My dog, Cookie, is wild for zucchini. Also cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and cabbage. You could say that my pup has a healthy appetite. This morning, I left a slice of zucchini bread on my desk where I thought she couldn’t reach. Then I heard some scuffling, followed by some gobbling. She swiped that slice of bread and ate half before I could grab it. This dog is my soulmate, I tell you. I captured it on video, if you’d like to see it. That was all to say that this zucchini bread recipe is Cookie and Kate approved. It’s fluffy and moist, lightly spiced, and full of confetti-like green flecks of zucchini.
If you’ve enjoyed zucchini bread before, let me point out a few differences between my recipe and the standard recipes. Here are five reasons to love this healthier zucchini bread:
I used one-half cup honey (or maple syrup) instead a full cup of white sugar. It’s not overtly sweet, but you could add another drizzle of honey or maple sweetener to individual slices, if desired. I also used white whole wheat flour instead of refined flour, so this bread is made with 100 percent whole grains. I used coconut oil instead of butter, which means this bread is easily made without any dairy at all. Most zucchini bread recipes call for one cup of grated zucchini, but I liked mine better with one-and-a-half cups. Even then, I can’t say there’s a pronounced zucchini flavor to it, because zucchini doesn’t have a ton of flavor in itself. It’s easily made vegan and/or gluten-free, too—just check my recipe notes.
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! Your feedback is so important to me. If you love this zucchini bread, you’ll also enjoy my banana bread, apple muffins, carrot muffins or banana muffins, you’re going to love this one. Don’t miss the maple-sweetened blueberry muffins in my cookbook!
Watch How to Make Zucchini Bread
Change it up: Use chocolate chips or small/chopped dried fruit instead of the nuts. Make muffins: Follow this recipe! Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey, replace the eggs with flax eggs and choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water. Make it dairy free: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water. Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs. Make it gluten free: I haven’t tried myself, but I have heard from a reader that Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose gluten-free mix worked well here. Make it nut free: Just omit the nuts, and don’t use nut milk. Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet. If you love this recipe: You will also love my pumpkin bread, banana muffins and pumpkin muffins and banana nut scones! Recommended equipment: I am totally in love with my Fiesta Loaf Pan in turquoise (affiliate link).
