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, snack, or light dessert.
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 bread 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, bringing tons of 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 a less sweet dessert.
Grating zucchini
I used the small side of my box grater to shred the zucchini into small pieces. Because of this, it baked right into my bread without adding texture.
If you prefer, you can use the larger side of a box grater to grate your zucchini into large pieces, giving your bread bigger zucchini texture. This is all personal preference, and either method will work.
Zucchini benefits
Zucchini benefitsZucchini provides extra moisture, so I was able to omit one of the eggs and some of the sugar. I also lightened up on the flour, since the natural fiber in zucchini and banana helps bind the bread together.
No, you're not going to be getting a full serving of vegetables from eating a slice of zucchini bread. But, you'll get a few more vitamins and minerals, which is always a good thing.
After making this bread, I welcome zucchini to all of my future banana breads! It adds moisture, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and I was able to cut back on some of the other (less healthy) ingredients.
Zucchini Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed to remove excess moisture
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 granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until well 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 pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- Add grated zucchini (make sure to squeeze and remove excess moisture from shredded zucchini before adding to batter), stir until just combined.
- Pour batter into loaf pan. Cover loaf pan lightly with foil. Bake for 60-70 minutes (removing foil halfway through baking). Bread should be browned across the top and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Zucchini bread will keep for 2-3 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.
- Use the small side of a box grater to finely grate your zucchini. It will bake seamlessly into your bread. Or, use the large side of a box grater for more texture.
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