Healthy Zucchini Bread
This amazing zucchini bread recipe is made healthy with whole grains, honey (or maple syrup) and coconut oil instead of butter. Easily vegan/gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
My dog, Cookie, is wild for zucchini. Also cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and cabbage. You could say that my pup has a healthy appetite. This morning, I left a slice of zucchini bread on my desk where I thought she couldn’t reach. Then I heard some scuffling, followed by some gobbling. She swiped that slice of bread and ate half before I could grab it.
This dog is my soulmate, I tell you. That was all to say that this zucchini bread recipe is Cookie and Kate approved. It’s fluffy and moist, lightly spiced, and full of confetti-like green flecks of zucchini.
If you’ve enjoyed zucchini bread before, let me point out a few differences between my recipe and standard recipes. Here are five reasons to love this healthier zucchini bread:
- I used one-half cup honey (or maple syrup) instead a full cup of white sugar. It’s not overtly sweet, but you could add another drizzle of honey or maple sweetener to individual slices, if desired.
- I also used white whole wheat flour instead of refined flour, so this bread is made with 100 percent whole grains.
- I used coconut oil instead of butter, which means this bread is easily made without any dairy at all.
- Most zucchini bread recipes call for one cup of grated zucchini, but I liked mine better with one-and-a-half cups. Even then, I can’t say there’s a pronounced zucchini flavor to it, because zucchini doesn’t have a ton of flavor in itself.
- It’s easily made vegan and/or gluten-free, too—just check my recipe notes.
Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! Your feedback is so important to me.
If you love this zucchini bread, you’ll also enjoy my banana bread, apple muffins, carrot muffins or banana muffins, you’re going to love this one. Don’t miss the maple-sweetened blueberry muffins in my cookbook!
Watch How to Make Zucchini Bread
Healthy Zucchini Bread
This fluffy zucchini bread recipe is made healthier with whole grains, honey (or maple syrup) and coconut oil instead of butter. It is easily made vegan and/or gluten free (see notes). Recipe yields 1 loaf.
Ingredients
- Optional: ¾ cup roughly chopped raw walnuts or pecans
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil*
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk of choice or water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + more to swirl on top
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups grated zucchini (you’ll need 1 small-to-medium zucchini, about 7 ounces—gently squeeze out excess moisture over the sink before stirring it into the batter)
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9” x 5” loaf pan to prevent the bread from sticking. If you’ll be toasting the nuts, line a small, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Toast the nuts: Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the chopped nuts onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are fragrant and toasted, about 5 minutes, stirring halfway.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey. Beat them with a whisk until they are combined. Add the eggs and beat well. (If your coconut oil solidifies on contact with cold ingredients, simply let the bowl rest in a warm place for a few minutes, like on top of your stove, or warm it for about 20 seconds in the microwave.)
- Add the milk, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and nutmeg, and whisk to blend. Switch to a big spoon and stir in the zucchini (be sure to squeeze excess moisture out of the zucchini first). Add the flour and stir just until combined. Some lumps are ok! Gently fold in the toasted nuts now, if using.
- Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with additional cinnamon. If you’d like a pretty swirled effect, run the tip of a knife across the batter in a zig-zag pattern.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the center of the loaf springs back to the touch. Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack. Use a serrated knife to cut individual slices.
- This bread is moist, so it will keep for just 2 to 3 days at room temperature. Store it in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months or so. I like to slice the bread before freezing and defrost individual slices, either by lightly toasting them or defrosting them in the microwave.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my banana bread and carrot muffins, with references to Once Upon a Chef and All Recipes.
*A note on oils: I love coconut oil here. I used unrefined coconut oil and can hardly taste it in the final product. Olive oil will lend an herbal note to the bread, if you’re into that. Vegetable oil has a neutral flavor, but the average vegetable/canola oil is highly processed, so I recommend using cold-pressed sunflower oil or grapeseed oil if possible.
Change it up: Use chocolate chips or small/chopped dried fruit instead of the nuts.
Make muffins: Follow this recipe!
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey, replace the eggs with flax eggs and choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.
Make it dairy free: Choose non-dairy milk (I used almond milk) or water.
Make it egg free: Replace the eggs with flax eggs.
Make it gluten free: I haven’t tried myself, but I have heard from a reader that Bob’s Red Mill’s all-purpose gluten-free mix worked well here.
Make it nut free: Just omit the nuts, and don’t use nut milk.
Make it lower in fat: I would argue that this bread contains a healthy amount of fat, but you can replace the oil with applesauce if you’re following a low-fat diet.
Recommended equipment: I am totally in love with my Fiesta Loaf Pan in turquoise (affiliate link).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Love this recipe. Thank you! Also good with a few chocolate chips instead on nuts. :)
Chocolate it a wonderful option, too!
This recipe is a great alternative to the tradition zucchini bread that mom used to make.
I hope you like it!
Love this recipe as a base for a great zucchini bread!
I made these into muffins (bake time was about 20 minutes). I also made them with applesauce instead of honey and to switch up the seasoning I omitted the current seasonings (vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts) and added lemon zest and rosemary (1T lemon zest, 2T minced rosemary), topped with a little extra rosemary and coarse salt.
Thank you for sharing, Robin! I appreciate your review.
Can you replace the oil with mashed banana instead of applesauce? Or possibly come out with a zucchini banana bread recipe that would be amazing! Thank you.
https://sooka.info/healthy-zucchini-bread-recipe/%3C/a%3E :)
I have made this zucchini bread three times and it has come out flawless each time. This is the first recipe that tastes amazing and has significantly less sugar in it than other recipes I’ve seen. I highly recommend!
Thanks for recommending, Lauren!
YUM! This is a great recipe! I have never been a huge fan of zucchini bread (not very flavorful usually) but this one is delicious, moist, love the texture of the nuts and overall a hearty but still healthy bread. I used Bob’s Red Mill GF baking mix. What a hit, thank you Kate!
Thanks for your review, Abby!
I made two loaves of this bread and my family loved it! Not too sweet and quite a bit more healthy/less processed with whole wheat and honey. I will definitely make it again. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Jill! Thanks for your review.
I doubled this and made it with gluten free flour blend (we’ve had a zucchini bounty from the garden)… and it was a flop. My husband is still lovingly eating it, but it really didn’t cook through… and I extended the cooking time BY A LOT. I don’t think this works with GF flour as some of the others have commented. Or maybe doubling it?
Kate: I love your cookbook and other recipes! Thank you!!
Hi Bridget, my guess would be doubling it. I’m sorry you didn’t love it! Did you use two separate bread pans?
I didn’t do well with this recipe. Thankfully, I added chocolate chips, so I might be able to salvage the loaf. I followed the recipe (using olive oil because I was short on coconut oil) but substituted the whole wheat flour with brown rice flower which I do with most recipes. The loaf fell apart while I was removing it from the pan and is very grainy. It isn’t flavorful and left me disappointed.
Loved this recipe. Always looking for low-sugar healthish baked goods. I tinkered with it a bit by doubling the cinnamon and adding a little flax. It was super moist and delicious. Thank you!
This is not sweet or flavorful at all. It tastes like baked cardboard even though I followed the instructions.
Pluses – I squeezed out the water from the zucchini by letting it rest on paper towels and changed them out several times, so the consistency of the bread is just right.
Minuses – flavors. Where are they? I get healthy, but it has to taste good otherwise nobody is going to want to eat it.
I’ll try to salvage this by drizzling honey or maple syrup when serving.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this recipe, Inci.
I love this zucchini bread! I made two loaves this evening, one for my book club tomorrow and one was to be frozen for a later date…but I couldn’t help myself and cut a slice. Delicious! This is the second time I made this recipe, this time with maple syrup instead of honey. I love your recipes! I have your cookbook too! Thanks so much for your work here, Kate!
I was super excited to make this bread, but twice it overcooked on the outside, and was mush on the inside. I made it again to see if I didnt something wrong, but same results. Really disappointed:(
I’m sorry you didn’t love this recipe, Jordan! Did the zucchini seem to be extra wet? What type of bread pan did you use?
Hi:
I have never provided feedback on any recipe on any site, but really wanted to for this one. I too was concerned with the number of comments about sloppy, gooey messes. However, I did try it and was careful to remove most of the moisture from the zucchini. I did use half honey and half coconut sugar. It cooked perfectly at 325 for 55 minutes. Thank you
I do have a question. Why do recipes suggest using olive oil when it is not meant to be heated?
Hi Maux! Thanks for your review. I’m happy you really liked this recipe and it worked with your adjustments. I don’t know about your olive oil question. I haven’t heard much regarding this and it’s always worked well for me.
Oh my gosh! Literally sitting here enjoying a zucchini muffin (the loaves are still in the oven) while I’m sitting in my garden, enjoying the cooler, autumn morning, and I’m blown away by this muffin! It’s moist, flavorful and …..just perfect, really! One of my patients gave me an 18 inch zucchini last week, so I just HAD to make some bread. I quadrupled the recipe, didn’t have cinnamon so had to sub with pumpkin pie spice, and I used your flax egg recommendation substitute. I’m SO happy with this! I’m normally GF, but I didn’t want to risk subbing GF flour for wheat. This is totally worth it! So excited, and I’ll definitely be trying your other recipes you’ve mentioned above. Dr. Arjan Khalsa
I made this in a 10×7” glass pan and baked it for 25 minutes. It’s light and fluffy and delicious. I used freshly-ground flax as the egg substitute.
I baked the loaf for 65 minutes and it’s soggy and raw. It’s a shame because I’m sure it’s delicious but it’s going into the garbage. If I try it again, I’ll omit the 1/2 cup of milk. What a pity.
Hi Susan, I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you. Did your zucchini seem wet? That could have been the issue. (you’ll need 1 small-to-medium zucchini, about 7 ounces—if your grated zucchini is very wet, squeeze out the excess moisture over the sink before stirring it into the batter)
Thank you. No, the zucchini wasn’t wet. It’s weird that many people had the same problem I did and many people were thrilled with the recipe.
Thank you for your zucchini bread recipe. I followed the recipe and directions exactly as written. This bread was moist and delicious.
Hello! My little one and I made your pumpkin bread last week with chocolate chunks and we gobbled it up! Thought we’d try the zucchini bread with chocolate chunks as well. I do wonder about adding cocoa powder to it also? Trying to make my original “death by chocolate” zucchini bread recipe healthy! Thanks in advance
I made this last week and my SO and I gobbled it up so fast I had to make another loaf! Not too sweet (I used organic honey instead of maple syrup), but definitely hearty and so delicious. I put a dollop of plain greek yogurt and another drizzle of honey for my mid-morning meal and it was great! Off to try your pumpkin muffins!
If I add pumpkin seeds to the too, will it burn them? Do I add them raw? I’m not familiar with using them lol.
How do you plan to add them? Inside or to the top?
I wanted to leave a review about this amazing zucchini bread and let me tell you: WOW! My family got this huge zucchini at the farmers market a couple weeks back and we pondered what to do with it until I fell upon this recipe. Not only did I double the recipe, I didn’t drain the zucchini (it was pretty dry) and I live at a high elevation which is notorious for not being a great place to bake breads. Since my family is gluten, refined sugar, and dairy free I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour, 1 cup of coconut sugar, and water. The coconut sugar didn’t change the flavor at all and blended well to replace the honey which can be expensive where I’m from. I followed the recipe step by step and ended up baking the dough for 60 minutes. I let the loaves sit in their pans 20 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. The flavors are spot on and I was very impressed overall. Thank you for a recipe we all enjoy.
Wonderful, Lizzie! Thank you so much for your review.
I love this bread! Thank you! I doubled the recipe to make two loaves; used coconut oil, gluten-free flour, (1 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup cranberries), combined honey and maple syrup, (total 1 cup) and used two drops of ginger, one drop of clove essential oil, since I had no vanilla. I did drain and squeeze water from my frozen zucchini.
Cooked slightly smaller loaf 55 min and 2nd loaf 60 min. It was just right in moisture and flavor! Next time I can try pecans and vanilla!
Thank you for sharing, Lynn!
Yum! This is a fabulous recipe. I added chocolate chips at my son’s request.
Thank you for your review, Alyson!
This has become our regular recipe. I make 6 loaves, freeze 5, and then my husband and son have a slice almost every day and average consuming a loaf each week! I don’t do breakfast but I love an occasional bite. Thanks for a delicious, healthy recipe!
I used this recipe but used 3 cups of wheat flour added a banana, some carrots and 1/3 cup of brown sugar. It was great.
I loved this bread. The kids were missing the sweetens so I poked some holes in the top an after it cane out of the oven and made a powered sugar and made syrup glaze.
Even my husband ate this bread knowing there was no sugar! Trying with squash today. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi! I have made this and the banana bread so many times for my family and it is so good. My daughter follows a dysbiosis diet due to esophagus tears and this is delicious. I was wondering what you would think of adding apples to it? I have a bunch of extras. If so, what would you suggest?
Hi Sara! I’m not sure, sorry. You could try it, but might make your batter a little more watery. Maybe try my muffin recipe: https://sooka.info/healthy-apple-muffins-recipe/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Oh my gosh! Yummo!
I actually used 1/4 cup each of honey and maple syrup and left everything else the same. My oven is extremly hot, and this was perfect after 42 minutes! I love that this uses ingredients I always have on hand! Will definitely make again!
I made this into a hot chocolate zucchini bread! Added 1 teaspoon instant coffee, substituted 1/3 cup flour with 1/3 cup hot chocolate mix, and added 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 1/2 cup toasted walnuts. Cooked for 60 min and let rest for 10. SO moist and delicious.
That sounds interesting, Jackie! Thank you for sharing your variation.
Hi,
In don’t have whole wheat flour , can regular all purpose flour be used ?
Hi Mel, I don’t typically prefer all purpose, but it should work here.
Just made this today and loved it! I used butter, maple syrup, 1% dairy milk, and pumpkin pie spice instead of nutmeg and on top. I baked it in a glass 9×9 square pan at 350 for about 45 minutes – the edges were perfect but the middle has a layer that is still a touch raw (and I did squeeze water out of zucchini before adding it). So next time I would bake for 50 minutes and that should do it. But this is delicious and will definitely be my go-to zucchini bread recipe from now on! Toddler approved too! Thanks so much!!
This was soooo good. Stuck in the house. Don’t want anything to go to waste. I didn’t have cinnamon or nutmeg (limited spices as I haven’t baked in years and we live downtown Denver so we always go out). Anyway, threw some cloves and ginger and blueberries in……soooo yummy!
I’m happy you loved it, Karen! I appreciate your review.
Made this just as the directions state (minus the walnuts) and it was perfection! My whole family enjoyed it. This will be on repeat in my house. Thank you!!
I made 4 mini loaves, left out nuts, and added toasted coconut flakes instead. Used 1 cup zucchini and 1 cup carrots, both shredded in my cuisinart chopper. Baked for 45 mins at 325. Turned out great, not too sweet.
Phenomenal, super tasty, easy to make…
So good! I did not have nutmeg, but added cardamom (~1/8 tsp) and ginger powder (~1/8 tsp) and it was delightful.
Thank you!
Dude, look. I NEVER comment on blogs, but in this time I have made two of your breads and this will be my third and I have loved them ALL! I love that the recipe is the same, just switching out the one ingredient to make it different. So easy and so tasty! Also, yes: Bob’s Red Mill GF flour works like a charm!
That’s great, BJ! Thank you for your review.
Made this yesterday with my 3 year old and am watching my 1year old down a slice as I type this! The only other thing I’ve ever baked in my life is your banana bread and this bread is just as great! I added a 3/4 cup of a mix of chopped pecans and dates. Next time I will add more dates for sweetness-they are a great substitute for chocolate chips! Thank you for making my introduction to baking so positive and easy-it’s building my confidence to try more complicated recipes!
It is Easter and we are in a Stay at Home state – so Healthy zucchini bread recipe was what I was looking for today. I found your recipe and made it. It came out perfect. My husband and I loved it. Thank you so much. I put extra zucchini in the freezer for later so I can make this recipe again whenever I want. It is a keeper. Blessings and stay safe.
Hi Kate,
I have been using your recipes for the last 4+years and it never crossed my mind that I should be commenting on how wonderful your recipes are! So sorry I hadn’t done this till now!
You’re banana/zucchini bread/muffins are always my go to when my kids and I want to eat something sweet but without the guilt of eating a ton of sugar that most American recipes out there use.
I recently tried making your brownies and they turned out exactly how I wanted them to! Chewy, moist, and not too sweet(I cut out some sugar and it still turned out well!) I have a thing with always trying to see how much sugar I can cut down on any recipes without it affecting the texture.
Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your lovely recipes!!
Hi Kate,
I have been using your recipes for the last 4+years and it never crossed my mind that I should be commenting on how wonderful your recipes are! So sorry I hadn’t done this till now!
You’re banana/zucchini bread/muffins are always my go to when my kids and I want to eat something sweet but without the guilt of eating a ton of sugar that most American recipes out there use.
I recently tried making your brownies and they turned out exactly how I wanted them to! Chewy, moist, and not too sweet(I cut out some sugar and it still turned out well!) I have a thing with always trying to see how much sugar I can cut down on any recipes without it affecting the texture.
I love your granola recipe too!
Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your lovely recipes!!
When you call for 1/3 cup melted coconut oil, do you mean 1/3 cup solid coconut oil melted or pre-melt oil and then measure to one cup?
Hi Collen! Once it is melted, to measure 1/3 cup. I hope this helps!
Made this tonight, it was lovely texture and taste (just enough sweetness). I used maple syrup, coconut oil, and we had oat milk on hand so I used that. Oh also, no nuts as I don’t like them in baked goods usually. Great recipe!
Agree with some of the other reviewers that this recipe isn’t the best. I have been making your banana bread for years (with a few tweaks) and like it a lot, but the same recipe didn’t work for zucchini. I followed the directions and my bread wasn’t soggy as some others have reported, but it just lacked flavor and a nice texture. The bananas in the other recipe make up for sweetness and flavor, and zucchini is just too bland to work the same way. May I suggest C&K revamp this recipe? I think it has potential with some adjustments. In this time, it especially pains me to have wasted ingredients (precious flour!) so it was a real bummer.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this recipe and feel you wasted ingredients. I appreciate your feedback and I will consider re-looking at this recipe. I haven’t been able to get those results, but I do want you to have a great experience.
Thanks, C&K! I didn’t mention the baking soda / ammonia smell issue bc I thought maybe it was my particular baking soda but then I saw someone else had the same thing happen. So maybe that’s part of it?
Could be! Have you checked the expiration date on your baking soda? I have a sensitive nose and I would never suggest that my readers make something that smells bad, let alone tastes bad. I will re-test soon (I’m without my regular cooking assistance, so I’m moving more slowly than usual). Something else to consider—zucchini is not in full season yet, and bland zucchini won’t impart much flavor.
This was a complete fail for me. Followed the recipe and the batter seemed to have the usual zucchini bread consistency so I thought it would turn out great. I ended up baking the bread for almost two hours and the entire loaf except the edges and crust was totally gooey and non edible. Had to throw away the entire thing, very disappointing.
I made this recipe to occupy my mind and have something tasty during the stay-at-home order. I made the vegan version and added vegan chocolate chips and it turned out PHENOMENALLY! Thank you for the great recipe!
I made this and it was delicious. I gave half to my daughter and she loved it so much she asked for the recipe. Thank you, it’s a winner.
You’re welcome!
I was a little skeptical about this recipe because it is very healthy and I just assumed it wouldn’t taste very good. Also, I generally don’t like to use wheat flour because it lacks the chew that all purpose flour does. Man was I wrong! I loved the bread and will be using this recipe over and over again. I used whole wheat flour, olive oil, and didn’t squeeze the water out of the zucchini. It turned out great and my 11 year old daughter loved the bread too. I am looking forward to trying the apple muffins next.
I am a diabetic and I’m afraid of the Sugar spikes in my blood but this recipe sounds so delicious what can I do to reduce the sugar just the sugar in it because the recipe sounds so awesome