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We don’t usually post on the weekends, but I had to just sneak on here to share a yummy recipe I made today! I’m happy that so many of you loved the Chocolate Zucchini Bread we posted not too long ago and two of you readers made suggestions that inspired this non-chocolate version. Jana suggested adding orange to the chocolate loaf, so I did that here, and Beth wondered if the chocolate recipe would be just as yummy without the chocolate. So I made a few changes and voila! A delicious, super moist, gently spiced zucchini bread with a hint of orange. If you’ve still got zucchini in your garden, give this one a shot and let me know how you like it. Here’s the recipe- with no fluff! Enjoy your Sunday!
Zucchini Bread {makes 2 loaves}
Recipe by Our Best Bites
2 1/4 C flour
2 t cinnamon
1/8 t ground cloves
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 C canola oil
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
zest from one large orange
1/2 C sour cream
3 C grated zucchini
optional: 2/3 C chopped pecans, toasted*
Topping:
2 T white sugar
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
*I actually really dislike nuts in breads. I hate how they get kind of soggy. I added them in the loaf pictured (just to live on the wild side) but I much preferred the second loaf without nuts.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans and set aside.
Place shredded zucchini in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and set aside.
Combine flour, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Beat eggs, oil, sugars, and vanilla for about 30 seconds. Add sour cream and orange zest and beat to combine. Very gently press down on zucchini in strainer and discard extra liquid. Mix zucchini into batter.
Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Divide batter between 2 pans. Sprinkle topping evenly over tops. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
Make sure to let your loaf rest on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before you try to remove it from the pan or it will come out in chunks!
This makes great muffins too. I used papers in the muffin tin and cooked them at the same temp. Set your timer for 10-12 minutes and then keep an eye on them (cuz I can’t remember exactly how long they took!) I made 12 large muffins, 12 mini muffins, and one small loaf- so you definitely get a bunch!
I love zucchini bread. I never get sick of it!
I love how you only have 1/2 cup of oil in the recipe and 3 cups of zucchini, so many recipes call for a cup of oil and 2 cups of zucchini. I'm making this to take to our church picnic tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe.
i looooove zucchini bread! and making it chocolate is even better.
I made your yummy chocolate version and was thinking about adapting it without chocolate. Glad to know it was great!
I'm hungry–I want a slice now. Thanks for sharing another yummy recipe.
Thanks Sara, I will have to give this one a try. I did make the chocolate version without the chocolate and my family liked it. Also, do you have any good peach recipes? I have tons to use.
Beth, I've read of people making the apple dumplings with peaches and having FANTABULOUS results! That's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head, besides peach jam and peach pie and peach ice cream…yum.
oooh, I love Kate's idea of peach dumplings!
Looks beautiful! I loved the chocolate zucchini bread, so I'm sure I will love this, as well!
Hello, I love this site and have found quite a few keeper recipes, and can't wait to try others. I do have one question about this: If I want to make muffins, do I need to adjust the cooking time and/or temp? If so, what would the new info be? Thanks!
Muffins work great. Cook at the same temp, just watch the time. I made the chocolate zucchini bread recipe into muffins last night and I think it took about 12 minutes- but that's just an estimate, so keep an eye on them! I also used papers. It makes a whole bunch too- so plenty for eating and sharing!
Thanks for the info! I'm hoping my son will eat a muffin for lunch at school. He's been very picky lately, his lunches have gone uneaten, and I figure this is a way to get at least one veggie in him. I just hope I can leave them alone long enough for him to try one …
Just pulled these out of the oven a few minutes ago (I did the muffins). Just had a taste, and YUM!!!!! They're for a mom's brunch tomorrow morning. Thanks for the recipe!
okay maybe I am an idiot but do you put the topping on before you bake it or after. It does not say and I jsut made them and realized I probably needed to put the topping on before I baked it. Ahh. It smells so good and the batter tasted awesome some I am really excited to eat it. Thanks again for helping my family add on the pounds and be happy. Just kidding.
you're not an idiot! Apparently I am for not specifying! You put it on before, so you're all good!
I totally loved this and so did my husband! It’s just the two of us though, what is the best way to store the extra loaf?
I’m glad you liked it Emee! If it’s wrapped up well, you can pop it in your freezer. Otherwise, just put it in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out.
Waiting for this to come out of the oven and it smells GOOD. The print only version of the recipe does not specify when to put on the topping but the web version does. I have zucchini coming out my ears. Chocolate version is up next…
Ladies,I have been looking for a delicious zucchini bread recipe since the dawn of the Cretaceous!! I’m always tweaking recipes–rarely do I ever follow a recipe the same way twice. But after making this, I could NOT find anything to change about it. Not a DARN THING! Perfect the way it is. I’ve also used this batter in paper-lined muffin cups–sprinkle about 1 tsp. topping only on each one, and reduce time to about 15 minutes. THANK YOU!!!!!!! (Tip: I line the bottom of my bread pan with a rectangle of parchment paper for easy removal.)
Thanks! Just what I needed today.
I was a bit short on zucchini, so I popped in a ripe banana. It went over really well with the kids. (And so did the sugary top!)
My muffins needed 20 minutes. My small loaves needed 40.
I just made this yesterday and it turned out great! So moist and flavorful, perfect sweetness (I did cut the granulated sugar by 1/4 cup though and didn’t put the topping on). I loved the spiced flavor that the cloves lent to this bread. I couldn’t quite detect the orange zest flavor but I did use a small/medium sized orange because I didn’t have a large one, so I’ll use more next time. I love how this recipe uses sour cream to sub for some of the oil and add to the moisture. I also used light sour cream to reduce the fat content even more. Mine ended up yielding one 9×5 loaf bread and 10 standard sized muffins. I had to dramatically reduce the baking time on the bread though. I had it in for 33 minutes total, but had to cover it for the last five minutes or so because the sides were done but not the center. The muffins were done after 15 minutes though. I would definitely make this recipe again! I’ve been searching for a good zucchini bread recipe and this is definitely it! Thanks so much!
This looks so great! I’ve been on the hunt for a zucchini bread recipe. One question: I’ve seen a couple other recipes that say to squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini after it has been grated. Should I do that or no? I didn’t see any indication in your recipe to do so and wanted to be sure. I can’t wait to use the extra zucchini I have for this! 🙂
Nope, no need. Just toss it all in there.
Used this recipe last night–yummy! I’ve made zucchini bread over the years and have never been 100% satisfied with other recipes. Other recipes I’ve tried are too greasy, too soggy, too dry, little flavor, but yours is definitely a keeper–thank you! I do have a question, with one batch I left the orange zest out and added chocolate chips. However I noticed the chocolate chips sank to the bottom–how do I prevent this? I thought of using mini choc. chips but that doesn’t give me enough of the choc. flavor I want. Any suggestions? (ps love your website!)
Just toss the chips with a little of the flour first and that will help suspend them in the batter.
Yummy! I used Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream and all spice instead of ground cloves..*I didn’t have any ground cloves. Wow, this is super delish!
I have made this bread twice and i LOVE IT!!!!Thank you! One question though with the coming holidays… do you think i could freeze it before i would bake it?
I wouldn’t–I’d just wrap it tightly and freeze it after baking it.
Hope that helps!
I love zucchini bread. My kids love it too. I’m trying to get them to eat vegetables more. This bread is delicious as well as a little bit healthy with the zucchini. My kids hate zucchini lasagna, but love zucchini bread
Could I use whole wheat flour? What would I need to change?
Any chance this could be made gluten-free? If so, do you think I could simply replace the regular flour with a GF all purpose flour? I am also looking for a GREAT zucchini bread recipe and have yet to find one that fits the bill. This one sounds AMAZING!
So glad I found this recipe. I used both zucchini and yellow squash in this from my garden and it turned out absolutely delicious. This is a great recipe!
Have you tried this with whole wheat flour? I have a ton, and would like to use it up….
I bet it would be fine with 1/2 whole wheat, but you’d have to try it.
I am wondering how this would be with Agave instead of sugar and substituting flax meal for some of the flour?
I made the bread but made some healthy substitutes: 1/2 cup applesauce for oil, agave for all sugar,egg beaters for eggs, Greek yogurt for sour cream. The flavor was awesome but after I took the nice raised loaf out of the oven and let it cool, it dropped and was kind of like a bread pudding with crust. I need suggestions on how to make the substitutes and get a nice loaf??
I also substituted 1/2 cup flax meal for a 1/2 cup of the flour.
This bread looks delicious! I have one question, do I squeeze the water out of the zucchini? If yes, do I measure the 3 cups before or after squeezing the water out?
No, you don’t have to squeeze any water out, but just in case people have extra juicy ones, I have edited the instructions. It helps to just place the zucchini in a strainer for the few minutes that you spend prepping the recipe. It will release a little water that you can then pour off. Measure the quantity before that 🙂
In the oven right now? Smells wonderful!