If your backyard garden blesses you with more zucchinis than you know what to do with, this recipe is your new best friend. Zucchini bread is a timeless classic – a quick bread (meaning it’s leavened with baking soda/powder, not yeast) that’s as easy as mixing and stirring. This Zucchini Bread is moist, cinnamony, and just sweet enough to be a treat without tipping into dessert territory. It’s basically cake you can justify for breakfast! Grating zucchini into the batter magically makes the bread super tender and you won’t even taste the veggie – but you’ll see pretty green flecks. Whether or not you grow zucchini, this loaf brings a bit of garden goodness to your day. And since it’s a one-bowl kind of recipe, it’s perfect for beginners and even for baking with kids. Let’s put that extra zucchini to delicious use.
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Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Bread is basically like making a muffin batter. Baking soda reacts with zucchini’s moisture to help the bread rise. Cinnamon gives that cozy flavor. Oil keeps it moist for days. And zucchini – think of it as the secret ingredient that Grandma snuck into a sweet loaf to make it extra tender.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf (about 10 slices) 1x
- Category: Bakery
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder (this bread relies mostly on baking soda, with a bit of powder for good measure)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (and/or a pinch of nutmeg if you’d like)
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (you can do half white, half brown sugar for a richer flavor)
- ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter, or even light olive oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini (about 1 medium/large zucchini) – no need to peel, just wash and grate
- Optional mix-ins: ½ cup chopped nuts (like walnuts or pecans), or ½ cup chocolate chips, or a handful of raisins
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter or non-stick spray. You can also line the bottom with a strip of parchment for easy removal.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (and nutmeg if using). Make sure they’re well combined – you don’t want any little clumps of baking soda.
- Mix wet ingredients: In the same bowl (we promised one-bowl, right?), make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Crack in the eggs, pour in the sugar, oil, and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together in the center until the eggs and oil are well mixed and the sugar starts to dissolve. Then start incorporating the dry ingredients from the sides of the bowl, stirring just until combined. (Switch to a spatula if that’s easier as it thickens.)
- Add zucchini (and extras): Stir in the grated zucchini. The batter will loosen up now (the zucchini brings a lot of moisture). If you’re adding nuts, chocolate chips, or other mix-ins, fold them in now. Mix just until evenly distributed. Do not overmix – that can make the bread tougher.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top. Bake for 50-65 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. The exact time can vary; start checking at 50 minutes. The loaf should be risen and cracked on top, and a beautiful deep golden-brown. If the top is browning too much before the center is done, loosely tent with foil in the last 10 minutes.
- Cool: Allow the bread to cool in the pan on a rack for about 15 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges and carefully remove the loaf from the pan. Let it cool most of the way on the rack. (It’s hard to wait, but cooling helps it slice without crumbling.)
- Enjoy: Slice the zucchini bread and enjoy! It’s wonderful as-is, or slathered with a bit of butter or cream cheese. This bread often tastes even better the next day once the flavors meld.
