Zucchini banana bread is an easy quick bread to make with your extra summer zucchini and ripe bananas. This bread is soft, tender, and moist, and makes a fantastic breakfast or midday snack.
Summer harvest often brings an excess of produce like summer squash and zucchini. Zucchini bread and muffins are a great way to use up that extra produce!
I've combined zucchini with my favorite banana nut bread recipe to bring you this amazingly moist and flavorful zucchini banana bread.
Unsure about adding vegetables into your baked goods? Trust me, you really cannot taste the zucchini baked into this bread. It's simply along for the ride, adding moisture and pretty flecks of green to your bread.
A slice of zucchini banana bread makes a great breakfast paired with coffee or tea. Or, serve as a less sweet dessert along with some whipped honey butter.
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Bananas - Very ripe bananas work best in banana bread. They're softer, meaning they'll incorporate easily into the bread batter. Ripe bananas are also naturally sweeter, adding extra flavor.
- Zucchini - You'll need one cup of shredded zucchini for this recipe, which is about 1 medium zucchini's worth. We're squeezing the liquid from our shredded zucchini because we don't want to add too much moisture to the bread, which can cause it to turn out gummy.
- Sugar - We're using a combination of granulated and brown sugars for best flavor and browning.
- Oil - Adds moisture to the bread.
- Egg - Adds moisture and structure to the bread.
- Vanilla - Enhances the flavor of your bread but can be omitted without affecting the texture or rise.
- Flour - Adds stability and balances with the wet ingredients in the recipe. I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour, so I can't say for sure how other flours would turn out.
- Leavening - You'll need a combination of baking soda and baking powder for the proper rise.
- Cinnamon - Adds warm, cozy flavor to your banana bread. Could be substituted with a pumpkin pie spice blend or chai spice blend for a more complex flavor.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of your bread without making it salty.
Taste
So what does zucchini banana bread taste like? It tastes just like a classic banana bread - slightly sweet with a cinnamon banana flavor.
Zucchini doesn't have a strong taste on its own so it's easy to add to baking recipes without adding flavor.
Grating zucchini
I recommend using the small side of a box grater for a fine grate. Finely grated zucchini blends seamlessly into baking bread, leaving no trace of zucchini aside from the tiny green flecks.
Using the larger side of a box grater or a food processor will add noticeable texture to your baked bread. This is all up to personal preference.
Storage
Zucchini banana bread will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.
If desired, your zucchini bread can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freezing
Zucchini bread can be frozen for up to 3 months in a tightly sealed, freezer safe container.
Freeze zucchini bread as a whole loaf or in individual slices. Store individual slices between wax paper or parchment paper to easily thaw one slice at a time.
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📖 Recipe
Zucchini Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 1 cup (135 g) grated zucchini, after measuring, squeeze liquid out
- ½ cup (106 g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (66 g) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper (or grease and flour bottom and sides) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add bananas and mash with a fork. Then, add grated zucchini (with the liquid squeezed out), brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until fully combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk (or sift) together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the middle and add wet ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes, or until bread is baked through in the center. Bread should be browned across the top and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out with crumbs, not wet batter.
- Allow to cool to room temperature before slicing.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Optional toppings: add ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for a little crunch.
- If bread is browning too quickly in the oven: loosely tent with foil for the remainder of the baking time.
- Storage: Zucchini bread will keep for 3-4 days in a sealed container at room temperature, up to a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months tightly wrapped in the freezer.
- Grating tips: Use the small side of a box grater to finely grate your zucchini. It will bake in seamlessly. If you use the large side of a box grater then you'll get more texture in your finished bread.
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