Healthy Zucchini Bread
Updated August 27, 2024
Quick Summary
This Healthy Zucchini Bread is made with whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and naturally sweetened with honey instead of sugar. It is easy to make, perfectly moist, and is great for breakfast or a snack.
It’s no secret that I love zucchini bread. I have made a million loaves and several different varieties: classic, chocolate, lemon, chocolate chip, etc. Well, I am back at it and this time I have a delicious Healthy Zucchini Bread recipe for you.
Don’t let the word healthy scare you. I promise you will get everything you want out of a loaf of zucchini bread. The loaf is perfectly moist, perfectly spiced, and has the perfect amount of sweetness. That is a lot of perfection in one loaf!
Enjoy a slice for breakfast, a healthy snack, or add some chocolate chips to the bread and dessert is done! And yes, I know this is a healthy zucchini bread recipe but a little chocolate is good for the soul. If you are worried, use dark chocolate chips! I’ve made it with and without chocolate and it is fantastic both ways!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
I love making this quick bread when we have garden zucchini piling up on our counter. I always have the ingredients on hand!
- White whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour– I love using whole wheat flour in this recipe for extra fiber and nutrients. I prefer white whole wheat flour or pastry flour because it is lighter in texture and my boys don’t even notice it’s whole wheat:) If you don’t have whole wheat flour, you can use all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder and baking soda– to help the bread rise!
- Spices– cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger! The perfect trio!
- Salt– always for flavor!
- Honey– I love using honey to naturally sweeten the bread. There are no refined sugars in this recipe! You can also use pure maple syrup.
- Coconut oil– melted and slightly cooled!
- Eggs– Use large eggs and make sure they are at room temperature!
- Buttermilk– it keeps the loaf super moist! Almond milk is a good option if you can’t do dairy.
- Vanilla extract– the best!
- Zucchini– Use a box grater or food processor to shred the zucchini. If it is super watery, you can give it one squeeze to remove some of the liquid, but DON’T squeeze out all of the moisture or your bread will be dry.
- Chocolate chips– totally optional! You decide what mood you are in:)
- Turbinado sugar– for sprinkling on the bread before it goes in the oven. I love the sugary crunch!
How to Make Healthy Zucchini Bread
I love this zucchini bread recipe because you can have it in the oven in no time! Let’s do it!
- Preheat the oven and make sure you grease your loaf pan (9×5-inch) well with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the honey, melted coconut oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth. Add the shredded zucchini and stir until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, don’t over mix. If you are in a chocolate chips, gently stir in some chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. If you are using chocolate chips, you can sprinkle a small handful on top. Why not?
- Bake until golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, about 42 to 55 minutes. I recommend checking the bread early to be safe. My bread usually takes 45 minutes. If you over bake, it will be dry and you don’t want that!
- Remove the bread from the oven and let sit in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen with a bread knife around the edges and carefully remove the bread from the pan. Cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing. I know, waiting is the hard part!
How to Store
- Once the bread is cool, go ahead and enjoy a slice. The bread is great the day it’s made but to be completely honest, I think the bread is even BETTER the second day. The flavors have time to develop and I think the bread is a little more moist the second day. So try to resist eating it all the first day:)
- Once the bread is completely cool, wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it on the counter for up to four days. You can also freeze the bread. Wrap the cool bread in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- You can also free individual slices of bread. I like doing this so we can easily enjoy slices for a quick breakfast. Put the frozen slices in the toaster and breakfast is done. The boys like to add a little butter and honey! YUM!
More Zucchini Bread Recipes
- Classic Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Banana Bread
- Coconut Zucchini Bread
And if you have a lot of zucchini to use up, make sure you check out our favorite ZUCCHINI RECIPES! There are SO many good ones to choose from! Enjoy!
Healthy Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups shredded zucchini, see note
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top, optional
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the honey, melted coconut oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth. Add the shredded zucchini and stir until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, don’t over mix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. If you are using chocolate chips, you can sprinkle a small handful on top.
- Bake until golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean, about 42 to 55 minutes. Don’t over bake.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let sit in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen with a bread knife around the edges and carefully remove the bread from the pan. Cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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If it’s bread, why all the sweetness? If i omit the honey an sugar will it taste more like real bread? In days of old there were many recipes for bread mixing potato or sweet potato and flour to make delicious regular salty bread. it would be interesting if it worked with zucchini also. Has anyone tried?
How many slices per serving (calorie count)? Seems delishious!
After one hour in the oven the loaf was still uncooked.
I left half hour more 1 1/2 hours.
It does not look very good.
Did you use the right size pan and oven temperature? I just made this bread yesterday and it only too 50 minutes for me.
.micowaveable?
It helps if stick a knife in the middle and if it comes out clean then it’s done.
I made this recipe last Monday with some modifications. I edited my Instagram post to give you credit for the original recipe; sorry for the delay.
Thanks! I am glad you enjoyed the bread.
Can I use EVO instead of Coconut Oil and if so should I use the same quantity! Thanks so much!
Yes, that should be fine. Use the same amount.
Make on a wonderful day like saturday
My sister and I are making it today and it is a cool recipe and I think we are going to enjoy it!