Wholesome and delicious vegan zucchini bread. It’s fluffy and perfectly moist and you’ll never suspect it’s hiding green vegetables!
This vegan zucchini bread is so delicious. You’d never know there was zucchini in it! But also, it’s so great that there’s zucchini in it!
Basically, zucchini in baked goods is a fabulous idea. It’s almost undetectable in the final baked result, but it adds heaps of moisture and you get a couple of servings of veggies from your baked goods too. This is very much a win/win situation.
Yes, you can see little flecks of green zucchini in there and it’s super pretty, but don’t worry, it does not taste anything like green vegetables.
We’ve incorporated zucchini into a bunch of baked goods already, like our vegan chocolate zucchini cake, vegan zucchini muffins and vegan zucchini brownies.
This bread is so delicious it can count as dessert. But it also has a wonderfully wholesome vibe so you’d feel very comfortable eating it for breakfast too. Or lunch, or a snack. It’s pretty much great to have a loaf of this around to eat anytime.
And for more zucchini recipes also check out our vegan zucchini fritters and our vegan zucchini soup.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes
- Walnuts – are entirely optional. You could also use chopped pecans.
- Flax egg – this recipe uses 1 flax egg which is made by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of hot water.
- Zucchini – should be freshly grated. There is no need to peel them, just cut off the ends and grate them in your food processor (the easiest option) or in a box grater.
- Mashed banana – we use ⅓ cup of mashed banana in this recipe which gives it just a touch of banana bread flavor. Which is divine because who doesn’t love banana bread? But it’s just a touch, a hint, and it combines beautifully with the cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar in this recipe. An alternative to mashed banana would be applesauce, in the same quantity.
- Coconut oil – we use melted coconut oil, but you can also substitute this for any vegetable oil or even melted vegan butter.
- Soy milk – can be replaced with any non-dairy milk.
How To Make Vegan Zucchini Bread
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons hot water and allow it to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, shredded zucchini, mashed banana, soy milk, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix in briefly. It will seem like there is not enough wet ingredients to mix in properly, don’t worry. Leave the mixing bowl for a couple of minutes and then come back to it. The zucchini will release more water into the mix and you should be able to form it into a thick batter. Mix it in properly, but don’t overmix.
- Add chopped walnuts and mix in.
- Transfer to a parchment lined loaf pan and smooth down evenly. Place a few more chopped walnuts directly on top of the bread before baking.
- Place into the oven and bake at 350°F for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring it to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Pro Tips for Vegan Zucchini Bread
The batter is very thick. In fact you will likely think I’ve left something important out of the recipe, like a lot of extra liquid! But don’t worry, it does come together. Once you have added your zucchini and other wet ingredients to your batter, mix it in a little and then step away from the bowl for a minute or two. The zucchini will release extra moisture into the batter, making it easy to mix when you come back to it.
Don’t overmix the batter. Something to keep in mind is not to overmix the batter. This is why you want to do a quick mix, and then just leave the bowl for a couple of minutes and then come back and mix again. You have to be careful not to overmix, because this can cause your bread to not rise properly.
Recipe FAQ
There is no need to squeeze the water out of the zucchini. Just shred the zucchini and use it right away. If there is any water pooled at the bottom of your food processor or bowl after shredding, you can throw that out, but there is no need to squeeze the water out of the shredded zucchini itself.
There is no need to peel the zucchini. The peels are very soft, so they bake into the bread perfectly.
Store the bread in an airtight container at room temperature where it will keep for 2-3 days.
You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow it to cool completely before freezing and then ideally wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil before freezing. Thaw in the fridge overnight and let it come to room temperature on the counter before serving.
More Delicious Vegan Bread Recipes
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Vegan Cornbread
- Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
- Vegan Soda Bread
Vegan Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (100g)
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
- 1 cup Shredded Zucchini (140g) Packed Cup
- ⅓ cup Mashed Ripe Banana (75g)
- ¼ cup Soy Milk (60ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup Coconut Oil (60ml) Melted
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Walnuts (100g) Chopped, plus more to place directly on top of the bread before baking*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Sift the all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add the white granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water and allow to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, shredded zucchini, mashed banana, soy milk, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl and mix in briefly. It will seem like there is not enough wet ingredients to mix in properly, don’t worry. Leave the mixing bowl for a couple of minutes. When you come back to it the zucchini will have released more water into the mix and you should be able to form it into a thick batter. Mix it in properly, but don’t overmix.
- Add chopped walnuts and mix in.
- Transfer to your prepared loaf pan and smooth down evenly. Add a few chopped walnuts directly to the top of the bread before baking.
- Place into the oven and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool for a few minutes before removing it from the pan and placing onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly either using the ‘spoon and level’ method – spoon it into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife – or weigh it on a food scale.
- Zucchini: I usually shred my zucchini in the food processor (you shred it with the skins on, no need to peel it first) as it’s the easiest way to do it.
- Coconut oil: This can be replaced with a different oil or even melted vegan butter.
- Walnuts: These are optional. Pecans would also work great.
- Storing and Freezing: Store the bread in an airtight container at room temperature where it will keep for 2-3 days. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow it to cool completely before freezing and then ideally wrap it in plastic wrap and then in foil before freezing. Thaw in the fridge overnight and let it come to room temperature on the counter before serving.
- This recipe was first published in August 2018. It has been updated with new photos and extra tips. The recipe itself (except for the addition of walnuts) is unchanged).
I’m not normally a fan of zucchini bread, but I had to do something with all the zucchini in the garden. The recipe was nice and easy. Thanks for the warning about not adding more liquid because I probably would have. The bread turned out light with just a hint of banana. The parchment paper made it so easy to remove the loaf from the pan!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the great review!
Hi Alison,
Anything else that I can use instead of the flax or chia egg?
Thank you! 🙂
You could use 3 Tbsp applesauce.
super easy to make and delicious! I didn’t have a banana or applesauce so I added more milk (I used plain oat milk) and zucchini for the moisture. I also added a few spoonfuls of cocoa powder. Came out fantastic! Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Sara!
Hi Alison,
I’m not really a fan of sugar, so I try to avoid using it; is it possible to replace it by maple/rice/agave syrup or will this change the consistency?
Hi Carine, I wouldn’t use any of those sweeteners, because it will throw the balance of ingredients off. If you have a granulated sugar that you don’t mind using, such as coconut sugar, then that will work as a swap. Otherwise you can experiment with reducing the sugar in the recipe and see how you do with that.
Your recipes never fail me. Just made this today (we have a surplus of courgettes from the garden! My mum has declared that it “looks fantastic” and I’ve just tried some – it’s great! I had no cononut oil so used sunflower oil and it’s worked fine. Next time I might try adding walnuts to get a bit of variety in texture (I love the walnuts in your banana bread recipe!).
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing Lily!
amazing and easy
Fab recipe as always!! Do you think you could replace the courgette with carrot for the same effect?
X
Hi Rozzy, oh yes I think carrot would also work great! 🙂
Making this right now! With high ratings, I’m hoping this is delicious!! This is part of a graduation gift for my niece; she’s going to be excited!!
Great recipe, love banana bread and the addition of zucchini is delicious.
Thanks Georgia!
This turned out amazing, thank you!!
Brilliant! Thanks Sarah!
Do these freeze well?
This is my second time making this batch I used half the amount of sugar as it is already so sweet and tasty and then I used almond flour and a little extra chickpea flour to absorb some extra moisture and it comes out great. gluten-free/ less sugar/ and protein!
Hi Alexis, yes you can freeze it. Let it cool completely and then double wrap in plastic wrap and then in foil or a freezer bag.
Is it possible to substitute the flax egg with applesauce? Thanks in advance.
Hi Ivana, sure thing, you can substitute the flax egg with 3 Tbsp of applesauce. 🙂
Hi! My daughter is vegan so I’ve been trying to up my vegan baking game so I can make treats for her. I just made this zucchini bread. I used canola oil instead of melted coconut oil. It is DELICIOUS! Thank you for this excellent recipe!
Great! So happy to hear! Thanks Stephanie. 🙂
I was gifted a very giant zucchini and made in total 9 loaves using this recipe! Most using almond milk, one with soy milk for a friend with an almond allergy, one made with gluten free flour and xanthan gum, and a few with oat milk. All turned out super delicious! Making it gluten free does make it a bit more dense and you can taste the zucchini a bit more, but my friend LOVED it! Can’t wait to make more in the future!
That is so awesome! You’re a superstar! Thanks for sharing and the wonderful review. 🙂
Im 13 and not vegan but this recipe is really good. ive made it for my friends and my parents many times and everytime its delicious so thank you!
That’s awesome to hear! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review Jonas! 🙂
There are so many zucchini baked goods recipes out there but they all have the addition of chocolate chips, cocoa, raisins or nuts – this recipe doesn’t need those things for flavour! I was so happy with the crust especially. I used unsweetened almond milk instead of soy but otherwise followed the recipe to great satisfaction.
Fantastic to hear that Leah! Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂