Seriously…this IS the Best Zucchini Bread Ever!
A few weeks ago, my husband Jack returned from a business trip singing the praises of some delicious zucchini bread that one of his co-workers named Troy had brought to the meeting to share with everyone. It was a homemade zucchini bread baked by Troy’s wife Lannette – and Jack said it was the Best Zucchini Bread Ever!
Seriously – Jack would not stop talking about this zucchini bread! For days, he talked about how moist and delicious it was, and that it was perfectly sweet and spicy. And for days, Jack pestered Troy for the recipe so we could make it at home and possibly share it here on A Family Feast.
So I was thrilled when I was introduced to Lannette – and she graciously allowed us to share the recipe with all of you. Scroll below to our recipe card to watch a video showing how it’s made.
This really is the best zucchini bread ever! It is super moist and almost cake-like thanks to a generous amount of shredded zucchini in the batter (we actually used a combination of zucchini and summer squash – which is why you see a little bit of yellow in our bread photos) as well as some applesauce! This bread is perfectly seasoned with cinnamon, and a generous amount of chopped pecans add crunch and texture.
Great recipe Lannette and thanks again for sharing! 🙂
You may like these other zucchini recipes:
- Cheesy Bacon Zucchini Bread
- Italian Zucchini Bread
- Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread
- Zucchini Relish
- Mock Apple Crumb Pie (made with zucchini)
Ingredients
- Butter and flour for preparing baking pans
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3½ cups grated zucchini (you can use as few as 2 cups and as much as 4 cups)
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup apple sauce
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter and lightly flour two 8”x4” loaf pans.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir gently to combine.
- Shred zucchini, lightly packing it down as you measure it.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer beat eggs, applesauce, oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Mix very well.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients (about 1/3 at a time) mixing as you go – then beat well to fully combine.
- With a rubber scraper or wooden spoon, stir in shredded zucchini and nuts into the batter and mix well.
- Pour half of the batter into each prepared pan.
- Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out cleanly. (The bake time will vary depending on how much shredded zucchini you add to the batter.)
- Remove from the pans and cool on wire racks.
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30+ Recipes For Your Garden Zucchini
This looks amazing! Has anyone used a different oil instead of vegetable oil?
Thanks Julie – I don’t know!
Hi Julie–I used 1/3 C coconut oil. I also increased my applesauce to just shy of 1 C and reduced the sugar to 1.5 C. I also decreased the cinnamon to 1 T and added 1 tsp Allspice and 1/4 tsp cloves. Thbread came out absolutely fabulous!
Thank you to Martha for sharing your recipe.
Sounds like some great adaptations Charity! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! This recipe looks great. I’ve never made any type of zucchini baked goods myself, so sorry if this is a silly question, but does it matter how thick or fine you grate the zucchini and what would you recommend? Also, has anyone tried freezing this to eat later? I have been gifted a lot of zucchini. 🙂
Hi Leah – I used the largest grate size on a box grater – but a smaller grate will work too. We have frozen some of this bread ourselves and it thaws beautifully! Just be sure to wrap it well to avoid any freezer burn. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
please provide me wit recipe for Glazed Lemon Zuchinni Bread.
Hi Isabel – We don’t have a Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread recipe on our site! Sorry!
Would you please let me know where I can find your recipe for Glazed Lemon Zuchinni
Bread.
Thanks,
Hi Isabel – we included it in our Garden Zucchini recipe round up but it is from Mom On Timeout http://www.momontimeout.com/2014/06/zucchini-bundt-cake-with-orange-glaze/
Hi! Going to a farmer’s market this weekend and really want to try to make this bread! About how many zucchini’s should I get? 3?
Hi Erin – It depends on the size of the zucchini! 🙂 If they are small – probably 3-4 will definitely be enough. If they are huge – you might get away with just one. Enjoy!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It came out just as stated, moist and extremely tasty. Not to mention, it made my house and car smell great as I took it to work after baking it that morning. Everyone loved it and told me next time I won’t make it out of the parking lot with the loaves in my hand (if they know I’m coming with it). 🙂 Thank you again, this is definitely the BEST Zucchini bread
You’re very welcome Abbe Jo!
this is the recipe EXACTLY that I’ve made for almost 40 years EXCEPT, what they did was lower the oil from 1c to 1/2 plus 1/2 applesauce (making it slightly healthier) and do not add more than 2c sugar. 2 1/4 is over kill unless you are going to add that incredible amount of zucchini, it’s usually 2-3c zucchini. Just saying.
Thanks so much for sharing more about the background of this recipe Mary. If you’ve been making it for 40 years – it must be the best around!
could you exchange sugar for brown sugar?
Hi Jackie – I’ve never tried it myself with this recipe. Here’s a great article to read with more info: https://www.chowhound.com/food-news/55228/are-brown-and-white-sugar-interchangeable-when-baking/ – Hope this helps!
Hi! When you shred and pack the zucchini do you drain any of the moisture out first, or does it all go in? this looks like a yummy recipe!
Hi Elizabeth – It all went in! I suppose if you are using the full 4 cups and it seems extremely wet, you could drain it a bit – but otherwise, just shred it and put it in the batter! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi, is the apple sauce sweet or unsweetened? Thanks
We used unsweetened- but either will work!
Zucchini bread is my favorite thing about summer. We made loaf after loaf growing up and I would always toast it up and slather it with butter. Now I have a big time craving!
Summer really isn’t completely until a slice of zucchini bread is consumed. This version does look perfect and the more zucchini the better!
I adore zucchini bread! I can’t wait to make this I have so much zucchini now!
I’ve been a sucker for zucchini bread every since I tasted my mother-in-law’s when I first met my husband. Your version looks very similar to hers – and, believe me, that’s a very good thing! 🙂
I am loving this recipe, it looks so moist (I know, I know, we all hate that word, lol) and yummy. So amazing, nothing like fresh bread!!!
Lannette’s zucchini bread looks to die for. I must confess the couple times I attempted it I failed. I will try this version. I am sure I won’t be disappointed!
This is a fabulous zucchini bread recipe – Lannette has some serious baking skills. I’m going to have to check out her blog! Your photos, as always, perfection!
Thanks Aly! (And yes – please visit Lannette’s blog!) 🙂
This zucchini bread is probably the only way half my family will eat zucchini! Thanks to Lannette from Awesome Family Food for passing it on!
I love when other bloggers share each others fantastic recipes! You introduced us to a new blog and she gave this awesome recipe to share!
Mmmmm it really does look amazing! I love zucchini bread!
I’m so glad you liked my recipe and thank you for the shout out! A Family Feast is so well done I can only hope my Blog can be half as good as yours.
Hi Lannette! (Ooops – I just corrected the spelling of your name!) Thank YOU so much for sharing your recipe with us! It is fantastic!