Must-Try, Super-Moist Zucchini Bread
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With its perfectly moist texture, super soft crumb, and brown sugar notes throughout, this is the best-ever (AND easiest!) zucchini bread recipe. The recipe is easily adaptable to mini loaf pans, and the batter can be used for zucchini bread muffins too, too.
This is the best zucchini bread. The original source is unknown, but my mother learned it from her mother, and I’ve been passing it along as well, baking it with my children, who call it “bikini” bread, for years. It’s an oldie but such a goodie, and a hit with adults and children alike.
In essence, its a classic quick bread made with both brown sugar and white, eggs and oil, and a heap of zucchini. The zucchini flavor is nearly indiscernible, but it plays an important roll in ensuring the cake will be super moist. This quick bread, a 2-bowl job, comes together in under 10 minutes and freezes beautifully.
What’s more? It also can easily be turned into muffins, which also freeze beautifully, or baked in four mini loaf pans, which make great holiday gifts. I love serving this zucchini bread when entertaining — it’s as delicious for mid-morning brunch as for afternoon tea all summer long.
Finally, The Kitchn, a favorite website, declared this recipe the best in a contest with four widely adored zucchini bread recipes. I hope you love it, too.
A favorite variation? Chocolate chip, of course. Nuts, too. Truthfully, I love it best with no additions. You can use as much as a pound — yes a pound! — of grated zucchini, and it along with the oil, keep the bread so, so moist.
More Recipes with Zucchini
- Zucchini Involtini
- Zucchini Parmesan
- Favorite Summer Pasta: Zucchini Spaghetti
- Shaved Zucchini & Pecorino Salad
- Zucchini Sauté with Mint, Pine Nuts, & Ricotta
PS: ALL the zucchini recipes right here → Zucchini
PPS: The Best-Ever Banana Bread.
Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients:
Grate a couple zucchini.
Stir together the dry ingredients. Stir together the wet ingredients.
Toss the zucchini with the dry ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients.
Transfer to a loaf pan.
Bake until golden and cooked through.
Let cool completely before slicing.
You can bake the bread in four mini loaf pans as well, which is so nice for gift giving.
Must-Try, Super-Moist Zucchini Bread
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 1 Standard Loaf or 4 Mini Loaves
Description
Notes:
- Baking by weight is always a good idea. Regarding flour, if you have a scale (this one costs $9!), weigh out 227 g flour. If you are using cups, use 2 cups, but fill them lightly.
- Loaf pans come in all different sizes. I love these Chicago Metallic standard 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pans and these Chicago Metallic mini loaf pans, which are so handy to have on hand around the holidays. If you use as much as a pound of zucchini, I highly recommend baking this bread in a 10×5-inch baking pan — it’s only slightly larger than the 8.5×4.5-inch pan, but it makes a difference. My quick breads bake so much more evenly in this larger-size pan.
- To freeze: Be sure to let zucchini bread cool completely. Wrap in foil; then tuck into an airtight bag. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature.
- To make muffins: Simply, line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners or grease with butter or nonstick spray. Fill cups no more than two-thirds full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Ingredients
- a scant 2 cups (227 g) flour (see notes above)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup light (213 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2½ cups grated zucchini, (12–16 oz.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan or a 10 x 5-inch loaf pan if using as much as a pound of zucchini (see notes above). For easy removal, line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper that hangs over the edges.
- Whisk together first five ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk remaining ingredients except zucchini. Add zucchini to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Add dry to wet and stir till until combined. Pour into pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you have an instant read thermometer, it should register 205ºF or above. (Note: Every oven is different, and different pans conduct heat differently — be patient with the cooking. It may take 20-30 minutes more. With the longer cooking time, the bread shouldn’t burn, but if you are noticing the bread getting too brown, cover it with foil.)
- Let bread cool for 15 minutes in pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
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772 Comments on “Must-Try, Super-Moist Zucchini Bread”
Holy toledo! I’m with whomever said why haven’t I weighed ingredients before?! I have been searching for moist zucchini bread recipes and i found my winner!! Delicious!
Great to hear, Lisa!
Best
Hi Alexandra, I have pleasantly stumbled across this recipe (as I happily get emailed stuff all the time from you/your site) and am eager to try making this. As my nan loved Zucchini and cashew came- so I’m wondering…if I was to add a homemade cashew butter into the recipe would you suggest to minimise some of the oil?? Or no and just add it… I’m still fairly new to baking at home (as I used to work in kitchens- but recipes are totally different when baked like commercially if that makes sense..) I don’t necessarily wanna experiment too much, as don’t necessarily have the time, money or patience to be honest. So ideally would like to ace it first go.. I know you’ve gotten awesome reviews as is for this recipe… But I wanted to make something to remind me of someone I loved dearly.. and I really think this could be it (except I just want one big change/additive…cashews… Both in a chunky spread mixed in and crushed on-top)… Could you pls give me your advice on this??? As I said I don’t wanna stuff it up!!!! Also one last thing, I really appreciate your content and easy to follow recipes, iv made peasant bread multiple times and your focaccia recipe too (mixed Greek seasoning in it..) but I love browsing your site all the time. I appreciate your work! P.s I took the advice in buying kitchen scales and also brought this spoon scale thing off Temu for smaller amounts. Oh and I have a digital thermometer thingy too!!! So I am trying to get baking right… With a little of your help alongside I’m sure I’ll get the confidence to cook at home!! Just wished my 4yr old wasn’t such a fussy eater- it’s nice to read about how your kids love this or that!!! Really do enjoy reading about you, your family and everything else!!! Take care, hope to hear back from you soon!
Hi Shayde! And apologies for the delay here.
Part of my things you should just make the recipe as it is written. I worry the cashew butter, which can be pricey, will just get lost in the batter, meaning you won’t actually taste it, which feels like a waste of such a good product. I also don’t really know how to advise in terms of substituting other ingredients if you were to add it.
But I think serving it along side the zucchini bread sounds delicious!
So nice to read all of this. Thank you for your kind words.
The only CHANGES I made with this decadent zuchinni recipe was I added monkfruit to the brown rugar I am Diabetic I made them.into muffins as well to share with my husband’s Workplace as every year we grow Organic Zuchinni….I am a retired Sous Chef and this RECIPE is the BEST one I have ever used to make there is no turning back now this will be my Yearly go to each summer to make. PERFECT!!thank you so much for sharing ..it’s so FOOD WORTHY…
Yay! So great to read all of this, Cynthia 🙂 🙂 🙂
Wow this is the best zucchini bread I’ve ever had!! I followed the recipe and added 1/8 t nutmeg, I used 16 oz zucchini, and a cast iron bread pan, which needed to be baked for a little over an hour. I also sprinkled the top with 2T of coarse sugar. It is fantastic!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe, and all of your extra notes. By the way I found you on The Kitchn article about the top zucchini bread recipes!
Great to read all of this, Elizabeth! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
Love this recipe. Since my husband loves walnuts, I added one cup chopped walnuts; I also added 1/2 cup golden raisins. Superb for us fiber-watching people.
Great to hear, Linda!
I don’t usually comment on recipes, but WOW!! I made these as muffins and it’s the absolute best zucchini bread I’ve ever had! So sweet and the perfect texture. Definitely printing this and keeping it forever!
Great to hear, Rita! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Delicious! Moist and light. I sifted my dry ingredients. I will make it again soon! Thank you!❤️
Great to hear, Dorothy!
Trying to find the best zucchini bread recipe and this is it! The outside was nice and chewy and inside was incredibly moist and soft! Definitely will make again!
Great to hear, Haylee! Thanks for writing 🙂
This is absolutely the best recipe. Thank you so much!!!!
Great to hear, Pam! Thanks for writing 🙂
This is the best. I wait for zucchini every year just to make this
Thank you
So nice to hear this, Michele 🙂
Hi Alex
I have not made this recipe but was wondering if I wanted to make a chocolate version of it, would i just substitute some of the flour for cocoa powder? Say 1/4 C of cocoa powder?
Thanks in advance and i can’t wait to try it 🙂
Hi Jen! I’m not exactly sure how to advise but I would guess using 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup cocoa in place of the flour would work well. Good luck!
Is there a gluten free version you can share? Thanks!
Many people have successfully made this one gluten free. I’d start with using Cup4Cup flour 1:1 in place of the ap flour by weight.
I am most interested to try! For you to earn raves from The Kitchn is awesome. I have many zucchini and would love to double the recipe. What do you suggest?
Go for it! I do think measuring with a scale is best when scaling recipes up.
This was very good except for one thing: 1 tsp of Kosher salt is too much! I have made this recipe before and I always forget this and then it always comes out too salty. The saltiness loses some of it’s pungency over time, but maybe it should be 1/2 tsp max. I did find it fun to weigh the ingredients.
What gf flour would you recommended using? Have you made it gf?
I have not but many others have. I like Cup4Cup.
After looking at many different recipes this is the one I’m going with, my husband loves this bread I only made it one other time and it was many years ago. I can’t wait to make this recipe and look forward to sharing with you all on how it turns out.
So good and moist! Added a little nutmeg. Very, very delicious and so easy.
Great to hear, Mary!
I love this zucchini bread and I have made and sampled many over the years! I use avocado oil which is healthy and flavorless. I bake mine in a Bundt bread pan which I grease well with baking spray. It’s a little scary as it looks like it will overflow but never does. My bread looks gorgeous with lots of crevices and grooves as well as a caramelized shiny top. Takes more than an hour to bake fully. Thanks for the finished temperature. It turns out perfectly!
Great to hear, Dyann! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this 🙂
Hey Ali: After grocery shopping tomorrow, we are going to our friend Cheri’s to have your super delicious zucchini bread. She starts the coffee when we get there and then we’ll have the bread. I baked it in my 9 x 5 pan and had to bake it for an hour and 10 minutes. I tested it with a toothpick and also took its temperature. We couldn’t resist a little taste. Yum!!! So thank you for another terrific recipe. Kathy
Yay! Great to hear, Kathleen 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing.
Another terrific year for garden zukes and this time I baked this yummy recipe using 4 mini loaf pans. 35 minutes later the mini loaves were smiling on the counter ready for the last camping trip of the summer. Happy camper!
Yay! Great to hear, Hillary! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 Happy summer!!
This is so, so good. I made this as muffins with gluten-free buckwheat flour (weighed using a scale!) and olive oil and the result was amazing with a beautiful dark color because of the buckwheat flour. Sprinkled demerara sugar on top before baking. Moist, flavorful and light spongy texture. Thank you so much, Alexandra! I really appreciate your delicious sharings 🙂
So nice to hear, Hina 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks for writing and sharing your gf notes — people ask all the time about making this one gf.
I have made this 5 times now this summer to use up zucchini from my garden, my family loves this recipe ! It’s great as muffins and mini loaves too! I bake at 325 for a little longer. Thank you!
Thanks for writing and sharing your notes, Kim!
We don’t use vegetable oil in our house but would love to make this. Have you tested using butter or coconut oil instead of the oil? Thanks so much for your help/suggestions!
I suppose my first swap in would be extra-virgin olive oil? Would that work? Otherwise, I think it will be great with either butter or coconut oil… yum!
I’m trying it with coconut oil right now. Fingers crossed!
Hi Alex – Hope you’re having a wonderful summer. Do you squeeze any of the water out of the zucchinis before mixing into the batter? Thanks, Cynthia
I do not! And same to you 🙂
Best ever!
I make a LOT of zucchini bread each season, from “THE BEST”, to blueberry, lemon, etc…(at least 2 dozen loaves), so I am open to change. Maybe there is something better!? For me this recipe is a one and done, it’s good, but not best. Very moist yes, tasty yes but I found it to be heavy, rather than moist & light. I’ve 6 cups of shredded zucchini waiting, headed back to the recipe I’ve found to be best. Thank you!
Real life dinner.com/the-best-zucchini-bread-recipe
Great zucchini bread recipe! Loved the brown sugar sweetness. I added walnuts for a little texture and crunchy. My neighbor was here when I took the bread out of the oven. She loved it so much she made it the next day. It was a hit at her house too!
Both of us will be making your delicious zucchini bread again
Yum! Love the idea of adding walnuts here.
I found it strange that the amount of zucchini could change by 4 oz (12-16 oz) but the dry ingredients did not alter. Nevertheless, I tried 16 oz with the larger pan, as suggested, but found it much too wet. It was tasty but I will try 12 oz next time.
I wanted to make 6 large muffins how will that change on baking time? I have coppied this recipe to make yummy
I would start checking after 20 minutes but they might take as long as 25 minutes.
Made this today! It was super easy to make. I used a zucchini that weighed 24 oz (not good at guessing weights at the farmer market). The resulting bread was super moist. Maybe a bit too much for my liking so next time I will either use a smaller zucchini and / or squeeze out some of the liquid from the grated zucchini. The bread got a little too brown 15 minutes into the bake time so I covered it with foil. Overall bake time was about an hour. The overall flavor is good but needs an extra something. Next time I’ll add in a bit of nutmeg and use 1/2 cup of light brown sugar and 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar.