Easy Zucchini Bread Recipe

This time of year, zucchini takes over the home garden! Yet, there are only so many ways to sauté, grill, and fry it! That’s when I turn to my homemade zucchini bread; it’s a recipe everyone fights over when only one slice is left, it’s that good!

It’s light and moist and flavored with just the right amount of spices—this is what makes zucchini bread so good, in my opinion. The batter needs lots of spices and mix-ins too! I use two types of raisins and crunchy walnuts. But you could also add some chopped bittersweet chocolate and shredded unsweetened coconut too!

Ingredients:

• Eggs: You’ll need three jumbo eggs to give this bread its richness and lift.
• Pumpkin Puree: Adding the pumpkin puree adds a nice amount of moisture without needing more fat. You’ll only need 1/2 cup of it, so you can save the rest to use in my delicious Pumpkin Scone Recipe or my Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. 
• White Sugar: I find white sugar gives you a better texture than brown sugar.
• Vegetable Oil: I prefer oil over butter in quick breads because the loaf pan is so deep that it takes more baking time in the oven than a regular cake pan. The moisture in the oil will keep your bread moist and tender after the longer baking time. You can also swap out the vegetable oil for melted coconut oil if you prefer. Use the same amount.
• Water: I add a little water to my quick bread recipes to add moisture, but not weigh the cake down like milk would. I use the same technique in my Ultimate Banana Bread and Pumpkin Bread recipes. 
• Vanilla Extract: For additional flavor.
• Flour: I use all-purpose flour, unless I’m in France, then I use T45 flour. 
• Baking Soda: For a nice lift, I prefer using baking soda over baking powder in quick breads because I get a better, quicker rise. 
• Salt: I always use Kosher salt for baking because I find the flavor to be better and more subtle than table salt.
• Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Ground Cloves are a wonderful mix of spices that will give your zucchini bread fantastic flavor!
• Zucchini: For this recipe, you’ll need two medium-sized zucchinis. You don’t need to peel them or remove the seeds; you can use them as is. Have a bumper crop of zucchini? Try my Chicken Brochettes with Grilled Zucchini Salad. 
• Raisins: I love the mix of golden and dark raisins. They have slightly different flavors and levels of sweetness. They also make the inside of the bread look more interesting.
• Walnuts: I love walnuts in this recipe, but you could also swap them for pecans. 

   How To Prepare the Zucchini 

• You do not need to peel the zucchini. Grate it with a box grater or food processor fitted with the grating attachment.
• I think the best side of the box grater to use for grated zucchini for this bread is the larger grate side. This will provide the best texture for the bread. The smaller side, in my experience, is too small to make an impact. The larger the grate the more bulk and volume your bread will have. 
• But you do need to pat it dry with a paper towel before baking with it to absorb the moisture. Zucchini is a watery vegetable, and it will continue to release moisture while baking. Patting it dry first reduces some of this moisture that could lead to a mushy texture otherwise. 

Brown Sugar vs. White Sugar

• I prefer white sugar over brown sugar for zucchini bread.
• Brown sugar, with its addition of molasses, makes the crumb a bit denser and adds additional sweetness. The white sugar will make your bread fluffier and give it a lighter crumb, too.
• Mixing sugars is an idea I save for cookies like my White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies. In a cookie, the brown sugar provides the chewiness, while the white sugar delivers the crispy edges. 

Why Does My Bread Sink in the Middle?

• The secret to most quick bread recipes is to use enough baking soda (at least 3/4 tsp for every 1 cup of flour) and allow the bread to bake long enough for the center to crack. That’s when it starts to bake fully inside. 
• Loaf pans are deeper than cake pans, and while your quick bread may be golden brown and “look” done, it’s best to insert a skewer or a toothpick to double-check!
• A skewer will go deeper to verify that it’s, in fact, fully baked all the way through. If it is not, when it starts to cool, it will sink and collapse in the middle, indicating that it didn’t fully bake through.
• I find the cracking at the top is a good indication that your bread is ready to take out! 

How to Store and Reheat?

• Keep this bread at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It will stay fresh for up to three days. Otherwise, store it in the refrigerator for up to five days.
• This bread also freezes beautifully. Remove it from its tin and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Then cut it into slices, wrap each slice individually in wax paper, and place the wrapped slices in large resealable freezer bag.
• When it’s time to reheat, wrap the slice in a paper towel to keep it moist, and microwave it for 30 seconds, or until warmed through. It will taste freshly baked! 

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Easy Zucchini Bread Recipe

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

This easy zucchini bread recipe is light and moist, flavored with a great combination of spices, and loaded with raisins and walnuts. It's a recipe you will turn to time and time again.

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Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• ½ cup (120ml) pure pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup (150g) of sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) of vegetable oil or coconut oil
• ¼ cup (60 ml) of water
• 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
• 2 ½ cups (300 g) of all-purose flour
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) salt
• 1 tsp (5 ml) ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground ginger
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp (1.25ml) ground cloves
• 1 ½ cups (215g) of zucchini (about 2 medium-sized zucchini) grated and patted dry of moisture
• ¼ cup (60 ml) golden raisins
• ¼ cup black (60 ml) raisins
• ½ cup (120 ml) chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C) degrees.
2. Prepare a 9” x 5" loaf pan with baking spray, then line the long side of the pan with parchment paper. This will prevent the sides from getting too browned and make your bread easy to release once it's baked.
3. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, oil, water, and vanilla until combined.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, 1/3 at a time, being careful not to overmix! (Otherwise, you will have tough bread!)
6. Stir in the zucchini, raisins, and walnuts, mix until combined. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the batter out with a spatula.
7. Bake for 55 mins or until a long skewer comes out clean and bread is cracked at top. If bread starts to brown too much on the top, cover with foil and continue to bake until cooked through.
8. Slice into thick slices and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

Keep this bread at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It will stay fresh for up to three days. Otherwise, store it in the refrigerator.

This bread also freezes beautifully. Remove it from its tin and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack.

Then cut it into slices, wrap each slice individually in wax paper, and place the wrapped slices in large resealable freezer bags.

Then, when it's time to reheat, wrap the slice in a paper towel to keep it moist, and microwave it for 30 seconds, or until warmed through. It will taste freshly baked! 

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 22mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 5g