This homemade Olive Oil Zucchini Bread is super moist and delicious! Fresh zucchini is mixed in a simple batter of flour, sugar, eggs, unsweetened applesauce, olive oil and cinnamon. My family’s favorite zucchini bread ever. Yields 2 loaves.
It’s zucchini season.
It’s that time of year where countertops are piled high with zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes – the best time of year. Our old neighbor Charlie used to have a well kept garden. And around this time of year, we would come home to a bag of onions, tomatoes, and huge zucchini on our front porch. He was the sweetest and most generous guy.
And when life hands you zucchini, you make zucchini bread.
This is my go-to recipe for ultra-moist and flavorful zucchini bread. It yields 2 loaves, so you can enjoy one now and freeze the other for later or gift it away!
To Make This Olive Oil Zucchini Bread You Will Need:
- zucchini – You will need 1 to 2 depending on their size and I prefer to scrape out the seeds.
- unbleached all-purpose flour – Provides the structure for the zucchini bread.
- cinnamon – Lends a distinct warm and woodsy flavor.
- baking soda – Creates a gas while baking which helps it rise.
- baking powder – Reacts with the heat to give a leavening boost while the bread is baking.
- fine salt – Can use sea salt or pink himalayan. Salt enhances the flavors.
- eggs – Besides richness and flavor, they provide structure and help bind all the ingredients together.
- granulated (white) sugar – For sweetening and flavor.
- olive oil – Lends moisture. Other flavorless oils (like grapeseed oil) may also be used.
- applesauce – My little trick for adding moisture without the extra fat.
- vanilla – Adds warmth and enhances all of the other flavors in this recipe.
Preheat your oven to 350° and spray two (5×9) loaf pans with nonstick baking spray.
Trim off the ends, slice the zucchini(s) in half and scrape out the seeds. On the large holes of your box grater, grate the zucchini with the skin on. You should have about 2 cups.
Into a mesh strainer set into a large bowl, measure and add; 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.
Sift and set off to the side.
In a separate bowl, crack in 3 large eggs, and add in 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 cup olive oil.
Lastly, measure in 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract.
Whisk to combine and then pour it to the bowl with the dry ingredients.
To that, add the grated zucchini.
Switch over to a rubber spatula…
…and mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated with the wet.
Evenly divide the zucchini bread batter among 2 greased loaf pans.
This averages out to be roughly 3 cups per pan.
Bake on the middle rack of your preheated oven for about 45 to 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean with maybe a few crumbs attached. Every oven is different so start checking doneness at the 40 to 45 minute mark.
Let the olive oil zucchini bread cool in the loaf pans for about 20 minutes before carefully removing and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
I love to see those tiny specks of the green zucchini flesh in the cake!
As you know, there’s only one way to eat zucchini bread. Besides for breakfast 😉
With butter.
And maybe a sprinkle of flaked sea salt. The bread must be slightly warm, so it melts the butter into the bread *drool*.
How To Freeze Zucchini Bread:
Once the zucchini bread has completely cooled, double wrap a single loaf in plastic wrap, then wrap tightly with foil. I like to use a sharpie and mark the day and the year on the outside as well.
Want more zucchini bread recipes? Click Here!
Enjoy! And if you give this Olive Oil Zucchini Bread recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
