This truly is the BEST-EVER vegan Zucchini Bread. It is a simple and delicious vegan bread that is filled with zucchini and walnuts in every bite. Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, you’re going to love the flavors.
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Things are growing in my garden! Right now it’s just snap peas and kale but pretty soon there’s going to be beets, onions, and – you guessed it – ZUCCHINI.
Zucchini is a prolific vegetable and most of my friends who have vegetable gardens, mine included, find ourselves with more zucchini than we can eat. Sure, there are many vegan zucchini recipes worth trying, but when we are done making zucchini noodle lasagna and pesto zoodles, what are we to do?
Make vegan zucchini bread, of course.
And this is the zucchini bread recipe you are going to want to try. It is moist, sweet, NEARLY FAIL-PROOF, and so so good!
And, it really is the BEST egg free zucchini bread on the internet. Read the comments below to find out what others are saying about this AMAZING zucchini bread recipe.
Recipe Video
Recommended Ingredients
This zucchini bread is a fan favorite. It is moist, sweet, hearty, and super easy to master. Even my kids love it! And while I don’t love all the sugar they are getting with a piece, I am thrilled that they are getting veggies, fruits, and nuts with their sweet snack.
Here is everything you need.
Ingredient Notes
- White and Brown Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements. For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
- Applesauce – This is the binder of the recipe. You could replace it with 1 mashed banana, 1 cup of pumpkin puree, or a variety of other egg replacers.
- Oil – This recipe calls for canola oil because it creates the best texture without added flavor. If you want to avoid hydrogenated oils, try avocado or melted coconut oil. Olive oil also works but adds a slightly savory flavor. If you want to eliminate the oil altogether, swap it out for the same amount of applesauce.
- All-Purpose Flour – For healthier flour options, you can use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, buckwheat, or whole wheat.
- Spices – You will need a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom
- Zucchini – This recipe calls for 1 heaping cup which is typically 1 medium-sized zucchini.
- Walnuts – Feel free to omit for a nut-free option or swap them out for chocolate chips for a chocolate zucchini bread recipe.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One – Combine the Ingredients
In a small bowl combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl whisk together your wet ingredients. That’s your oil, sugars, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
Pro Tip: Applesauce varies a lot in texture. If your applesauce seems thin, first strain it through a fine-mesh strainer to get the excess liquid out.
Step Two – Shred the Zucchini
With the shredding attachment of your food processor or handheld grater, shred the zucchini. Using a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer, squeeze any excess liquid out of the zucchini. If you’re not sure how to do it, check out this tutorial on how to wring out a zucchini.
Pro Tip: Do not forget to squeeze out excess liquid! Zucchini has a ton of water in it and when not properly squeezed, it will add too much liquid to your batter causing your bread to improperly bake.
Add the zucchini to your wet ingredients and combine
Step Three – Combine and Bake
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix in until the flour is evenly hydrated. Use a rubber spatula to fully incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet.
Pro Tip: Take care not to over mix your batter. Over mixing allows the gluten to develop and too much gluten will give you gummy and dense bread.
Generously spray a loaf pan. Transfer the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Serving and Storing
Serving – 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.
Storing – Tightly wrap uneaten bread and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days. For best results, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in a large ziplock bag. This bread can also be frozen for up to two months. To thaw, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Once it is thawed, it should be eaten within 3 days.
Tips and Tricks
- The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling it off with the back of a knife.
- Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing allows the gluten to develop and too much gluten will give you gummy and dense bread.
- Squeeze out the excess liquid of the zucchini to prevent your batter from becoming too wet.
- Applesauce varies a lot. If your applesauce seems thin, first strain it through a fine-mesh strainer to get the excess liquid out.
- 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.
- 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.
- Want variation? Add chocolate chips for chocolate chip zucchini bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
For sure! This recipe makes about 12 muffins. Fill the muffin tin about 3/4 of the way full and bake for 20 minutes before checking for doneness. You can also try this Chocolate Zucchini Muffin recipe.
Yes! I’ve had luck both with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend as well as buckwheat flour.
Indeed! Simply replace the oil with an additional 1/4 cup applesauce for an oil-free bread.
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.
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. Additionally, if your applesauce is very thin, consider staining it through a fine-mesh strainer to get out the excess liquid.
If you have extra shredded zucchini, you can freeze it by placing it in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once the zucchini is frozen all the way solid, transfer it to small glass jars or Ziplock bags. Leftover zucchini is great for adding moisture to brownies, muffins, or used as an egg replacer in common baked goods.
If you want to make this bread batter in advance, store the batter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. To bake the bread, preheat the oven and bake according to the instructions.
However, this bread may take a few minutes longer to bake since the batter will be chilled. The bread will also be slightly denser as the baking soda begins to activate once it’s mixed into the batter, causing it to be slightly less potent.
More Vegan Quick Bread Recipes
- Healthy Vegan Banana Bread
- Classic Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Vegan Lemon Pound Cake
Make sure to check out all my vegan quick bread recipes for more inspiration!
Best-Ever Vegan Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cardamom
- 1 heaping cup shredded zucchini, (1 medium zucchini)
- 1/2 cup walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray an 8×4" 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
- 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 3/4 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 1/4 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.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Natalie says
Hi there, I always buy self raising flour so do I just leave out the baking powder to use it as a substitute? Also I don’t have any walnuts … but only whole macadamia nuts and my leftover jar of applesauce from Christmas dinner is sweetened. Can I use these and still have successfull bread? Thanking you kindly
Sarah says
I’ve never used self-rising flour, but I would imagine that would be fine. And yes, the other substitutions should be fine as well.
Jessey says
I have same problem as a previous comment, baked for over 60 minutes and still not done. There must be an ingredient off in the recipe. Also does the applesauce need to be sweetened or unsweetened, doesn’t say in recipe? Most vegan zucchini breads on internet say unsweetened applesauce I’ve noticed.
Lisa says
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I only have one question before I do. When using applesauce in cookies I have to drain it first so the cookies won’t be too moist. Do I need to do this for the bread?
Sarah says
Applesauce can vary a lot, so if you feel like your applesauce is especially wet, I would drain it. More importantly, make sure you strain your shredded zucchini through a cheesecloth. The zucchini tends to have a lot more water.
Kristina says
Help! I made this tonight and it cooked for 60 minutes and looked AWESOME! but after all the cooling when I cut into it I realized it was total mush on the insides 🙁 What did I do wrong do you think? The top rose and had cracks and looked perfect. The top parts I was able to taste were totally delicious. I followed the recipe as instructed and there is nothing wrong with my oven temperature but I’m sure it’s something I’m doing as all vegan quick breads does this to me! I still have a lot of zuchinni and want to make this again later this week but want it to turn out like yours 🙂
Sarah says
Some zucchinis have more water and I’m guessing the issue was that. I think you may need to ring out excess water from the zucchini after it’s shredded. I’ve added this note to the recipe so that it doesn’t happen again.
Cassie says
Love this recipe! I didn’t have applesauce so used a banana instead. And I only used a 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and it’s plenty sweet! Super moist, really fragrant, and I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you!!
Marcie says
I love this recipe, moist and tasty. I used vegan butter becuase thats what I had. My husband will only eat it if there is vegan chocolate chips; in which I cut the sugar portion in half. I’ve made other recipes but this one takes the cake. I was a little leery of the cardamom, but I followed the recipe and wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you for sharing!
Jessica says
This was fantasic and will definitely be my new go-to quickbread recipe. I tried a different eggless zucchini bread recipe last week and it was nowhere near as good. I made this with unsweetened applesauce, swerve brown, and lakanto classic to make this almost sugar free, and used a gluten free all purpose flour. Despite the changes, my bread still came out perfect–not dense nor sunken in, and with a good crust and very moist inside. The flavor was wonderful, even though I tend not to care for nutmeg. My husband agreed it was the best quickbread I’ve ever made.
Sarah says
That is so great to hear. Thanks for sharing, Jessica!
Zephyr says
This recipe was so yummy! i have so much zucchini in the garden and was looking for someone to help me use it up when I came across this recipe. I added about 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and baked it in a cake pan to try and trick the toddler and he loved it! I made a double batch and gave some to friends and everyone was so impressed with how moist it was! Will absolutely be making it again, thank you for sharing!
Dipali says
Hello I am a novice baker and want to try my hand at this recipe but I’m confused! Do i use unsweetened applesauce or sweetened?
Sarah says
I suggest unsweetened
Rebecca says
My youngest is a soft food diet so couldn’t have the nuts so we added vegan chocolate chips instead. Fantastic easy to make recipe
JenniferM. says
Amazing taste! I didn’t have regular applesauce and substituted tropical applesauce and mango peach applesauce. It was so delicious. I think it would have been delicious with regular applesauce too. I was a little leery of the cardamom, but I followed the recipe as written. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Swapanali says
Awesome..I tried yesterday and it came out really well..??
Deborah Atkins says
Can’t wait to receive your recipes.
Jaci says
This is the best Vegan Zucchini Bread recipe! Crunchy on the outside and moist and sweet on the inside. I used mashed banana instead of the applesauce.
Nakiea says
I’ve made this bread several times now with different variations. Zucchini, zuccini and carrot, raisin, and now lemon blueberry. The bread is always moist, never dense and my non-vegan friends can’t tell the difference. I think I will try apples next time. Thank you My Darling Vegan!
Sweety Jain says
The recipe looks tempting but I don’t have apple sauce… Any thing to replace??
Sarah says
You could do another fruit puree or something like sweet potato puree. Silken tofu would also work.
Chaney Laurent says
Do you think a mashed banana would work in place of the applesauce?
Sarah says
Yes, I think it would.