Name: Mom's Best Zucchini Bread Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 1 cup butter, melted; 2 cups sugar; 2 cups shredded zucchini; 3 teaspoons vanilla extract; 3 cups all purpose flour (may substitute a gluten free flour blend such as Namaste); 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 3 teaspoons cinnamon; 1/2 cup nuts, coconut, raisins, chocolate chips, or blueberries (optional)

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Mom’s zucchini bread recipe was a summer staple when I was growing up. I’ve tried quite a few different recipes over the years, and this is still my favorite.

The recipe is quick and easy, and you can use fresh or frozen zucchini, or yellow squash. It makes two loaves, so you enjoy one now and have one to share or freeze for later. (Or, if you have teenagers in the house, simply watch both disappear.)

We’ll go through the baking process step by step, and answer some common zucchini bread questions. (There’s a print friendly version of the recipe at the bottom of the article.)

How to Make Zucchini Bread

Remember, if your ingredients are at room temperature, your bread will cook a little faster. Metal pans bake faster than stoneware pans, but stoneware pans give a beautiful even bake.

Like apple sauce, zucchini adds moisture and richness to recipes. We also have a great cheesy garlic zucchini bread and yummy chocolate zucchini cake roll recipe on the site.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups granulated sugar (or one cup white sugar and one cup brown sugar)
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour (may substitute a gluten free flour blend such as Namaste, spelt flour or whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon each: salt, baking soda, baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts, coconut, raisins, chocolate chips, or blueberries (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9×5 loaf pans (or spray them with cooking spray). (Get a stoneware loaf pan here.)

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, butter, sugar, grated zucchini and vanilla until well mixed. In another bowl, blend flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Add nuts, coconut, nuts, or raisins, if desired. Spread into loaf pans.

Note: If you’re adding blueberries, reserve one cup of flour from the dry ingredients. Coat the blueberries with the flour before mixing them into the zucchini bread batter. Dunc demonstrates this in the video.

Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean. (Gluten free flour will take a little bit longer. Cold zucchini will also increase cooking time.)

Remove from pans and place on wire racks to cool completely. (Click here to getting my favorite cooling rack.)

Store in a sealed container for several days, or freeze for longer storage. To freeze, simply pop it into a zippered storage bag and squeeze out extra air, or wrap in freezer paper.

Note: Cracking is normal on the tops of quick breads, including zucchini bread. This is because of their quick oven rising and lower gluten content than yeast breads.

To Make Zucchini Muffins

If you prefer zucchini muffins over zucchini bread, divide batter between 24 muffin cups. (Use cupcake liners or grease the muffin tin.)

Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes, until toothpick in center tests clean.

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Do you peel zucchini for bread?

It’s your zucchini bread, so peeling is your choice. If you’re using overgrown zucchini, I suggest peeling, because the peels get tougher as they age.

Fussy eaters are another reason to peel. A friend who runs a small bakery makes a lemon zucchini bread. If she doesn’t peel the zucchini, people see the green spots and think the bread is spoiled. If she peels and calls it lemon bread, it sells better.

What’s the best way to grate zucchini for bread?

Since we only need two cups for this recipe, you can use a box grater to shred your zucchini. If you want to prep a bunch of zucchini, a food processor makes it so much faster.

I like to shred up several large zucchini at once, then pack the extra in 2 cup containers for the freezer.

One large zucchini should be more than enough to get two cups of shredded zucchini for zucchini bread.

If you want to use Dehydrated Zucchini in your Bread

If you have shredded dried zucchini, you can use that for making the bread, but it’s best to rehydrate it first.

Start with 1/2 cup of shredded dried zucchini.

To rehydrate:

Place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator with enough water to make 2 cups, and let it sit overnight.

Cover with boiling water (up to the 2 cup mark) and let sit for 20 minutes while you prep the rest of the recipe.

Mix Ins for Your Zucchini Bread

My husband and I like nuts in our zucchini bread and my youngest doesn’t care for them. To make everyone happy, I sprinkle nuts on top of the loaves instead of mixing them in. That way he can dodge them if he likes.

I usually mix some coconut right in the batter. The boys aren’t huge coconut fans, but they like it in recipes like this and it makes the bread more filling.

I added blueberries when my brother was staying with us, and they super yummy. When I make zucchini bread to share with grandma and grandpa, we add chocolate chips. (They are chocoholics.)

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