This Healthy Zucchini Bread is deliciously soft, moist and easy to make with simple wholesome ingredients. It’s made with almond flour and naturally sweetened without any refined sugars or wheat. This gluten-free quick bread recipe is perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack and is also grain-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and paleo-friendly.
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Updated August 2021
Healthy Zucchini Bread Recipe
Got lots of garden zucchini to use up? This Healthy Zucchini Bread is tender, fluffy and one of our favorite quick bread recipes once zucchini season arrives.
Made with almond flour, mashed bananas and grated zucchini to keep it wonderfully moist and tender. This homemade gluten-free bread is an easy breakfast, snack or dessert option and perfect if you’ve got a ton of zucchini from the farmer’s market or grocery store to use up.
Looking for more baked goods or zucchini desserts? Check out our Paleo Zucchini Muffins, Zucchini Banana Bread, Chocolate Zucchini Loaf, Zucchini Cookies and Zucchini Cake.
Why you’ll love this simple recipe
- A simple and delicious treat that is made in just one bowl
- Uses simple pantry-friendly items from your kitchen
- Perfect for using up the abundance amount of July and August zucchini
- Every bite of this bread is filled with bursts of zucchini with dark chocolate. It’s so yummy and hard to believe that it’s made without any gluten or refined-sugar.
What makes this healthy?
- Made with wholesome ingredients like almond flour, coconut flour and maple syrup instead of refined flours and sugars.
- Grain-free, dairy-free and paleo-friendly.
- Totally kid-friendly and includes a keto-friendly sweetener option. All you have to do is make a few simple substitutions. Use Lakanto Sugar-Free maple syrup and trade in the bananas for pumpkin puree.
Recipe ingredients
Most zucchini banana bread recipes are typically made with a combination of all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and milk. To keep this chocolate chip zucchini bread healthy and paleo-friendly, we are using:
Wet Ingredients:
- Banana – be sure to use a very ripe banana to add extra moisture and sweetness. You can also try applesauce or for keto zucchini bread, swap with pure pumpkin puree.
- Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature. Want vegan zucchini bread? Try swapping the eggs with flax eggs to make this zucchini bread vegan.
- Unsalted Almond Butter: You could also use cashew butter or any other nut or seed butter, if preferred.
- Pure maple syrup – Adds natural sweetness and extra moisture. You can sub with another liquid sweetener of your choice such as coconut nectar syrup, Lakanto Sugar-free maple syrup for low carb or honey if not vegan.
- Coconut oil – melted and cooled slightly. Be sure to use refined if you don’t want any coconut flavor or swap with avocado oil or another neutral tasting oil,
- Vanilla – adds flavor and makes this gluten-free bread delicious
Dry Ingredients
- Baking powder and baking soda: this combination of leaveners help the paleo zucchini bread rise
- Super fine almond flour: our favorite grain-free flour to use in place of all purpose flour.
- Coconut flour – another gluten-free flour that helps to provide the right structure when making gluten-free bread. We have not tested with any other flour combination for this bread recipe, but you may try subbing with tapioca flour or arrowroot starch if you don’t have any coconut flour on hand.
- Ground cinnamon and sea salt – add flavor and balances out the sweetness
- Grated zucchini – adds moisture and a delicious way to sneak in some healthy greens, vitamins and antioxidants. Be sure to squeeze out the water from your grated zucchini after measuring. Wondering how to grate zucchini, check out the instructions here.
- Dairy-free chocolate chunks or vegan mini chocolate chips – we like Hu’s Kitchen Gems or Lily’s Sweet Chocolate Chips. Leave out or swap in nuts if you don’t love chocolate and zucchini together.
How to make Zucchini Bread
- Prepare for Baking: Lightly grease a 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan and preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- Mix the Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana and whisk in the eggs, maple syrup, melted coconut oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, until combined.
- Add the Dry Ingredients: Place a large mesh sieve on top of the bowl, and sift in the 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 3/4 tsp baking soda, almond flour, coconut flour, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and salt and stir until the batter is well mixed.
- Grate the zucchini using a box grater. Wrap the shredded zucchini in a kitchen towel, paper towels or a nut milk bag and squeeze well to remove the excess water. Drain and fold in the zucchini, followed by the 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
- Assemble: Pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread it evenly. Top with more chocolate.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let Cool: Remove your bread from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 35 minutes. Flip it out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Tips for the Best Zucchini Bread
- Remove Moisture From Zucchini: It’s important to remove any water from your shredded zucchini to prevent the bread from getting soggy.
- Let Bread Cool Before Slicing: If your bread hasn’t completely cooled before you slice it, it could be too crumbly. Let it cool before serving so it’s nice and firm.
- Use Fresh Zucchini: This recipe is perfect for the summer in July when zucchini season is in full swing! In-season zucchini will give you the moistest, most delicious bread ever.
Variations
Want to switch up this zucchini loaf recipe?
- Banana – swap out the banana and make your zucchini bread with applesauce or even pumpkin puree for a keto zucchini bread.
- Fresh or Frozen Berries – we love adding blueberries to add some extra moisture and sweetness.
- Pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds or flaxseeds – add an additional crunch and bumps up the protein.
- Nuts. We love adding chopped walnuts or pecans
- Spread a dollop or a smear of nut butter or dairy-free cream cheese on a slice for a delicious afternoon snack or after-dinner dessert
Storage Instructions
How to store: Start by tightly wrapping this healthy zucchini loaf in plastic wrap or keep it in an airtight container. It will stay fresh on the counter for up to 3 days. If you store it in the fridge, it will stay good for a few extra days!
Can Zucchini Bread be Frozen?
If you’ve ever wondered if I can freeze zucchini bread, you definitely can. This gluten-free chocolate chunk bread is freezer friendly.
How to freeze: If you want to freeze gluten free zucchini bread, we recommend wrapping it in a layer of aluminum foil followed by a layer of plastic wrap. It will stay good in the freezer for up to 2 months!
How to thaw: When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen zucchini bread, just thaw it on the counter overnight before serving.
Can Zucchini Bread be made into muffins?
Yes, to make zucchini bread muffins, check out our recipe here where we divide the batter evenly into muffin pans to make zucchini muffins. Or you can even divide the batter into mini loaf pans for mini bread loaves.
More zucchini recipes you might like:
Crispy Zucchini Fritters with Cheese
Extra Crispy Zucchini Fries
Crispy Zucchini Chips
Recommended Tools You’ll Need For this Recipe:
This Healthy Zucchini Bread is deliciously soft, moist and easy to make with simple wholesome ingredients. It's made with almond flour and naturally sweetened without any refined sugars or wheat. This gluten-free quick bread recipe is perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack and is also grain-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and paleo-friendly.
- 1 small very ripe banana , mashed, about 1/3 cup. May sub with 1/3 cup applesauce or 1/3 cup pumpkin puree for keto.
- 3 large eggs , room temperature
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup , for Keto, sub with 3 tbsp Lakanto Sugar-free maple syrup or preferred liquid sweetener.
- 2 tbsp creamy unsalted almond butter , or cashew butter
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil OR another neutral tasting oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups superfine blanched almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup grated zucchini , be sure to squeeze out as much water as possible after measuring
- 2/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chunks or chocolate chips , plus more for topping - we like Hu's Kitchen Gems or Lily's Sweets
Lightly grease an 8.5"x4.5" loaf pan and preheat oven to 350ºF.
In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana and whisk in the eggs, maple syrup, almond butter, melted coconut oil and vanilla, until combined.
Place a large sieve over the bowl and sift in the baking soda, baking powder, almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon and salt and mix until the batter is uniform.
Grate zucchini using a box grater. Wrap the shredded zucchini in a kitchen towel, paper towels or a nut milk bag and squeeze well to remove the excess water. Drain and add to the batter and stir to combine.
Fold in the chocolate chunks or chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread it evenly. Top with more chocolate.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 35 minutes. Flip out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
How to store: Start by tightly wrapping this healthy zucchini loaf in plastic wrap or keep it in an airtight container. It will stay fresh on the counter for up to 3 days. If you store it in the fridge, it will stay good for a few extra days!
How to freeze: Wrap the loaf in a layer of aluminum foil followed by a layer of plastic wrap. It will stay good in the freezer for up to 2 months!
How to thaw: When you're ready to enjoy your frozen zucchini bread, just thaw it on the counter overnight before serving.
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