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Make the most of summer zucchini with this vegan zucchini bread! Moist, tender, and just sweet enough, it’s infused with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Made with light brown sugar for a subtle caramelized flavor!
This happens to all of us: you see all these fresh zucchini at the market and end up with way too many sitting on your counter. Time is short before they go bad, and you have to find a way to use them up fast. You’ve done zucchini tart and caramelized zucchini, and you’re running out of options. Enter this zucchini bread.
A classic that tastes nothing like zucchini but ends up being such a delicious, sweet bread. It has those warm flavors coming from the cinnamon and brown sugar, and is super moist thanks to the whole 1½ cups of grated zucchini.
A quick note: The final photos show zucchini bread made with light brown sugar, while the process shots show a version made with dark brown sugar. I’ve tested both and got equally great results, it’s just that the one made with light brown sugar ended up looking better on camera.
⭐️ Why I Think You’ll Love It
- Moist and tender crumb. Thanks to the light brown sugar and zucchini, this bread is super moist without being soggy.
- Not bland. Zucchini bread can taste very bland if not done right. Not here! This one is infused with plenty of vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Plus, the light brown sugar caramelizes during baking, giving the bread toffee notes.
- Simple pantry ingredients, nothing fancy.
- Easy to customize. Incorporate chocolate chips, walnuts, chopped dried fruits, or top it with a streusel. The possibilities are endless!
🌾 Ingredient Details
- Zucchini – Pick fresh zucchini with smooth and vibrant green skin. No need to peel it, the skin will “melt” during baking, and you won’t notice it.
➜ Note: I prefer using small zucchinis here. Larger zucchinis often have a thicker, bitter skin and many large seeds in the flesh. - Flour – Regular all-purpose flour provides structure.
- Sugar – I use a combination of white and brown sugar (either light or dark). Brown sugar does one thing white sugar doesn’t: as the bread bakes, brown sugar reacts with the baking soda and caramelizes, making this bread taste more complex than a standard quick bread.
- Oil – For richness and moisture. Use a neutral oil with no strong flavor. Sunflower or canola oil are great options.
- Spices – Ground cinnamon and nutmeg add warmth and flavor.
- Vanilla extract – Either store-bought or homemade vanilla extract.
- Leaveners – Baking powder and baking soda lift the batter and give the crumb a lighter texture.
- Milk – Any unsweetened plant-based milk works. Note that since all flours are different, you might need to adjust the amount of milk slightly. More about that inside the recipe card.
📔 Pro Tips
- Grate the zucchini, don’t chop it. Yes, you’ll have to take the grater out for this recipe! I like to use my food processor fitted with the grater attachment to save time, but a box grater works well too. Chopping the zucchini with a knife is not an option, as it yields pieces that are too large to melt during baking.
- Don’t squeeze it. The water content of the zucchini is what makes this bread so moist. Do not squeeze out the water, or your bread will be drier and denser.
- Let it cool completely before slicing. While still warm, the bread will be very soft and too moist. Allow it to cool completely, or even better, let it rest overnight before slicing and enjoying.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
- Grate the zucchini. Using a box grater or a food processor fitted with the grater attachment, grate the zucchini.
- Once grated, measure 1 and 1/2 cups and set it aside. You can use the leftover grated zucchini in noodle stir-fries!
- Mix the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt to a large mixing bowl.
- Using a spoon or whisk, mix until everything is well combined.
- Pour in the wet ingredients. Next, add the oil, plant-based milk, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar.
- Mix. Using a spoon or spatula, mix until the batter is smooth.
- Add the grated zucchini.
- Stir to incorporate it. Stir well until the grated zucchini is evenly incorporated into the batter.
- Pour into a pan. Transfer the batter to a loaf pan.
- Bake. Finally, bake for 55-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
🍫 Variants
As I’ve mentioned earlier, the options to customize this zucchini bread are almost endless. You can add:
- Chocolate: Either chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Dried fruits: Raisins, chopped dried figs, or cranberries.
- Nuts: Walnuts, hazelnuts, slivered almonds, or even chopped macadamias.
You can even top it with a streusel for a crispy topping! Use the crumble topping from my vegan carrot cake muffins.
❄️ How to Store It
- To store: You can store this bread for up to 3 days at room temperature. If the room temperature is very warm, store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- To freeze: Slice the zucchini bread into thick slices and wrap each slice in plastic wrap. Store them in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw for a few hours on the counter.
💬 FAQs
No. Zucchini is already mild on its own, and once baked into a sweet cake, its subtle flavor completely disappears. Zucchini is not here for flavor but to bring moisture and texture.
You do not need to squeeze the zucchini. It’s the zucchini’s water content that makes this bread so moist.
No. Unless you’re using very large homegrown zucchinis, which can have thicker, tougher skin, you do not need to peel them.
Yes. You can replace both the granulated white sugar and the brown sugar with coconut sugar. Your zucchini bread will be darker, and the flavor will be slightly different.
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Vegan Zucchini Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium (250 g) zucchini
- 1 and 1/2 cup (187 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (123 g) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) oil
- 8 tbsp (90 ml) unsweetened plant-based milk
- 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (5 ml) apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F (175°C) and lightly grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan. Line it with parchment paper. - Grate the zucchini. Clean and dry the zucchini. Then, use a box grater or a food processor fitted with the grater attachment to grate the zucchini. Once grated, measure 1 and 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces / 170g) and set it aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients. To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, light brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
- Pour in the wet ingredients. Next, add the oil, plant-based milk, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar. Using a spoon or spatula, mix until the batter is smooth.
- Add the zucchini. Add the grated zucchini and stir to incorporate it evenly into the batter.
- Pour into a pan. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake. Finally, bake the bread for 55-60 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing it.
- You can store this bread for up to 3 days at room temperature. If the room temperature is very warm, store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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