Banana zucchini bread is an easy, quick bread recipe that combines the beloved flavor of banana bread with the mouthwatering moistness of zucchini.
Expect a beautiful brown crust and a light and soft interior crumb speckled with dark chocolate chips and grated zucchini.
This recipe is excellent for breakfast, as a snack or dessert and keeps well for several days.
Table of Contents
Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian and vegan diet. It’s low in cholesterol and saturated fats.
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What is banana zucchini bread?
Do you have extra zucchini lying around your kitchen and have run out of ways of cooking them?
Make banana zucchini bread, the perfect intersection between banana bread and zucchini bread.
This is such a simple, tasty, and comforting recipe. You only need a few pantry staples, a box grater, a bowl, and a fork.
With the same batter, you can even make zucchini muffins (see variations chapter below).
This quick bread combines the natural sweetness and flavor of overripe bananas with the gorgeous moistness of shredded zucchini.
The crumb is almost cake-like, compact, tender, and never dry.
As usual with most quick bread recipes, you can add your favorite add-ins, such as dark chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, and more.
Ingredients for banana zucchini bread
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Wet ingredients
- Bananas: use ripe or overripe bananas that have black dots on the skin. They are sweeter and easier to mash.
- Zucchini: you can use any zucchini, including green, grey, and yellow zucchini.
- Olive oil: Olive oil is healthier than most other oils and works perfectly in quick breads. Substitute avocado oil, melted coconut oil, or another neutral vegetable oil like canola oil and sunflower oil (less healthy).
- Sugar: you can use white or brown sugar.
- Vanilla extract: substitute cinnamon or other spices like nutmeg, cloves, and all-spice.
- Milk: we use almond milk. Substitute other non-dairy milk or regular milk.
Dry ingredients
- Flour: We make this with all-purpose flour. To make the recipe healthier, substitute 50% whole-wheat flour for all-purpose flour. We haven’t tried it with gluten-free flour.
- Baking powder: it helps the bread rise in the pan.
- Baking soda: it makes a tender crumb and a gorgeous brown top.
- Salt: just a pinch to tie the flavors together.
Add-ins (optional)
- Dark chocolate chips: substitute a dark chocolate bar chopped with a knife.
- Walnuts: substitute chopped pecan nuts, almonds, cranberries, or raisins.
How to make banana zucchini bread
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 9 x 5 inches (23cm x 12cm) loaf pan with parchment paper on the bottom and brush the sides with olive oil or melted butter.
In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork. Add olive oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond milk and stir to combine.
Rinse, dry, and grate the zucchini with the large holes of a box grater, then squeeze some of their water out.
Fold the grated zucchini into the banana mixture, then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Stir to combine to break most lumps, but without overmixing.
Tip: There is no need to peel the zucchini.
Fold in the dark chocolate chips and the chopped walnuts.
Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes at 350°F or 180°C.
The banana zucchini bread should be dark golden brown on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly dry.
Let it cool completely—at least 3 hours, but better overnight—on a wire rack, then slice into 0.8-inch or 2-cm thick slices and enjoy.
Video recipe
Variations
Banana zucchini muffins
You can use the same batter to make banana zucchini muffins. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 12-muffin tin or two 6-muffin tins with muffin liners.
Make the batter as per our instructions, fill the muffin pan, and bake for about 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.
To check for doneness, poke them with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out dry, the zucchini muffins are ready. If not, keep baking in increments of 2 minutes.
Tips
Don’t overmix the batter. Doing so will activate the gluten in the flour, making your bread heavy and gummy.
Let it cool down completely. Cooling down is an essential part of the recipe because the starch changes textures as it cools, and excess moisture escapes, creating a beautiful crumb.
The minimum cooling time is three hours, and we recommend half a day to a day for the best texture and flavor.
Questions
If your zucchini are very watery, you can squeeze out some of their liquid over a sink.
There is no need to peel the zucchini before shredding.
The peel is the best part because it’s colorful and contains the most nutrients. It also gives the bread a nice texture.
There are several reasons why your zucchini bread is heavy:
1. You over-mixed the batter. That’s the most common mistake. Over-mixing develops the gluten in the flour, making your bread heavy, compact, and gummy.
2. You didn’t add enough baking powder and baking soda, and your bread did not rise while cooking.
3. The ratio of your recipe’s wet-to-dry ingredients is off.
Storage
Make ahead: Banana zucchini bread is an excellent recipe to make ahead because the loaf needs time to cool completely. The flavors meld as the bread cools, and the recipe tastes much better the day after it is made.
Storage: Place the loaf in a reusable plastic bag and store it in a cool corner of your kitchen for up to 3 days. Alternatively, store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezer: This is an excellent recipe for freezing. Let the bread cool down completely, then wrap it in freezer-friendly film and freeze for up to 3 months. You can freeze it whole or in slices.
Thaw: Defrost in the fridge, microwave, or at room temperature.
More easy baking ideas
Or have a look at our compilation post with 35 easy dessert ideas.
More zucchini recipes
Banana Zucchini Bread
Equipment
- Loaf pan 9 x 5 inches (23cm x 12cm)
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas 12 ounces, 330 grams or 1⅓ cup mashed
- 2 medium zucchini 10 ounces or 300 grams, or 2 cups grated with the large holes of a box grater
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup olive oil or another neutral vegetable oil
- ¼ cup almond milk or any other milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or 50% whole-wheat flour and 50% all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Add-Ins (optional)
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line your loaf pan with parchment paper on the bottom and brush the sides with oil or butter.
- In a large bowl, mash 3 ripe bananas with a fork, then add ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup almond milk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Rinse, dry, and grate 2 medium zucchini with the large holes of a box grater, then squeeze some of their water out.Fold the grated zucchini into the banana mixture.Add 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ⅛ teaspoon salt.Stir to combine to break off most lumps, but without overmixing.
- Optionally, fold in ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips and ½ cup walnuts.
- Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes at 350°F or 180°C. The banana zucchini bread should be a dark golden brown on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly dry (not completely dry).
- Let the bread cool down completely – at least 3 hours but better overnight – on a wire rack, then slice into 0.8 Inches or 2 cm thick slices and enjoy.
Thank you Nico for the quick reply to my question about the applesauce replacing the oil. Iโm gonna make the zucchini banana bread today !!
Best of Health to you and Louise ,
Stephanie A.
Hi Nico and Louise !
Is it possible I could replace the oil for applesauce and add 1 flax egg to your banana zucchini bread recipe? Looks and sounds so delicious. I will be adding the walnuts and chocolate chips as you suggested , too !
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for your message ๐
Yes, you can replace the oil for applesauce.
There is no need to add a flax egg but you can probably add it in if you like.
I hope this helps.
Happy baking!
Nico
I love everything you do! Thank you for including the option for muffins! You guys really do think of everything.
Wonderful, Sharon. So happy you found the tips useful.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback ๐ All the best,
Louise
Great!!! Best Everโฆ
What difference does it make to the end product if I leave out the oil?
Hi Anita,
Thanks for your question ๐
The oil (and especially olive oil) makes the cake more flavorful and fulfilling.
Without oil the cake can taste a bit bland and thin.
The oil also add softness and moisture to the cake.
Having said that, you can definitely make this recipe without oil. In this case I’d probably add the nuts, chocolate chips, or both.
I hope this helps.
Nico
I did mine GF using King Arthur Measure for Measure gf flour and it came out great!
That’s wonderful, Kim ๐ Thanks so much for the gluten-free flour suggestion, it’s very helpful to other readers.
Kindest, Louise
Hi,
Do we need to squeeze grated zucchini before adding?
Hi Kartheeka,
Thank you for your message.
No, there is no need to squeeze the water out of the zucchini.
Have a wonderful day ๐
Nico
Looks really good! Have you experimented with a gluten free version with chickpea flour or any other flours? I am searching for a recipe I can make for a friend that is sensitive to many allergens ๐
Lovely site you have here
Hi Shahla,
Thanks for your kind message.
I haven’t tried this one with gluten-free flour I’m afraid.
We have it on our to-do list but it’s going to be a few more weeks before we are able to test it.
I’m sorry I can’t help further.
Have a wonderful day.
Nico
This bread is so good and moist! This will always be the banana bread I make from now on. I did substitute 1/4 cup coconut sugar and 1/4 cup maple syrup instead of 1/2 cup sugar and it tastes great. I am going to make it into muffins for easy on the go breakfast. Thank you for all your delicious recipes!
That’s wonderful, Christin – I’m very happy to hear ๐
Thank you for your substitution suggestions, and the muffin idea – it sounds like a yummy breakfast.
Have a great week ahead, and all the best!
Louise
I made this today and I had to bake it for longer than the stated 50-60 minutes since my toothpick wasn’t coming out clean but it still turned out really mushy even with extra baking time. Is the amount of flour correct? I noticed that this uses the same amount of flour as your vegan banana bread recipe even though this recipe has the added moisture from the zucchini so I wonder if that was the problem.
Hi Kit,
sorry for the late reply. We finally managed to recook the banana zucchini bread, which worked well for us with these same quantities and 60 minutes of baking time.
A few tips that could help fix the problem:
– The toothpick might still come out a bit wet after 1 hour, but the bread will dry as it cools down.
– If you notice that your zucchini is very moist, you might want to squeeze out some water. We never had to do this with our zucchini though.
– How did you measure your flour? If using cups, we spoon the flour in the cups until full; then, we level it off with a knife. But we don’t sift the flour before measuring it.
I hope this helps.
Have a wonderful day ๐
Nico
You don’t have the ingredient measurements
Hi there,
You need to click on “jump to recipe” (at the beginning of the blog post) or scroll down to our recipe box, and you will find all ingredients and instructions ๐
I hope that helps. Kindest,
Louise