My parents always had a garden while I was growing up. They mixed up the variety each year, but certain vegetables always made the list and zucchini was one of them. My mom used to sauté them, she breaded them, baked them and occasionally she would make zucchini bread with them. I remember her baking this bread very fondly. My dad used to cut himself a thick slice, butter it and sit on the couch to watch a little Andy Griffith while he noshed. Good times.
If you are at all nervous about tasting zucchini in this bread, don’t be. Even though there is a fair amount of this nutrient rich veggie baked into each delicious loaf, you won’t know it is in there. I promise.
Let’s get started…
To make a 9 inch loaf, you will need 2 medium zucchini, some plain greek yogurt, chocolate chips, walnuts, spices and a few other pantry staples. This is a great recipe to have on hand during zucchini season! It comes together quick and is a delicious breakfast, dessert or afternoon snack.
Begin by scrubbing 2 medium zucchini. You won’t peel the zucchini before shredding it, so be sure that the skin is nice and clean. I usually cut one end off and use the other end to hold while I run them over a medium cheese grater.
Some recipes suggest you place the shreds into a towel and squeeze all of the liquid out, but I prefer to spread them out over the cutting board and pat them dry with paper towels. This removes some of the liquid, but helps to maintain the texture of the zucchini, which ends up giving the bread wonderful texture.
Now that the zucchini is prepared, melt 8 tablespoons of butter and gather 1/4 cup of vegetable or coconut oil, 1/4 cup of sour cream or plain greek yogurt, 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of all spice, 1/4 teaspoon of ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of chocolate chips and 2/3 cup of chopped walnuts.
The chocolate chips and walnuts are technically optional, but I highly recommend adding them to this zucchini bread!
In a large bowl, whisk 8 tablespoons of melted butter with 1/4 cup of vegetable or coconut oil, 1/4 cup of sour cream or plain greek yogurt, 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until fully combined.
Next, add 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of all spice, 1/4 teaspoon of ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix until just combined.
Last, but not least, add your 2 cups of shredded zucchini along with a cup of chocolate chips and about 2/3 cup of chopped walnuts and mix until everything is evenly distributed.
Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan and line it with a sheet of parchment paper. The easiest way to line a loaf pan with parchment paper it to cut a sheet the width of the pan and long enough to allow for some hang over each side. This over hang will make transferring the bread out of the pan later super easy.
Transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan and then into a 350 degree oven.
Bake the zucchini bread for about 60 minutes. There are several variables that can effect how much time your loaf will take to fully bake and each oven has its own hot spots and temperature variations, so I recommend checking your loaf around the 50 minute mark to see how things are going.
Zucchini bread is done when a toothpick will come out clean from the center of the loaf and today, this took 65 minutes. Some days it takes 58 minutes, but I have had to keep a loaf in for a full 70 minutes once before, so just keep an eye on things and don’t pull it out until the center is fully baked.
Note: If the top of your loaf is getting too dark, but it still needs to stay in longer, lightly cover the pan with a loose sheet of foil to reduce the browning.
Once the bread is fully baked, transfer the loaf pan onto a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then remove the loaf from the pan and set it directly onto the cooling rack to continue cooling.
This zucchini bread has a wonderfully moist texture that you are going to love. From the way we prepared the zucchini to the addition of butter, oil and greek yogurt, this recipe creates a truly spectacular loaf.
If you slice your loaf up while it is still a little warm, add a little bit of butter onto your slice and let it get all melty.
If you waited until your loaf has fully cooled before slicing into it, you can either pop it into the microwave for 20 seconds or butter up a slice and place it into a skillet over medium heat to both warm it up and caramelize the edges a little bit.
However you decide to enjoy this zucchini bread, I know that you are going to love it!
Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons of butter, melted
- 1/4 cup of vegetable or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup of sour cream or plain great yogurt
- 2/3 cup of brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of all spice
- 1/4 teaspoon of ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 2 cups of zucchini, shredded
- 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
- 2/3 cup of walnuts, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Shred zucchini and pat dry using paper towels (see notes above)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of all spice, 1/4 teaspoon of ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of baking soda and set aside
- In a large bowl, whisk 8 tablespoons of melted butter with 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, 1/4 cup of sour cream, 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until creamy
- Add the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined
- Add the shredded zucchini and mix until evenly distributed
- If you are adding the chocolate chips and walnuts, fold them into the batter
- Grease a 9' loaf pan and line with parchment paper
- Transfer the batter into the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick will come out of the middle of the loaf fairly clean
- Transfer the loaf pan onto a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then transfer the loaf out of the pan and directly onto the cooling rack to continue cooling
- Enjoy warm with butter or at room temperature
