One-bowl Vegan Zucchini Bread! It's easy, fluffy, perfectly spiced, and loaded with shredded zucchini. You can use mix-ins of choice like nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate chips, and unlike most recipes, you don't need to squeeze/blot the zucchini. It even comes with an oil-free option!
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FEATURED COMMENT
"This zucchini bread really is THE BEST...Almost every single person I have shared this bread with has told me afterward that it was the most amazing zucchini bread they had ever had, and could they please have the recipe! None of them are vegans (or knew that the bread was vegan). I am obsessed. " - Sarah ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
Vegan Zucchini Bread is a must-make recipe during zucchini season... And when I say 'bread" I really mean "cake" but cooked in a loaf pan.
It's moist, sweet, and deliciously spiced while being soft, fluffy, and hearty all at the same time. It's also a real reader favourite with consistent 5-star reviews. So many people tell me it's the best vegan zucchini bread recipe on the planet!
Mel x
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Zucchini - Green or yellow zucchini are fine to use. (For those in the UK we're talking courgettes ;o).
- Flour - You can use all-purpose flour (plain in the UK), whole wheat flour, spelt flour or a good quality 1 to 1 gluten-free flour made specifically for baking.
- Dairy-free milk - Such as almond milk, soy milk, oat milk or cashew milk. Unsweetened and unflavoured is best.
- Sugar - Any sugar is fine. White sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar but bear in mind that the flavour and colour of the zucchini bread will change a bit with each. I love using brown sugar because I think the warm, caramel-like flavour works well with the spices and zucchini.
- Oil - Any liquid oil such as canola oil, liquid coconut oil, light olive oil, sunflower or vegetable oil. You can also make this recipe oil-free by using the same amount of cashew or almond butter and blending it with the dairy-free milk before adding.
- Spices - The cinnamon and nutmeg taste amazing with zucchini. Allspice or pumpkin spice make great alternatives.
- Ground flax - This isn't used as an egg replacer in this recipe so don't switch it for one, and don't mix it with water to make flax eggs. We are using it because it is amazing at absorbing the moisture from the zucchini.
- Mix-ins - For texture, flavour and interest. Use nuts such as walnuts or pecans, dried fruit or chocolate chips.
Let's Make Vegan Zucchini Bread
Can't wait to make it? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen. I recommend watching my recipe video if you're more of a visual learner:
1 - Start by grating the zucchini. I like to use my food processor with the shredding disk to grate the zucchini. It makes the process super speedy and much safer for the fingers! Then mix the other wet ingredients into it. It won't look very liquidy but that's fine.
2 - Fold in the dry ingredients and mix-ins. It's a pretty stiff batter but don't worry because the zucchini will release its moisture into the batter as it bakes and your zucchini bread will be perfect.
3 - Spoon into a parchment paper lined loaf pan, top with a few more chopped nuts (or chocolate chips) and a generous sprinkle of sugar then bake.
When baked, the sugar creates an irresistible, crunchy and delicious top. It's so good for breakfast or snacks, spread with vegan butter and a drizzle of vegan honey!
Recipe FAQs
There is no need to peel the zucchini. The skin is soft and softens even more when baking and adds pretty little green flecks throughout the crumb of your loaf.
To make this vegan zucchini bread oil-free, replace the oil with the same amount of drippy nut butter. Cashew butter is my choice in cakes as it has a mild, buttery flavour. The easiest way to incorporate the nut butter is to blend it with the milk before you start. Add an extra 2 tablespoons of plant milk because nut butter is much thicker and less liquidy than oil. The batter is supposed to be very thick so don't be tempted to add any extra milk.
No. Zucchini bread is already very moist. Applesauce will add too much extra moisture. Cashew or almond butter is a better choice to make this recipe oil-free. See above.
No. Maple syrup will make the batter too wet.
I recommend using my Vegan Zucchini Muffins recipe. It's adapted from this one and you won't have to wing it with timings because it's all done for you!
Recipe
Vegan Zucchini Bread
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 1¼ packed cups (250 grams) grated zucchini (courgette)
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150 mls) dairy-free milk
- ¼ cup (60 mls) neutral oil , for oil-free use cashew butter (see FAQs)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar , or lemon juice
- 2 cups (250 grams) flour , all-purpose (plain in the UK), spelt, wholewheat or 1 to 1 GF baking flour
- ¾ cup (150 grams) cane sugar , (or white/brown) plus more for sprinkling
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda , (bicarbonate of soda in the UK)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon , (or replace cinnamon & nutmeg with 1½ teaspoons of allspice or pumpkin spice).
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (145 grams) mix-ins of choice , chopped nuts & golden raisins, other dried fruits, or chocolate chips
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and grease and line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Grate the zucchini (don't squeeze or blot it), then add to a large mixing bowl along with the milk, oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar. Stir together.
- To the top of that mixture add the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, ground flax, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ground flax seed. Mix gently to combine. It's a stiff batter but that's how it should be so don't add any more liquid.
- Fold through your mix-ins then spoon the batter into the pan. Smooth the top then sprinkle over a generous amount of sugar and some extra nuts or chocolate chips (if using). Bake for 70 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave for 10 to 15 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack.
NOTES
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Cathy Bodell says
Will this bread crumble when sliced or will the slices remain whole? That's my issue with every vegan zucchini bread recipe I've ever tried. It turns into a crumbled mess when I try to slice. Thanks.
Melanie McDonald says
Hi Cathy. You can rest assured that all of my recipes are thoroughly tested by me and a team of recipe testers. If they don't work perfectly (and taste great) you won't find the recipe here. As for this one (and my other cake/quick breads), none of them will crumble if you use a digital scale to weigh the flour, sugar and zucchini so the wet to dry ratio is spot on (cups are not an accurate way to measure), and the recipe is followed exactly (no reducing the sugar or fat etc). They will turn out just like in the pictures/video.
Having said that, if you're having recurring issues with crumbling, my advice would be to check your oven temperature. Most ovens are a bit off. An oven thermometer will tell you by how much so you can adjust as necessary. Too high a temp could be causing them to dry out. I'd also recommend being extra careful with measuring ingredients. As mentioned above, the only way to be accurate is to use a digital scale. If using cups you could very easily be using too much flour which would cause quick breads to crumble because the liquid to dry ratio would be off. Also, if using a black or very dark cake pan, you usually need to reduce the cook time slightly as they absorb and distribute heat more quickly than a light pan (which this recipe was tested in - I use USA Pans and highly recommend them). I hope that helps and that you enjoy the zucchini bread!
Mandy says
Made this last night with dark chocolate chips. Absolutely yummy! Tonight, cough, cough, I'm making it again ( well my zucchini was just so darn big!) with chopped dried apricots; pecans and dark chocolate chips. I'm out of cinnamon (how?) and Regular salt (smoked flaked salt would be disgusting and this I DO have!!) but it doesn't seem to make a difference to my loaf. I'm sure there's a chemical reaction that the salt might make that I'm not aware of but my loaf is in the oven now and in 54:34 it'll be ready to devour! haha! oh....plus the "wait time". Thanks Mel! I've never made zucchini bread/cake before . It always sounded gross! But your recipes always hit the mark! 😃
Melanie McDonald says
Ha ha! Any excuse to make more! So pleased you're enjoying the recipe, Mandy. Love the sound of the apricot, pecan, and chocolate version!