Here is a quick recipe for vegan zucchini bread using apple sauce!

This truly is the BEST-EVER vegan zucchini bread recipe I made up to date and I tried a few! It is a simple and delicious apple sauce vegan bread that is filled with fresh grated zucchini and walnuts.

This is the time of the year when zucchini in my garden is abundant! It is a relatively easy vegetable to grow and very prolific. Every year I find myself with more zucchini growing that I can eat! I add them grated to oats (yes oats, try it! You can’t taste it), salads, wraps… you name it.

When I first started to grow vegetables in my garden a few years ago, I planted zucchini in a flower box. The abundance of it was overwhelming. I made so many recipes that I think I literally put my 10-year-old off zucchini for life lol. There are so many ways to include this neutral-tasting veg. However, I find myself always leaning towards sweet things including this vegetable. It is even easier to disguise vegetables, and zucchini, in particular, ads beautiful moisture to baked goods.
If you are like me and you are swamp by the zucchini abundance, what can we do??

MAKE THIS VEGAN ZUCCHINI BREAD RECIPE OF COURSE 😊

And this is the zucchini bread recipe you are going to want to try. It is moist, sweet, and full of crunch walnuts with a hint of coconut.

How to make vegan zucchini bread:

• First preheat the oven to 170 degrees C and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
• To a large bowl, add all the wet ingredients except for the grated zucchini and whisk to combine.
• Take a separate bowl and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Add your zucchini. I find that adding zucchini to the dry ingredient prevents the zucchini from sinking to the bottom of the pan.
• Add dry ingredients to wet.
• Stir gently to just combine.

Do not overmix your batter. Overmixing allows the gluten to develop and too much gluten will give you gummy and dense bread.

• Next, fold in the walnuts.
• Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. This will depend on what kind of pan you use (glass or metal) as well as other factors.

• Let the loaf cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

If you feel adventurous and want to try other bread recipes I highly recommend two of my most popular easy bread recipes:

• seeded rye bread
• no kneed yeast bread

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to store zucchini bread?

Store zucchini bread at room temperature for 2-3 days. It will need to be covered well to prevent dryness. I use baking paper. My kitchen is pretty warm, so they tend to grow mold quickly every time I put baked good in a plastic bag.

Can I make this recipe into vegan zucchini muffins?

For sure! This recipe makes about 12 muffins. Fill the muffin tin about 3/4 of the way full and bake for 20 minutes before checking for doneness.

Can vegan zucchini bread with apple sauce be frozen?

Yes! Zucchini bread freezes very well, so double the recipe and freeze a loaf for later. To freeze, let it cool completely at room temperature. Then, double wrap it in plastic wrap, then place it in a freezer bag. When ready to eat, unwrap the foil and let it thaw. I like to slightly toast my bread before eating. It creates a beautiful crunch and intensifies the flavor!

Can you make vegan zucchini bread recipe gluten-free?

I haven’t tested it myself, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work with a decent gluten-free flour mix. If you are changing the flour I would use a 1:1 ratio. I would not just substitute with almond flour or coconut flour, as that will probably not work. Those flours absorb moisture differently than regular flours.

Can you make it oil-free?

Yes, simply add more applesauce for the oil. Pureed pumpkin, sweet potato would also work instead of oil.

Do I need to peel the zucchini?

Don’t peel the zucchini – Zucchini melts into the bread, so peeling is just an unnecessary step.

How do you know if this vegan zucchini bread is done?

Test With A Toothpick – At 50 minutes, start testing your bread for doneness. Stick a toothpick in the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. If batter sticks to the toothpick, you’re looking at more cooking time.

Ingredient Notes

Coconut Sugar – You can add regular white sugar. However, for a healthier alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
Applesauce – This is the binder of the recipe. You could replace it with 1 mashed banana, 1 cup of pumpkin puree, or a variety of other egg replacers.
Oil – This recipe calls for rapeseed oil because it is very neutral in flavor. If you want to you can try avocado or melted coconut oil. Olive oil also works but adds a slightly bitter flavor. Just remember depending on the oil you are using the flavor could change slightly.

If you want to eliminate the oil altogether, swap it out for the same amount of applesauce.

Wholemeal spelt flour – You can use regular white flour or a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
Zucchini – This recipe calls for 11/2 cup which is typically 1 medium-sized zucchini. I did not squeeze out the excess liquid of the zucchini as my grated zucchini was dry. You can squeeze the water out to prevent your batter from becoming too wet.
Walnuts – Feel free to omit for a nut-free option or swap them out for chocolate chips.

If you are not sure about zucchini in this zucchini bread recipe why not give a try to my delicious chickpea scramble? The recipe is as easy as this one and as good as this. 😉😋