When I have a bit of spare time during the weekend, I try to make a large loaf of quick bread that I can enjoy at breakfast or for snacks throughout the week to come.
And when I’ve got plenty of zucchini on hand, I like making freshly baked zucchini bread – it’s such a great way to pack some extra vegetables into our diet.
Today I want to teach you one of my favorite recipes that is not only simple to make, but also incredibly delicious! Plus, I’ll also share the secret to ensuring a firm but moist texture.
Infrequent bakers are often cautious about making their own bread at home.
But quick breads are just that – quick! Combine your dry ingredients with wet, stir in grated zucchini and chopped nuts, pour into a loaf pan, and bake.
It’s as simple as that!
Shall we make a loaf today? Let’s go to the recipe right now!
The Recipe
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1 large loaf | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 60 minutes |
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Fiber-rich and delicious, this zucchini bread recipe is one that you’re sure to love. Make a large loaf on the weekend and enjoy it throughout the week.
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- 2 large or 4 small fresh zucchini (approximately 2 cups grated)
- 3 cups all purpose flour (or 1.5 cups whole wheat flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 1/4 cups white sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a large loaf pan.
- Grate the zucchini using a box grater and then squeeze out as much water as possible. You can use paper towels but the best would be to use cheesecloth.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and sugar together.
- Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and then stir in the grated zucchini until you get a homogeneous batter.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts until they are evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan (the batter should not fill more than ¾ of the pan as it will rise and expand).
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the pan on a cooling rack for 20 minutes, and then remove the loaf from the pan to cool completely before slicing.
Recipe by Jennifer Swartvagher.
Nutritional Information*
Cooking by the Numbers…
Step 1 – Get Your Mise en Place Ready
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a large loaf pan.
Set out the zucchini and eggs. Measure the amount of flour, salt, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and walnuts needed.
Step 2 – Grate and Squeeze
Start by grating the zucchini. I like to use a box grater, or you can do this with the grating disc in your food processor.
Here’s the secret to getting that perfect texture:
Once grated, squeeze every bit of water you can from the shredded veggies, either using paper towels or a cheesecloth. As an alternative, you may also drain the zucchini in a colander, pressing with a large spoon.
When you think you’ve squeezed all the water out, squeeze some more. There’s a lot in there, and you don’t want to water down your batter!
It’s important that you don’t skimp on this step. Too much excess moisture will make this baked good soggy. And I have yet to find anyone who says their favorite food is soggy zucchini bread!
Step 3 – Chop
Chop the walnuts into small pieces using a sharp knife and a sturdy cutting board. If you buy your walnuts in pieces, great – you’re already ahead of the game!
If you’re allergic to walnuts, try substituting pecans instead. Dried fruit or candied ginger may also be used. Reduce to 1/2 cup fruit and 1/2 cup nuts, or 1/2 cup fruit with the nuts omitted altogether.
Step 4 – Combine and Mix
Place the flour, salt, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg in a large mixing bowl.
To up the healthy factor of your loaf, you may substitute half the flour with whole wheat. If you choose to do this, just add two teaspoons of water to the wet ingredients.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and sugar together.
Something you might like to try is substituting regular granulated sugar with coconut sugar. It’s an even substitution, cup for cup. And this will replace an empty calorie sweetener with one that has a lower glycemic index, with a bit of fiber and trace minerals as well.
Gently sift the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir well until you get a homogeneous mixture.
Fold in the chopped walnuts until they are evenly distributed in the batter.
Step 5 – Bake
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, making sure that the batter fills about 3/4 of the pan. Less is fine, but your pan should be no more than 3/4 full because the batter will later expand and rise. Extra batter can be baked in a muffin tin – just reduce the baking time and keep an eye on the muffins while they’re baking to avoid overcooking.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
I like to check my loaf about halfway through baking and rotate it in the oven. If the top of the loaf starts getting too brown, you can cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking. This is more likely to happen if you’re using coconut sugar, since it caramelizes easily, more like a brown sugar.
Step 6 – Cool and Slice
Once the loaf is baked, let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes on a cooling rack before removing the loaf and allowing it to cool fully before you slice. A serrated knife is perfect for the job.
Store in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic for up to a week in the refrigerator.
A Slice of Fiber-Rich Bread for Breakfast or Tea
If you want to increase your intake of fiber but don’t like to eat vegetables on their own, this recipe is a great way to do so. Packed with grated zucchini and chopped walnuts for texture and crunch, this freshly baked treat makes for a delicious and nutritious breakfast or snack.
Do you have a family recipe for zucchini bread? What special ingredients do you add to it? Share with us in the comments below!
Looking for more quick breads to enjoy in the mornings? Here are some bright ideas for you:
If you love to bake, be sure to follow our page Baking with Foodal on Facebook for more delicious recipes and baking tips.
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Photos by Felicia Lim, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on April 22nd, 2015 by Jennifer Swartvagher. Revised and expanded on September 30th, 2017 by Felicia Lim.
*Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Felicia Lim
Felicia Lim is a Singaporean who moved to Argentina for love. Based in Buenos Aires, also known as “the Paris of South America,” she fills her days with freelance writing, recipe development, and food photography – three passions that give her endless joy. When she isn’t typing away at her computer, cooking in the kitchen, or shooting in her balcony-studio, you can probably find her curled up on the couch, lost in the pages of a good book.
I’ve never had chocolate zucchini bread before. Interesting combo of sweet and savory
I just stopped calling the Zucchini with double chocolate a type of bread. Its way too sweet to be called bread and this doesn’t even bother me! I instead will refer to it as a bun, or more likely a cake!
It is a bit sweet to be called bread. I like to make them as muffins — perfect for breakfast or brunch.
I’m sold on the chocolate bread. I’m a bread lover, sweet or savory so these are both great choices for me. I do like to have some caramelized onions in my bread so I’ll add some in for some flavor. I think these recipes are more to inspire, so we can adapt them to what ingredients we have to hand.
The addition of caramelized onions sounds delicious. I will have to try that.
Oh, yummy! I have never tried it with chocolate chips, but chocolate is always a winner in my book.
This bread is a long time favorite of mine, for many reasons, one of which is that it was always my favorite way to use up extra zucchini. We gave lots away but always still had tons from our garden.
I can’t wait to try it with chocolate chips!
I LOVE zucchini bread. Just love it. It’s one of those things where because the word ‘zucchini’ is in it you feel like maybe it’s giving you a tad more in nutrients. Also have never attempted it with chocolate. That’s a great idea. I have done a zucchini/strawberry take on it which was reminiscent of shortcakes.
Just a question — is there any difference between zucchini bread and zucchini cake? Because they look quite similar to what people have shown me and described as cake. Though some people are a bit confused and also call muffins cupcakes, so I am not implicitly trusting them!
Looks pretty good, too. My boyfriend hates zucchini. Wonder what he’d think of it in a sweet bread…
There is no difference –cake or bread. I agree with you, muffins are not cupcakes!
I have the same issue with zucchini. I always have way too much when it’s time to harvest. I have an entire freezer shelf dedicated to it and squash. I just haven’t been able to find enough recipes that use it. The family loves fried squash so it gets used up a little bit quicker, at least. That’s what is so great about seeing this recipe posted! When it comes to zucchini, I cant have too many recipes. Thank you!
Zucchini is a favorite of mine, so I like to add it to a lot of my recipes. I can’t wait to see my garden overflow this summer.
I love zucchini bread, especially with walnuts, but I’ve never tried to make it myself. Partly because I don’t have the proper tool to grate the zucchini. I’m gonna have to get on that, because these seem like fairly straightforward recipes. I’ve never had chocolate zucchini bread and I’d love to try it, being something of a chocoholic.
Enjoy!
That first courgette cake looks wonderful. It really does, the flecks of green in it are excellent. I shall have to try it when my courgettes are ready to harvest this year. The seeds are just germinating and as always I will have way too many plants and way too many courgettes and I have just printed off both of your recipes to add to my recipe book. I am just thinking it will go very well with a courgette soup!
I like that this is a way to get picky eaters to eat more vegetables. I mean, this cake is delicious and even though it’s not really a “bread”, more of a cake…if I’m going to make a chocolate dessert, I’d much rather it have some healthy elements like zucchini than for it not to have anything healthy at all! Thank you.
I love the look of the loaves in the pictures. I’ve also never had chocolate zucchini bread, although I’ve heard of it being used in chocolate cakes. Can you tell me about how many zucchini it takes to get 2 cups of grated? I don’t have any in my garden (at least yet), so will be buying them. I love vegetables and squash, especially, so I’m looking forward to trying out at least one of your recipes.
I just love the versatility of zucchini! My mother made a zucchini bread from a recipe very similar to this one, minus the chocolate chips. She also added pecans, as well as walnuts to hers. Honestly it is one of the best tasting things I’ve ever had! Zucchini is a wonderful veggie to have around.
I’m really shocked – has no idea that you can make a bread out of zucchini! Then again, I’m not very knowledgeable on topic of food. This blog certainly helps me change the fact, though.
I enjoy salted zucchini as a snack, so I’m sure that the bread is also delicious.
Another favorite for the Zucchini lovers. I had this bread before and it was absolutely delicious. I’m not a huge fan of zucchini unless it is with squash…but the bread is so moist and out of this world good. I have not made this dish personally but I have ate it at a friend’s house at Thanksgiving and boy was I pleasantly surprised.
I live a regular zucchini bread, but with chocolate? That’s definitely new for me! I’m not sure if I would like the combination, but it’s worth a try! I’ve baked the normal kind before and it’s delicious! Even my children, who are picky eaters, love it because it’s sweet. It’s also a healthy recipes for those of us trying to have a balanced and healthy diet.
I’ve never tried zucchini bread in my life, in fact I don’t even know what it’s supposed to taste like. Is it something similar to bread that has potato “chips in it? (yup, that’s a thing here in Romania)
Somebody was just talking about this and said to try it with chocolate chunks and orange zest.. I thought it sounded kind of good. What do you think of that combination? I’m thinking orange zest on its own in the regular recipe could work too. I think I’ll make a variety.
Have any of you tried baking some savory versions? I saw one with cheddar and jalapeno that also sounded good. This is one versatile veggie. One of my favorites as well.