My family has been making Mom’s Zucchini Bread for decades. It’s the best—packed with more zucchini than most loaves without being heavy or gummy!
This recipe makes 2 large loaves for approximately $9.05. It serves 16 people, that’s just $0.57 per serving.
Table of Contents
My mom’s zucchini bread recipe is the perfect way to use up summer squash and enjoy a delicious treat that everyone will love. Ready to try it? Let’s get baking!
Mom’s Prize-Winning Zucchini Bread: Tender Crumb, Every Time
This zucchini bread is a treasured recipe from my mom, and it’s always a hit! Making two delicious loaves, it stands out because of a special technique that ensures a perfect texture every time. After shredding the zucchini, you wrap it in a kitchen towel and wring out all the excess moisture.
This step is key to achieving a tender crumb without the dreaded gummy texture. The result is a moist, flavorful bread that everyone will love. Whether you enjoy it as a breakfast treat or a mid-day snack, this zucchini bread will become a favorite in your home, too!
Why You’ll Love It
- Perfect Texture: The unique technique of wringing out excess moisture from the shredded zucchini ensures that the bread has a tender crumb and avoids the common problem of a gummy texture. This simple step makes a big difference in the final product.
- Moist and Flavorful: This bread is wonderfully moist, thanks to the fresh zucchini, but not overly wet. The balance of moisture and flavor makes it a delightful treat for any time of day.
- Versatile Enjoyment: Perfect for breakfast, snacks, or even dessert, this zucchini bread can be enjoyed plain or with a spread of butter or cream cheese. It’s versatile and always satisfying.
Ingredients & Estimated Cost
Per Serving Cost: $0.57
Recipe Cost: $9.05
- Zucchini (2 pounds): Approximately $2.60
- All-purpose flour (3 cups): About $0.45
- Whole wheat flour (1 cup): Approximately $0.20
- Granulated sugar (1 ½ cups): Around $0.38
- Brown sugar (½ cup): About $0.25
- Baking powder (2 teaspoons): Approximately $0.04
- Baking soda (2 teaspoons): Approximately $0.02
- Ground cinnamon (1 tablespoon): Approximately $0.10
- Allspice (2 teaspoons): Approximately $0.20
- Salt (1 teaspoon): Less than $0.01
- Eggs (4 large): About $0.88
- Vegetable oil (⅔ cup): $0.48
- Sour cream (½ cup): Approximately $0.30
- Vanilla extract (1 ½ tablespoons): Approximately $1.12
- Toasted chopped walnuts (1 cup): About $2.00
- Granulated sugar for topping (2 tablespoons): Approximately $0.02
NOTE: Recipe prices are based on grocery store websites and calculated by the amounts needed. Actual costs may vary depending on your pantry. Prices updated in June 2024.
How To Make Zucchini Bread
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and place the rack in the middle position. Spray two 9-inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Rinse, dry, and shred the zucchini using a box grater.
- Place the shredded zucchini in the middle of a clean kitchen towel, bring up the corners, and squeeze out at least ⅓ cup of liquid.
- Whisk together the flours, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
- Pour this mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until moistened.
- Fold in the shredded zucchini and walnuts.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans and smooth the tops. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of white sparkling sugar or granulated sugar on each loaf.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Place the bread on a wire rack and cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Then, remove the bread from the pans and let it cool completely on the wire rack for about 2-3 hours.
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Mom’s Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 pounds zucchini
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ Tablespoons vanilla
- 1 cup walnuts toasted and chopped
- 2 Tablespoons white sparkling sugar or granulated sugar optional
Instructions
- Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
- Rinse and dry zucchini, and then shred using a box grater.
- Place shredded zucchini in the middle of a clean kitchen towel and bring up the corners of the towel. Squeeze zucchini over a measuring cup until it releases at least ⅓ cup of liquid (1/2 cup is better if your hands can handle all that wringing).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.
- Whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just moistened. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts.
- Split batter between prepared loaf pans, and smooth into even layers. Sprinkle each loaf pan with 1 Tablespoon white sparkling sugar or granulated sugar.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, rotating halfway through baking.
- Move loaves to a wire rack and cool in pans for 15 minutes. Then remove from pans and cool on a wire rack until completely cool, about 2-3 hours.
Notes
Store:
- Room Temperature: Once completely cooled, wrap the zucchini bread tightly in plastic wrap or foil and store it in an airtight container or a resealable plastic bag. It will stay fresh for 2-3 days.
- Refrigerator: Place the wrapped bread in the fridge for longer storage, which will last up to a week.
Freeze:
- Cool Completely: Ensure the bread is thoroughly cooled.
- Wrap: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil.
- Seal: Place in a resealable freezer bag.
- Label: Mark with the date. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw:
- Refrigerator: Move from the freezer to the fridge overnight.
- Room Temperature: Leave the wrapped bread out for a few hours.
- Microwave: Use the defrost setting in short intervals, unwrapped.
Nutrition
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Mom’s Zucchini Bread FAQs
No, peeling is unnecessary, and the skin contains more nutrients.
Any size except for the gigantic ones. Large zucchini can be tough, hard to grate, and sometimes starchy.
Yes! Just make sure it’s defrosted. Defrosted zucchini actually makes it easier to wring out excess liquid.
This probably happened because you left them in the pan too long. Remove the bread from the pans after 15 minutes to prevent the edges from hardening.
You can use walnuts or pecans. Toast the nuts to enhance their flavor in the bread.
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I love zucchini bread, its a great way to use up zucchini! This looks so tasty
So many good tips in here! Fresh zucchini bread is the best and my kids go crazy for it. I’m bookmarking this for future baking!
This is a gorgeous loaf of bread! I completely agree on the nuts, whatever you use must be toasted! It brings out so much delicious flavor.
This cake looks so moist and a great way to eat more veggies too.
I love bread that’s not overly sweet. This one sounds so delicious and perfect for breakfast!
Can I leave out the nutmeg? If so how much will it change the recipe
You can! It will just alter the flavor slightly. You’ll still be ok. 🙂
Is there a dairy free option for the sour cream?
Yes! You can use coconut milk instead and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar (so you get the tang that the sour cream has).
I think this is the best zucchini bread recipe and your tips are awesome! My daughter and I made this and it turned out light, moist and yummy.
Thank you for the post!
Shannon, I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
How many mini loaves will this make?
I haven’t tried this recipe in mini loaf pans, but by eyeballing it I would say 6-8 mini loaves.
Great recipe! Being pre-diabetic at one point, I used 25% less sweetener (with xylitol instead of sugar), and almond flour instead of white or wheat flour. It turned out delicious. Thanks Jillian!
How should the fresh zucchini bread normally be stored, for your recipe as-is? Since mine is sugar-free, I plan on sticking it in the fridge for a week, then freezing any leftovers.
I’m glad the ingredient substitution worked for you!
The fridge is ok, but it can make the bread dry out quickly. If you go that route, I’d wrap it in plastic wrap and then tin foil or a ziploc bag.
I don’t like nuts in baking. If I leave it out do I need to make any other changes? Thank you.
Nope, no other changes needed.
I don’t have any wheat flour on hand and don’t really want to run to the store for some. Can I just use white flour and skip the wheat?
Yes, you can use all-purpose flour instead of the wheat flour.
Sounds fab! How much shredded zucchini is 2 lbs in cups sans moisture?
About 3 1/2 – 4 cups.
That zucchini bread looks amazing. I bet it tastes scrumptious warm from the oven.
It’s my favorite quick bread ever!
I LOVE zucchini bread, it always turns out so moist and delicious! I will have to try adding chopped walnuts next time
Chopped, toasted walnuts nicely add to the flavor of this bread. Enjoy!
We have so many zucchinis in the garden yet I’ve never baked a bread from them. I must try your wonderful creation.
You really should! 🙂
This bread sounds delicious, so moist and traditional
Thank you!
Those tips might be revolutionary in my kitchen! My daughter was just asking me to making zucchini bread the other day.
You should try this recipe!
I just had some zucchini bread the other day and it reminded me how much i LOVE it!
Zucchini bread is one of my favorite on-the-go breakfast dishes!
That sounds great, I can understand the dumping of moisture would really help keep the lightness of a loaf.
Exactly!