Best-Ever Vegan Zucchini Bread
A simple and delicious vegan zucchini bread that is filled with zucchini and walnuts in every bite. Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, you're going to love the flavors in this classic bread.
Print
Pin
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 233kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom
- 1 heaping cup shredded zucchini, (1 medium zucchini)
- ½ cup walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray an 8x4" loaf pan and set aside.
- Using a handheld shredder or the shredding attachment of your food processor, shred 1 medium zucchini. Using a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer, squeeze any excess liquid out of the zucchini and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugars with apple sauce, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir to combine. Fold in zucchini and walnuts.
- Transfer batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes in the loaf pan before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Serving and Storing - Let the bread cool at least 10 minutes in the loaf pan before flipping it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Otherwise, the bread may break apart as they finish setting.
Serve the zucchini bread warm with vegan butter or homemade pumpkin butter. Store leftover bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also store it in the freezer for up to one month. Just pull it out the night before to let it thaw completely before enjoying.
Recipe Tips
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Squeeze out the excess liquid of the zucchini to prevent your batter from becoming too wet.
- Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing allows the gluten to develop and too much gluten will give you gummy and dense bread.
- Applesauce varies a lot. If you applesauce is thin, strain it through a fine-mesh strainer first before adding it to the batter.
- Generously spray your loaf pan to ensure the bread doesn't stick to the pan. For extra protection, you can line the bottom of the loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Can I make this recipe into muffins? For sure! This recipe makes about 12 muffins. Fill the muffin tin about ¾ of the way full and bake for 20 minutes before checking for doneness. You can also try this Chocolate Zucchini Muffin recipe.
- Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Yes! I've had luck both with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend as well as buckwheat flour.
- Can I make this recipe oil free? Indeed! Simply replace the oil with an additional ¼ cup applesauce for an oil-free bread.
- Can I reduce the sugar? While I haven't tried it personally, I've had readers who have reduced the sugar by omitting the brown sugar entirely with luck. You can also check out my guide on healthier sugar alternatives for some ideas on how to replace the sugar.
Why is my bread not baked in the middle? Occasionally, I'll have a reader who cannot get their zucchini bread to bake in the middle. This most commonly happens when there is excess liquid in the zucchini. Make sure to squeeze the zucchini thoroughly before adding it to the batter.
Nutrition
Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1.2mg