The Ultimate Healthy Zucchini Bread
This truly is the best zucchini bread I’ve ever had! It’s supremely moist and tender, deliciously sweet, and has lots of cozy spice flavors. It tastes just like my grandma’s famous recipe — only this one is much healthier! It’s perfect for breakfasts and snacks (or even a little something sweetish after dinner!). Leftovers will keep for at least four days if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or tightly sealed in plastic wrap. (This kind is my favorite because it clings much more tightly than other brands.) Leftover slices freeze really well too!
Ingredients
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tsp liquid stevia (see Notes!)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) distilled white vinegar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (see Notes!)
- ¼ tsp ground allspice (see Notes!)
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg (see Notes!)
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) nonfat milk
- 2 ¼ cups (270g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 ¼ cups (134g) freshly grated zucchini, thoroughly patted dry (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5” loaf pan with foil, and coat the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil and egg whites. Stir in the vanilla, liquid stevia, and salt. Add the Greek yogurt, stirring until no lumps remain. Stir in the vinegar. Stir in the cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg until fully incorporated. Stir in the milk. Pour the flour evenly over the top of the batter, and evenly sprinkle the baking soda and baking powder on top of the flour. Stir until the flour is just incorporated. Gently fold in the zucchini.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Cover the top with foil, crimping the edges around the pan’s rim to seal, and try to push up the foil in the center to ensure it doesn’t touch the batter while baking. Bake covered at 350°F for 35 minutes. Acting very quickly, remove the pan from the oven, and carefully remove the foil. Immediately put the pan back in the oven, and continue baking the zucchini bread for an additional 30-35 minutes (for a total of 65-70 minutes) or until the top feels firm to the touch and looks golden or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully lifting out and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's really important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much will make your zucchini bread dry.
IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: For a sweeter flavor, increase the liquid stevia by an additional ¼ to ½ teaspoon.
For a stronger spice flavor, increase the allspice and nutmeg by ¼ teaspoon each (for a total of ½ teaspoon each). This is what I normally do!
IMPORTANT ZUCCHINI NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Measure the zucchini before patting it dry. You must thoroughly pat it dry to remove the excess moisture because that excess moisture will cause the loaf to collapse while cooling.
To pat the zucchini dry, lay a double-thick layer of paper towels onto a cutting board, and arrange the freshly grated zucchini on top. Place another double-thick layer of paper towels on the zucchini, and firmly press down until the top towel layer turns completely wet. Continue to repeat with a fresh set of double thick paper towels on top until you can’t press any more moisture out of the zucchini.
Do NOT add more zucchini! Just like not thoroughly drying your zucchini, additional zucchini will cause your loaf to collapse while cooling.
IMPORTANT MIXING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer! Use a whisk where instructed and a fork for everything else. Mixers will overwork the batter, and the zucchini bread will turn out tough, gummy, rubbery, and/or dense.
Also, pay very close attention to the instructions! The order of ingredient additions really matters. They include precisely when you should both add certain ingredients and stir them together. Sometimes, you’ll need to stir in only one ingredient at a time. I promise there’s a reason for this… It means you end up with the perfect taste and texture in your zucchini bread! (See the "Follow the instructions + order of ingredient additions exactly" header in the "How to Make the Ultimate Healthy Zucchini Bread" section in my blog post above for more information!)
IMPORTANT FOIL NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: You must cover the batter with foil during the first stage of baking. This allows the center to cook through without the top turning overly brown or burnt. Work very quickly when removing the foil! If you leave the pan out of the oven for too long, the loaf will start to collapse, and it won’t recover to fully rise properly.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
CINNAMON NOTE: I highly recommend using Saigon cinnamon! (← I buy mine online there because it’s so inexpensive and affordable!) Saigon cinnamon tastes stronger, richer, and sweeter than regular cinnamon. It’s basically the only kind I currently use in my baking!
UNSALTED BUTTER + COCONUT OIL ALTERNATIVES: Any neutral-tasting oil may be substituted for the unsalted butter or coconut oil. Stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one) will also work.
EGG WHITE NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: You must use all 3 egg whites. Without all 3 egg whites, your loaf will collapse some while cooling. (See the "Egg whites" header in the "Ingredients to Make the Ultimate Healthy Zucchini Bread" section in my blog post above for more information!)
If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 3 whole eggs AND reduce the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.
STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they're not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. For the best results, I recommend using the same one I do. I buy mine online here because that's the best price I've found. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too!)
However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the zucchini bread, substitute 1 cup (192g) of coconut sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar AND reduce the milk to 2 tablespoons (30mL). Alternatively, substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150mL) of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave AND omit the milk. (Your zucchini bread won’t be quite as sweet with this substitution!) The baking time may vary slightly with any of these substitutions.
VINEGAR NOTE + ALTERNATIVE: The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the zucchini bread rise and create a more tender texture. Don’t skip it! (I promise you can’t taste it once your loaf finishes baking! Just don’t taste the raw batter…)
If you don’t have or can’t find distilled white vinegar, try to find another vinegar with a similar pH level of around 2.5 to maintain the same texture. Lemon juice has a pH level around 2-3, so it should also work.
MILK ALTERNATIVE: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: 1 ¼ cups (150g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 2 teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will also work, if measured like this.
HOW TO STORE: Store leftover zucchini bread in the refrigerator tightly wrapped in plastic wrap (I love this one because it seals more tightly than other brands!) or inside of an airtight container. It should keep for at least four days, if not a week or longer. Leftover slices freeze really well too!
For more tips and information about the ingredients and instructions, please see the text of my blog post above!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar, sugar-free}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.