Healthy Zucchini Bread
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Healthy Zucchini Bread is an easy, delicious treat. Low calorie, low sugar, gluten free and moist – everyone will love it! This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill but all opinions are my own.
This post was originally shared in 2017 but has been updated since.
Healthy Zucchini Bread is one of my favorite veggie loaded treats! It’s light, fresh, and the perfect way for using up loads of summer zucchini—though honestly, it’s delicious any time of year.
Zucchini may seem like a boring veggie, but when our gardens are overflowing with it, we love using it in this Zucchini Orzo, Chicken Veggie Skillet, Zucchini Egg Bake and of course in this healthier zucchini bread.
Most zucchini bread recipes are loaded with sugar, but this recipe is sweetened only with honey (and a few chocolate chips!) You could also add some chopped walnuts for added healthy fats!
Using whole grain oat flour gives the bread a light, fluffy texture with a slight nutty flavor while also adding fiber and protein. And let’s not forget—this bread has a full cup of zucchini baked right in, adding a sneaky veggie boost without anyone noticing!
Liz’s tips for zucchini bread
- Grate your zucchini with a standard box grater. Place your box grater over a bowl to catch the zucchini shreads.
- You do not need to peel the zucchini for zucchini bread! It will soften in the bread and add extra fiber and nutrients.
- Make sure to squeeze water out of the zucchini for bread. Once you’ve grated zucchini, take a paper towel or clean dish towel and squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible. Otherwise, you’ll wind up with soggy zucchini bread.
If you’re looking for other healthy zucchini recipes – check out these Healthy Zucchini Recipes!
Ingredients
Substitutions
To make gluten free: replace regular oat flour with Bob’s Red Mill Certified Gluten Free Oat Flour. You can also try this Gluten Free Zucchini Bread!
To make vegan: replace 1 egg white with 1 flax egg. Sub honey with maple syrup. Sub milk for almond milk.
To make lower in sugar: Omit the chocolate.
Flour: You can replace oat flour with whole wheat flour or white flour but your bread might be a little more dense. Do not replace the oat flour with almond flour or coconut flour. If you don’t have oat flour on hand, blend or process old fashioned oats or quick cook oats until they are a flour like consistency. You can follow this tutorial for how to make oat flour.
Milk: Any milk will work – almond, oat, regular dairy milk, soy, coconut, etc.
Spices: You can omit the ground ginger and nutmeg if you don’t have any. Add a little bit more cinnamon to compensate!
Vanilla Extract – You can omit vanilla extract from the recipe and it will still turn out fine.
Nuts: You can add in chopped pecans or walnuts. Raisins would also be a nice add in!
Healthy Zucchini Muffins: Pour the batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the muffin. You can also check out our Healthy Zucchini Bread Muffins
Mini Loaves – I haven’t tried making this recipe into mini loaves, but I think it would work! Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the loaf pan.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread: This Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread is a delicious variation!
Zucchini Banana Bread: Try our Zucchini Banana Bread.
How to make Healthy Zucchini Bread:
- Before doing anything, grate your zucchini. Squeeze out as much water as you can from the zucchini. I typically use a paper towel and wring it out over the sink.
- Gather all ingredients
- Mix together your wet ingredients.
- Stir in your dry ingredients.
- Add in chocolate chips (optional but highly recommended!)
- Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake. After 40-45 minutes you’ll have perfectly cooked zucchini bread.
I love to make this on Sunday to enjoy for breakfast/snacks during the week. It’s great with a big cup of coffee in the morning, or as a snack with PB on top in the afternoon.
Storage
Storing Zucchini Bread: You can store this bread covered on your counter for a few days, but I recommend keeping it in the refrigerator for maximum freshness!
It will last up to a week in the refrigerator – but will lose its freshness after about 3 days on the counter.
How to freeze Zucchini Bread: You can slice this bread and individually wrap it or freeze it whole. To defrost a whole loaf, take it out the night before you’d like to enjoy it and set it in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve, pop it in the microwave.
If you’re defrosting a single slice, you can put it directly in the microwave or toaster oven until it is warm.
Gluten Free Zucchini Bread FAQ
Your zucchini bread shouldn’t fall apart. Make sure you let it cool completely before removing it from the prepared loaf pan. Also, make sure you squeeze any liquid out of your zucchini before baking!
More Healthy Bread Recipes:
We love healthy bread recipes. Here are some of our favorites:
Healthy Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded zucchini squeezed to remove water (about 1 medium zucchini)
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Oat Flour use gluten free if necessary
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a well greased 8×4 loaf pan.
- In a large bowl mix together the zucchini, honey, milk, vanilla extract, olive oil and egg until combined.
- Add the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg and salt to the mixing bowl. Stir well until combined.
- Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and top with additional chocolate chips if desired.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes, or until top of bread is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool completely for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan.
Video
Notes
- Grate your zucchini with a standard box grater. Place your box grater over a bowl to catch the zucchini shreads.
- You do not need to peel the zucchini for zucchini bread! It will soften in the bread and add extra fiber and nutrients.
- Make sure to squeeze water out of the zucchini for bread. Once you’ve grated zucchini, take a paper towel or clean dish towel and squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible. Otherwise, you’ll wind up with soggy zucchini bread.
This recipe was easy and the bread was delicious! We will definitely be making this again soon!