Moist, tender Zucchini Bread, perfectly spiced with cinnamon and cloves and studded with chopped walnuts. This is the best zucchini bread ever and the perfect way to use up all those zucchini that are growing in the garden!

I love making quick breads, then slicing and freezing for easy breakfasts. Some of our other favorites are Coconut Lime Glazed Banana Bread and The BEST Cranberry Orange Bread!

a loaf of zucchini bread with two zucchinis in the background


I'm feeling a little behind on my blogging game lately. I remember thinking before school started for Clara that once Kindergarten began we would get into a routine and find a rhythm to our days and things would feel a little easier but so far that has not been the case.

A big part of that is because Paul & I are deep in the weeds of a major remodeling/landscaping job on both our front and back yards. (Do you see what I did there? In the weeds? Landscaping? No? Anyway...)  

Every weekend for what feels like months now, we have been working tearing up and moving concrete and dirt and rocks to form new retaining walls. The past two Saturdays have literally been spent lifting shovelfuls of gravel or dirt from huge but now slowly dwindling piles and moving them around to other parts of the yard where they were needed to create hardscaping. The focus has been on a french drain and retaining walls.

It's backbreaking work, but at least we are getting our exercise, it's free for DIY-ers like us, and the girls have loved helping push the wagon up our steep driveway to "help" us, shovel dirt around right by us as they played and got filthy while we worked and got filthy, and generally spent all day outside.

Since we have been working on this massive yard project since the start of summer, we didn't put in a garden this year. It's something that we have loved doing in the past and I miss it!

Thankfully, we are starting to see real progress on our remodel projects and I plan to have a nice backyard garden in 2017. But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy all the wonderful seasonal produce that September has to offer!

We are lucky to have some really amazing farmer's markets that we visit on an almost weekly basis. And there is almost always someone in the neighborhood looking to give away produce. We have been lucky to have neighbors in the past bring over boxes of plums or apples grown in their backyards.

And everybody always seems to have too much zucchini during the summer and on into September!

sliced zucchini bread with whole zucchinis next to it

Zucchini is one of my absolute favorite vegetables - I've posted before about how we use it for Zoodles in place of pasta, but it's also a favorite pizza topping (something I picked up while traveling in Italy and falling in love with slices of zucchini pizza that I kept seeing in Florence).

And of course, there is always zucchini bread! My favorite zucchini bread is always loaded with walnuts because I love nuts in pretty much everything. And it can't be dry, dense, or too heavily spiced.

This version is the perfect balance of cinnamon and cloves and the texture and crumb are perfect thanks to a combination of applesauce and oil, along with the zucchini, of course, which bakes up wonderfully well.

an image looking down at a loaf of zucchini bread with a towel under it and fresh whole zucchini's off to the side

The recipe makes two large loaves of zucchini bread and I usually slice one up and divide it between Ziploc freezer bags so that I have a stash of zucchini bread on hand in the freezer for quick breakfasts (just like how I approach lots of favorite breakfast foods like my favorite breakfast burritos that I posted about last week!).

It is also a favorite mid-afternoon snack with a glass of milk or some sliced up peaches. My friend, Tracey, gave me this recipe almost 15 years ago when we were living in New Jersey and I have used it ever since, making only a few slight changes.

three slices of zucchini bread next to half of a loaf with fresh zucchini in the background

How to make zucchini bread

  1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and spray two 8x4-inch loaf pans with cooking spray, then set them aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat them together until they’re creamy and light.
  3. Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and shredded zucchini. Stir to combine, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Stir in chopped walnuts (optional).
  4. Pour the zucchini bread batter evenly into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes at 325 degrees, being careful not to overbake it. You can test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife into the middle of a loaf and checking to see whether it comes out clean (hint: you want it to come out clean).
  5. Remove the loaves of zucchini bread from the pans and allow to cool on a wire rack until room temperature, then store in Ziploc bags.

Do you leave the skin on zucchini when making bread?

When shredding your zucchini for bread, you do not have to go the extra step of peeling the vegetable. Simply wash it and grate it. When cooked, the peel part will give a nice added color to the bread and become tender enough that it mostly goes unnoticed. 

Why did my zucchini bread sink in the middle?

Zucchini bread is a very moisture-filled bread due to the watery veggie and sugars this is why it’s important to make sure that your loaf of bread has reached the desired level of doneness before being removed from the oven. You want your knife to come out clean to indicate that the batter has fully cooked. A knife with batter on it means that you should extend the cooking time by another 5 minutes and then check again. 

More Quick Bread Recipes You'll Love

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Zucchini Bread with Walnuts

4.93 from 13 votes
Amy Nash
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Servings 16 slices
Moist, tender zucchini bread, perfectly spiced with cinnamon and cloves and studded with chopped walnuts.  This is the best zucchini bread ever and the perfect way to use up all those zucchini that are growing in the garden!

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup oil
  • ½ cup applesauce
  • 2 ¼ cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 â…“ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cloves
  • 3 cups zucchini grated
  • 1 ½ cups walnuts coarsely chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 8x4-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat until creamy and light.
  • Add the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and zucchini. Stir to combine, scraping the sides and bottom of bowl as necessary. Stir in chopped walnuts.
  • Pour the zucchini bread batter evenly into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes at 325 degrees, being careful not to overbake it. You can test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife into the middle of a loaf and checking to see whether it comes out clean.
  • Remove the loaves of zucchini bread from the pans and allow to cool on a wire rack, then store in ziploc bags.

Nutrition

Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 311mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 96IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @HouseOfNashEats or tag #houseofnasheats!

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About the author

Hi, I'm Amy

I enjoy exploring the world through food, culture, and travel and sharing the adventure with mostly from-scratch, family friendly recipes that I think of as modern comfort cooking.

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Reader questions and reviews

  1. 5 stars
    I've been a bit behind on my blog lately too Amy - I've been sick, the day job got in the way and *gasp* real life also happened too lol. So I *dig* where you are right now, pun intended 😉 I love the look of this recipe and have made similar ones before but none using apple sauce - I will give that a try. All the best with your remodelling x

    1. Thanks, Jo. I'm sorry you have been sick! It's so hard to feel like you are falling behind! I hope you start feeling better soon!

  2. Now this looks really healthy. Love that it's made with zucchini. I bet it tastes amazing warm spread with butter

  3. 5 stars
    I love growing my own but there is nothing quite like having a farmer's market close by! I hope next year, you get to plant your own! This is a fantastic recipe, and I love that it's freezable!

  4. Love a good zucchini bread! I'm not quite ready for pumpkin bread, so this is a great segue - and it looks so moist!

  5. 5 stars
    Made this today for the first time. Was very happy with the results. I used whole wheat flour (didnt have all purpose) and a handful of raisins. I had to add an extra fifteen minutes to the cook time.
    I would definitely recommend this recipe! thanks for sharing!

    1. I have used whole wheat flour in the past too and it is delicious! Cooking times on zucchini bread can be so tricky because of the amount of moisture in the zucchini and how it affects the bread! I'm glad this worked out for you!

  6. Way to sweet had to throw away when using same amount with stevia/erythritrol  mix . I even added extra four and zucchini To try to decrease the sweetness. 

    1. I'm not very familiar with stevia/erythritrol but it sounds like maybe it isn't a 1-to-1 substitute for sugar. This zucchini bread isn't any sweeter than other quick breads, and definitely not so sweet that I would imagine someone just throwing it out.

    1. You can replace the applesauce with an equal amount of additional oil. I just use applesauce to lighten up the recipe slightly.