Healthier Zucchini Bread

26 Posted on September 26, 2011 - by Jules Shepard

Categories: All, Breads, Recipes

Tags: , Allergy Friendly, Dairy Free, GFCF, Gluten Free Quick Bread, Healthy, Summer Vegetables, Zucchini, Zucchini Bread

I’m in full-on Farmers’ Market Mode! In fact, some of my own veggies are coming up in my back yard as well, so I’m looking for any excuse – recipe – to make the most of the goodies that are growing right now! We’ve had some reader requests lately for zucchini bread, and this seems as good a time as any to share this terrific recipe.

Traditional zucchini bread has always seemed unnaturally high in oil to me, so early on, I worked to make a light, airy and not oily zucchini bread that I could enjoy without the guilt. I use fruit and sour cream (non-dairy) to compensate for the reduced fat and sugar, and the results are fantastic: moist, fluffy and crunchy on the top (my son’s favorite part!). I like to make this bread as mini-loaves or muffins so I can share the love with friends. They’ll want more, I promise!

Healthier Zucchini Bread

1/2 cup granulated cane sugar
1/2 cup shortening, butter OR non-dairy alternative (Earth Balance® Shortening or Buttery Sticks)
2 large eggs (or favorite egg sub like 2 Tbs. flaxseed steeped in 6 Tbs. warm water)
1/2 cup sour cream, dairy or non-dairy (soy sour cream or plain coconut yogurt)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup mashed, ripe banana (approximately 1/2 banana) OR 1/4 cup natural applesauce or apple butter
2 cups Jules Gluten Free™ All-Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons flax seed meal (or 2 Tbs. Jules Gluten Free™ Flour)
1 Tablespoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 Tablespoon baking powder, gluten-free
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup packed, fresh zucchini, grated (approximately 1 zucchini squash)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
cinnamon-sugar mixture to sprinkle on top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F (static) or 325° F (convection).

Beat sugar and shortening until fluffy, then add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla and mashed banana and mix well.

Sift all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour slowly into the wet ingredient bowl and beat together until integrated. Fold in the zucchini and nuts. The batter will be somewhat stiff. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture, if desired.

If baking as mini loaves, oil two 5-6 small loaf pans, filling each no more than 1/2 full. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, testing with a cake tester or toothpick to be sure the middle is cooked through. There should be few, if any, wet crumbs sticking to the tester when done. If baking as muffins, oil and fill 24 muffin tins halfway full. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, testing to be sure the middle is cooked through. If you are using mini-muffin tins, cook for only 15 minutes.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 26th, 2011 at 12:50 pm and is filed under All, Breads, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

18 Comments

We'd love to hear yours!

gluten free gift said: on September 28, 2011

These look great! Lots of moist ingredients must be the key… because they look like they hold together really well. I too prefer to bake as healthy as possible (because I eat entire batches in no time). Muffins are best because they freeze well – which slows me down a bit! Many thanks! Claudine
Reply
- Jules said: on September 29, 2011
  
  Claudine, I’m the same way – it’s hard to just stop at 1 muffin, so you might as well make them healthy!
  Reply
EA-The Spicy RD said: on September 29, 2011

Looks delicious! I am in muffin mode right now. Made some yummy Pumpkin Pecan Spice Muffins on Sunday…Now I’m wanting these!
Reply
- Jules said: on September 29, 2011
  
  Yummy EA! Pumpkin Pecan Spice Muffins sound incredible too!!!
  Reply
Mary p said: on September 29, 2011

Can this recipe be done without sourcream we are soy free as well? And can olive oil sub the buttery sticks?
Reply
- Jules said: on September 29, 2011
  
  Mary – you can use coconut yogurt in place of sour cream or soy sour cream. I wouldn’t use olive oil as a sub for the buttery sticks, but you could use shortening or coconut oil. Whipping the buttery sticks/shortening with the sugar adds air and lightens the recipe where oil would not.
  Reply
JeriLu Houston said: on October 7, 2011

These are good, but a while back I tried
another Zucchini muffin receipe of yours
that we adored, it had no banana. I have lost the receipe! Would you happen
to know which one I mean? My daugher
and I are adoring fans, eating is so
much better. Thank you!
Reply
- Jules said: on October 7, 2011
  
  Glad you liked this recipe – I have a few zucchini bread recipes floating around (I love zucchini bread!!!). Was the recipe you tried my “Eat Your Veggies” Bread? It’s another zucchini bread … no banana. Have a look!
  Reply
Elaine said: on July 6, 2012

Eager to try this. I’m always looking for ways to use veggiees, low in fat and sugar. thanks so much for sharing.
Elaine
Reply
- Jules said: on July 6, 2012
  
  Elaine, you should also have a look at my zucchini bread recipe that used pea or lentil puree! It’s another fun way of sneaking those healthy ingredients in! Here’s the link: http://blog.julesglutenfree.com/2011/06/contest-finalist-eat-your-veggies-zucchini-bread/
  Reply
Linda Smith said: on July 7, 2012

sounds good, could you please clarify the pan size? (two 5-6 small loaf pans?)
Thanks so much.
Reply
crystal said: on July 7, 2012

So I doubled the recipe so I could freeze some for a camping trip. After I combined the dry & wet the dough it was incredibly dry and crumbly. I re-checked to make sure I doubled everything and didn’t accidently use a tsp instead of a tbsp. I added applesauce and another small banana which helped. I baked one tin of the mini’s to try. They were bland. I did something wrong obviously because your recipes are always the best. I ended up adding some molasses, more vanilla, and brown sugar and finally had a hit. Any suggestions on what may have gone awry?
Reply
Jane said: on July 11, 2012

This recipe looks amazing, but I don’t have small loaf pans. How could I bake this if I used the regular sized loaf pan? Would this be enough for one or for two loaves?
Reply
Teresa said: on July 21, 2012

Hi Jules,
My kids loved the gluten free cake I made from your cake mix the other day. Today day we are making cookies from your cookie mix. But, I have one more request from my kids… Banana bread. Can I use this recipe and just omit the zucchini? or do you have another banana bread recipe?
Thanks!
Reply
- Jules said: on July 21, 2012
  
  Teresa – so glad you and your kids are loving my cake mix and cookie mix! As for Banana Bread, I’d suggest this recipe instead (feel free to omit the blueberries if you like) – it’s one of my favorite recipes!! Enjoy! http://blog.julesglutenfree.com/2010/01/blueberry-muffins/
  Reply
Tammy said: on December 26, 2012

The muffins taste great. I had a zucchini in the fridge that was going bad, so I decided to whip these up. I forgot the flax meal, but they still taste great.
Reply
- Jules said: on December 27, 2012
  
  So glad you loved the recipe, Tammy!
  Reply

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