcakes!!
I have a qs though : Do you wring the zucchini before you measure the 1 & 1/2 cup or after ? The zucchini was very visible and while I don’t mind seeing my vegetables, I had trouble convincing my picky brother to eat them. I measured the required amount after wringing. Do you think that that caused the zucchini amount to be more and that’s why they showed?
thank you 🙂
I would make cheesecake.
Oh my…I would have to make your cupcakes. The pictures made my mouth water.
I love baking and I have a lot of grated zucchini in my freezer to make zucchini bread.
oh .. there are so many recipes i want to try if i win this mixer .. thanks for the great recipe and fantastic giveaway.
I would like to make a red velvet cake. I also saw a great recipe recently for meatloaf so I would make that next.
I would make chocolate chip cookies to share with my family!
Carrot cake!!
I actually do a blueberry zucchini bread that this would help with so much.
I am excited to make Chocolate Agave Mousse, and these new to me chocolate zucchini cupcakes.
I would make a Lemon Curd Pound Cake and Italian Cream Cake first.
I’ve heard you can knead bread in these things! Oh yeah!
Homemade soft pretzels! I can’t tell you how many times I want to make these and then see that i need a dough hook attachment! (aka, Kitchenaid mixer!)
Omg I would make THESE CUPCAKES. I adore cupcakes and I recently adore zucchini in all the things!
I would make cookies — lots and lots of cookies! And probably various cupcakes, too.
I would make lots of cookie and bread dough!
I would use it to make strawberry shortcake.
I’d love to make a turtle cheesecake.
I would make chocolate chip cookies!
Besides these delicious sounding cupcakes???? lol I would want to make some Bread! 🙂
I would be makig everything sweet and salty!!
Well, of course I would make these cupcakes because they look good, doggone it. But I want to make all kinds of things – I love to make and bake. Bread, cakes, pies, cakes, cupcakes, cakes, whipped cream, cakes, cookies!!!
Also? I can’t believe you bought two KS bags in your sleep – but I have heard of other people doing similar things. Especially where Ambien or similar things are involved. I wish I was cleaning in my sleep with no recollection of it!