Gluten free Zucchini Bread is very moist and satisfying. It's quick and easy to mix together, adding nuts or chocolate chips, if you like. I make mine with either fresh or frozen zucchini, large or small.
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In late summer when zucchini is plentiful, it can really help you stretch your grocery shopping budget. There are a lot of things you can make with zucchini, but zucchini bread is one of my favourites!
Zucchini is one of those vegetables that's perfect for sneaking into baking and desserts to make them more nutritious. It adds moisture nicely and is incredibly easy to prepare.
Ingredients
- Zucchini - Use any size of zucchini that you happen to have. I know those garden ones can get out of hand pretty quickly! You might want to peel any really big one. Either fresh or frozen shredded squash will work, too. See the notes below for special guidance on each form of zucchini.
- Avocado Oil - a healthful oil that stands up well to heat. I also choose it for its neutral flavour.
- Maple Syrup - a natural sweetener that even has some nutritional benefits
- Cathy's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend - If you make yourself a batch of this, you can also use it to make gluten free cakes and biscuits.
- Almond Flour - also known as almond meal
Instructions
You may either shred your zucchini or, for a quick shortcut, pop it into the blender.
Whisk the flours and other dry ingredients together.
When you put the oil, syrup, and eggs into a blender, chunks of zucchini will bring it up to just above the 3-cup line.
Mix the wet mixture from the blender with the dry flour mixture and stir in nuts, if you're using them.
Spread the batter into a parchment paper-lined pan for baking in a preheated oven.
Bake the loaf until it's done in the middle. An instant-read thermometer will read 200°F (93°C), or a toothpick will come out clean.
Hint: An instant-read thermometer is very useful to have in the kitchen. It takes the guesswork out of knowing when your loaf is baked right through but not overdone.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, leave the skin on regular-sized zucchini (6-10 inches/15-25 cm long). If your zucchini got forgotten in the garden and has grown to be so large that the skin has become tough, you might want to peel it off.
I often make zucchini bread with zucchini that has been frozen. Zucchini that has been grated but not blanched works great in this recipe. There's no need to blanch zucchini when you grate it for freezing.
I recommend measuring your grated zucchini into 2-cup containers for freezing. Then, when you want to make zucchini bread, thaw it in a colander, so excess water drains out. You don't need to squeeze it excessively, though.
Substitutions
Cathy's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend
This makes just enough for this recipe. If you'd like to make a whole batch, go to the recipe here.
While I highly recommend measuring by weight with kitchen scales rather than volume (cups) for accuracy and successful results, I have included measurements in US cups.
Making a whole batch of Cathy's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend will be even more accurate and more convenient for future baking projects.
Makes: 1¼ cups / 200 grams
- 60 g (⅓ cup) white rice flour
- 60 g (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) brown rice flour
- 30 g (⅓ cup) tapioca flour
- 30 g (⅓ cup) potato starch
- 10 g (2½ teaspoons) potato flour
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon powdered pectin
If you don't want to make your own gluten free all purpose flour blend and would rather purchase a ready made one, Better Batter Original Blend is the closest to mine and should work in this recipe.
Variations
While this gluten free zucchini bread is very nice on its own, you may want to add some things for interest.
- Walnuts - Stir optional walnuts into your batter before baking. Just make sure that they're fresh. Walnuts can easily become rancid and bitter tasting.
- Pecans - another very nice option in a zucchini loaf
- Chocolate Chips - because almost everyone loves a little chocolate!
Equipment
Equipment can really save you time in the kitchen. If you have a blender, you can purée zucchini chunks in the liquid portion of this recipe.
If you have a food processor, it will make very quick work of shredding your zucchini.
Or, you may decide to shred your zucchini by hand with a handheld grater. Zucchini is a soft vegetable, so it's not difficult to do.
Storage
As with most home baking, you should store your zucchini bread in the refrigerator. It should keep well there for several days in a covered container.
Gluten Free Zucchini Bread freezes very nicely. If you slice it up first, you'll be able to remove a few slices at a time for thawing.
Top tip
Make sure that your loaf gets cooked right through without becoming overdone. If you don't have an instant-read thermometer, insert a toothpick or fork into the centre to see if it comes out clean.
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Recipe
Zucchini Bread
Equipment
- 1 9-inch X 5-inch Loaf Pan (23cm X 13cm)
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- 1¼ cups Cathy's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon gluten free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅔ cup avocado oil
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Oil a loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C).
- Shred zucchini until you have 2 cups (300g) of it. (Alternatively, see the easy blender instructions in the notes below.)
- Combine the flours, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, and salt with a whisk in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- In small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and syrup.
- Stir the wet ingredients from the small bowl into the dry ingredients in the larger bowl.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini and the nuts or chocolate chips, if you're using them.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake it for about 50 minutes, or until the centre tests 200°F (93°C) with a thermometer.
- Allow the loaf to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, before you remove it. Then let it continue to cool to room temperature before slicing it.
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