This zucchini bread is the best summer quick bread! It’s easy to make, moist and perfectly spiced, with two full cups of zucchini, cinnamon and nutmeg.
My zucchini bread recipe has become a reader favorite since I first shared it in August 2018. Today I’m giving it a little refresh, adding more helpful tips and a step-by-step recipe video. I think you’ll also love my Healthy Banana Bread (one of my most popular recipes!) and Pumpkin Bread, a personal favorite!
So delicious and wholesome, I’ll definitely put this zucchini bread in my recipe book. I was worried it wasn’t going to be sweet enough, but the honey and banana really did the trick.
Christina
The Best Zucchini Bread
Wondering what to do with all of those summer zucchini? They’ll disappear pretty quickly once you try my zucchini bread recipe! I’ve been baking loaf after loaf of this zucchini bread, along with our favorite Zucchini Muffins. It’s moist, full of flavor and such an easy bread to make!
This zucchini bread is a quick bread you can feel good about eating. I got frustrated with so many zucchini bread recipes containing a full cup of sugar (or more!) per loaf, so I decided to create my own healthier zucchini bread recipe. My zucchini bread recipe has less sugar and less butter/oil, but it’s every bit as delicious as any classic zucchini bread I’ve tried. I think you’re going to love it!
Why You’ll Love this Zucchini Bread
- One bowl. The batter is mixed in one bowl, so it’s simple to make and easy to clean up.
- Perfectly spiced. Cinnamon and nutmeg add a delicious spice to this quick bread. Your kitchen will smell so good while it bakes!
- Moist. This recipe has two full cups of shredded zucchini, but don’t worry, this bread doesn’t have a strong zucchini flavor. (If it did, my kids wouldn’t eat it, and they love this bread.) The zucchini helps to keep the bread moist.
- Customizable! There are lots of ways to customize this recipe. You can add nuts or chocolate chips, or try one of the other variations I’ve shared below.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s a look at what you’ll need to make this zucchini bread, along with substitution options.
- Zucchini: You’ll need 2 cups of shredded zucchini, from one large or two medium zucchini.
- Butter: For richness, moisture and flavor.
- Applesauce: For sweetness and moisture. Mashed banana works great as a substitute. Adding applesauce or banana allows us to use less butter/oil.
- Honey: Or pure maple syrup. I use 1/2 cup to make this bread just sweet enough, perfect for breakfast or a snack.
- Milk: Use dairy or nondairy milk.
- Vanilla: For a touch of warm sweetness.
- Eggs: You’ll need 2 large eggs.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg: For warm spice flavors.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These make the bread rise as it bakes.
- Salt: Enhances all of the flavors.
- Flour: Both whole wheat flour and all-purpose work well, or you can use a combination of the two.
Find the printable recipe with ingredient amounts below.
How to Make Zucchini Bread
Plus, my best tips for making this quick bread!
Prep the zucchini. I use a box grater to shred it. Then, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and give it a good squeeze over your kitchen sink to get out any excess moisture. (Measure out 2 cups before squeezing out the moisture.)
Make the batter. First, whisk together the wet ingredients: melted butter, applesauce, honey or maple syrup, milk, vanilla and eggs. Then sprinkle on the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk until well combined. (You don’t want any clumps of these in your bread.) Finally, use a rubber spatula to mix in the flour, zucchini and any desired mix-ins, until just combined.
I recommend both greasing and flouring your loaf pan before pouring in the batter. When you don’t flour the loaf pan this bread tends to stick on the bottom. I usually spray it with a coconut oil cooking spray and then lightly flour the pan, tapping out any excess.
Bake at 350° F for 55-65 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. I’ve found that it can be tricky to tell when this bread is done using a toothpick tester, so I like to use an instant read thermometer to test the temperature in the center. It should be between 200-205°F.
Recipe Variations
- Dairy-free. You can make dairy-free zucchini bread by using coconut oil rather than butter and by using non-dairy milk.
- Swap in some grated carrot or apple. So many of you love my Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies and Apple Banana Muffins. You can replace some of the shredded zucchini with shredded carrot or chopped or grated apple.
- Banana zucchini bread. Many readers have loved this bread with mashed banana instead of applesauce. This is a great option when you don’t know what to do with those over-ripe bananas on your counter!
- Add nuts. I added walnuts to the bread in the photos. You can also add chopped pecans. I like to toast the nuts on the stove first, to bring out their flavor.
- Make chocolate chip zucchini bread. Add 3/4 cup chocolate chips to the batter.
- Chocolate zucchini bread. Replace 1/2 cup of the flour with 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. Thanks to readers Janel and Carol for testing this!
Made this recipe? I’d truly appreciate if you leave a comment and star rating below! Your review will help others who want to try this recipe. Thank you! 💛
Best Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated zucchini, from 1 large zucchini*
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, or coconut oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, or mashed ripe banana
- ½ cup honey or pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup milk, whichever kind you prefer
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon if you really like nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, or whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Generously grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or butter and lightly flour the pan.
- Wrap the shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the excess moisture. Set aside.
- Place the butter (or coconut oil) in a large bowl and melt in the microwave. Let cool slightly if very hot. Add the applesauce, honey or maple syrup, milk and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. Whisk in the eggs.
- Sprinkle on the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the white whole wheat flour and mix with a rubber spatula until almost combined. Gently fold in the zucchini and nuts (if using), being careful to not over-mix.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. (My favorite way to check for doneness is to insert an instant read thermometer into the center of the loaf – it should read 200-205°F.)
- Let bread cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To store zucchini bread, wrap airtight and store at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
- I measure out the 2 cups of shredded zucchini before squeezing out the moisture. Don’t pack it into the measuring cup, just fill the cup loosely.
- You can make dairy-free zucchini bread by using coconut oil rather than butter and by using non-dairy milk.
I originally shared this recipe in August 2018. Post updated June 2025 with more helpful tips.
Do you have a tip on how to replace the whole wheat flour for an non grain alternative?
This would make your recipe totally healthy for me 🙂
Thank You for your time and help.
Hi Ethelyn, I haven’t tested this recipe with non grain flours so I’m not sure how it would turn out. My advice would be to research similar recipes that are written for non grain flour. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.
Hello Kristine! Would I be able to make muffins instead of the loaf pan with this recipe? If so, would you know how long the bake time would be? Thank you!
I haven’t tried it but I think that would work! At 350 degrees F, I would start checking on the muffins at 16 minutes. My guess is that they will take between 16-19 minutes. You can use a toothpick to test that they are done.
This is the best bread I ever made and I’ve made a lot over the years. The family instantly voted this one the best too so I know I won’t be searching for another recipe again. BTW I used 1 banana vs apple sauce! Amazing!
This was great!! The flavor, moist, the color, the crumb and I used honey along with the applesauce. I love how economical and easy your recipes are and totally directed to children. I’ve been following and making lots of your recipes since way before your last pregnancy! You are multi-talented!
Keep up the good work!
This is the best compliment, Judith! It makes me so happy that you are enjoying my recipes. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
Your cake is absolutely gorgeous.
I used yellow zucchini which is sligthly sweeter.
Also I used the mashed bananas and a little less than 1/4 cup agave syrup as sweetners (I didn’t have honey or marple syrup). And it’s just sweet enough. I was worried about the whole wheat flour but the cake is very moist and rose perfectly. Thank you for your recipe
I’m so happy that this recipe turned out so well for you. Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
Can you use regular whole wheat flour with this recipe? Or does it have to be the white?
You can use regular whole wheat flour. I prefer white whole wheat because it is milder in taste and texture. 🙂
This turned out great, I substituted 1/2 cup cacoa for 1/2 cup of the whole wheat flour to make a chocolate zucchini bread. My family loved it.
Can I use oat flour, coconut flour, spelt flour instead of the whole wheat white? If so, please advise.
I haven’t tested this recipe with any of those flours so I can’t say how it would turn out. I would not recommend using coconut flour as it does not substitute well for whole wheat or all purpose flour without other modifications. Oat flour may work.
Thank you so much for wonderful recipes! What I love about your website most of all is that you post not only great recipes and descriptions but also stunning photos of food! Have a nice day!
I’ve tried many different Zucchini bread recipes and this is going to be my new “go-to.” It was simple and I love that it only required one bowl to make. It truly is sweet enough without any refined sugars. For reference, I opted to use the coconut oil, banana, and honey. Thanks for this great recipe- I love it and my kids also approve!
Thank you!
What I can use instead of eggs ? Looks very good I want to try it.
You could try replacing each egg with a flax egg. For each egg, combine 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 2 1/2 tablespoons water. Stir them together and let them sit for 5 minutes before adding to the recipe. Enjoy!
Could you replace pumpkin with the applesauce or banana?
I haven’t tried that in this recipe but I think it will work well!
Thanks for replying going to try it today!!
Is the nutritional information for the loaf or a piece? If its a piece, how many did you cut it into?
The nutrition information is for one slice. Since the recipe says it makes 10 servings, the nutrition info is for 1/10 of the loaf.
This is one of the most delicious breads I’ve ever tried. I love that it’s not too sweet and that the ingredients are all more natural than a regular sugary zucchini bread recipe. Absolutely delicious. The mashed banana was an amazing touch. Thank you for this!
Can I use Truvia? I haven’t any honey or maple syrup…..
Hi Rita, I am not sure how well that would work. Using a non-liquid sweetener would reduce the water content in the recipe.
I made this zucchini bread recipe this morning. I liked the idea of it being healthier, so that I could send it with my kids when they are rushing out the door in the mornings. I made it in muffin tins, cooking 17 minutes. I was incredibly surprised when I tasted them. Yes, they are a little less sweet, AND they are amazingly delicious. I’ve made lots of zucchini bread, and this is definitely my favorite by far. It’s simply a bonus that I feel less guilty going back for seconds and thirds. This is officially my go-to zucchini bread recipe from now on. Yum
loved this one. Not too sweet. Love the options for oils and flour and sweetner
Is the 2 cups of zucchini measured before squeezing it dry or after? There is a big difference in the amount of zucchini so just wanted to check. Thanks!
I always measure before squeezing. Enjoy!
Thank you Kristine, & also for the optional ingredients to make it healthier. have not made it yet,
I made this yesterday and it was to die for! The best zucchini bread I’ve ever made. I have another in the oven right now, which I tweaked a bit. Made a chocolate version added cocoa powder, omitted the nutmeg and swapped almond extract in place of the vanilla.
I made these a few days ago and they are SOOOO yummy and healthy.
I used GF flour and they came out perfect. I also used 4 Cups of frozen zucchini, olive oil, a little extra applesauce, a mix of honey and maple syrup, and I added in chopped almonds and dark chocolate chips. SO GOOD! So moist and delicious and flavorful and sweet!
I made them as muffins, in a 12 muffin pan and baked for about 20 mins. Perfect little servings!
Definitely will make again.
So delicious and wholesome, I’ll definitely put this zucchini bread in my recipe book. I was worried it wasn’t going to be sweet enough, but the honey and banana really did the trick.
I have made many of your recipes and have enjoyed them all, including now, the zucchini bread. You really know your way around food & flavors.
Just want to point out that you may have a typo. On your actual recipe for zucchini bread, you say after adding wet stuff & spices, etc, you add the flour. After all that is added, you fold in the zucchini and nuts.
On the website, where you go into more detail, after the wet stuff, spices, etc, you say to fold in the flour and nuts. There is no mention of the zucchini.???🤷♀️
I look forward to making more of your tasty recipes. I enjoy getting your email!!!
I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes! Thanks for catching that. 🙂
Zucchini bread recipe turned out great!
Love this !
For all you gluten free people, I substituted the flour with bobs red mill gf all purpose baking flour and it was delicious. This recipe was one of the best tasting and will be in my rotation.