Zucchini Bread

I still remember the first time I came across zucchini bread. I was about 10 years old perusing the aisles of whole foods (not much has changed) when I discovered a sample of zucchini bread being offered. I was extremely confused and quite frankly disgusted. One of my parents explained that it was somewhat of a dessert. My confusion deepened; I thought, “zucchini bread?! a dessert bread with vegetables in it? No thanks.” Being that I’ve never been one to pass up a free sample, I ended up trying it anyways, and I was blown away. I couldn’t believe how good it was– a dense moist and slightly fluffy loaf, not too sweet, with lots of warm spices — and little bites of raisins and nuts throughout. I begged my parents to let me get a whole loaf, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

I developed this version without gluten, dairy, eggs, or refined sugar. I’ve added many options for substitutions at the end of the ingredient list. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

Dry Ingredients:

1.5 cups oat flour

1.5 cups almond flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg ** optional

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger ** optional

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves ** optional

 

Wet Ingredients:

2 cups shredded/grated zucchini (about 2 medium sized zucchinis)

3/4 cup plain unsweetened dairy-free yogurt

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

1 chia egg (1 tbsp ground chia + 3 tbsp water)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional add-ins:

up to 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

up to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

 

**notes on ingredients + potential substitutions

spices: the spices in zucchini bread are a matter of preference. The cinnamon is a must, but the rest are totally optional. If you like that “spiced” flavor, then add in the nutmeg, ginger, and cloves!

chia egg: you can use a regular egg or a flax egg

yogurt: you can use any kind of plain unsweetened yogurt. If you don’t have yogurt, you should be fine using 1/2 cup of dairy free milk (or regular) instead

flours: you could use all purpose flour instead of oat/almond flours (3 cups total)

maple syrup: can sub with honey or agave

P.S. to make your own oat flour, simply blend oats in the blender!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

2. Prepare a chia egg if you’re using one, mix 1 tablespoon ground chia with 3 tablespoons water and set aside for a few minutes.

3. Mix together the dry ingredients until fully combined.

4. Grate/shred 2 cups worth of zucchini and then add the shredded zucchini to either some cheese cloth, a mesh nut milk bag, or a thin dish towel, and squeeze (reallllllly squeeze) it until you get as much of the liquid out as you possibly can.

5. Add the zucchini to the rest of the wet ingredients and mix together until fully combined. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until a uniform batter forms.

6. If using, fold in raisins and chopped nuts to your batter. Pour the batter into your loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a knife comes out clean.