Zucchini Bread

So delicious. On my second round with a Mexican squash, vanilla, and cinnamon. Makes a gorgeous loaf.

Just made it with Korean squash from the garden – only had pecans so substituted out the walnuts – and I didn’t have enough so I didn’t make the topping – and IT WAS GREAT! Definitely a “make-again” recipe – thanks for this recipe!

I’ve made the maximalist version with candied ginger many times years ago and it’s truly my favorite zucchini bread ever. Fast forward to present day and my husband has to eat gluten free. I received a lot of zucchini recently and immediately remembered this recipe. I took a chance and made it with gluten free flour. It was just as good as I remembered. I swapped Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour for the all purpose flour and made muffins instead of a loaf. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe, as written. The texture and flavor were perfect – moist, but overly so, great crumb, beautifully spiced, and wonderfully fragrant. Thanks for the gem, Heidi!

This turned out amazingly beautiful and delicious. I used ~half spelt flour and ~half brown rice flower. Next time, I’ll add lemon zest.

I combined brown rice, almond, and sorghum flours to make this gluten free. Also, forgot to put the lemon zest in so I combined it with the walnuts and 1 TB of sugar and sprinkled it on top of the loaf. What a great flavor combination!

With some trepidation I made the basil and lemon version yesterday, but I needn’t have worried: it was delicious! The basil flavour is subtle and the lemon a wonderful highlight. Highly recommended!

I made this beautiful bread last week & it’s delicious. I have a few notes for the next time I make it. This is a VERY full, tall pan of batter and resulting bread. One should definitely line the loaf pan w/parchment leaving pull wings w/which to remove the bread from the pan; otherwise it’s impossible to turn the bread out while retaining all the nutty topping. Secondly, when sprinkling the nuts and sugar over the top prior to baking, one should press these down somewhat to prevent everything from sliding off onto the oven floor each time the pan is moved. The pan is so full and dense that mine required the maximum bake time b/c one area deep inside kept showing up oozy on my cake tester. I think this caused the bread to be drier than I’d ideally like. Although the height of the finished bread is lovely & impressive, perhaps the recipe could be improved by loading the pan a bit less.

Just made it and it turned out delicious; thank you. The only thing I would like to change for the next time are the sugar and butter ingredients. I make a delicious banana bread with olive oil (instead of butter) and maple syrup (instead of sugar). I wonder if these “healthier” substitutes could be used in this recipe too and in what amounts? The proportion of substituting olive or coconut oil for butter and maple syrup for sugar is always a tricky one…Do you have any suggestions?

The recipe calls for 2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour), but in your 50-50 substitution you suggest “or do a 50/50 blend (3/4 cup apf + 3/4 cup www) of whole wheat pastry and all-purpose.” That wold only be 1 2/3 cups of flour total.

One of these is off right? Or am I missing something.

Looks awesome – can you tell me how/what kind of chocolate to add to make this a chocolate -zucchini loaf? (cocoa powder? how much?)
A zillion thanks!

This recipe looks like a real stunner, Heidi! Thanks once again for the beauty & inspiration. I cannot wait to try this – may not be able to put off baking ’til our overload of summer squash hits in Oregon. I have a question re: the pan your using – really love that too. Do you know the brand, by chance? I have the same pattern in a different shape but haven’t known the name of the maker, etc. Thanks so much ~

Do you think this can be made with 1 to 1 gluten free flour?

Hi Heidi! I love your website and your cookbook. Quick question: have you considered, or could you put the flour measurements into weight instead of volume? My family is gluten free and it is so much easier to translate recipes by weight than volume. Otherwise I end up having to guess the weight based on the flour you use and your measuring technique. Thank you! I look forward to trying this quick bread during zucchini season!

I am a BIG fan of your recipes & website – FINALLY a great place to find yummy healthy recipes that seem really easy to whip up! I love to cook and always try to eat a healthy diet. It’s not easy finding recipes that incorporate whole grains, so I am very excited to start trying your recipes!!! So far I made this zucchini bread & LOVED it!!! Thanks so much, Heidi!!!!!!

just came out of the oven! i am trying this recipe for a breakfast for someone special.
i had a tiny bit of batter left over to make a mini test loaf…and it is delicious!
i only had 1 zucchini so i cut the recipe in half. i used all your optional ingredients and it is delicious! i think the baking time extends to about 1 hour.
thanks for the great recipe!

I didn’t have any walnuts on hand, and while that would have given it a meatier texture, it was COMPLETELY made up for with the spices. The lemon and ginger really stand out, and curry just finishes the former off. I hadn’t the faintest of where to get WW pastry flour, but I did a mix of all-purpose self-rising and whole wheat, and it came out fine, perhaps a little on the flat side. Thank you for helping me expand my baking horizons AND helping me clean out Zucc’s!

To Wendy: if you were surprised at hearing about zucchini bread, then get this. In Slovenia (where I live) it’s quite standard to bake zucchini strudel!!!! It can be just as sweet as the traditional ‘apfel’ version, and as Heidi pointed out, it gets rid of a lot of zucchini! 🙂 In this country almost everybody has their own patch of land, and they grow everything themselves (if you want free home-grown lettuce, just ask anybody!)
Too bad I don’t get “whole pastry flour” here, but I think spelt flour would do the trick most of the time, hm?

Love this recipe. Thought it was crazy with the curry but then I start to think and I was smelling my slightly sweet curry and thought this will be different. The Ginger is another great addition to this traditional bread. I am now doing my second try and doubled the recipe for friends and family. The second batch I also grated some fresh nutmeg and see what that taste like. Love your site, I have now turned my oldest son on to some of your recipes since he has now cut meat from his diet. It has helped him broaden his diet for a new veggie eater!

This was my first attempt at making anything on your site and it came out great. I used Pumpkin Pie spice and ground cardamom instead of the curry and forgot the baking powder!!! My friends and roommates still went back for seconds so it must have tasted yummy. I felt like it needed more zucchini though, I barely noticed it with all the other exciting ingredients. Thanks for a fun baking adventure.

ooohhhh! i made this last night with fresh zucchini from the farmer’s market. i was a bit skittish about using the curry, but i really really like it in the bread! i just inhaled a piece with my coffee. delicious! i’m afraid i’ve found a new zuke bread recipe to replace paula deen’s!

I also felt really strange putting so much curry and ginger in but was pleasantly surprised by the fantastic flavor that came out. Although I think I would add a bit more sugar next time.
Thanks again, I am never disappointed by your recipes (and my co-workers love your recipes too). I will continue to try them, thanks!

good recipe……nice n strong taste

OK, I feel a little silly for asking this, but I have a ton of yellow summer squash from my CSA share and I am very new to baking with vegetables. Can I use them instead of the green zucchini to make this? I am dying to use them up and I am craving something sweet!!!.
HS: Go for it Katie, the yellow squash will work just as well.

Great bread, Also love putting grated zucchini in bran muffins (with golden raisons and walnuts)….much moister with the zucchini.
Re what to do with all those lemons….vinaigrette, lemon bars, lemon bundt cake with lemon glaze, lemon pound cake topped with fresh stawberries, hollandaise…etc etc etc.

yummy!

My boyfriend and I have made this twice, first omitting some of the optional ingredients and then including everything. Either way, it is the most delicious zucchini bread we’ve ever had. Great with scrambled eggs and pepperjack cheese, too. Thanks Heidi!

I made this with a few variations: lime zest for lemon, 1 cup hazelnuts for the walnuts, ground ginger added in, and chopped crystallized ginger sprinkled over the top; I had to bake it for about 55-60 minutes, though I suspect my oven temperature was off.
The lime worked really worked well with the Thai curry powder taste. And I’m definitely a big ginger person, so the ginger was perfect.
I might add more curry powder next time, and perhaps explore some of the Thai flavors you talked about in your post.

I always like to wrap my zuk bread in a bread towel after it’s cooled a bit. it really blends the flavors together and makes it “cakey” really good for coffee and tea. my friends and family love it and i’m convinced that it’s how i got my husband to fall in love with me.

did you try dried figs and apricots in a zucchini bread? it’s fabulous!

I was just referred to your website by a friend of yours, Ben Y. as I am working at the same residential camp as him. I run a daily cooking (really baking) program for children 7-16 years old. WOW! WOW! WOW!
I have been reading your comments and everyone else’s and staring , no drooling over your photos of your recipes (absolutely stunning) and can’t wait to look at more and then finally make them. I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping tonight and will be printing out many of them.
I have a particular affinity to chocolate and peanut/nut-free baked goods.
Keep up the great work!

I made this last night and I haven’t stopped dreaming about it. It’s amazing. With the raz-el-hanout, it is quite possibly the best thing to happen to a loaf since sliced bread.

I just wanted to comment on how beautiful your pictures are. As an enthusiastic baking hobbyist, I’m excited to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!

I’ve been reading you blog for a while and this is the first recipe I made : the result was really fab! I made this bread yesterday night, brought one at the office today, people were a bit dubious at first (being French, they all thought it was going to be savoury bread) but absolutely loved it, and shared the other with friends tonight at a picnic on the banks of the Seine in Paris. Both loaves turned out really great, nice and moist texture and a very interesting blend of tastes. I omitted the curry and the ginger. I am now wondering whether I could use carrots instead of zucchini. Thanks for the recipe!

When I went out into my small garden and found two large zucchini, I knew that today, with it’s slightly cold and rainy feel, was the day to make this wonderful bread. I loved the warm flavours, and the touch of curry was amazing in it. I used 3 cups garbanzo bean flower and 1 1/5 teaspoons of xanthan gum to make it gluten free, and found that it was a very moist and tender bread. I did cook it for longer, however, as I wasn’t zealos in the sqeezing the water out bit and I also added a brown banana, so my bread was too loose for my liking after 45 minutes.

I’m so excited! Next time hubby snags some gorgeous zukes from work, I’ma make this — with some ground flax seed too! Oh boy oh boy

I’m looking forward to trying this! In reference to a post by “Jenna,” though, I have to comment on the zucchini pancakes (like potato pancakes). I made some awesome ones last week using half shredded zucchini and half (thawed of course) frozen spinach leaves. For health, I added ground flax seed. Great w/ a spicy mayonaise concoction.

My family and I moved to Ethiopia a couple years ago, and I don’t think I’ve seen zucchini here. But I know they have a general brighter green looking squash. Do you think the zucchini can be substituted for a general squash?

Love the poppy seed addition; will leave out the curry when I make this.

Love this recipe – would be amazing with a good chutney – you mentioned Mcquades chutneys in a post before – I’m going to make some tonight and try it out with their fig and ginger

the other reason to make zucchini bread, cupcakes, etc, in addition to using up the [over]supply, is that it’s a great way to sneak healthy green stuff into kids who otherwise wouldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole … :-).

Wow. I didn’t know zucchini can be used as an ingredient in making bread. The bread look delicious. Yummy~

In Eastern Europe, where zucchini season absolutely drowns them in zucchini, they make fabulous zucchini pancakes.
Think potato pancakes, but with zucchini.
I prefer the original Eastern European method of using ground zucchini instead of shredded – it gives the pancakes a much smoother, softer texture. (Use either a meat grinder – ideal – or a food processor, although, admittedly, with somewhat runnier results. If you do choose to use the food processor, squeeze out a little bit of the water before using. But shredding does work, too – just comes out much coarser and more similar to hash browns.)
Just add a little bit of flour (you can use extremely little, if you like softer, thinner pancakes, or more if you want them more chewy and bready), and a couple of eggs (the more the better, really, but it again depends on how eggy you like your pancakes), and fry. Takes no more than a few minutes, and is absolutely delicious!
(Traditionally eaten with sour cream… I’m partial to raspberry preserves, personally…)

This looks good–and I have zucchini in my fridge, local even.
I just read a review of Supernatural Cooking on Culinate, just in case you didn’t know about it.

Yes, ’tis the season! I have learned to call it ‘Courgette Cake’ here, and still have a bit of a challenge convinceing people to try it…
I actually called it Spice Cake, once, until after it had been tasted LOL
The French, for all the weird stuff they eat, can be remarkably reluctant to try new stuff!
On the other hand, that just means more for me… and it freezes well. Thanks for a new ‘version’ – looks delicious!

Zucchini in baking is one of my favourite ways to use zucchini – however, my favourite (and forgive that this has somehow become a reference to another blog) is zucchini chocoate cake. Its delicious… although a savoury zucchini bread is inspiring whole new flavour combinations for me!
B

Hi all, hope you are enjoying a nice summer weekend! Thanks for all the nice comments.
Evie, yes you can use all-purpose flour (apf) if you like.
Megan, yes I just did a straight swap – used 1 tablespoon raz el hanout in place of the curry powder.
Kristina, you could certainly do that – I’d start by swapping in a couple tablespoons of freshly grated ginger for starters, see where that gets you and adjust the next time you make it if you want the ginger to be more prominent.
-h

As a new resident to the Cayman Islands I thought that I would have to wait for my next trip to the U.S. to buy your book. I was delighted to find Super Natural sitting on the shelf facing forward – just waiting for me! I am excited to try the Zucchini Bread recipe – your creativity in the kitchen never ceases to amaze me!

I have a huge amount of zucchini in my garden and a friend suggested I made zucchini bread. Being Scottish I’d never heard of it and assumed it was savoury. Not having a sweet-tooth I ended up making (and blogging about) a savoury version but am still interested in trying out a sweet bread. Imagine the spice in yours would take the edge off the sweetness. Thanks!

Hi Heidi!
I want to try this recipe and want to replace crystalized ginger by the fresh one. Will it work? Thanks a lot.

Oh my gosh! What a great idea! I love sweet and curry flavors combined, and in a warm, nutty bread it just makes sense. I also am interested in the ‘squeeze and fluff’ step, and whether that’s why my zucchini bread batters have always been a bit ‘gluey.’ Thanks!

Just wondering if I can make this with regular flour? Or, say, a mix of regular and wheat? I can’t find wheat pastry flour anywhere (I’m in Buenos Aires, Argentina!) Heidi, I love your website AND your book! It’s under my “bookporn” shelf in Goodreads.com. I just love looking at the pretty pictures.

I made this without tthe curry and my neighbor made it with. We both like it better without the curry. It was delicious.