Our Best Ever Zucchini Bread recipe is a MUST TRY! This popular zucchini quick bread recipe is easy to make and has the perfect blend of delicious spices.
This moist zucchini bread recipe is a great way to use up all those zucchini from your garden. This delicious zucchini bread is packed with so many delicious ingredients and it tastes amazing!
Easy Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Bread is the perfect way to use up all that zucchini in the garden! My squash plants have not been as fruitful this year, but even so, I suddenly find myself with a lot of zucchini! As a matter of fact, I look forward to it each year so that I can fill my freezer with loaves of this delicious zucchini bread. I can’t remember where the original recipe came from, but I have changed it over the years. This produces the Best Ever Zucchini Bread. Try it- you will love it.
Moist Zucchini Bread Ingredients
- Sugar: You will need 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar to add a bit of sweetness to this bread.
- Eggs: Use 3 eggs to help bind the dough together well for this recipe.
- Vegetable oil: Using 1 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute applesauce for ½ the oil) will help give great moisture to this treat.
- Vanilla extract: You need 3 teaspoons vanilla extract to help enhance all the wonderful flavors.
- Flour: Use 3 cups all-purpose flour for the base of this bread recipe.
- Seasonings: You will need 1 tsp nutmeg, 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon salt for a perfect combination of flavors in this delicious bread.
- Leavening agents: Using 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda will help the bread to rise properly.
- Zucchini: You need 2 cups grated zucchini for an amazing blend of sweet and savory flavors (you can add a little more, I always do!)
- Nuts: Use 1 cup chopped walnuts for a wonderful balance of crunchy texture in this recipe.
How to Make Zucchini Bread
Prep
Grease two 8 x 4 inch bread pans or 6 mini loaf plans, set aside.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Bread dough
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Next, in a separate small bowl, beat the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and sugars together.
Then, add the wet ingredients to the large bowl of dry ingredients and stir until combined.
After that, grate the zucchini using a box grater.
Add to the dough mixture, along with the nuts, until well combined.
Proceed to pour the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake
Place bread into the oven and bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. My mini-loaf pans take about 35-40 minutes. Large sized loaves take about 55 minutes.
When done cooking, cool in the pan on rack a for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.
Slice, serve & enjoy! Remember: quick bread is generally EVEN BETTER TASTING the next day! So make a loaf in the evening, then enjoy it for breakfast the next day!
How to know if the bread is done
Your bread should register about 200 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer to ensure that it has been cooked fully. Not only that but the top should appear to be a nice golden brown color and as the bread cools, it shouldn’t sink, but should instead remain well-shaped with a rounded top.
BEST BREAD PAN?
I bake a lot of bread and the pans I prefer are either ceramic, glass or cast iron. These pans will bake bread more evenly and release the bread more easily after baking. I don’t like using dark or nonstick pans because the bread cooks unevenly. It darkens on the outside before the bread is cooked on the inside, so the coloring is uneven. Read more about which bread pan is the best here!
Easy Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil you can substitute applesauce for 1/2 the oil
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups grated zucchini you can add a little more, I always do!
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Grease two 8 x 4 inch pans or 6 mini loaf plans. Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Next, in a separate small bowl, beat the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, and sugars together.
- Then, add the wet ingredients to the large bowl of dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- After that, grate the zucchini using a box grater. Add to the bread batter, along with the nuts, until well combined. Let batter sit 5-10 minutes.
- Proceed to pour the batter into the prepared pans.
- Place bread into the oven and bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. My mini-loaf pans take about 35-40 minutes. Large sized loaves take about 55 minutes. (See below for my method on making sure loaves are completely cooked!)
- When done cooking, cool in the pan on rack a for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool. Slice, serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Easy Zucchini Bread Recipe FAQ
I plan on 1 zucchini for each cup of grated zucchini needed in a recipe. Of course, this varies being as zucchini come in all sizes. Zucchini in the grocery store range from small to medium sized.
There’s no need to peel the zucchini prior to grating it for zucchini bread. The dark green peel is very soft so it bakes well and adds vitamins, nutrients and even a bit of color to the bread.
I prefer to grate the zucchini as opposed to shredding it so that bits of green peel remain in tact. They contribute toward the popular look of zucchini bread! Shredding the zucchini causes the zucchini to nearly disappear once the bread is baked. Both will work though! I know when my kids were young, I hid vegetables in baked goods often, so having them disappear was preferable!
Yes, you can squeeze out excess water from grated zucchini before adding it to your batter. Zucchini naturally has a lot of water in it. That becomes quite clear after grating it, if you simply leave it to rest for 5-10 minutes, the water will begin accumulating in the bowl! If I’m using garden zucchini, especially large ones, I like to squeeze as much out as possible before making it into zucchini bread. Store bought zucchini rarely has excess water.
Yes, you can make zucchini bread with yellow squash! You do need to scrape the seeds out since the seeds in yellow squash are much larger. Also, I find the skin to be more tough on yellow squash, so you can either peel the outside to remove the skin, or you can just grate it with a finer cheese grater.
Zucchini Bread should be stored on the counter top in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Keeping it in the fridge can dry it out over time.
Zucchini bread rises as a result of leavening ingredients in the bread recipe being exposed to two things, moisture and heat. We use eggs, baking soda and baking powder as leavening agents. Make sure your ingredients are not past their expiration date as stale ingredients can affect how much the bread rises.
Storing this Moist Zucchini Bread Recipe
After the bread has cooled, store it in a gallon size ziplock bag or similarly sized airtight container. We bake bread often, so I purchased bread bags and love them!
Can this recipe for zucchini bread be frozen?
I love freezing loaves of zucchini bread! How you prepare zucchini bread for freezing really depends on how long you intent to keep it frozen. If you just want to freeze it for a week or two, I’d wrap it in plastic wrap or foil and place the loaf in a large freezer ziplock bag. Most often, when I bake zucchini bread to freeze it, I’ll bake mini loaves so that they fit in the ziplock bag easier. If you want to freeze it for 2-6 months, I’d wrap it more securely, making sure it’s airtight and wrapping it in a double layer of foil or plastic wrap, then place it in a ziplock bag.
How do you make Healthy Zucchini Bread?
If you’d like to make a few changes to my recipe to make a healthier version of zucchini bread, I’ve got great news- this recipe is incredibly versatile! I suggest leaving out the 1 cup of white sugar, replacing half or all of the oil with apple sauce and using half whole wheat flour in place of all-purpose. Then you’ll have a traditional healthy zucchini bread recipe!
Can zucchini bread be made into muffins?
Zucchini bread muffins are our favorite muffins! Simply use my recipe above, then spoon 3 tablespoons of batter into each greased or lined muffin cup. Bake for 18-20 minutes. There are several benefits of making zucchini bread into muffins. First, I like that they cook faster! Where a full loaf of zucchini bread bakes for up to an hour, zucchini muffins bake for only 20 minutes, which is a fraction of the time. They’re also easy to freeze! I like to bake a batch of zucchini muffins and then freeze them just in a layer in a large ziplock freezer bag. I pull them out one or two at a time for breakfast. You can let them thaw on the countertop, or you can microwave them or toast them to heat them up. Yum!
Why does my zucchini bread fall in the middle?
Here’s how to help your zucchini bread not sink in the middle after it’s baked. This happens to me occasionally too! Often it’s because I’ve over mixed the batter. Quick bread (referring to a bread recipe that doesn’t use yeast) does not like to be stirred too much, so try to just barely mix all the ingredients together. Another culprit could be overfilling the pan. The bread pan should be only half full each time. The recipe below makes 2 loaves of bread, or you can make 1 loaf of bread and 3 mini loaves… or 6 mini loaves. As always, make sure your baking soda isn’t too old- it should only be on your shelf for 6-9 months before purchasing new. Lastly, make sure your bread is fully cooked. Uncooked batter in the middle of the loaf will cause bread to sink.
Your bread should register about 200 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer to ensure that it has been cooked fully. Not only that but the top should appear to be a nice golden brown color and as the bread cools, it shouldn’t sink, but should instead remain well-shaped with a rounded top.
More Zucchini Bread recipes:
- PINEAPPLE ZUCCHINI BREAD
- LEMON ZUCCHINI BREAD
- ORANGE ZUCCHINI BREAD
- PUDDING ZUCCHINI BREAD
- ZUCCHINI BANANA BREAD
- ZUCCHINI SHEET CAKE WITH BROWNED BUTTER ICING
- EASY ZUCCHINI CAKE
- LEMON ZUCCHINI MUFFINS
- ZUCCHINI BREAD CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- LEMON ZUCCHINI BREAD COOKIES
More amazing quick bread recipes that we love:
- Easy Banana Bread
- Sweet Coconut Quick Bread
- Easy Lemon Quick Bread
- Yogurt Banana Bread recipe
- Dutch Apple Quick Bread
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Quick Bread
- Caramel Banana Nut Bread
- Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
- Lemon Buttermilk Quick Bread
- Caramel Apple Quick Bread
- Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread
- Peppermint Chocolate Quick Bread
- Cranberry Orange Quick Bread
- Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread
This recipe for easy zucchini bread has been in my family for years, it’s easy to make and you’ll love the blend of spices used. Read the reviews- it’s popular for a reason! It really is the perfect zucchini quick bread recipe.
Jessica says
Never made zucchini bread before and this turned out great. My hubby and daughter love it! Thanks for the recipe.
Jessica says
Glad everyone enjoyed it Jessica!
Kim Allison says
The best bread ever when summer comes I I
I myself
always make zucchini bread Every year I love it that much , the flavor Is Excellent , and also so moist !
The bestest part of zucchini bread is it’s actually Very good for you , sometime instead of using suger I’ll put honey Instead the same amount! Yummy
Jessica says
So glad you liked it Kim!!
Lisa (Chapman) Scherer says
IT SURE WAS/IS THE BEST RECIPE FOR THE ZUCCHINI BREAD I’VE EVER MADE AND ATE🥰💯🥰💯🥰💯🥰💯🥰💯🥰💯🥰💯🥰💯🥰
Jessica says
🙂 Thanks so much Lisa- I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it!
Dee Lacaria says
Thanks for recipe but do you know the nutrition value when you use half the sugar and half wheat flour and half applesauce w hlf canola oil.
Ali K says
Do you have nutrition info. for this bread?
Made it twice now and it doesn’t last long in our house. My kids and hubby LOVE it!
Jessica says
I just updated the recipe card with the nutrition info! So glad you like it!
Habena says
It came out Fabulous and was delicious!!! I turned mine into a bundt cake.
Thank for the share!
Tammy Jones says
I just made this and it is in the oven. I am concerned as the batter was very thin. Is this normal? I squeezed all the liquid from the zucchini and used 1/2 c. Applesauce and 1/2 c. Oil. I did not vary anything else from the recipe.
Tammy Jones says
As I wrote earlier, the batter was very thin and I was concerned. The bread turned out perfect. It has a nice golden crust and baked up beautifully. It is truly Delicious and I will be making more tomorrow.
Alison says
Thanks so much Tammy! Glad you enjoyed it!
Sherri says
Great zucchini bread;made twice so far this summer.
Alison says
Thank you Sherri!
Tami says
Great recipe but mine turned out a little dry . I did substitute 1/2 the oil for applesauce…. also, my batter was very think. I doubled the recipe because I wanted to freeze some. Hmmm? Maybe I just messed up my measurements?
Jessica says
Your zucchini likely didn’t have a ton of water in it. You could leave the batter on the countertop and wait 10 minutes, then stir it again. The water from the zucchini is released over time. Applesauce is great for less fat, but it does affect the texture of the recipe! I’d add 2-3 TBSP of milk next time.
Elisabeth Hatch says
Easy, and YUMMY!!
Kristen says
My family loves this zucchini bread! I love that it makes 2 loaves so I can make one loaf with walnuts and one without–everyone is happy that way!
Suzy says
Turned out perfectly! Loved the tip about using frozen zucchini!
JB says
This is the best zucchini bread I’ve ever eaten and so easy to make.
The only change I made was I did not all the squeeze excess water out and it was so good.
Alison says
It’s one of our very favorites too JB!
JUNE ANTON says
GREAT ! I MADE IT, EVERYONE LOVED IT. I ADDED 2 TABLESPOON SOUR CREAM AT THE END.
Alison says
Awesome! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Mary B says
Wonderful recipe. I did have to cook it for about 70 minutes in my oven and it came out terrific. The house smelled delicious as it baked! Might try raisins in it next time. My husband said it’s the best he’s ever had!
Alison says
Isn’t the smell of bread baking just as wonderful as the taste? So glad you and your husband enjoyed it Mary!
Sandy says
I just made this recipe with zucchini from our garden and the only change I made was to add a little bit of raisins because my husband requested it and it came out excellent. I have tried several different recipes through the years and this is our favorite. It will be our go to recipe in the future, won’t even bother to try any others. And of course, the house smelled wonderful while it baked. Thank you.
Alison says
Thank you so much Sandy!
Christine Reilly says
I see you mentioned using a 9×13 pan. That’s what I’m using (because I only have 1 bread pan). Can I put ALL of the prepared batter in the pan? Or will some be leftover? Your directions mention filling the pan half way so I am just hoping for some clarification. I definitely don’t want a raw cake in the middle (if it’s too much). So excited to try this recipe since I have FOUR huge zucchinis on my counter! 🙂
Jessica says
The batter would all fit nicely in a 9×13. Watch for browning and cover it with foil if the top is getting too dark! Use a thermometer to make sure the middle is fully cooked too- it needs to register 195-200 degrees F.
Michelle says
Looks delicious! Pinning!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
We made this the other day and everyone loved it. Going to make it again for a family gathering this weekend!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
I made your recipe for a gathering the other day and everyone kept asking for the recipe. It was totally a hit!
Jacquelyn Hastert says
A great way to use up the abundance of zucchini I have from my garden. This recipe looks amazing! Thank you.