Zucchini Banana Bread is a perfect combination of zucchini bread and banana bread, all in one delicious quick bread recipe!
We love zucchini bread and we love banana bread. Why not combine the two?! Not sure why I never thought to do this before now, but the results are fantastic. And who doesn’t love to get their fruits and veggies in while eating bread?
Ingredients in Zucchini Banana Bread
Flour – The recipe calls for 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole-wheat flour. You can change up the ratio a little bit, but the more wheat flour you swap in for the all-purpose flour, the more dense the bread will be.
Salt, baking soda and baking powder – Make sure the baking soda and baking powder aren’t old or expired or the bread will not rise properly.
Ground cinnamon and nutmeg – Both spices add a ton of flavor to this recipe, so don’t forget them!
Bananas – The recipes calls for 2 ripe bananas, mashed. If your bananas are ripe enough, you can easily mash them up with the back of a fork. The riper the bananas, the sweeter the bananas too!
Eggs, oil, and applesauce – All of these add the perfect amount of moisture to the bread. You can use any type of oil – vegetable, canola, or even coconut oil will work great. The applesauce can be sweetened or unsweetened, sometimes I even like to use cinnamon applesauce for a little bit of extra flavor!
Brown sugar and sugar – Make sure that the brown sugar you use is fresh and not dried out for best results.
Vanilla extract
Grated zucchini – You can just leave the skin on the zucchini before grating. After you grate the zucchini, squeeze out the extra water if you can so you don’t add too much liquid to the recipe.
How to make Zucchini Banana Bread
How to make Zucchini Banana BreadPreheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour two 9X5 loaf pans. In a large bowl, whisk flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a separate large bowl, beat the bananas, eggs, oil, applesauce, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla.
Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture, mixing until just barely combined. Fold in the zucchini until evenly distributed throughout the batter. Pour into the pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for about 25 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
AVOID SUNKEN BREAD
The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!
Zucchini Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 ripe bananas mashed
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups zucchini grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour two 9X5 loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the bananas, eggs, oil, applesauce, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla.
- Stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture, mixing until just barely combined.
- Fold in the zucchini until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Pour into the pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans for about 25 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
CAN I USE FROZEN BANANAS?
Absolutely! Just let the bananas thaw before use and lightly drain them. Use them in the recipe as directed.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BAKE BANANA BREAD?
A regular 8-9″ loaf pan of banana bread will bake in about 45-50 minutes. If you like using mini loaf pans, they take 30-40 minutes to bake. If you’d like to adapt this recipe for muffins instead, bake those for 18-20 minutes. Always check for doneness either by measuring the temperature of the bread with a meat thermometer- it should read 200 degrees F- or by inserting a toothpick in the center and having it come out clean.
DO YOU HAVE TO PEEL ZUCCHINI TO MAKE ZUCCHINI BANANA BREAD?
No you do not have to peel zucchini before making zucchini bread. The peel on the outside of a zucchini is a lovely dark green and very tender. I just wash the zucchini, cut off the ends and then grate the entire vegetable. It’s very simple to do and I love seeing the tiny flecks of green in the bread after it’s baked.
SHOULD I SQUEEZE EXCESS WATER OUT OF MY ZUCCHINI?
Yes, you should 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! I like to squeeze as much out as possible before making it into zucchini bread. Interestingly enough, each zucchini is a bit different when it comes to water content. I find zucchini straight from my garden has quite a bit more water in it than zucchini from the grocery store. Both work well in this recipe!
DID YOUR BREAD SINK IN THE MIDDLE?
Here’s how to help your bnana 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.
MORE AMAZING QUICK BREAD RECIPES THAT WE LOVE:
- Orange Juice Bread
- Pineapple Quick Bread
- Sweet Coconut Quick Bread
- Best Zucchini Bread recipe
- 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
- Glazed Strawberry Quick Bread
Zucchini Banana Bread is a perfect combination of zucchini bread and banana bread, all in one delicious quick bread recipe!
Barbara says
I do not have any whole wheat flour. May I use 3 cups of all purpose flour?
Thank you.
Nellie says
Yep, you can definitely use all-purpose flour in place of the wheat flour.
Kathy says
Have baked your zucchini bread with alot of compliments. Since this recipe makes 2 loaf pans, can I use your best ever zucchini bread recipe for 1 loaf and add bananas and nuts for 2nd loaf? Noticed the recipe differs slightly between the 2. Thanks
Nellie says
I’m sure that would work fine -great idea!
Erica says
This bread was AWESOME… The picky grandbabies even ate it… I have one grandson that refuse to eat anything remotely healthy… He never tasted the zucchini… I already made a second batch
Alison says
That is always a win in my book!
Lynn says
Best Zucchini Banana Bread ever! The only thing I added was a little nutmeg and raisins – we love raisins.
JD says
Haven’t made zuchinni bread before but my husband loved it—–& he is picky—–it was moist and very tasty.
Nicole says
Glad you liked it!