Homemade and homestyle zucchini bread is a classic recipe that everyone loves. Warm spices, brown sugar, and shredded zucchini star in this easy zucchini bread recipe.
Making zucchini bread is a summertime tradition for many who grow their own zucchini, as this summer squash is often abundant in June and July. Many home gardeners find themselves inundated with a zucchini harvest, and looking for recipes to use it all up. Zucchini bread is perfect for using zucchini and can also be a way to preserve it, since this bread freezes so well.
You can also try making zucchini soup, chocolate zucchini cake, or zucchini fritters!
Shredded zucchini adds moisture and nutrition to baked goods like this zucchini loaf recipe, and it doesn’t even taste like vegetables!
Luckily zucchini is readily available in supermarkets all year long, so you can make this easy zucchini bread any time the mood strikes. Aside from shredded zucchini, the rest of the ingredients for the best zucchini bread recipe are probably already in your kitchen.
This recipe makes one loaf of zucchini bread, however, I’ve been known to double or quadruple the recipe to make many loaves to store for later or give as gifts. Your neighbors, family, or friends will be thrilled to receive a pretty zucchini loaf tied with a bow.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One Bowl – I love how quick breads like zucchini bread don’t make a huge mess of the kitchen! Everything is mixed up in one bowl, making for less dishes.
- Traditional Flavors – There are many different variations of zucchini bread out there, but this one is probably like the one your grandmother made. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts are traditional zucchini bread add-ins.
- Versatile Recipe – I mentioned it already, but it’s worth repeating – this recipe doubles really well and is perfect for making zucchini bread in bulk.
Ingredients in Zucchini Bread
- Flour. Regular all-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe.
- Baking Powder AND Baking Soda. It’s common to use both leaveners for quick breads like zucchini bread. This combination gives us the perfect texture.
Tip!
Make sure that your baking soda is still active and good to use. To check, add a little bit of baking soda to a bowl, mix it with a splash of vinegar and look for a bubbly reaction. If it’s fizzing, it means that it’s still good to use!
- Salt. A bit of salt balances out the sweetness of the sugars and blends nicely with the spices.
- Cinnamon. I like to add cinnamon to many baked goods. It’s warm, and just the perfect amount of spicy.
- Nutmeg. Another warm spice that is delicious in baked goods, adding cinnamon and nutmeg together is my favorite.
- Eggs. For best results, allow your eggs to come to room temperature before mixing the batter.
- Granulated AND Brown Sugars. Brown sugar adds tons of depth and flavor to this zucchini bread, and the combination of both types helps to give us the perfect balance of moist and fluffy.
- Vegetable Oil. This is a very common fat source for muffins and quick bread. It’s easy to find and adds lots of moisture to the bread. You can substitute it with sunflower or corn oil if that’s what you have available.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. Vanilla is a must for quick breads like this one.
- Zucchini. Grate your zucchini until you can fill one cup. If your zucchini seems dry, add a bit of water.
- Walnuts. Roughly chopped walnuts add a bit of crunch and nutrition to the zucchini bread. Leave them out if you prefer, the bread will still be wonderful.
How to Make Zucchini Bread
- Preheat: Set your oven to 350°F/180°C so you’re ready to bake.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk eggs with sugars, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk until just combined.
- Fold: Fold in zucchini and walnuts.
- Pour: Pour batter into a greased loaf pan (this is the one I use and love!) and bake as directed in the recipe card until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Cool: Allow the zucchini bread to cool completely on a rack before removing from the pan and serving.
Tips for Making The Best Zucchini Bread
- Prepare your pan: Use cooking spray oil to grease your loaf pan so that there is no risk of the bread sticking to the pan. I find that if I use a good layer of cooking spray that the loaf will just pop right out when it’s done cooling. If your loaf does stick to the pan, don’t try to force it out. Just use a butter knife to loosen around the edges and then slice the bread and remove each slice carefully.
- Don’t Overmix: Overmixing in step 3, after adding the flour, will make your bread tough and the bread might sink in the center. Mix only until most of the dry ingredients are moistened (no dry flour patches) and then stop.
- Allow to Cool: I know it will be tempting, but don’t try to handle or eat the zucchini bread before it’s done cooling, because the loaf might fall apart. To warm up slices of bread for eating, simply place in a toaster oven or air fryer for a couple of minutes, or microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions About Zucchini Bread
Walnuts are a traditional nut to add to zucchini bread, but you can substitute with chopped pecans or even chopped almonds if you prefer. For another delicious add in, try some chocolate chips or soaked dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, or pineapple pieces.
This is a personal preference. Generally, the skin of the zucchini is tender enough that the texture won’t be noticed in the bread, so I leave it in. If your zucchini has very tough skin, or if you prefer not to see the green specs in the bread, you can peel it before grating.
I like to use a large box grater to grate zucchini for zucchini bread. I find it very satisfying to do it by hand. A food processor with the grater blade makes quick work of it too.
No! In this recipe, the moisture is taken into account so you don’t need to squeeze it out. In fact, if the zucchini is a bit dry then I recommend adding a bit of water to the mixture.
This will depend entirely on what your idea of healthy is. Zucchini bread is a quick bread, made primarily of flour and sugar, so it’s not necessarily a health food. That said, adding zucchini into bread is a great way to get some extra vegetables into your diet, and is particularly good for getting kids to eat zucchini who wouldn’t normally eat it.
It could be that the baking soda you used has expired, or you overfilled the pan with too much batter (make sure you’re using the correct pan size), you overmixed the batter, or you opened the oven door a bit too soon.
Don’t take out the zucchini bread too soon!
It’s important to make sure that the zucchini bread is fully cooked before you take it of the oven. The easiest way to check is by inserting a toothpick in the center of the bread, and it should come out clean.
The most reliable to check if a quick bread is fully cooked is with a kitchen thermometer. A fully cooked quick bread must register 200°F (93°C)on a thermometer. I recommend the Thermapen or this cheaper alternative.
Storing Tips
This zucchini bread keeps well at room temperature for 2-3 days when wrapped tightly or store in an airtight container. Or store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
To freeze it, wrap well and freeze for 2 to 3 months. To reheat, simply place in a toaster oven or air fryer for a couple of minutes, or microwave for 20-30 seconds.
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Save this recipe for the next time you have some zucchini to use up. Zucchini bread is never a bad idea. Pin it for more people to enjoy too!
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Zucchini Bread
Equipment
- 8.5×4.55" loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup zucchini grated, if the zucchini is dry add 1/4 cup water
- ½ cup walnuts roughly chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 160°C for a fan oven. Line a 9×5 inch (approx 23×13 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs with sugars, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk until just combined.
- Fold in the shredded zucchini and chopped walnuts.
- Place the loaf pan in the oven and bake for approximately 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the zucchini bread to cool completely on a rack before removing from the pan and serving.
Notes:
- This zucchini bread keeps well at room temperature for 2-3 days when wrapped tightly or store in an airtight container. Or store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- To freeze it, wrap well and freeze for 2 to 3 months. To reheat, simply place in a toaster oven or air fryer for a couple of minutes, or microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Azu says
This bread looks delicious, simple and full of flavour.