Zucchini Bread
Published on July 14, 2023
Quick Summary
This is the BEST classic zucchini bread recipe! It is easy to make, perfectly spiced, and super moist! The best way to use up your garden zucchini.
I am OBSESSED with zucchini. I love the green vegetable and I LOVE creating zucchini recipes. Have you seen my collection of zucchini recipes? There are sweet and savory recipes, something for everyone.
I love all of these zucchini recipes and try to make them every summer when the garden zucchini is out of control. Sometimes, I don’t get to them all but every year I ALWAYS make classic Zucchini Bread.
I have made a lot of zucchini bread in my days and I love my chocolate, chocolate chip, and lemon zucchini bread recipes, but you can’t go wrong with a loaf of good old classic zucchini bread. It is always a favorite.
The bread is perfectly spiced, moist, and will remind you of your grandma’s zucchini bread. It’s nostalgic and perfect in every way. I usually make several loaves, a few to snack on and a few to freeze for later.
Ingredients
- Zucchini– you will need 2 medium zucchinis. If you have an extra large zucchini from the garden, don’t toss it. It is perfect for making bread. Use a box grater to get 2 cups of shredded zucchini.
- Flour– use all-purpose flour
- Baking Soda– make sure it is fresh.
- Spices– cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
- Salt– to enhance all of the flavors.
- Butter– use unsalted butter that has been melted and slightly cooled.
- Oil– you can use avocado oil, vegetable oil, canola oil or melted and slightly cooled coconut oil. I like using butter and oil because the butter gives the bread great flavor and the oil makes the bread super moist.
- Sugar– I use mostly brown sugar because I love the deep caramel molasses flavor. I still add a little granulated sugar to balance out the texture and sweetness.
- Egg– use large eggs for baking.
- Vanilla extract– always use pure vanilla extract.
- Turbinado sugar– for sprinkling on top of the bread. It gives the loaf a nice sugary crunch!
How to Make Zucchini Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a clean linen-free kitchen towel or paper towels, squeeze out the excess water in the shredded zucchini. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Stir in the grated zucchini.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over the top.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-60 minutes. Check early because every oven is different.
- Remove from the oven and let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
How to Store & Freeze
- Store the bread covered on the counter for up to 3 days.
- You can also freeze zucchini bread. Let the loaf cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag or wrap in aluminum foil. Label and date the bread. Freeze for up to 2 months. You can also freeze individual slices. Thaw before enjoying.
FAQ
You really can use any size of zucchini to make zucchini bread; small, medium, or large. You need 2 cups of grated zucchini for the recipe, so you will need about 3 small zucchini, 2 medium zucchini, or 1 large zucchini.
Most people like to use large, overgrown zucchini from their garden to make zucchini bread because they aren’t as good to cook with but are great for baking and making zucchini bread. Never throw these big guys away, they are perfect for zucchini bread!
No! I always leave the green zucchini skin on. Just grate the zucchini with a cheese grater or food processor.
Yes! Zucchini has a lot of moisture so after you grate it, squeeze some of the moisture out. You can put the zucchini in a clean linen-free kitchen towel or in paper towels and squeeze.
You can also put the zucchini in a colander and let the moisture drain out for about 15 minutes. The amount of moisture in the zucchini will vary, depending on the size.
I have also found that zucchini from the garden has more moisture than store bought zucchini, especially the big ones. You do want to leave some of the moisture so your bread will be moist, but just get rid of the excess and you will be ready to bake!
Yes! If you can’t use up all of your zucchini, put some in the freezer for later. Put grated zucchini in freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months.
I like to put 2 cups of grated zucchini in a bag so I know it is the amount I need to make this zucchini bread.
Label your bags with what it is, the amount, and date. When ready to use, defrost, and squeeze out the extra moisture. There will be more moisture because the zucchini was frozen.
You can use frozen zucchini to make other things like cookies, brownies, or pancakes.
For this recipe, I use a 8 x 4 x 2 ½ inch loaf pan. I also use a loaf pan that is lighter in color so the zucchini bread doesn’t brown too quickly.
If you have a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan you can use it, your zucchini bread will just be a little shorter in size, but still tasty! You can also use mini loaf pans if you want to share little loaves with friends! Make sure you reduce the baking time to about 30 to 35 minutes.
Yes! Line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease the cups. Fill and bake for 18-22 minutes.
Yes, use the same amount of gluten-free all purpose flour. I like Cup4Cup or King Arthur’s gluten-free flour.
Yes! Feel free to stir in up to 1 cup of chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries.
If you inserted a toothpick in the center and it doesn’t come out clean, but your bread is getting too dark on top, you can loosely cover the bread with a piece of aluminum foil and keep baking. This will prevent the top from getting overdone and allow the middle to finish baking.
More Zucchini Bread Recipes
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Healthy Zucchini Bread
- Coconut Zucchini Bread
- Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil, (can use melted and slightly cooled coconut oil)
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on bread, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a clean linen-free kitchen towel or paper towels, squeeze out the excess water in the shredded zucchini. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Stir in the grated zucchini.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over the batter, if using. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod
Hi Maria,
I completely agree about the brown sugar. Sometimes if a bread recipe calls for all white, I’ll sub half brown. I just like the flavor. I love sneaking that zucchini in where I can too. I have a Zucchini Beef Enchiladas recipe that does the same thing!
Yum-that bersion does really look good. I always buy dark brown because I love the stuff so much. Your little birthday nieces is so cute and your Alaska trip looks amazing. I love your dress in the one legged pic. I didn’t even notice the lack of leg since I was admiring your dress.
That's a lot of cabbage! I need to retry baking with zucchini. Last time I tried baking a batch of zucchini brownies that did not go over well with my husband. I was trying to be sneaky!
I love brown sugar as well & think it keeps everything nice and moist.
I was going to make zucchini bread this week – and I was looking for a new recipe to try! I had one zucchini that I picked last week. I made a loaf of bread, and it only used 1/3 of the zucchini!!
Yummy! It looks like it has a wonderful texture!
this looks great. i agree that everything is better w/brown sugar instead of white!
I’m so excited about this. My neighbor just gave me one big zucchini. I can’t wait to try out this recipe!!!!
Zucchini bread is always a winner, although I had to convince my cw's that it didn't taste like zucchini 🙂 I'm a fan of brown sugar over white any day too – things just seem moister with it.
I’d like to see nutritional values in your posted recipes. Please consider adding that into the mix. It’s so important.
Hi! We just made your chocolate zucchini bread yesterday with our giant zucchini from the Farmer’s Market (my 12 yo specifically requested YOUR recipe). Was amazing, I will have to add this to the list to make next. Wanted to share a tip I found for removing the liquid – I use my potato ricer to squeeze excess liquid from shreddded zucchini. It works perfectly – nice to have another use for a single-use kitchen gadget.
Thanks!
Love that tip! Thanks for sharing!
Such a great excuse to get some extra zucchinis!
What’s the nutritional information for this recipe?
Thank you!
I didn’t really believe this would be the BEST Zucchini Bread but was hopeful it would be good. Wow, was I wrong. It really is the BEST most moist zucchini bread I’ve ever made (and I’ve made plenty). Thank you. Will be my go-to recipe.
I am SO happy you think it is the best too! It is our favorite! Thanks for letting us know!
Yummy! It looks like it has a wonderful texture!
Can i double this recipe?
Yes!
Fantastic recipe! This will be my second time making it this week!
Question – If I were to bake these in a mini muffin pan to make a bunch of bite sized treats I can easily take to work, how long would you suggest baking them and would you suggest altering anything at all? (Since I won’t be making it in loaf form haha)
Hi Maria!!
Love zucchini bread, I ll have to try your recipe looks yummy!!
One question, can you change all purpose flour for almond or coconut flour?
The loaf pan size you recommend is way too small. I’m sad that I lost almost a third of this delicious bread to the bottom of the oven.
In the oven now! House smells great! I tripled the recipe, so I hope its amazing!!!
This was moist and tasty. Th only thing I just realized is that it’s 20g of sugar per serving. Too much for me. I’ll make it again but will not add as much sugar, maybe try to skip the granulated altogether, but wondering if that will change the bread consistency as well….hope not.
Absolutely love the recipe. I love the use of spices rather than cinnamon alone. It definitely is moist. Have made 5 loaves so far and same consistent outcome.. What a keeper!
Absolutely love the recipe. I love the use of spices rather than cinnamon alone. It definitely is moist. Have made 5 loaves so far and same consistent outcome.. What a keeper! Glad I found this recipe.
Your recipe does sound really delicious! But as I live in Germany, I will be happy if you can give me the measurements in metric. Thanks a lot.
Excellent recipe! I had an 8 pound zucchini that I had to find a use for. This is it!
Love,love, love this recipe. My only complaint is that this makes a small loaf. Definitely need to at least double it.
Could grated carrots be added? If so, how much? I only have one zucchini and wanted to make 2 loaves. I have carrots and thought it would be a good substitute for another zucchini.
Came out great. I used 2 small zucchini’s. Which didn’t have that much water when squeezed out. I added about 3/4 cut chopped walnuts. Took about 70 minutes. Will definitely make again.
Was about to make this and noticed there is no baking powder in this recipe! Is that intentional or a mistake?
I use baking soda!
It’s fine with just baking soda. That’s all my banana bread recipe calls for & it turns out great.
I absolutely loved this recipe altogether! The perfect blend of spices and balance! Very moist and perfectly baked. My only concern was the kosher salt. Was i supposed to taste the salt in it? Was this supposed to be a sweet and salty pastry? I may have not mixed in the salt well enough, because I always tasted the salt in this loaf!
Could I use regular salt and if so how much?
The turbinado sugar was a perfect addition!
I am glad you liked the bread. If you prefer less salt in your baked goods, reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
I just wanted to report that I absolutely loved this recipe and the coconut zucchini bread as well. I was so pleased with the whole wheat flour in the coconut version, that I substituted 1/2 c whole wheat in the regular recipe. Still think I might cut down a little on sugar but these were great recipes and I loved the addition on coconut oil and only small amount of butter. Extremely Yummy!
Glad you are enjoying my bread recipes!
This really is the best! To me, it tastes like fall :). Perfectly spiced, moist, and even better on days 2 and 3. I make this recipe into 12 regular sized muffins, bake at temp listed in recipe, for 19-20 minutes. I’ve made this so many times this summer I’ve lost count! My kids love it too.
I’m just baking my 6th loaf of the Chocolate Zucchini bread. It is AMAZING! If you are a chocolate fanatic this recipe is beyond good!
I also am baking the same for the “regular” Zucchini bread. This also is an awesome recipe!!
I took a loaf of each to work and everyone commented how good each of the loaves were. They both were gone in less than 4 hours!
Fantastic recipes! Thanks for sharing!
Flawless and stunning recipe! I’ve made this a number of times now and it’s super consistent and delicious every single time. I probably add more zucchini than it calls for but I’ve never had an issue!
I am so glad you love the zucchini bread!
I love the full flavor with this recipe. Wondering if anyone has tried it with honey instead of sugar?
alittlebitofthyme.com
i usually don’t like zucchini bread, but this one makes me like it moist and delicious i follow exact recipe. Now that i have a lot of zucchini from my garden i can always make this.
Made the mistake of leaving out the melted butter (gonna recheck the microwave before baking) texture was a little tough but the taste was excellent. Going make the recipe again, the right way.
When you say 2 cups of zucchini – is that measured before you squeeze out all the moisture or after? It feels like a silly question but it is a huge difference in the amount of shredded zucchini! Thanks!
I measure it and then squeeze out a little liquid, but not all of it.
A neighbor friend gave me an enormous zucchini. I graded it in my Cuisinart and it made 10 cups! I just happened to be looking on the Internet for a recipe, and came across this one..
Wonderful recipe! I made a double batch and added an eighth of a teaspoon of cardamom to the double batch along with the other spices. I also used vanilla sugar in place of the regular sugar. ( I make my own.) It adds a little something (you can’t really tell what it is), but it’s just goes so well with the other warm spices. I used Trivia brown sugar, because I watch my sugar intake. I also used a quarter cup of organic whole wheat flour, in place of the regular flour . ( I use organic everything in my baking ) My goodness, if the raw batter tastes this good, I can’t wait to taste one when they come out of the oven! I made three mini loaves and 12 large muffins. The top of turbinado sugar is so important because I love that beautiful crunch. I can hardly wait till they cool off! And yes, brown sugar makes everything better! 🙂
A neighbor friend gave me an enormous zucchini. I graded it in my Cuisinart and it made 10 cups! I just happened to be looking on the Internet for a recipe, and came across this one..
Wonderful recipe! I made a double batch and added an eighth of a teaspoon of cardamom to the double batch along with the other spices. I also used vanilla sugar in place of the regular sugar. ( I make my own.) It adds a little something (you can’t really tell what it is), but it’s just goes so well with the other warm spices. I used Trivia brown sugar, because I watch my sugar intake. I also used a quarter cup of organic whole wheat flour, in place of the regular flour . ( I use organic everything in my baking ) My goodness, if the raw batter tastes this good, I can’t wait to taste one when they come out of the oven! I made three mini loaves and 12 large muffins. The top of turbinado sugar is so important because I love that beautiful crunch. I can hardly wait till they cool off! And yes, brown sugar makes everything better! 🙂
Thank you!
This is my family’s very favorite zucchini bread!!! I always serve it to guests and bring it when we go away for the weekend. And today, my 9 year old daughter made it all by herself! Thank you so much for this and all your delicious vegetarian recipes!!
I am so glad you love my recipe!
Can’t wait to try this! Does anyone know if you can use dark brown sugar instead? (I really don’t want to run to the store right now!) LOL
Yes, dark brown sugar will work great!
This is my new favorite zucchini bread recipe. I just finished making it a third time, and tried it with zucchini and shredded carrots, and bumped up spices a bit. Delicious!
Have you ever made this with gluten free flour? Just wondering if I would need to adjust anything?
Thank you!
Made the zuccini bread today. Decreased zuccini to 1 3/4 cups and added 1/4 cup of drained, crushed pineapple. Added pecans too. It is so delicious!
Fun! Thanks for sharing.
I tried making your zucchini bread for the second time today and it was a disaster, again The mixture never turned into bread and remained very soupy. I think the amount of flour you are calling for is off. I looked at some other recipes for zucchini bread and they call for twice the amount of flour.
I really love your recipes and wanted to let you know in case it’s just a typo
this is the best zucchini recipe I have tried in a long time. Not too sweet.
Yay!
Bread I is delicious,but seems like an additional egg was needed. Batter was a bit dry, and it did not rise as quick breads usually Do. Loaf was a little dense. Will try 2 eggs next time.
I knew just where to look for a classic recipe. This is delicious, Maria! We love the turbinado on top.
By accident I had two zucchini grow really big so they were a little tough, perfect to make this bread. My first time making it and it was so delicious. I may po it some walnuts next time. Thank for all the great recipes ❤
You are welcome! Thanks for making them:)
Made this tonight with zucchini from the garden! It was amazing! Moist yet not overly sweet! Great recipe, will be my staple. Thank you!
You are welcome!
Where is the corn & zucchini salad?
Dense and pleasantly moist. The turbinado sugar was a perfect finishing touch.
I love the sugary crunch!
the temperature and the amount of time it needs to cook is definitely not 45 minutes if you have a good working oven. mine turned out dry cause i did 45. try 30 and check it cause it may be done already.
oh man mine was undercooked. i used a glass baking pan which cooks much slower and it takes me 70 min to make mine.
Seriously lacks flavor. Even with 1/4 cup of butter. I gave it two stars because it did bake up nicely. Wouldn’t make again
I made this the other day and it came out perfect! Definitely will make it again!
Yay!
This classic zucchini bread is exactly what I was looking for! I had some zucchini to use up and was looking for a comfort food type recipe. This was even better than expected. The blend of spices really shines through the moist bread. It tastes incredible. And the house smells amazing!
Glad you loved the bread.
my friend made this and i ate it at her house and she gave me the recipe. and now im making it and people are asking me!! its an excellent recipe. also you can double it and make muffins and bread at the same time. just bake the muffins for about 30 min. and these are NICE muffins with big muffin tops just fill up that cup all the way.
Crisp on the outside moist on the inside. Perfect amount of warmth and spice. Great recipe!
Thanks! Glad you loved it!
Love your zucchini bread recipes. I am making the pumpkin one right now.
I love making zucchini bread. Enjoy!
I have a bounty of zucchini from my first garden. Among the zucchini recipes I’ve been making are some for zucchini bread. The previous recipes have been disappointing. This is the best recipe! The consistency of the bread is moist but holds together for perfect slices. Sharing this loaf will be a pleasure. I’ll be using this recipe for years! Thank you!
I am glad you love the recipe!