Gluten-free Zucchini Bread
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, King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour, 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:
Gluten-free Zucchini Bread
Gluten-free Zucchini Bread is the perfect recipe for when you have lots of zucchini from your garden or from the farmer's market. Dairy-free option: use non-dairy yogurt alternative and use oil in place of butter.
Ingredients
- 4 cups good quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend*
- 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (*omit if your flour blend has a gum already)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tsp. allspice
- 12 Tbsp. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted or 3/4 cup oil
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt or non-dairy yogurt alternative
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 3 cups shredded zucchini (unpeeled, or peel to avoid green flecks. Discard the seedy center of zucchini first)
Instructions
- Before starting: Cut your zucchini. Remove the seedy center. This portion can sometimes add too much moisture, so it's best to remove it. Then shred your zucchini. I slice, remove seeds, then put through my food processor with shredding attachment. You can peel or leave unpeeled. Set aside until called for in instructions below.
- Lightly spray two 9x5 loaf pans with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375°.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum (if needed), baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Whisk together. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, add the melted butter. Next add the sugar and whisk together to dissolve the sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla yogurt and lemon juice and whisk until combined.
- Alternate adding some of the flour mixture and some of the shredded zucchini to the butter/sugar mixture, gently folding/stirring with a rubber spatula. I did this in three turns of flour and zucchini until all was gently stirred in.
- Equally divide the batter between both loaf pans. You can use a food scale to make sure they're even for even baking times.
- Bake at 375° until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out with crumbs only, no wet batter, about 45-50 minutes. I like to set my timer for 43 minutes and start checking then. If you are using smaller pans, you'll need to adjust cooking time and check often.
- Cool loaves in pans on cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. Then, remove loaves from pans and let cool on wire rack until cool.
- Once cool, slice and serve, or wrap with foil and keep on counter for serving. Or wrap well with foil and place in a freezer bag and freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
*I've tested this with gfJules flour, King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour blend, and Gluten-free Mama's Almond blend and recommend any of those!
**If using a flour blend that already includes xanthan or guar gum, then omit the xanthan called for in the recipe.As always, be sure to double-check your ingredients for gluten.
See blog post for how to video as well as answers to common questions about ingredients.
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!
I first tried it as written, though with just 2 C of sugar. It was still very moist in the middle after 65 minutes.
I like more zucchini in it, so almost doubled the vegetable, using a total of 3 C of a combination of zucchini and carrot. But, I sprinkled 1 teaspoon of salt on the veggies and let sit in a strainer for almost an hour, squeezing out the moisture periodically. I ended up with 2 C of veggies and 1 1/4 C of water which I discarded. I followed the recipe otherwise, using 1 of sugar for a half recipe, etc. It was too much for a 8×4″ loaf pan I thought, so put some in a 2nd loaf pan. I may try it all in one next time as I know that it won’t be too wet in the middle, with the straining of the veggies.
I just made this recipe and it turned out very tasty. I halved the recipe though and the batter was so thick with not enough moisture so I added and extra egg and tbls of butter. I used Pamela’s 1 to 1 gf flour with xanthum gum. Any ideas why it was so thick and dry as a half recipe? After tweaking, it cooked up perfectly and delicious.
@Deanne, I had the same issue. I left out a cup of the flour because it was already very thick.
@Deanne, yep, I have really botched some GF recipes due to dryness. Sometimes halving the recipe exactly doesn’t yield the same results in my experience. For a single loaf, I ended up using about a cup and a quarter of GF flour and used 8 tbsp of butter to 1 1/4 cup of sugar to really get the sugar to dissolve. I also added a full container (5 oz) of yogurt which seemed to help!
This recipe is fantastic!!! I tried it with America’s Test Kitchen Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend and also their Gluten Free Whole Grain Flour Blend, both work well; the Whole Grain Flour loaves turned out a little less sweet. I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Yogurt, and baked for a total of 60 minutes. I also let the batter rest for 30 minutes before baking. Taste and texture are great, this is definitely a new favorite… thank you!!!
Any chance you have weight conversion by grams available? GF flour blends whether branded or home made tend to vary a lot by measurement, and it has often led to disappointing results for me. I’m an expert gf baker, just discovered your website, it looks great. Thanks
I am about to make this recipe and wanted to ask, for future reference. If you could do what KA does and list your ingredients by weight as well as by volume. I’ve learned that sometimes I have a heavy hand, especially with the flour. An inexpensive kitchen scale has saved many recipes in the past few years.
I LOVE zucchini bread and it’s the perfect time of year for that. Thanks for the great ideas on how to make it gluten free!
I just made this and thought that while I was making it that it had what seemed to be kind of a lot of not only baking soda but also baking powder and indeed it taste heavily of both and is also more dry and crumbly than expected. I definitely wouldn’t use tjos recipe again. I would gift the extra loaf to someone if it didn’t taste so bad.
Wow – I have no idea why you would be able to taste those as 2 teaspoons of each is not a lot at all – 1 teaspoon per loaf is quite normal. Are you sure you didn’t accidentally use tablespoons instead of teaspoons?
@Shannon Harris, I completely agree. A friend of mine gifted me a gorgeous zucchini fresh from her garden, and the taste of this recipe is of salt and baking soda. Sorry! I hate complaining when it comes to food /recipes, but gluten free flour is expensive. I’ve placed this back in the oven as it was goop under the nice browned top and have now decided to leave it in the woods for the raccoons. Definitely would not give this bread to any of my friends or family if I wouldn’t eat it myself. My fiance who is celiac will have to wait another time for zucchini bread.
I am making the recipe right now. I am using organic zucchini and it doesn’t seem to have that many seeds so I am scraping what looks like seeds out. Is there any difference using organic zucchini. Thanks so much,
@Estelle George, It depends on the size of the zucchini. Large zuchini have more seeds. If not large, I would not remove the seeds on smaller ones. It could make the batter too dry.
@Brenda Porter, Thank you!
Followed the recipe to the letter, my loaves are mush inside??
Maybe it’s the gluten free flour?
Hi Cari – What a bummer! Did you follow the final instruction that says to bake until a “toothpick inserted into center comes out with crumbs only, no wet batter,”? It sounds like it needed left in the oven longer. If your oven isn’t the right temperature, or your pan size was a little different, it could have needed more time that I have written, which is why I include the toothpick test.
Nevermind, I found 2 eggs behind something on my counter, lol, oh well, back to the beginning for me!
Just wonderful, thank you!! Never forget the eggs, lol, oh sweet memory how I miss you…..this time it turned out perfect
Hi Cari: I also just had this happen first time I tried this recipe a week ago. I am now going to look for an oven thermometer to double check that it is at the right temperature as my breads (three smaller loaf pans) looked well raised and cooked around the outer 1 inch edge but the middle was sunken. The breads were in the oven more than long enough and the toothpick test came out clean. Unfortunately, the loaves were not firm enough to come out of the pans. I was able to save them though by scooping it out as “pudding” and serving with whipped cream. Everyone loved it and went back for second servings. The taste was delightful…just the consistency was off. I followed the recipe to a T and I used Almond flour. I do know my eggs were on the large size (farm fresh) so maybe a little too large to use 4 eggs. I am going to try it again and see what happens if I just use another gluten free flour blend.
So, I like the green flecks you get when using unpeeled zucchini, but I have one question – does the skin bake up nice and soft so that you hardly know you’re eating it, or does it stay a bit tough and chewy, taking away from the soft, yummy texture?
Oh yes it becomes soft – you can’t tell it’s there at all!
This zucchini bread was excellent – love it. Thank you for the recipe, I will bookmark it. I followed the recipe exactly except I took the advice of others and only used 2 cups of sugar and I’m glad for it – for us it was the perfect amount of sweetness. I had to cobble together a couple different GF all purpose flours and I melted 1 stick of butter and added 2T. of oil – oh, and walnuts of course. It came out perfect. I got 2 beautifully risen loaves that taste great. My dh is going to love it tomorrow morning with his coffee.
Any suggestions on how to adapt the recipe for high altitude? Thanks
So glad I found this recipe! I had to go gluten free 6 months ago and I needed something for zucchini bread when our garden exploded. I was initially concerned because the batter was VERY thick, but it baked great! I got 3 loaves each time I’ve used it, which is fine by me. Kids and hubby love it, too. I did cut back the sugar a bit (2 cups) and it was still amazing!
This came out better then I expected. I used 3 1/2 cups bobs red mill 1 to 1 baking flour and 1/4 cup coconut flour. Sour cream with a splash of vanilla in place of the yogurt. Baked 55 mins tho I think my oven runs a little cool. Both loaves came out perfect. I baked one in metal and one in glass. Next time I will decrease the sugar by 1/2 cup.
This recipe is wonderful. Next time I’ll make a few tweets such as lessening the amount of sugar and baking at a slightly lower temperature. Other than that it taste fantastic.
My daughter and I loved this recipe! It turned out moist and fluffy with excellent flavor. I used whipping cream with lemon juice and a splash of vanilla to sub for the yogurt. Do you have nutrition info anywhere?
I don’t know about nutrition, but I did a quick calculation for calories… its about 1800 – 2200 per loaf, depending on sugar amount, flour type and fat type… So about 200 – 300 per slice?
I made this last weekend and it is delicious!. I used only 1.5 cups of sugar and substituted 4 Tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of applesauce for the total butter. I am planning on making this into muffins this weekend.
Absolutely outstanding, subbed veg oil for butter, added 3 tsp xanthan gum as per packet instructions… got 3 loaves instead of 2 and everyone loved it!!!!
Could you use applesauce instead of oil/butter?
I did and it was great!
Love this recipe. I haven’t had any banana or zucchini bread in over 8 years. I put mini chocolate chips in mine and I can’t stop eating it. Way better than the regular recipes that I’ve made with all the gluten in it. Yummy
What is the calorie count on each loaf of the gluten free zucchini bread with yogurt ? Thanks !
You were right. This recipe was excellent. I did not have yogurt, so, I used 18%sour cream and I used fresh squeezed lime juice and whisked them together. From this recipe I got 12 medium muffins and 4mini loaf pan.
Gluten-free recipes can be tricky, but this recipe was so good,it ended up in the BLUE BINDER. That means, it’s a keeper.
This will be my go to recipe.
Thanks for posting
Darlene Vormittag
Pelham, Ontario
Yum, I just made my two loaves, and thank you for another awesome recipe! Mine didn’t rise- they sunk a little in the middle, but still taste delicious and used up the gigantic zucchini sitting on my counter!