Healthy Zucchini Bread

Bake your leftover zucchini shreds into this sweet and moist healthy zucchini bread, as nourishing as it is delicious!

Hello, friends!  I hope everyone had a fun and safe Fourth of July! We had a busy weekend, and now I feel tired but recharged.  Mentally recharged and ready to work.  Physically though, I feel like I could sleep for a week, which wouldn’t be enough. That’s what happens when you have little kids, though. I’ll sleep again someday.  haha

Anyways, I figure what better to kick off a four-day week than with zucchini bread, right?  This version is healthier than your typical zucchini bread recipe but every bit as delicious.  

The baby is a bit pickier than my older one at one year. He typically doesn’t like anything green.  He loved this bread topped with sun butter, though, so I will take that as a win!  Of course, my older son wouldn’t touch it because it didn’t have chocolate chips, but I swear it didn’t need it. But, of course, he would have known that if he had tried it! Oh well, haha! 

For those of you that are like Mr. Hungry and think zucchini doesn’t belong in bread, I challenge you to try this.  I made Mr. Hungry try it, and then he ate two slices in a row. So, zucchini does belong in bread, even without chocolate chips.  I promise you! (But, PS, you could add chocolate chips to this if you want!) 

How to Make Healthy Zucchini Bread

This is very much your classic quick bread.  Mix your dry ingredients, whisk your wet ingredients and combine.  

A few notes about the zucchini.  Use the large grate side if you want to see the zucchini and the small grate side if you want to hide the zucchini. You’ll need about 1.5 to 2 cups of the large grate zucchini (as shown in picture number 4) or about 1.5 medium zucchini. I’ll be honest, I don’t know exactly what this equates to with the small grate side, but it’s probably less than a cup. 

You’ll want to mix the zucchini in WITHOUT blotting or squeezing dry.  This recipe uses extra moisture from the zucchini, so it will be too dry if you blot or squeeze dry.  

You’ll want to mix your zucchini with the wet ingredients because doing so at the end may cause you to overmix your final batter.  When you combine your wet and dry ingredients, you’ll want to be careful of overmixing! 

Bake for 45-70 minutes until an inserted toothpick to the center comes out clean.  You can cover the bread halfway through cooking with aluminum foil to prevent the top of the bread from browning too much. I did not do this. 

I also used a glass 8 x 5-inch pan.  Other sizes and cookware materials (such as aluminum) will change the baking time.  

 

Swaps and Substitutions

Whole wheat pastry flour – you can sub-all-purpose flour if you need to.  Otherwise, do not substitute.  I suggest my oat flour zucchini bread if you need a gluten-free healthy zucchini bread.  

Baking powder, baking soda, and salt – do not omit or substitute.

Coconut sugar – can sub with maple sugar, date sugar, cane sugar, or brown sugar. 

Coconut Oil – can sub with melted butter, ghee, or palm oil.  Avocado oil may work, but I haven’t tried it. 

Eggs- You may be able to substitute two flax eggs to make this bread vegan, but again, I haven’t tried it yet. 

Applesauce – do not omit or substitute.  There isn’t a great direct substitute for applesauce.  I used it to help reduce the amount of sweetness and oil needed.  If you change the quantity, you’ll need to adjust other ingredients to keep the proper moisture balance.  I suggest you use it as is!

Maple Syrup – I wouldn’t omit this because your bread may be too dry. However, you could sub with other liquid sweeteners, such as agave syrup or honey. 

Vanilla Extract – Optional for flavor, but highly suggested. 

Shredded Zucchini – feel free to use freshly shredded carrots (not pre-shredded ones they are too dry) to make a healthy carrot bread! Or shredded squash would work too!

How to Store and Freeze Healthy Zucchini Bread:

Storing:  You can keep this bread wrapped in saran wrap on the counter for up to two days, but I prefer to transfer it to the fridge after 24-48 hours so that it doesn’t dry out or start to develop mold (this depends on the climate you live in.) In the refrigerator, this bread should be good for up to a week, but ours doesn’t usually last long before getting eaten up! 

Freezing:  Let your zucchini bread cool COMPLETELY, either overnight on the counter or in the fridge.  You can then wrap your bread with plastic wrap and place it in a gallon-size freezer bag to freeze for up to 3 months. Do not slice before freezing as it may dry out. 

Thawing and reheating: Defrost under refrigeration or on the counter.  Reheat in a toaster oven or microwave for delicious bread that tastes like you just baked it!

You may also like:

• Oat Flour Zucchini Bread
• Healthy Blueberry Zucchini Muffins with Crumb Topping

Tag me if you make these! I love to see what you guys make! You can tag me on Insta @hungryhobbyRD and Facebook @hungryhobby!