Moist and delicious, this has been dubbed the best zucchini bread by so many people!
This zucchini bread recipe make two loaves that are extra moist with a warm cinnamon flavor (and a handful of nuts if you’d like)!
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Here’s Why We Can’t Get Enough…
- Adding shredded zucchini to bread makes baking extra moist.
- It’s easy to make with ingredients you likely have on hand.
- This zucchini bread recipe freezes well or keeps for a few days on the counter.
- This zucchini bread recipe makes two loaves, so it’s perfect to make one to enjoy and one to give away (or freeze).
How to Prepare Zucchini for Bread
Peeling zucchini: There is no need to peel medium or small zucchini as the skin is very thin and will not add noticeable flavor or texture. If you’re using an extra large zucchini from the garden, it can be peeled and the seeds should be removed by scraping with a spoon.
Grating zucchini: This recipe uses grated zucchini. Use the larger holes on a box grater or a food processor grater (don’t dice or chop it). Once grated, do not squeeze the zucchini dry, as the liquid keeps it moist.
How to Make Zucchini Bread
Like most quick bread recipes, this zucchini loaf is easy to make and requires just a few minutes of prep time. I line my loaf pans with parchment paper to make the bread extra easy to remove.
- Grate Zucchini: Use the larger side of a box grater to shred zucchini.
- Prep Wet & Dry Ingredients: Combine wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls (recipe below).
- Combine: Stir wet and dry ingredients just until moistened.
- Bake: Pour into prepared pans and bake.
Variations
- add chopped walnuts or pecans
- swap the cinnamon for other warm spices like pumpkin pie spice, or add a pinch of nutmeg
- dried cranberries or raisins are a great addition
- swap out the walnuts for chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
Tips For The Best Zucchini Bread
- Small to medium zucchinis (or even summer squash) work best.
- Ensure ingredients are at room temperature.
- Combine the dry ingredients with a whisk, this acts a bit like sifting the flour.
- Do not overmix.
- Cooking times can vary slightly, so be sure to check the bread early and bake just until a toothpick comes out clean.
Freezing and Storage
You can store zucchini bread on the counter for up to 2 days. It’s very moist, so if you’ll be keeping it longer than 2 days, refrigerate or freeze it.
Freezer: Like most quick bread, zucchini bread can be frozen. Be sure to cool completely first. Freeze it in slices wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freezing in slices makes it easy to thaw just as much as you’d like to eat.
More Zucchini Treats
Did you make this homemade Zucchini Bread? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups grated zucchini about 2 small
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease two 8×4-inch loaf pans or line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt with a whisk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the grated zucchini, oil, and vanilla. Mix well to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and the walnuts to the zucchini mixture. Gently stir just until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly over the prepared pans and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, remove from the pan, and cool on a wire rack.
Video
Notes
- This recipe should be baked in 8×4-inch loaf pans (not 9×5-inch pans).
- Use the larger side of a box grater to shred the zucchini. There is no need to peel it first unless it is a very large garden zucchini with thick skin.
- If the zucchini is extra large (from the garden), you may need to scrape out some of the seeds with a spoon.
- Do not squeeze the zucchini dry, moisture is needed for this bread.
- Store zucchini bread at room temperature for up to 2 days. It’s very moist so if you’ll be keeping it longer you’ll want to refrigerate or freeze it.
- To freeze, cool completely, wrap tightly in plastic, then place in zip freezer bag for up to a year.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I have an abundance of zucchini from my garden and was looking for a zucchini bread recipe. This one is a winner. Moist and delish! My grandchildren requested chocolate chips in their loaf! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Chocolate chips sounds like a great addition!
This is the best zucchini Bread recipe. I’ve been making for years. Love it
Has anyone ever made this in mini loaf pans? if so, how many loaves did it make and do I need to change the cooking time? We have so much zucchini and want to make mini loaves to give to neighbors.
Other readers have made 4 mini loaves with this recipe and baked for roughly 40 mins with good results! I would love to hear how they turn out for you.
I added homemade applesauce instead of the oil and cut back on the sugar. It was amazingly good! I put this in a little square brownies pan and a mini loaf pan. Worked out great. Not sure on the cook time. I kept checking it. Much shorter cook time, maybe 30-35 minutes. I’m making this again soon as I have lots of zucchini. Going to try half zucchini and half shredded carrots and make them in a smaller bite-sized squares pan and top with cream cheese frosting to take to a finger food party. I don’t think you can mess this recipe up. It’s a keeper.
This is the best recipe, I love the flavor and it’s so moist.
I’ve made this recipe a number of times now and it always turns out great! I always use a 9″X 5″ pan as well cuz I like a larger slice and it is fine.
Very tasty bread! I was out of vanilla and used some molasses instead, turned out great!
Help! I just put this in the oven and then scrolled down to see it says don’t sqeeze the zucchini…which I did. Think it’ll be ok?
The liquid in the zucchini does add moisture. I haven’t baked this with zucchini that has been squeezed so I can’t say for sure but I do think it’ll be okay! Let us know how it goes.
Hi Christine, I have always squeezed moisture from zucchini before baking also so I am wondering how your bread came out after squeezing liquid before baking before I start making it.
What an easy and delicious zucchini bread! I used maple sugar and added in chopped pecans for a little crunch. Love it!
You can find the recipe but using the jump to recipe button at the top, or by scrolling towards the bottom of the post.
Really, really moist and delicious. I added chocolate chips and they were melty. Usually I’ve always removed as much moisture as possible but I followed the recipe exactly and it was super moist. can this be made with whole wheat or gluten free flour?
Lesley, I do a lot of gluten free baking for my daughter and I really don’t think GF flour will work with this recipe. If you want to test it, I’d try 1/2 almond flour and 1/2 rice flour; or 1/2 almond flour and 1/2 oat flour. However, you may need to use more than a total of 3 cups. If you try it, please post on how it turns out.
I made this recipe and my family loved it. It was so easy and tastes delicious!
I love the taste and texture of the bread but I’ve tried both regular and mini chocolate chips and they fall to the bottom of the pan. There’s no chips to enjoy in the middle of a slice.How can I correct this?
Toss the chocolate chips with a bit of flour before adding them to the batter, this should help keep them dispersed throughout.
I made this recipe for the July Cooking Challenge. Yum! I blended mine up to hide any green from suspicious eaters. The bread is moist and delicious, and perfect for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. My loaf pan is 9×5, so I actually made one giant loaf and baked for 70 minutes. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is a keeper. My pans were 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 so my breads were a little flat but still tasted delicious!
I was so disappointed in this recipe. I ended up throwing 3 loaves away. I do not recommend this zucchini bread recipe
I am so sorry to hear that, Amy. Thank you for trying our recipe!
Amy,
Could you say why you do not recommend it? What was the issue? I am reading the comments to determine if I should try the recipe or not and just saying you don’t recommend it without context is not very helpful.
very good. I made the first batch with walnuts, the second plain and the third with pecans. I have only tried the plain but it is wonderful
This is a great bread recipe, very moist and tasty. I added pecans and I did half white and half brown for the sugar. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I added 1 cup of raisins. This bread is the bomb.
Delish.
I’m gonna try this recipe. I like that it makes two loaves. it’s gonna be good. our garden has produced 12 zucchini & I need to use them quickly. thanks