The Best Zucchini Bread Recipe - The Secret To Moist Bread (2024)

Every year, when we start to pick our zucchini out of the garden, one of the very first things that we make is Zucchini Bread.

But not with just any recipe. After many years of trying to make perfectly moist and flavorful bread, we have finally have developed a recipe that does just that.

It is so delicious that even those that aren’t zucchini lovers devour several pieces in one sitting. Although you can see tiny shreds of zucchini once you cut into the bread, you can’t taste the zucchini at all.

In fact, the taste is more like a sweet cinnamon and ginger bread. No wonder why it is so good!

How To Shred Zucchini

In order to not have large chunks of zucchini in the bread, the zucchini must be shredded first.

However, there is no need to peel the zucchini. Just cut off the ends and shred it with the skins left on.

Although you can use a standard box grater, we prefer to use our Hamilton Beach food processor to do the work for us.

Simply add the grating blade and within seconds, all of the zucchini is shredded for you.

No worries about scraping your knuckles or wasting the small ends of the zucchini!

Healthy Substitute For Vegetable Oil In This Zucchini Bread Recipe

This recipe was adapted from Grandmother’s original zucchini bread recipe. However, it called for one cup of vegetable oil as one of the ingredients.

She claimed that is why the zucchini bread was so moist and delicious.

However, we prefer not to use that much oil in our recipe. Instead, we substitute all-natural applesauce in place of the vegetable oil.

In fact, we use our own applesauce that we canned the previous year.

And although it is common practice to substitute only half of the oil with the applesauce, we often substitute it completely.

The bread stays nice and moist and slices perfectly without falling apart.

The BEST Zucchini Bread Recipe

*Complete recipe instructions including specific measurements, cook temperatures and times are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to keep reading for helpful tips and tricks when making this recipe.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Granulated sugar
• All-natural applesauce
• Brown sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Zucchini

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F
2. In a large bowl combine, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger. Whisk until combined and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl (using a paddle attachment if applicable), combine white sugar and applesauce and mix until creamy.
4. Add brown sugar, eggs, & vanilla. Mix until combined.
5. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until combined. *Mixture will be thick.
6. Grate the zucchini and fold it into the batter. *The liquid in the zucchini will make the batter thinner.
7. Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Repeat to fill the other loaf pan.
8. Bake for 45-60 minutes. It is a done when you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Storing Moist and Delicious Zucchini Bread

Once the zucchini bread has cooled completely, store it at room temperature in a sealed container. This will keep the bread nice and moist.

It can also be stored in the refrigerator for an extended shelf life. Simply store it in a sealed container and it will last for approximately 7-10 days.

However, our favorite way to store this delicious zucchini bread is in our freezer.

It will last for several months and is great to have on hand when unexpected guests show up or when your sweet tooth needs something to curb it’s craving.

To freeze the bread, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and then place it in a freezer safe bag or container.

When you are ready to eat the bread, unwrap it and let it thaw completely.

It is important that you unwrap it while it is still frozen. As it begins to thaw, the bread will become super moist and will stick to the foil or plastic wrap.

We typically set it on a cooling rack or on the plate that we will be serving it from to let it thaw.

However, not only can you freeze your loaves of delicious zucchini bread, you can also freeze your zucchini so that you can make a fresh loaf any time of the year!

What To Do With An Abundance of Zucchini

If you grow your own zucchini, you might be overwhelmed with how much it produces, especially all at once.

Initially it seems like you wait and wait for the first blossom to transition into a ripened zucchini. However, once you pick the first one, the zucchini seem to multiply and grow overnight.

Within a couple of weeks you have had your fill of zucchini and it becomes more difficult to think of other recipes.

And unfortunately, garden zucchini does not stay fresh for long.

So instead of (or in addition to) begging others to take zucchini off your hands, you can shred it and store it in the freezer.

That way, whenever the urge to make this delicious zucchini bread hits you, you already have the zucchini ready for you!

In fact, we shred them in 3 cup portions in our Food Saver bags. That way we know that 1 bag of shredded zucchini is perfect for our bread recipe.

And if you are sick and tired of Zucchini Bread, we have written an article on 5 Zucchini Recipes Other Than Bread.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

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