Zucchini Bread

This moist, delicious Zucchini Bread is the best way to use up zucchini! Easy to make in one bowl, flavorful and healthy!

I love zucchini bread! Its one of those seasonal treats that I look forward to every summer! With zucchini growing like crazy these days, we are getting our fill of zucchini breads and muffins and loving every minute of it!

We planted two zucchini plants in our garden this year and they have been producing SO MUCH zucchini! I remember thinking that two plants may not have been enough but boy am I glad we didn’t plant any more! It’s been especially hot this summer and the plants are loving it! I currently have 7 more zucchini waiting for me to put to use and there are more still growing on the plants!

As we have so much zucchini this year, I am planning to make more zucchini bread in the days to come to share with neighbours and freeze and enjoy well beyond the summer months!

slice of zucchini bread

How to make Zucchini Bread

This zucchini bread recipe is as easy as they come. The recipe is whipped up in one bowl making it super simple to do (and clean up)! Full details are in the recipe card but essentially it comes down to these simple steps:

  1. First, shred the zucchini and ring out as much water as you can. Set it aside.

  2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

  3. Add the wet ingredients and mix.

  4. Mix in the zucc, pour into a loaf pan and bake!
Photo collage showing the steps for making zucchini bread.

Do you need to peel the zucchini skin for zucchini bread?

You do not need to peel zucchini skin for zucchini bread. Although you can see tiny green flecks in the bread, they are tender and undetectable in texture when you bite into the bread. I personally think those tiny green flecks are so darn pretty.

Although I skip this step, if you are dealing with super picky eaters that will hesitate to eat a delicious slice because of those green flecks, you can absolutely go ahead and skin the zucchini before shredding.

Do you need to ring out excess water from your zucchini?

Ringing out the excess water in the zucchini is essential to making that perfect loaf. Zucchini retains a lot of moisture and if you leave that in, your will wind up with a loaf that is far too wet. Even if the batter doesn’t seem wet at first, as it bakes, water will continue to leech out of the zucchini making it difficult to set.

top of baked zucchini bread loaf

How to ring out water from shredded zucchini

Ringing out excess water is pretty easy. Here are 3 different methods I have used:

  • cheesecloth- place zucchini in a cheesecloth and squeeze as much moisture as you can!
  • clean dish towel- method is the same as above. Make sure the towel is clean.
  • paper towel- if you don’t have either of the options listed above, this is a good back up. Be careful though as paper towel can easily rip when wet. You will need to work in batches and keep a hand underneath the towel in case it splits- you don’t want to lose all that previous zucc. You could also do this over a colander in the sink just in case.

How many zucchinis do you need to shred for 2 cups of zucchini?

This recipe calls for 2 cups of zucchini. So how many zucchinis do you need to pick up to make a loaf? This totally depends on the size of the zucchini you have, of course but generally about 2 small or 1 medium-ish zucchinis will yield 2 cups shredded.

How do you know when zucchini bread is ready?

The true test to knowing if your zucchini bread is fully baked is the toothpick test. I use this method for all my baked goods. Insert the toothpick into the center of bread and when you pull it back out, it should come out clean. If wet batter sticks to the toothpick, you need to add more cooking time.

Oven temperatures vary so despite what recipes may say, you may find you need to add more time or bake your items for less time than stated. Checking using the toothpick test is a safer strategy than just following baking times.

Tips for making zucchini bread

  • If you have one, use a food processor to shred your zucchini. This will cut down on the time significantly and is easily my favourite way to shred anything!

  • Squeeze out as much water from your zucchini as you can! As mentioned above, this is an important step to ensuring your loaf bakes up perfectly.

  • Use a toothpick to check that the center is set.

  • Use parchment or make sure you grease your loaf pan well. Parchment is always my go to but a well greased loaf pan will do the trick to ensure your perfect loaf slides out of the loaf pan without breaking!
slices of zucchini bread

I hope you enjoy this zucchini bread as much as we do! Bon appetit!

-Cathy

This post was originally published on August 2, 2020 and was updated with new content, photos and an improved recipe on August 29, 2021.

You may also like:

Carrot Zucchini Muffins
Chocolate Zucchini Bread

If you try and enjoy this recipe, I would love to hear about it! Leave a rating and/or comment below to let me know what you think!

slice of zucchini bread

Zucchini Bread

Catherine
This moist, delicious Zucchini Bread is the best way to use up zucchini! Easy to make in one bowl, flavorful and healthy!
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10 servings
Calories 386 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cup flour (all purpose, whole wheat or a combo of both)
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups zucchini shredded

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F and grease a standard loaf pan with butter or line it with parchment paper.
  • Place shredded zucchini in a cheese cloth or clean dish towel and squeeze out excess water. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar and mix together.
  • Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract and mix everything together until well incorporated. Add the shredded zucchini and stir until incorporated, being careful not to over-stir.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for about 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
  • Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and gently remove from the pan. Allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.

Nutrition

Calories: 386kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 5gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 368mgPotassium: 158mgFiber: 1gSugar: 33gVitamin A: 131IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 2mg

The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.

Keyword quick bread, zucchini
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2 Comments

  1. Hello, could I use the yellow zucchini as per say the green colour one for this recipe? My neighbour gave me so much I don’t want it to go to waste.

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