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.
Made this last night. I didn’t read the comment section first. I also noticed the mix was extremely watery. I endend up using a about 3 cups of flour because I was afraid it would be to moist. Convect baked for 60 min. The result came out great, the whole family loved it. Sweetness is very subtle and well balanced with the cinnamon and walnuts so my mother who has diabetes could also enjoy it!
Can I use regular table salt since I don’t have sea salt?
Hi Sabs! As long as it is fine-grain that should work.
I made this with a little extra flour as I’d read the comments about moisture and it turned out absolutely delish!! What do you recommend as a spread or topping to go with this?
Thanks
Glad to hear it, Kristy! I like this bread with peanut or almond butter, or regular butter, maybe a drizzle of honey.
The first few times I made this it was always too moist. Then I weighed the zucchini using exactly 7 oz and pressed every last drop of water from it. It was perfect and has been ever since. All your healthy breads are awesome!!
I made it with a little coconut oil and applesauce. I probably used too much zucchini and used a food processor to grate instead of a hand held one. Pieces too big maybe came out too moist and a little chewy. Tasty though. Will stick to the recipe next time!
Hi Kate, Do you think I can successfully use a nut flour like coconut or almond? I can’t eat grains (for now, for medical reason) otherwise this is ok for me. I am not accustomed to baking with alternate flours. Thanks!
Hi Erika! Unfortunately, those flours are not simple swaps. For coconut flour, I’d stick to recipes that are specifically designed for it. Coconut flour absorbs moisture like crazy, so you can end up with very dense baked goods if you try to substitute it for grain flours. Almond flour is also tricky. I’ve found it works best in recipes like this when you double the eggs (so 4 eggs for this bread). That’s because gluten provides structure to baked goods—without it, you’ll need extra structure from the eggs (hope you can eat eggs!). Also, when substituting almond flour for regular flour, you’ll want to measure it differently—pack the almond flour into the cups for a proper conversion rate. (If you’re using a recipe specifically designed for almond flour, you’d measure it as normal, by spooning it into the cups and leveling off the top with a knife). Sorry for the complicated answer. Hope it helps!
Oh my gosh that is so helpful! (I can have eggs.) I appreciate the quick response! And these flours are quite pricey so I didn’t want a failure if you know what I mean! You are already on my IG and I’ve seen a bunch of good recipes, love your content, look forward to seeing more.
Yum! We enjoyed this bread as much as the banana bread. I get rave reviews every time I make your recipes.
I wonder if casava flour would work since it can be a sub for wheat flour 1:1? Just a thought.
Hi Cindy! I don’t have much experience with casava flour. Let me know if you try it!
Can I sub the flour with oat flour?
Hi Joy! I haven’t tried oat flour with this recipe, but I know it works in my banana bread. Check out my blog post about oat flour for guidance.
I made this recipe, and oh man is it a keeper! I gave a loaf to my mom, who took it to work, and she said it was gone before she even had a chance to slice herself a piece. She told me all her co-workers raved about it. I also added chocolate chips, which made it extra yummy. Will be making this again!!
Great to hear, Rae! Thanks for sharing.
The last time I made this loaf, the recipe was with castor sugar. Your ingredients with the honey & coconut oil were the perfect substitutes & made for a tastier/healthier loaf. Thankyou
Great recipe to do with your children
I loved this so much!! Never thought we could make something so tasty with zucchini!! Thank you for such an easy recipe for a novice like me!!
I’ve made this bread many times. I never have a soggy bread issue like some commenters post. But, I think many are doing something wrong here. The key is to wring out the zucchini, or blot with 5 or so paper towels. You need the excess water out of the zucchini. Once combined, it should be quite thick.
One other tip is that I like the taste of maple syrup better in this bread than honey. Both are good, but I found the honey to be sweeter.
Do you think I could substitute monkfruit sugar for the sweetener? If so, would it be a 1:1 ratio?
Hi Maggie! I’m not too familiar with monkfruit sugar, but know the liquid sweetener here helps with the overall moisture of the recipe.
I did half monk fruit and half maple syrup. It turned out fantastic and yummy! Thank you for this recipe as I have a lot of zucchini to put to good use now
I made this recipe with my 20 month old son today and it Was easy to make and came out delicious! We made it into 12 muffins as opposed to a loaf (I like chocolate chips in my zucchini bread but my husband doesn’t so muffins allow me to make a little of each. Saving this recipe to make again
Thank you for sharing, Jen! I appreciate it.
How long did you bake the muffins for? Thanks
I used olive oil. I skipped the milk/ water and soaked up the natural water supply from the zucchini. I doubled the recipe and up the zucchini to 2 cups/per recipe. I baked for an hour and It came out moist. Definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing!
Can I use almond flour? Thank you in advance.
Hi Lica! Unfortunately, I don’t find almond flour works as a good 1:1 substitute.
I love this zucchini bread. I have made it vegan and subbed the oil for applesauce and it was great. Recently, I am avoiding sugar and maple syrup. I was wondering if I omitted the maple syrup if I could replace it with 1/2 cup smashed banana and leave in the water from the grated zucchini to make up for the liquid. What you think? Thanks for your help.
Gina
Hi Gina, I wouldn’t know without trying it. Sorry! I’m not sure leaving the water in the zucchini will get you what you are after.
Love and appreciate your recipes SO MUCH! My LITTLE kids cook with me and are making this today! Your directions are always super easy. We did just as you said to do, and squeezed the zucchini first so the batter wasn’t runny. Easy peezy. You are the go to person for recipes and we love the newer feature of tripling it for us. Thank you for all you do!!!
Love this recipe. I made it vegan. I also reduced the maple syrup to 1/3 cup since I used applesauce in place of the oil. Thank you for substitution notes.
You’re welcome, Gina! I’m glad you loved it and found the notes helpful.
I made mine into small loads and it’s very good. Thank you for the recipe!!
Hey Ladies!!
Let me tell you, when my kids come running through that door the FIRST thing they want is food. And many of our gardens are overflowing with zucchini’s during this time.I am sure you all can agree. This delicious “treat” is a house fav and a great way to use up those zucchini’s. It tastes wonderful and my kids would never suspect that it is actually healthy!! Thank you Cookie and Kate for this scrumptious bread.
Hi Mary Anne! I’m so glad this is a hit and that you can use your garden fresh zucchini. Thanks for your review!
Awesome recipe. I used agave nectar and Pamela’s gluten free baking mix. I made 24 loaves from big home grown zucchini.
I’ve made this zucchini bread three times in the last three weeks (zucchini is in season in my CSA boxes). This is the easiest and best tasting zucchini bread I’ve ever made. Some takeaways: twice I’ve used almond milk and maple syrup and once I used water and honey. The breads made with the almond milk and maple syrup were better tasting than with water and honey. I’ve found it’s important to drain the zucchini beforehand and then really squeeze out excess moisture. Enjoy!
This is a great! Zuccine bread recipe, I had a zuccine bread recipe I used for years however I had to change my diet ( due to age ) the coconut oil and honey was very beneficial. I want to try it with gluten free flour, if that turns out good, then it will be perfect for me. The long time favorite recipe had 2 cups of sugar this one is 1cup of honey, it seemed plenty sweet.
I just have to say Thank You! You have become my new best friend. Everytime I google a recipe, you are at the top because I have used so many of your recipes lately. After losing my 23 year old daughter in March, 2018=9 due to an eating disorder, I developed a heart condition literally called “Broken Heart Syndrome.” Part of my healing has been changing my diet to eat healthier. I also love to bake, as did my daughter -she worked in a bakery. Your recipes make me so happy. I bought your cookbook and have recommended it to friends. Right now, your banana bread is in my oven. Thank you for joining me on my journey!
Hi Victoria, thank you for your kind note. My heart hurts for your loss. Sending you love!
Aloha!
I was just about to make the zucchini bread and decided to read some of the comments first For recipe tweaks. this is heartbreaking and heartwarming exchange. a I’m a firm believer that food can heal and it brings people together. Im a foodie and holistic herbalist and Kate, your recipes are the real deal! Victoria. there is a flower essence by FES called bleeding heart and also a tincture by herbalist alchemist with Mimosa bark/Hawthorne that can greatly assist you with your healing from a great loss and subsequent broken heart syndrome. I hope that helps. Wanted to thank you both for your inspiration to be better and healthier! God bless
Do you prefer pecans or walnuts and do you recommend toasting them first?
I prefer pecans, but both work! See step 2 :)
I followed your recipe using coconut oil and honey. The only difference was that I used Bob’s Red Mill GF Mix instead of the flour as per your note. It was a total fail. After an hour in the oven it was the consistency of pudding, except for the top 1/8 inch or so which seemed kind of cooked. Do you or your readers have any idea what happened? I am wondering if 325 was the right temperature. I have been using the oven regularly for baking so I know the temperature is accurate.
Hi Susan! Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. I haven’t tried it myself gluten free so I can’t say for sure what may have happened. Did you squeeze out any additional moisture from your zucchini?
I didn’t, because the zucchini seemed quite dry. But next time I will!
Kate
I am not a baker but it came out very good. I used 1-1/2 C wheat flour and 1/4 C ground almond, little less than 1C sugar, 3/4 C grated carrots, 1/2 butter and 1/2 olive oil. Next time I am going to double up quantity for ground nutmeg and add 1/4 tsp of ground cloves and 1/4 tsp of ginger powder. Your recipe is great❤️
bread was undone at 325 degrees.
I had drained the zucchini for about an hour ahead of time.
I hear this is wonderful. Can’t access the nutrition info and really want it before I bake. I click on the link but nothing happens. Can you help please?
Hi Jackie! It is working for me. Sometimes it can take a second to load. Let me know if you are still having issues. You may also try clearing your cache too.
It wasn’t good for me. I’ve tried the recipe twice and both times it was raw inside. I was doing the vegan version with almond milk, flax eggs, and maple syrup. I made sure to squeeze all of the moisture out of the zucchini and measured all of my ingredients correctly. I’m not sure where I went wrong. The first time I left it in the oven trying to get it to cook as an experiment and after three hours all I had was a rock hard crust and raw bread inside. Same on the second. I tried increasing the oven temperature as well. It didn’t help. It tastes good, but it was a lot of time and ingredients wasted on something I can’t eat.
I tried this recipe and my batter did not come out wet it was very dry and lumpy I put it in the oven anyway and tried to cook it it never turned into bread.
Hi! I am wondering if it is possible to make this with a Gluten free flour mix?
Hi! This has worked for others with Bob’s Red Mill gluten free mix. Let em know if you try it!
I made this with fage plain Greek yogurt instead of the oil and semi sweet chocolate chips instead of nuts and it was delicious! Will definitely be making this often!
Turned out great and I appreciate that it is much healthier than other reeipes, as I’m trying to limit/eliminate my sugar
Made this tonight and boy it’s a hit with my OH he didn’t even realise it had zucchini. I did add ginger instead of cinnamon and it had a lovely almost Christmas aroma. Was very tasty with some butter. Also added some dates instead of nuts so extra fibre for me.
Will be adding this to the lunchbox list of treats.
It tasted really good! We made a loaf with the honey and one loaf with the maple. My family and I all preferred the maple.
I followed the recipe exactly and because I read the comments beforehand, even weighed out the grated zucchini to exactly 7 ozs. The texture turned out perfect! It was not too moist and not to dry. I was surprised though that it was not as sweet as I thought it would be. I bake many items using honey or syrup so I somewhat know what to expect but I think it needs to be sweeter.
Absolutely delicious, used Bob’s gluten free one for one and used maple syrup, loved it!
Making this for a second time right now and it’s in the oven. Last time I made this, it was delicious but I made a rookie mistake and didn’t press the zucchini to eliminate water. It was far too wet. Learning from that I was anxious to try again. I used KA Whole Wheat Flour, Almond Milk, and Honey. I could tell from the batter this time that my consistency was much better and I can’t wait to eat it when it’s out of the oven!
I increased this by 50% (because my husband but a huge loaf pan!) and I’m wondering how much longer I should bake it. The first time I did it this way it took about 20 minutes loner. What’s your suggestion?
Hi Karen! I would start at the recommended amount and slowly increase from there. I’m not sure without testing it myself, sorry!
Thankyou
This was delicious!!! I used avocado oil and cut the honey a bit because I used chopped honeyed pecans. Also used about 2 cups of grated zucchini and regular whole wheat flour. Result was superb!!! Baked for a shorter time in a 9 inch square baking pan. Absolutely delicious. Definitely going into the rotation. Thank you!!!
This was delicious!!! I used avocado oil and cut the honey a bit because I used chopped honeyed pecans. Also used about 2 cups of grated zucchini and regular whole wheat flour. Result was superb!!! Baked for a shorter time in a 9 inch square baking pan. Absolutely delicious. Definitely going into the rotation. Thank you!!!
Help! It’s been in for nearly 2 hours and still very moist/wet in the middle. Is there anyway I can save it!? Really don’t want to waste it! Please help me! :)
Hi Kimberley! I’m sorry this didn’t turn out perfect for you. Did you squeeze moisture out of your zucchini? It sounds like you may have either needed to get more moisture out and/or cook a little longer.
Made three loaves yesterday afternoon and tasted one about two hours after they left the oven. (Still warm on the inside.) I did everything as stated in the recipe except used nearly two cups of zucchini per loaf. Texture was fine, but I don’t think there was enough sweetness for my taste. Not sure family will eat it as it isn’t the normal recipe, which is why I chose to try it. I think I will definitely have to butter this and or add something that will sweeten it up. (I am trying to eat healthier, so for a first attempt I am grateful it is edible.) No complaints on the recipe or Cookie and Kate, just not accustomed to wheat flour and low sugar “sweet” breads.
I made this bread with 3 tsp orange zest, and ommitted the spices altogether. Though a little moist, it tastes great. Perfect sweetness and perfectly healthy.
Made this yesterday with all organic ingredients including walnuts and raw honey. The most stellar addition was using Dark Chocolate Olive Oil from Queen Creek Olive Mill. Incredibly good. I box grated the zucchini on a folded tea towel and rolled that up to drain while I did the rest of the recipe. It was the perfect amount of moist for the finished product with minimum of fuss. Love Cookie and Kate!
Thanks for the delicious recipe! I used chopped 1/2 cup dates and 1/2 maple syrup. I think next time I’m going to try it with 1 tsp of salt. I wasn’t expecting the salt to be so noticeable
have you cooked at higher altitude before? I know the temperature needs to increase and most likely lightly squeeze zucchini as it’s drier here. But can you tell me how firm it needs to be? Because I will most likely have to cook it longer.
Hi Angela! Unfortunately living in Kansas City, I don’t have the opportunity to try at different elevations.
I started growing zucchini for the very first time. And had my very first zucchini today that was used to make these muffins!!! They are the best zucchini muffins I’ve ever had! I have diabetes and these low sugar, whole wheat muffins are the best breakfast items for me! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
That’s great to hear! Thank you or sharing, Meena.
Thanks for the recipe! I have been craving zucchini bread and even a very picky child friend of ours enjoyed this. I used spelt flour bc I’m allergic to wheat but not spelt. I used a colander to squeeze out excess zucchini moisture and while it is very moist my son said it was the perfect amount. Kids ended up putting Nutella on it making it a delicious dessert.