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Anyone who has ever grown zucchini knows how this recipe came to exist. One plant makes more than a family can eat, most gardens have three or four, and by September the neighbors are leaving them on each other’s porches after dark. Zucchini bread is what generations of home cooks did about it: grate them, bake them into sweet cinnamon loaves, and fill the freezer until spring.
It is a quick bread in the truest sense. There is no mixer, no creaming and no waiting. The zucchini itself disappears. It melts into the crumb, leaving only fine green flecks and an extraordinary moistness, and the loaf tastes of cinnamon, vanilla and walnuts. Plenty of children have eaten it for years before finding out what was in it.
The one rule that matters is not to squeeze the zucchini. Many modern recipes tell you to wring it out in a towel. The old ones never did, because the water in the zucchini is what makes the bread moist, and the recipe is balanced to include it.
Why this zucchini bread works
- Unsqueezed zucchini. The moisture in the shreds steams into the crumb as the loaf bakes. Squeeze it out and you have to put it back some other way.
- Oil, not butter. Oil stays liquid at room temperature, so the bread stays soft and moist for days and comes out of the freezer tasting fresh.
- A full tablespoon of cinnamon. It sounds like a lot across two loaves, and it is exactly right. It gives the bread its dark color and its warm smell.
- Two loaves at once. One to eat, one to freeze. That’s why it makes two, and the batter uses the same bowl and the same hour of oven time either way.
Ingredients
Makes two loaves, about 12 slices each. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil (240ml)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini (about 300g, 2 medium), skin on, not squeezed
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (115g), optional
- Butter or oil for the pans
Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater and measure it loosely packed. The big overgrown ones, too tough to cook, make the best bread: cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds first.
How to make zucchini bread
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans well, and line the bottoms with a strip of parchment if you want to be sure of a clean release. Two 9 by 5 inch pans also work; the loaves will be a little shorter.
- Wash the zucchini, trim the ends and grate it, skin on, on the large holes of a box grater. Measure 2 cups. Do not salt it and do not squeeze it.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla together with a whisk for about a minute, until thick, smooth and slightly paler.
- Stir in the grated zucchini, along with any liquid that has collected under it.
- In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add them to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula just until no dry flour remains. The batter will be thick and glossy.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts, if your family allows nuts.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes, until the loaves are dark brown, cracked down the middle, and a toothpick pushed into the center of the crack comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn the loaves out onto a rack and let them cool completely before slicing. One to eat, one to freeze.
Tips that make the difference
- Fold the flour in gently and stop early. Overmixed quick bread bakes up tough and full of tunnels.
- Test in the crack at the center of the loaf, which is the last part to cook. If the toothpick has wet batter on it, give the loaves 5 more minutes and test again.
- If the tops are getting very dark before the centers are done, lay a sheet of foil loosely over the pans for the last 15 minutes.
- Toast the walnuts for 8 minutes in the heating oven before chopping them. It is a small step that makes the nuts taste twice as good.
Variations
- No nuts. Simply leave them out, or replace them with 1 cup raisins (150g) for the families that vote against walnuts.
- Chocolate chip. Fold in 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (170g) in place of, or along with, the walnuts. This is the version that disappears fastest.
- Muffins. Spoon the batter into 24 lined muffin cups, filling them three quarters full, and bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Less sweet. The sugar can be cut to 1 1/2 cups (300g) without harming the texture. Half of it can be brown sugar for a deeper flavor.
Storage and make-ahead
Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or foil, a loaf keeps at room temperature for 4 days, and like most oil-based quick breads it is even better on the second day, when the crust has softened and the cinnamon has settled in.
To freeze the second loaf, cool it completely, wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil, and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw it overnight on the counter, still wrapped. Slices can be frozen individually and toasted straight from the freezer.
You can also freeze the zucchini itself. Grate it, pack it in 2 cup portions in freezer bags with all of its liquid, and thaw a bag whenever you want two fresh loaves in the middle of winter.
Frequently asked questions
Should I peel the zucchini?
No. The skin is thin, it softens completely in the oven, and it gives the bread its pretty green flecks.
Why shouldn’t I squeeze the water out of the zucchini?
Because this recipe counts on it. The liquid in the zucchini is part of the moisture of the batter, along with the oil and eggs. If you squeeze it dry, the loaves turn out dense and dry.
Can you taste the zucchini?
Not at all. Zucchini has a very mild flavor that vanishes behind the cinnamon, vanilla and sugar. What it adds is moisture and tenderness.
Why did my zucchini bread sink in the middle?
Most often it was underbaked. The center is the last part to set, so test it in the crack on top and give it the full time. Too much zucchini, packed tightly into the cup, or an old box of baking soda can also cause a sunken loaf.
Grate them with the skin on, do not squeeze, and bake two. One loaf for the table this week, one for the freezer, and the porch is clear until the next basket arrives.
Old-Fashioned Zucchini Bread (Makes Two Loaves)
Moist old-fashioned zucchini bread with cinnamon and walnuts, made with oil and unsqueezed grated zucchini. The recipe makes two loaves, one to eat and one to freeze. Cups and grams.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini (about 300g, 2 medium), skin on, not squeezed
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (115g), optional
- Butter or oil for the pans
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans well, and line the bottoms with a strip of parchment if you want to be sure of a clean release. Two 9 by 5 inch pans also work; the loaves will be a little shorter.
- Wash the zucchini, trim the ends and grate it, skin on, on the large holes of a box grater. Measure 2 cups. Do not salt it and do not squeeze it.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla together with a whisk for about a minute, until thick, smooth and slightly paler.
- Stir in the grated zucchini, along with any liquid that has collected under it.
- In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add them to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula just until no dry flour remains. The batter will be thick and glossy.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts, if your family allows nuts.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes, until the loaves are dark brown, cracked down the middle, and a toothpick pushed into the center of the crack comes out clean.
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn the loaves out onto a rack and let them cool completely before slicing. One to eat, one to freeze.
