This simple recipe yields a moist, tender and delicious vegan zucchini bread that's infused with the aroma of cinnamon. It's one of my favorite summer recipes!
Table of Contents
A cake bread for breakfast or snacking
Summer lends itself to making delicious dessert breads with seasonal produce, including vegan rhubarb bread, vegan banana bread and vegan dandelion bread. But it is this vegan zucchini bread that gets made most often in my home.
This is a simple recipe that I've made for years. It yields two loaves, one for eating, the other for sharing, but you can also halve the recipe and make just one loaf. The batter comes together in one bowl, mostly with pantry ingredients. The zucchini bread is low in fat and you can make it extra nutritious by using whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Zucchini is now available year-round in supermarkets, but it is truly seasonal - and most flavorful - during summer. That's the best time to make and enjoy this delicious zucchini bread. It's soy-free and you can skip the walnuts to make it nut-free. What's stopping you?
P.S. Sourdough aficionado? Try my fabulous vegan sourdough zucchini bread.
Five-star review
This is hands-down, the best zucchini bread I have ever made. It is fluffy and moist and not too sweet. I used the pastry flour and I think this really made the difference. My husband loves it. I made two loaves yesterday and the one loaf is just about gone.
-Patti
Recipe card
Vegan Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour (use whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour or all purpose flour. Using whole wheat flour yields a richer tasting, healthier zucchini bread)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoon cinnamon (use cloves or ginger, or a mix, for a nice variation)
- 3 tablespoon flax meal
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)
- 4 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegan yogurt (or applesauce. Applesauce will yield a tender bread, yogurt will yield a firmer bread)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups zucchini (or courgettes, measured after grating. You will need approximately two medium zucchini)
- 1 cup walnuts (lightly toasted, then chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit/165 degrees Celsius.
- Place all dry ingredients in bowl: flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to mix well.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl: sugar, zucchini, flax meal, yogurt or applesauce, vanilla, oil and non-dairy milk. Use a spatula to mix until batter comes together with no dry patches of flour.
- Stir in the chopped, lightly roasted walnuts and mix them in.
- Scrape the batter into two oiled and floured loaf pans. I like adding a "sling" of parchment paper to help lift the loaf out of the pan easily, but this is optional.
- Bake the zucchini bread loaves 70-75 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick in the center of a loaf comes out clean or with crumbs (not batter) sticking to it. Cool thoroughly on a rack, then unmold.
Nutrition Information
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Recipe FAQs
Use all-purpose gf flour with some gum added, like the King Arthur measure for measure. For a more flavorful loaf, use the mix of flours I use in my gf vegan banana bread recipe.
Yes!
Replace the non-dairy milk and oil in the recipe with 1 cup vegan yogurt.
The batter is quite thick and not runny but don't worry - the zucchini will express all of its moisture during baking and the loaves will turn out perfectly moist and tender.
The vegan zucchini bread can be stored at room temperature for up to four days or in the fridge for up to a week. Freeze for up to three months and thaw before eating.
Anna Smith says
What size loaf pans?
Vaishali says
Standard, 8 or 9 inches long and 4 to 5 inch wide.
Harper says
Hi Vaishali,
Could this be made in a bundt pan?
Harper
Vaishali says
Absolutely. Be sure to oil and flour the pan.
Nora says
Anyway to make the delicious bread without adding any oil please?
Thank you
Vaishali says
Hi Nora, you can substitute 1/4 cup applesauce. But keep in mind the bread will be very tender.
Deb K says
Since it's just me, I'd prefer to make muffins. Advice on cooking time and temp? Thanks in advance.
Vaishali says
Hi Deb, preheat to 375 degrees F and bake for 18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Lori says
Dayum!!! This is good!! Even the non vegans loved it.
Hannah says
Hands down the best zucchini bread ever! Everyone in my family loved it.
Brooks says
Hi Vaishali, thanks for all your great recipes! I had an issue with this recipe when I made it last night. The taste ended up great, but the loaf was a little undercooked, moist, and dense towards the bottom of the loaf. I used the applesauce instead of the yogurt, and I'm positive I added the amount of leavening the recipe called for. I checked it after 1 hour, and it was pretty far from done, and after checking it a few more times I probably had it in there for about 15 more minutes. Do you think it could have been a problem with the leavening agents not being activated or the temperature being a little too low? Thanks again for all your great recipes, I look forward to trying it again!
Vaishali says
Hi Brooks, so happy you made the zucchini bread but sorry to hear you had some issues. It is possible the bread may need more time in your oven --most ovens vary drastically even when they are set to the same temperature, so the best test is the toothpick test. Stick a toothpick in the center of the loaf and if it comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs (not batter), you are done. I'll clarify this in the recipe as well. Thanks for the feedback.
Brooks says
Thanks for your reply! The thing is, I did do the toothpick test and had waited for it to come out clean/only with crumbs. Is there anything else it could have been? Someone mentioned to me that the leaving agents might not have activated and to put some acid (vinegar, e.g.) might do the trick.
Vaishali says
The yogurt or applesauce (both are acidic) would help the baking soda activate--you don't need vinegar also. Maybe try reducing the amount of zucchini next time to 2 1/2 cups.
Vaishali says
Also not clear how the toothpick came out clean if the bottom was undercooked? Another thought is the leavening agents you used could have been old and therefore didn't activate?
Brooks says
Thank you so much for all your comments! I think it might have been too much zucchini bc I ended up using 3 zucchini, and I know for a fact that my baking soda was ancient. Maybe the issue wasn’t that it was undercooked at the bottom, but it was sort of chewy and VERY dense. Anyway, thanks again and I am looking forward to trying it again!
Adri says
Hi! Which gluten free flours would you recommend with this recipe? Would buckwheat flour, or sorghum be best, or a mix of a kind? Many thanks!
Vaishali says
I've not tried it with any of these flours, but I think an all purpose gluten-free flour blend would work great.
Jeanette says
Would it be okay to substitute gluten-free flour for the whole wheat flour? It looks delicious but I have to adhere to a gluten-free diet.
Thank you so much.
Blessings for the New Year!!!
Jeanette
Vaishali says
Hi Jeanette, happy new year! You can use gluten-free all purpose flour instead.
Patti says
This is hands-down, the best zucchini bread I have ever made. It is fluffy and moist and not too sweet. I used the pastry flour and I think this really made the difference. My husband loves it. I made two loaves yesterday and the one loaf is just about gone. Thanks for posting.
Janet says
Love your vegan zucchini bread recipe! I did adjust the sugar to 1-1/2 cups for our taste, and held back a little applesauce to compensate. Plus, I grind my own cinnamon, so 2 t. has been plenty. It's a keeper! Everyone who has been gifted some loves it!
Mila says
Do I have to peel the zucchini before I put it in this cake/bread
Vaishali says
No need to peel the zucchini!
Betty Kimble says
Can I substitute agave syrup for the sugar.
Vaishali says
Yes, absolutely!
Neela says
I used 1 and 1/2 cup splenda sugar. I also added 8 oz.can drained crushed pineapple can, 1 tsp. vinager, 2 and 3/4 tsp. Cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. pumpkin spice, and 1 cup raisins. Next time I will add 1/4 cup brown sugar, I forgot this time. After reading reviews, I cut down from 2 cups to 1 and 1/2 cups sugar this time. Next time I will use 1 and 3/4 cups sugar. Bread turned out so delicious. Loved, healthy, tasty and eggless, too.
Ann says
I made this last night for the group I game with and everyone loved it. Thnaks for the great recipe!
Vaishali says
So happy to hear. Thanks for letting me know!
Stephanie says
This is sooooo good! I used 2 teaspoons of cinnamon instead of three and a pinch of nutmeg I used one cup of date sugar and 1 cup of turbinado. I substituted applesauce for two mashed bananas. It came out great! Toasted on its own or with with vegan butter--- yum!!Thank you for sharing!
Vaishali says
Sounds really yummy. So happy you tried it!
Aimee B. says
I baked mini loaves today and it is amazing!! I omitted the nuts because my hubby can't have them, but I may add some raisins and/or chocolate chips next time. Definitely a keeper, thank you! 🙂
Vaishali says
So happy to hear, Aimee, happy you tried!
Yanic says
Baking as I type, smells so good! OI added just a tsp of apple cider vinegar to react with the baking soda and help with the lift (my daughter has a thing with texture) and it's rising like if there were eggs in there. Can't wait to taste it. Thank you for a great recipe!
Maddie says
This is my FAVORITE vegan zucchini bread. I've made this a few times and absolutely love it (and have received lots of requests for the recipe)! I actually added a banana and some vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips and it was fantastic. I love that it uses a lot of zucchini too because I have plenty! Thank you for this favorite!
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Maddie, so glad you tried the zucchini bread. I always make it several times over the summer for some guilt-free fun. 🙂 Nice idea to add the banana and chocolate chips.
Lakshmi says
Hi Vaishali,
I plan to bake one loaf and can I use 1/2 cup agave and 1/2 cup Splenda instead of sugar? Thanks for the simple recipe.
Roopa says
Hi vaishnawi, I don't hv flax meal with me. What best can I try otherwise.
Vaishali says
Roopa, add in another 1/2 cup of applesauce. Should work.