Moist Zucchini Bread

You’ve gotta try Grandma’s moist zucchini bread recipe we’ve made for years and are finally sharing her secrets with you today. It. Is. Delicious baked into muffins, loaf pans or as air fryer zucchini bread. An Old Fashioned favorite breakfast or dessert.

What’s the trick to making a moist zucchini bread recipe, well we will share it with you! This is Grandms’s family recipe that everyone raves about. Now you can enjoy it in your home as is below or tweaked like our Pumpkin zucchini muffins. 😉

We’ve made sweet breads for years. I assumed everyone had their own family recipe for the best zucchini bread. Then it dawned on me that this may not be true so I thought I’d add this to our roundup of easy zucchini dessert recipes.

I have made this for years and years. Yes it reminds me of my childhood so there is that but have made it for the holidays to give away and everyone says it is amazing. I think the ingredients are one thing but following the exact step by step directions when baking with zucchini is very very important to getting it perfect.

It is always best to go back to the good ol days right. What I mean by this is starting from scratch, homemade, and it’s all about taste and texture vs. what it looks like. Not that this is weird looking at all but I don’t add anything on top like frosting or crumble. It’s just moist and fabulous.

Of course you can buy them year round usually, but we have a TON right in our own vegetable garden every year!

This is a great recipe if you have a lot to use each season too! It’s a quick bread you can enjoy right away, and freeze another loaf for another day. Over the years we have of course tweaked it here and there to see if add ins would make it even better. Yes you could add crushed nuts if you wanted, mini chocolate chips maybe, but our fave was Zucchini pineapple bread.

How to Make the Best Zucchini Bread

We will share our kitchen hacks with you below. There is a tip to adding shredded vegetables into sweet breads because you don’t want it to be weighed down at all. Do NOT skip any of these, they are all musts. Follow our moist zucchini bread recipe after all we think it is the best 😉

Use fresh zucchini that are medium in size. You do NOT want to use a huge zucchini because when it’s grated it will become somewhat mushy and make your bread well…..kinda’ mushy

Remove moisture from zucchini by pressing down with a few paper towels to remove the water or it will weigh down your loaf making it more dense and not as fluffy.

Make sure ingredients are mixed in well creating a smooth batter – we use our countertop mixer for this. Do NOT add in your grated zucchini until your batter is mixed well, then gently fold in so it doesn’t break apart

Make sure to preheat your oven or it will not bake at an even temperature. Place loaves on the middle rack to ensure an even bake and prevent top from getting too brown while middle is not done yet.

The mixer we have has many functions as you see here with a blender attachment and many other uses. It is handy to have in order to incorporate all the items well, before adding shreds from your veggies – those come last so they don’t break apart.

We’re using the attachment to make sweet breads and cookies today of course. You will want a large bowl for dry ingredients and 1 for wet ingredients too.

Zucchini Bread Ingredients

You will want a few medium / Large zucchini – shredded, moisture removed and put aside until the end when you will gently incorporate so they don’t break apart.

To start off the dry mixture you are going to use All purpose flour – this is how to measure flour so it doesn’t come out dense

Baking powder & baking soda are used as leavening agents to make it as fluffy as possible. Always check the expiration date as those that are too old will make your bread dense.

Sugar, white granulated is used to add some sweetness for this. I haven’t personally used a sugar free alternative but fans have told me that the Splenda 1:1 variety works pretty well.

Then you want to add some light Brown sugar for a richer sweet flavor, with a bit of a molasses kick to it. This will make it chewier, more moist, with bolder tastes you will love.

Your large Eggs should be close to room temperature for the ideal texture. For the richest and moistest outcome I do highly suggest using organic free range types if at all possible.

You will need some vegetable oil to add a bit of fat to once again to make it as moist as possible. Vanilla and/or almond extract can be added for a warmer flavor but are optional.

Can you add chocolate chips?

Absolutely. If I choose to add these I prefer the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips in order to get a few in every single bite. 1/2 cup is about max so it doesn’t weigh it down too much, could opt for crushed walnuts instead or half and half.

Once everything is incorporated well you will be able to bake 2 loaf pans, 1 is seen here, or we usually make 1 loaf + 12 muffins or so.

How do you know when zucchini bread is done?

This is the best recipe ever! Test With A Toothpick. After 50 minutes start testing your bread for doneness meaning stick a toothpick in the center. If it is inserted in the center and the center comes out clean it is done. If batter sticks to the toothpick, you’re looking at more cooking time.

How Long to Bake into Muffins

Of course you can make super moist zucchini muffins using this recipe as well! Just adjust your bake time to about 18-22 minutes or until they spring back when gently touched in the middle of a muffin. You can add fruit too with our zucchini blueberry muffins recipe. We make them this way many times because they’re easier to serve and gets done more evenly.

If you want to know how to half a recipe to make less, read this post. Tip: Spray your pan with non stick spray to clean a pot.

How do you store zucchini bread in the freezer?

It will last two to three months if properly wrapped. Double-wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil. When you thaw zucchini bread remove the foil but leave the plastic wrap on until it is completely thawed. Then warm for 30 seconds in the microwave

This can be made using the same method we made air fryer banana bread.