This is a family-favorite recipe for homemade zucchini bread. One slice and you’ll taste why! It’s made with brown sugar, pure vanilla extract, cozy cinnamon spice, and summer’s favorite vegetable. See my recipe note for turning this batter into zucchini muffins, or try this similar zucchini muffins recipe.
I originally published this recipe in 2019 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips. I’ve also made a few improvements to the recipe, which are reflected in the printable recipe below.
Comes From An Award-Winning Zucchini Bread Recipe
This zucchini bread recipe is very slightly adapted from an award-winning family recipe. My husband grew up making this zucchini bread with his family, who entered it into the Maryland State Fair. And guess what? IT WON. You know a recipe is good if it’s winning state awards, right?
Now slightly scaled up to yield a taller 9×5-inch loaf (more zucchini, 1 extra egg, and a touch of applesauce for moisture), the quick bread is better than ever and ready to place 1st in your own kitchens too!
Here’s Why You’ll Love It:
- Batter comes together in less than 5 minutes
- Extra moist and flavorful
- Sneaks in veggies
- Can easily be doubled
- Welcomes add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or blueberries
- Makes great muffins (or try these zucchini muffins which are heartier and slightly less sweet)
- Freezes beautifully
A beginner baker can easily make this quick bread, and it’s a wonderful recipe if you have eager young bakers ready to help!
One reader, Emma, commented: “Zucchini bread is my absolute favorite, so I’m quite picky about how one tastes, the amount of spices, etc. This recipe yields a very moist and super flavorful zucchini bread! 5 stars from me. Everyone else thought so too! Definitely a keeper. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Linda, commented: “This was delicious and oh-so moist. I made it exactly per your recipe, adding walnuts as an extra ingredient. This zucchini bread recipe is a keeper! ★★★★★“
Why Bake With Zucchini?
Zucchini is one of my favorite ingredients for baking and I have a lot of published zucchini recipes on my website. My recipes for chocolate zucchini bread and zucchini muffins are both incredibly popular with readers. We use an entire zucchini in my healthier Greek yogurt zucchini bread and you’ll find a whopping 3 cups of it in my chocolate zucchini cake (you can’t taste it!).
It sounds odd to bake with a vegetable, but here’s why you should use it in your baking:
- There are only so many zucchini side dishes to make (looking at you, zucchini sweet potato fritters). Zucchini is abundant in the summer months, and it’s fun to incorporate this vegetable when baking, too.
- Zucchini adds flavorless moisture. We’re talking pure moisture with zero savory vegetable flavor. I don’t think I would bake a cake with a green vegetable if I could taste it. You bake carrot cake, right? It’s delicious, right? Well zucchini is even better! Hello, zucchini cake. It’s truly a magical ingredient in your baked goods and this includes zucchini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, too!
Grab These Ingredients
One new addition is the applesauce. This, along with the oil, keeps the bread moist. You can use sour cream, Greek yogurt, or mashed banana in its place if needed. All you’re doing is whisking the dry and wet ingredients together separately, and then combining everything. Honestly, it’s as easy as pumpkin bread and uses a few of the same ingredients.
Success Tip: Shredding Zucchini
Today’s zucchini bread comes together in just 5 minutes with simple kitchen tools including a couple bowls, a whisk, and a 9×5-inch loaf pan. You also need a grater to shred the zucchini. If you’re looking for recommendations, I own and love this box grater because it’s easy to use, grates quickly, and has held up well with regular use. It’s what I use when making zucchini fritters, too.
- How much zucchini do I need? Zucchini can vary in size, but 1-2 medium zucchini are plenty for this recipe. You need 1 and 1/2 cups shredded, which is 180g.
- Do I need to peel the zucchini first? You can if you’d like, but I never do. There’s no taste or texture variance either way, but you’ll definitely have more flecks of green throughout the loaf if you keep the peel on. Pretty!
You do not need to blot the zucchini dry before using in the batter. (You want that moisture here! Unlike when we make zucchini biscuits, where ridding of that moisture is key.)
Expect a thick batter:
What Does This Zucchini Bread Taste Like?
Zucchini is like a chameleon and takes on the flavor of whatever’s nearby. Have you ever tried this peanut chicken zucchini noodles dish? The zucchini is basically a vehicle for the delectable savory peanut sauce.
Today’s zucchini bread includes cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and brown sugar so expect a lot of cozy, comforting, sweet flavors. In terms of texture, it’s not quite as dense as banana bread but not as light as white cake either. It’s soft and moist and actually reminds me of apple cinnamon bread, which is a favorite during the fall months. Combine them both in this apple zucchini bread!
If you love peanut butter and chocolate, be sure to try my peanut butter chocolate chip zucchini bread, too!
Let’s not forget optional add-ins like chocolate chips, chopped nuts, raisins, or even blueberries. Some readers have turned it into dessert with vanilla icing or cream cheese frosting (I’d halve the cream cheese frosting recipe). Honestly, this quick bread welcomes a bounty of tasty extras!
And if you’ve been itching to make some homemade honey butter, this zucchini bread is the perfect canvas to enjoy it on!
Can I Reduce the Sugar or Oil in Zucchini Bread?
You can absolutely slightly reduce either or both, but understand that sugar and oil help produce a moist, tender loaf; altering the ingredients may have disappointing results. Or for an option without refined sugar, you may enjoy this Greek yogurt zucchini bread instead!
Print
Zucchini Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This zucchini bread recipe yields 1 9×5-inch loaf. With brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and a little applesauce for added moisture, the quick bread is flavorful, moist, and a great way to use summer’s favorite vegetable!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) unsweetened applesauce (or sour cream or Greek yogurt)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) shredded zucchini (no need to blot)
- optional: 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped nuts, raisins, etc)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. See notes for muffins.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla together until combined. Whisk in the zucchini. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir or whisk until *just* combined; do not overmix. Fold in any optional add-ins like chocolate chips or nuts. Batter is slightly thick.
- Spread the batter evenly into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55-70 minutes. (I like to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent heavy browning on top.) Baking times vary so keep an eye on yours. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out *mostly* clean with zero raw batter. Remove the bread from the oven and set on a wire rack. Cool in pan for 1 hour before removing from pan. You can slice the bread at this point, but it will still be warm in the center and may not slice neatly. For neat slices, continue cooling bread directly on a wire rack and then slice once cooled.
- Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Make the bread ahead of time by freezing it. Bake it, cool it, wrap it up in aluminum foil and freeze the loaf as a whole. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before slicing and serving. Freezes well up to 3 months.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Box Grater | Cooling Rack
- Update in 2022: Based on reader feedback and a few disappointing loaves in my own kitchen recently, I revised 2 ingredients in May 2022 (egg & zucchini) so the batter yields more for a taller loaf and there’s more moisture. I also added 1/4 cup of applesauce for added moisture, as you can see in the recipe. Rave reviews from taste testers. The original recipe used 1 egg and 1 cup of zucchini with no applesauce.
- Can I reduce the sugar or oil? You can absolutely slightly reduce either or both, but understand that sugar and oil help produce a moist, tender loaf and the results may be disappointing. For the oil, feel free to swap *some* for more applesauce. Or for a healthier option without any refined sugar, you may enjoy this Greek yogurt zucchini bread instead.
- Muffins: Grease a 12-count muffin pan or line with liners. Prepare batter in step 2. Spoon the batter evenly into each liner, filling each all the way to the top. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 13-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 18-21 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Yields 1 dozen.
Reader Comments and Reviews
BEST zucchini bread ever!! Im coming back to THIS recipe every summer for the rest of my life!
Yum. Made this into muffins with walnuts and craisins. Used Greek yougurt instead of applesauce. They baked up nice and fluffy. Moist and delicious.
Hello – is it a good idea to remove seeds from zucchini before shredding for baking the bread?
Hi Lee, zucchini don’t really have detectable seeds in them – you can just go ahead and shred.
If I’m using an overgrown zucchini from the garden, it DOES have big seeds and I cut it in half and scrape the pulp like I would with a normal melon before I shred it.
Use small zucchini. IF they get too large, the seeds will be bigger and peel will be thicker and slightly bitter. IMO
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Another use for zucchini is on pizza! Yes, I know I sounds strange, but it’s delicious. Use a boxed frozen pizza. We get a plain cheese pizza and add onions, olives, cooked meats and any thing else. Slice the zucchini thin so it will cook through. Yummy!
Can I add chopped walnuts, if so how much?
Hi Linda, you can add up to 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped nuts, raisins, etc).
Thank you everyone loves the bread.
Can I sub with whole wheat flour?
Hi Abrielle, Whole wheat flour is a fine substitution, but the bread may taste a little dense. We recommend trying half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose for your first loaf and go from there.
Delicious recipe and I am happy to add the zucchini to my diet. I upped the applesauce by 1/4 cup and reduced the oil by that much.
Dang! This recipe is SOOOO delicious! I gave away some loaves and the feedback confirmed our own opinions. This is seriously tasty.
I love this one is great!
What can I use instead of applesauce?
You can use sour cream or Greek yogurt instead.
I made one blueberry and one chocolate chip!!! Amazing!!!! Sooo moist!!! Thank you
This is absolutely delicious. Great for a breakfast or snack Most definitely will be baking this again!
Can I use frozen Shredded zucchini? I had a bumper crop, so I Shredded and froze a lot.
Hi Julie, that should work just fine. We’d recommend thawing the frozen zucchini before using in the bread, and giving it a little blot since it will release excess moisture when thawing.
I made this today for my husband. It was delicious with a handful of dark chocolate chips. Thanks!
Doubled the recipe for 2 loaves. Baking directions were easy to follow. How long would you freeze the second loaf?
Hi LuAnn! See recipe Notes – this bread freezes well up to 3 months.
Perfect zucchini bread recipe. I followed it exactly adding mini chocolate chips. My grandsons gobbled it upl. The bread came out moist and tasty.
We love this recipe and make often, but we make 12 muffins out of it, 400F for 16-17 minutes. Awesome!
Cant wait to try this one! Do you think you could swap out avocado oil for the canola oil?
We haven’t tested it, but can’t see why that would be an issue, Michele.
I have never made zucchini bread before. Your recipe reads a lot like other quick breads so I thought I would give it a try. It was very easy to put together. My favorite type of breads!! I haven’t tasted it yet – it is in the oven. Smells wonderful. Thank you for giving us less experienced bakers an easy recipe.
Can I use melted butter instead of the oil?
Hi Sam, you can try it, but we don’t really recommend subbing butter when a recipe calls for liquid oil (or vice versa). Because butter is a solid when it’s not melted, it has different properties in a baked good. In this zucchini bread, the oil serves to keep the crumb light and moist, where the butter would weigh this heavy batter down.
I followed the recipe exactly with the addition of a cup of raisins. It turned out perfectly. Next time I will add a cup of coarsely chopped pecans. I will probably toast the pecans before I add them. Best tasting zucchini bread I’ve ever made.
I love making multiple loaves of this zucchini bread and sharing it with coworkers and neighbors, absolutely everyone enjoys it! Doubling the recipe is so easy.
Wow, this is now the only zucchini bread recipe I’ll use from now on….. perfect in every way from taste to texture. Your updates hit the mark. I can’t wait for zucchini season.
I can’t wait to try this. Also, you can swap out the oil for non-fat yogurt. If the recipe calls for a 1/3 c. of oil you would fat yogurt. With this swap I would probably blot to reduce the moisture because you typically use less liquid with this swap. I make brownies this way by swaping out the oil and reducing the water to 2 tablespoons. Works great for cakes as well and doesn’t change the taste or texture.
This was delicious. I have a lot of fresh zucchini from my garden. And this was the first time i have ever attempted to make zucchini bread. Glad i found this recipe first and had success on my first try.
The update yielding a taller loaf is unlikely to be due to egg an zucchini but probably has more to due with the added applesauce which might have some acidity activating the baking soda. The previous recipe had no acidity so the soda would never have been activated. I wonder if they might have tasted a bit soapy.
How come the reviews aren’t visible?
Hi Mike, there was a glitch yesterday causing some of the comments to be hidden. So sorry! It is fixed now.
What is the nutritional information for this recipe?
Hi Paige, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Why do most of my loafs sink in the middle?
Hi Linda! Quick bread will often sink if under-baked. Could that be possible? Also make sure to use fresh baking powder and baking soda.