Gluten-free Zucchini Bread

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Perfect for using up that garden bounty, here’s my tried and true recipe for gluten-free zucchini bread – an easy and delicious quick bread recipe! You can make this a gluten-free dairy-free zucchini bread too! This recipe makes two loaves of gluten-free zucchini bread.

Last year I didn’t grow any zucchini so I was happy to snag some from a neighbor. I used one very large zucchini and with it I made our favorite gluten-free zucchini brownies and this recipe for two loaves of gluten-free zucchini spice bread.

I’ve tested this gluten-free zucchini bread recipe at least a half dozen times now, so it’s ready to share with you!

I love that this recipe makes TWO large loaves of gluten-free zucchini bread. If you’re feeling generous, you could gift one to a neighbor – maybe the one that brings you zucchini! 🙂

Ok, let’s talk about what ingredients you need to gather for this recipe.

Notes on ingredients and substitutions for this gluten-free zucchini bread:

• Flour: Any good quality gluten-free flour blend should work in this recipe. I’ve tested with  gfJules all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (buy direct here) or from Amazon here, King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour (from Amazon here), and Authentic Foods Multi-Blend flour, with great success with all. I would also recommend trying Cup4Cup if you have it on hand as I believe it would work well also.
• Remember that if your flour blend already contains xanthan or guar gum, you’ll skip adding the xanthan gum called for in this recipe.
• Zucchini: I don’t peel my zucchini – I don’t mind the green flecks. If you do, feel free to peel before shredding. I just cut, remove the seedy center and put through my food processor with the shredding attachment on. Makes it so quick and easy! I do believe it is very important to remove the whole center seed area. It adds a lot of moisture that messes with the overall texture. So basically, core the center out of the zucchini before you shred.
• Yogurt: I opted for a lowfat vanilla yogurt. You’ve got flexibility here with using most any yogurt – Greek, plain, lowfat, nonfat, etc. in either plain or vanilla flavor. You can also use a non-dairy yogurt to make this dairy-free. I’ve used non-dairy Silk vanilla yogurt alternative with success.
• Butter: This gives such great flavor, but you can substitute with your favorite oil instead.
• Lemon juice: You can use a fresh squeezed lemon or RealLemon lemon juice that you buy at the store. Either are fine here. I’ve tested with each.

If you enjoy nuts, you can absolutely add chopped nuts of your choice to this recipe. I would start with 1 cup and then see if you’d prefer more. Toasting the nuts a bit before adding will make them most flavorful.

Can you make this gluten-free zucchini bread without dairy? Yes!

If you can have dairy, use a regular vanilla yogurt and melted butter. If you can’t have dairy, use a non-dairy yogurt alternative and your choice of oil to make this dairy-free zucchini bread. I often use corn oil since it’s a flavorless oil I usually have on hand.

The 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter is equal to 3/4 cup of oil. The yogurt to non-dairy yogurt is a straight swap.

I’ve also seen recipes that call for straining the zucchini which I personally think is a pain, lengthens your prep, and can provide inconsistent results. My solution to avoid having to strain and also to avoid the results being too soggy, is to just make sure to cut the seedy center out of the zucchini. 

Here’s what I do to prep the zucchini for any recipes where I use zucchini.

First you need to decide whether you want green flecks from the zucchini’s peel in your bread or not. I always do. But if you are don’t, go ahead and peel before you cut in half. 

NowI use a good knife to cut my zucchini into manageable chunks. This particular garden zucchini was the size of a kids chunky bat, so I definitely needed to cut it to smaller chunks of about 8″ long to work with. 

I cut in half, then in quarters.

Next I use a grapefruit spoon to quickly and easily scoop out the seedy centers. I put this into a bowl and compost it.

Now the zucchini is ready to be shredded to use in the recipe and won’t be too soggy!

I like to use my food processor to shred the zucchini. First I cut the zucchini up to skinnier strips so I can put them through the food processor feeder:

I have a large 10 cup food processor, and when I pull it out I go ahead and shred all of the zucchini – more than what I need for this recipe.

Then I measure out what I need for this recipe and save any extra to make more loaves of zucchini bread later in the week, or to make gluten-free zucchini brownies with instead.

Now your zucchini is ready – no need to pat with towels or let sit in a strainer or anything.

How to make gluten-free zucchini bread:

Lightly spray your loaf pans with cooking spray and start your oven preheating to 375°. I baked these in my favorite loaf pans – 9x4x4 USA Pan Loaf Pans. They make beautiful straight-sided loaves with that are just right for slicing.

In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients: gluten-free flour, xanthan gum (if needed), baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice.

Whisk together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter and sugar. Whisk together the butter and sugar. It’ll look like this when done:

Then add the eggs, vanilla yogurt, and lemon juice and whisk until combined.

Swap out your whisk for a spatula. Grab your dry ingredients bowl and your shredded zucchini.

Alternate adding some of the flour mixture and some of the shredded zucchini to the mixing bowl, gently folding/stirring with a rubber spatula.

Continue alternating adding some flour mixture and zucchini until all is gently stirred in. Be sure to use your spatula to scrape bottom and sides of bowl so there aren’t any clumps of flour left behind.

Now you’ll have a big full bowl of yummy zucchini bread batter!

Divide the zucchini bread batter evenly between two greased loaf pans. Note, if you only have small loaf pans, evenly divide between more of them, and adjust baking time down a lot and check often for doneness.

Place the baking pans in your preheated oven and set timer for 43 minutes. The zucchini loaves I bake in these pans are usually done in the 45-50 minute range, so I recommend starting checking at 43 minutes. I highly recommend using an oven thermometer so you know your oven is at the proper temperature for all baking.

Bake at 375° until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out with crumbs only, no wet batter, about 45-50 minutes.

Baking time WILL VARY based on the pans you use – the size and shape of them. So peek to check on them! If you have chosen to divide between mini pans, you’ll definitely need a much shorter baking time. Give it a guess on time and check often!

When you remove from oven, place pans on cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the zucchini loaves from the pans and let cool on wire rack until cool.

You want to let the loaves cool completely before slicing if you want nice clean cuts. If you don’t care about that, then go for it on having some warm slices! 

Look at that amazing texture:

I think you’re going to love this gluten-free zucchini spice bread! If you have more zucchini leftover, you can also make these gluten-free applesauce banana zucchini muffins, brown sugar grain-free zucchini muffins, or  gluten-free double chocolate zucchini bread! Lots of choices for using up all of that zucchini before the season is over! Let me know what you make!

Looking for more recipes to help you use up all the zucchini you have? Head over to this round-up of more than 30 gluten-free zucchini recipes here. 

Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe’s recipe for the Best Zucchini Bread.

You can wrap a cooled loaf of gluten-free zucchini bread tightly with foil and place in a gallon freezer bag to freeze for up to six months. This is a great option if you have a ton of zucchini to use up and you want to make a few batches of this bread.

It’s so nice to be able to pull out some loaves of it in a few months for a nice breakfast or snack! Last year, I pulled a couple out of the freezer to bring with me to visit family for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it.

If you make this gluten-free zucchini bread recipe and love it too, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.

Gluten-free Zucchini Bread Recipe:

Pin this to your gluten-free breads board:

I hope you and your family enjoy this gf zucchini bread as much as mine did!

Enjoy!

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