I remember the first time I ever had zucchini bread. I was a kid visiting my friend Danielle and her mom Caron baked up a loaf. I thought the idea was revolting. Who wants veggies in their bread!? But I've always been open and interested to try new foods so I hesitantly sampled it and... pure bliss.
The bread didn't really taste like zucchini at all. Or even bread for that matter. It tasted just like banana bread except without the bananas. It was lightly sweet, with a hint of cinnamon, a walnut crunch, and the best part (and the magic zucchini provides), it was extra-extra-moist. I fell in love and have ever since been a huge fan. Thanks, Caron!
My recipe for Easy Vegan Zucchini Bread is, you guessed it, easy and vegan. All the same flavours of traditional zucchini bread but even better. The zucchini adds so much delicious moistness that this bread needs to hang out in the oven for quite a long time to cook all the way through. The perfect time in my oven was 75 minutes, which means my entire house was filled with sweet scents of baked goodness. Now, this is how you win the hearts of zucchini haters!
To make Easy Vegan Zucchini Bread: in a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl whisk together the plant-based milk, light oil, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients into dry and stir until the batter just starts to come together. Add in the grated zucchini and walnuts if using and mix just a few more times to combine. Don't over mix.
Scoop the batter into the loaf pan and smooth down. Bake for 70 - 80 minutes until golden on the top and edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.
Enjoy easy vegan zucchini bread plain (which doesn't taste plain at all) or with a smear of vegan butter.
Easy Vegan Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- ¾ cup plant-based milk (such as soy or almond)
- ¾ cup light oil (such as canola or vegetable)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups grated zucchini (about 2 small zucchinis)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease an 8" x 4" loaf pan or you can line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the plant-based milk, light oil, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into dry and stir until the batter just starts to come together. Add in the grated zucchini and walnuts if using and mix just a few more times to combine. Don't over mix.
- Scoop the batter into the loaf pan and smooth down. Bake for 70 - 80 minutes until golden on the top and edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan.
Nutrition
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Kay says
After reading the initial comments about it being too moist I decided to try it with one half the called for zucchini. Turned out excellent. I can see how it would be too moist otherwise. Perfect with these modifications.
Diana Smith says
Mine didn't turn out well at all...it's 80 minutes and all wet. I thought I added too much oil, went and double checked the recipe, no, I did everything correctly! Smells wonderful but a flop for me.
Kat says
Mine turned out completely mushy inside like it wasn’t cooked at all even though I followed the recipe exactly. Do you know what I may have done wrong? I was so disappointed that it didn’t turn out for me.
Lorie says
I think you need to squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini shreds with a clean dish cloth, which it doesn't specify in the recipe.
RF says
Absolutely delicious and will be making this again and again. The family loved it, even my son who HATES zucchini. I added pecans instead of walnuts as that is what I had in the cupboard and a bit less sugar but it turned out awesome!
K says
Fantastic bread. I added vegan chocolate chips and made 2 loaves. This will be such a great recipe to use with the summer crop of zucchini. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome 🙂
Adi Loevsky says
Made this zucchini bread this morning using spelt flour and it turned out delicious!!
Sam Turnbull says
Great!
SC says
Hi. I'm getting prepared to bake this now. Should I remove the seeds from the zucchini before grating? Should I squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini before adding it to the batter? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Cyndy says
Soooo YUMMY! I put a foil tent on the loaf after about 60 minutes of baking time to keep the top from browning too much. It takes the full 80 minutes in my oven.
Thank you, Sam, for another tasty recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it, Cyndy!
Yulca says
Yet another keeper, Sam!
Slightly modified the recipe as follows:
- used only 1/2 cup of sugar
- used 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup of spelt flour
... and it turned out divine. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you loved it, Yulca!
Norma Malaab says
scrumptious - thank you
Sam says
I've only had zucchini bread once before, a few months ago (different recipe). I was excited to make my own for the first time. This recipe exceeded my expectations. It's warm, moist, cinnamony, and doesn't taste like zucchini. I think this is about to become one of my favorite loaves. It's going to be hard to bring it in to share with my friends at work tomorrow, so I'm just going to have to set aside another big piece for myself first.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Awesome!! I'm so thrilled you loved it so much, Sam 🙂
Lani says
Made this bread and it turned out great! I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the oil as I do in all my baking. Shared the bread with a few friends and they loved it, too! So moist and delicious! Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Lani 🙂
kch says
Do you shred the zucchini with the skins on?
Sam Turnbull says
Yep, skins and all.
Janet says
I made this today and have it to my vegan daughter who said it is the best zucchini bread she's ever had, and I think it's excellent too. Kudos Samantha!! 😉
Sam Turnbull says
Oh wow that's so awesome!! Thrilled your daughter enjoyed it so much 🙂
Juli says
This turned out so good — no nuts, in a Pampered Chef stoneware it took just under 60 minutes. Very moist but not wet.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it, Juli 🙂
Kaska says
Thank you for this recipe it's delish! I also added a mix of cacao and carob powder to make it chocolatey. Came out awesome!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Hannah says
I haven't had a good zucchini bread in too long! It always reminds me of the first coffee shop I worked in. We would get these thick fragrant slices of zucchini bread delivered in the mornings, and they smelled so heavenly as I put them on display. They weren't vegan, and I was still new enough in my own veganism that I didn't think to go home and make my own. So I just craved it for every day for like a year. Luckily I can make my own now, and every time I do I'm taken back to that coffee shop.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's a lovely memory. So happy you get to enjoy zucchini bread again!
Susan says
Have you tried adding chocolate to this recipe? Would you use cocoa powder? Melted chocolate? Both?! This recipe looks fantastic!
Sam Turnbull says
I would substitute the walnuts for chocolate chips! Enjoy!
Sarah says
Hello! Think this could be made into muffins instead of a loaf? How would that effect the baking time?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Sarah, yes, for sure. Here is a guide that will help you convert the recipe. Enjoy!
Janetta Shields says
Applesauce is what I always substitute for oil. just use the amount of applesauce that it calls for oil.
Liz says
That's what I did! Turned out amazing.
Wini says
This looks amazing! I will definitely be making this soon I was wondering if I could cub almond flour for AP flour?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Wini, gluten-free baking is really not my thing, and my guess is that it would need some further recipe testing to do this, but here's an article that my help you.
Wini says
Thank you so much
Trish says
This really looks delicious! So eager to try it. Sorry to be a pest, but is there something I can sub for the oil? Trying to be more oil-free. Would Apple sauce work or a combo of banana and apple sauce or would it make the loaf too wet?
DV says
I'm wondering this, too.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Trish, glad you're looking forward to it! I haven't tried substituting anything else and oil-free baking is really not my thing so I'm afraid I don't know how it would turn out. If you give it a try, let us know!
Juli says
Years ago a friend used to sub yogurt or sour cream for the oil in quick bread recipes. A non-dairy version might be worth a try!
Trish says
Oh wow, thank you Juli!
Liz says
Trish,
I use applesauce in place of oil in my baking recipes. I used it for this one and it turned out deliciously moist and definitely not too wet! Give it a try. Use the same amount that's called for in the recipe.
Trish says
Thanks so much, Liz!! Will now make it with confidence
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! SO happy to hear that it's such an easy sub. Thanks for letting us know, Liz 🙂