As we speak, I’m chewing on a slice of this zucchini bread while simultaneously washing it down with a gulp of too-hot black coffee and a curious cat peeks his narrowed eyes at my fingers behind a computer screen. This is where summer is at its best. Bright mornings, cooler nights. Harvest mixed into breads, canned into sauces, and simmered into jams. I’m not even concerned that I can’t sleep through the night when I get to “wake up” to a slice of zucchini bread. It’s all worth it.
Now that Bruce Wayne has tucked in his front paws into his chest, I’m in no imminent danger of being unable to finish talking with you. Hi, my friends. It’s still okay if you’re not okay. We’re still in the middle of a pandemic. Maybe zucchini bread is just the banana bread of phase-1, the sequel? Maybe everyone will get mad at you when you’re trying to cope because they don’t fully yet realized the power of anxiety baking. Again I say,
It’s okay if you’re not okay, it’s okay if you are.
I decided to put this recipe into the perfect series. Because, really, it’s a common recipe that we all just need a solution for. It’s not going to be that zucchini bread that sweats to the crust and makes a sticky outer, it’s not going to be the one without any flavor because apparently that’s what we call “healthy”. No, it’s the one that has a perfectly dense yet moist inner and crusty-sugary topping. It’s the one filled with warm spices and folded with your desired fillings. You got your walnuts, your chocolate chips, your raisins. I don’t know. I like it plain but you’re in the driver seat.
How do you pick out the best zucchini for zucchini bread? The bigger the better. The bigger the more water content. Reserve the smaller for cooking, sautéing, ratatouille-ing. The loaf only needs about 6 ounces of zucchini so if your garden overfloweth, just double and triple the recipe as needed.
The Perfect Zucchini Bread
Crispy crunchy topping and warm spices take this zucchini bread to new levels
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
3/4 cup flavorless oil
2 eggs
1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons for topping
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1/3 cup yogurt or greek yogurt, or sour cream
6 oz grated zucchini, about 1 1/2 cups packed
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
*1/2 cup add-ins – Chopped walnuts, mini chocolate chips, raisins etc.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla bean paste, and yogurt until smooth. Gently mix in the shredded zucchini. Toss in the rest of the dry ingredients then mix until fully combined. If doing add-ins, fold into the batter at this point.
Pour into a greased bread pan lined with parchment paper and top with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.
Wait to cool 10 minutes in the pan before removing.
Notes
Keeps up to 4 days.
Updated on 8/12 to fix recipe card
Hi Karlee, i just made the zucchini bread, it’s in the oven. I hope that the 2nd listing for 1 teaspoon of salt was for baking powder?
And i assume the topping sugar goes on at the end just before oven entry? thanks alot. I know this will be good!
Hey Trish! Thanks for the catch! I’ve updated the recipe 🙂
Can I substitute the vanilla bean paste 1:1 for vanilla extract?
Yes! absolutely it’s a 1:1 sub 🙂
Fabulous recipe! Our new favorite bread! Easy assembly and straight forward. Beautiful and tasty bread. Thanks so much!!
★★★★★
Sooooo delicious!! Moist and I loved the crunchy sugar top! Keeper!!