Description
A moist and flavorful zucchini bread made with shredded zucchini, warm spices, and a combination of brown and granulated sugars. This homemade quick bread is perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert and can be customized with chocolate chips or nuts for added texture.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) unsweetened applesauce (or sour cream or Greek yogurt)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) shredded zucchini (no need to blot)
Optional Add-ins
- 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped nuts, raisins, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan thoroughly to prevent sticking. If you want to make muffins instead, see notes.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until all ingredients are well combined. Set this mixture aside.
- Combine wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract until smooth and fully incorporated. Then whisk in the shredded zucchini to evenly distribute it.
- Mix wet and dry batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir or whisk until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; the batter should be slightly thick and a bit lumpy. Fold in any optional ingredients like chocolate chips or nuts at this stage.
- Bake the bread: Spread the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55-70 minutes, checking around 55 minutes. To prevent the top from browning too much, loosely cover with aluminum foil halfway through baking. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with no raw batter.
- Cool before slicing: Remove the bread from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Let the bread cool in the pan for 1 hour. You can slice it while warm, but for clean slices, let it cool completely on the wire rack outside of the pan.
- Storage: Store leftover bread covered at room temperature for 3-4 days or refrigerate for up to 1 week to maintain freshness.
Notes
- For muffins, reduce baking time to about 20-25 minutes and use a muffin tin instead of a loaf pan.
- You can substitute the applesauce with sour cream or Greek yogurt for extra moisture.
- Do not overmix batter to avoid dense and tough bread.
- Shredded zucchini does not need to be blotted or squeezed dry; its moisture adds to the bread's softness.
- Adding nuts or chocolate chips is optional and adds different texture and flavor.
