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.
PrintMust-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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671 Comments on “Must-Try, Super-Moist Zucchini Bread”
Wonder if you can use coconut sugar or maple syrup
I think the coconut sugar would be fine, but I worry about the maple syrup being too liquidy.
Haven’t tried it yet but I’ll be giving it a try. I like the whisk you used. May I ask the brand?
It’s this Flat-Bottomed Whisk … love it!
Hi Alexandra, this was a great recipe. Easy and delicious!
Wonderful to hear this, Nissi!
I’m diabetic, can this be made with a sugar substitute?
I would imagine! What have you done in the past when adapting quick bread recipes?
Do you use the zucchini while it is wet or do you squeeze it out first?
No need to squeeze!
Absolutely the BEST zucchini bread recipe I have ever made. Just put the second one into the oven. Used 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract and added also 1 cup of chopped roasted almonds. Throwing out all of my other recipes for this bread.
Wonderful to hear this, Nadja 😍😍😍😍
Do you think i could use dark brown sugar instead of light?
Yes!
I added chopped walnuts, baked in 4 mini loaves. Very good!
Sounds so good Shirley! 💕💕💕
This was WONDERFUL. Saw it on a blog post and it truly is a winner. The sugars make the top crispy. I will make this again and again. Use the cinnamon!
Wonderful to hear this, Carrie!
Just made 4 loafes of this tonight for myself n family members. Wow. Sooooo good n moist. 45 minutes n done. I literally ruined people who was on a diet. They couldn’t resist. Hahahaha. This is my best ever zucchini bread. Grown fresh from my garden.
So wonderful to hear this, Art! And how nice: home grown zucchini!
Made this recipe used Gluten Free Flour and its AMAZING! I added a little extra stuff but it turned out delicious:)
Wonderful to hear this, Alexandra! Thanks for writing.
This is the best zucchini bread I have ever made! Thank you for this recipe! Kids love this, too!
Wonderful to hear this, Alana!
Made this zucchini bread this morning and now have a household of very happy humans!
Only oils I had are coconut and avocado, so I opted for the latter. I also have a gluten allergy, so subbed Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. It turned out fabulous!
Thank you so much for this incredible recipe, Ali!
Wonderful to hear this, Jen! Thanks for writing. Great to hear the gf flour mix worked out — so helpful for people!
Have you tried replacing the vegetable oil with applesauce? If not do you think it would work. I usually do that in baked goods.
I have not tried, but I think it’s definitely worth a shot, especially if you’ve had success in other baked goods. Go for it!
This is by far the best zucchini bread I have ever eaten. It is incredibly moist, sweet and so delicious. I read an article that reviewed 4 zucchini bread recipes and this recipe was rated #1. They were so right!!!
So wonderful to hear this, Nancy!
Ok….I followed directions and not sure what I did wrong….it cooked for well over an hour …maybe 75 minutes…and knife came out fairly clean…but it was raw inside when cooled ;(
Having the same problem. Mine has been in the oven for an hour and it’s still super jiggly in the middle.
Hi Meagan! How did it turn out? It’s definitely a moist bread, but as long as it’s not burning, there’s no harm in cooking it till it’s done.
Oh Natasha, I’m sorry to hear this! It’s a very moist bread, and sometimes it does require longer cooking or cooking until done. Does your oven typically run cool? Did you make any other substitutions?
I would suggest checking whether your oven is truly at the correct temperature. I was having exactly this issue, and finally realized that although I was seething the oven at 350, it was actually well below that temperature.
I did leave the pan in until it was done, though, and it didn’t burn and came out fine–it just took a lot longer.
I have since corrected the problem.
Thank you for this Kathryn! So often ovens are inaccurate. Mine typically runs 25 degrees cooler, so I’m constantly tweaking the dial and checking my finished results with my Thermapen. Glad the extra time didn’t cause any burning.
Best moist bread ever. Refrigerates well. Put a lemon glaze and added mixed nuts( no peanuts ) to mix. Loved by ALL family members, even the hubby who frowned upon me using zucchini instead of banana
Wonderful to hear this, Yolanda! Lemon glaze sounds amazing!
I gave this recipe a try this morning and it unfortunately failed for me. It was way too wet.
This is a great recipe. I was unsure of how much zucchini I had (did not measure) so I added one grated apple to batter and made it in small loaf pans. Made 9 loaves and two little heart cupcake shapes (pans I have). A grad recipe.
Wonderful to hear this, Glenda!
How long would you bake the mini loaves?
I would start checking at 25 minutes … mini loaf pans vary in sizes dramatically, so just keep an eye on them — they may take 35 minutes; they may take less. If you have an instant read thermometer, it should register 205ºF.
Thank you!
This recipe is spot on – delicious! I added an additional teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of cloves to give it a more intense flavor. Terrific – dumping my old recipe!
Wonderful to hear this, Gina!
Made this recipe into muffins today with some adjustments to what i had.
I only had one zucchini which was 5oz and the rest were frozen bananas Making it 12 oz all together. I used 80g of whole wheat flour and 150 grams of brown sugar which still made it too sweet but they’re Awesome and I’m planning to freeze them.
Wonderful to hear this, Susanna! They freeze beautifully.
Love this recipe! I doubled it and made two delicious loaves. I added a couple of tablespoons of ground flaxseed, a Tsp. of ginger and I used 1/2 AP flour and 1/2 whole wheat. Super moist, a bit of a crisp crust top but definitely not dry. Yum!
Yum! Wonderful to hear all of this, Jen!
I used a very large and overgrown summer (yellow) squash from my garden (I carved out the seeds). It turned out great – super moist. I cooked it for 1.5hrs and could have probably used a few more minutes since the middle is extra gooey.
Wonderful to hear this, Karen!
I made muffins out of this recipe and my children loved them. I found the recipe too sweet and am going to try halving the sugar.
I could totally see that, Emily! I prefer things less sweet these days, too.
Hi
I tried the recipe and it was great. I liked the idea of not squeezing the zucchini. Since I am not a big fan of cinnamon, I thought about adding lemon. What do you think of adding the juice and peel of one lemon? I also noticed that someone tried a lemon glaze which sounds great.
Hi Jeanne! I think lemon zest sounds great! I worry a bit about adding to much lemon juice to the batter, so I might start with 1 teaspoon. I also love the idea of a lemon glaze!
I love this. How long to cook for the mini loaves?
Hi Diane! Mini loaves come in all different sizes, so it’s hard to give an estimate, but I would start checking at 20-25 minutes; then check every five minutes or so until they are done.
Love this recipe it is THE BEST Zucchini bread! I am going to make it again but in the mini loaf pans, how long do you recommend baking them in the mini pans?
Wonderful to hear this Carla! It’s so hard to say regarding the timing of the mini pans because mini pans come in all shapes and sizes. I would start checking at around 20 minutes; then check every 5 minutes until it is done.
Would this recipe also work well with yellow squash? 🙂
I think so!
This recipe was nothing special. Too much salt.