A nice low-profile vegan zucchini bread for when you don’t want a huge loaf, this is almost small batch. If you’re like me and can’t resist eating a whole loaf in one day, or just want a slightly smaller option, try this out. It’s an olive oil zucchini bread with whole grain spelt flour, minimal sweetener, and you don’t need to strain the zucchini.

The best way to ensure consistent baking is, of course, to use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients. It’s particularly helpful when baking with ingredients like zucchini because you can weigh it before you start grating, rather than trying to measure grated zucchini (purely an exercise in frustration).

For some more summery vegan snacks, try these vegan banana blueberry muffins, fruit-sweetened chocolate avocado fudgesicles, or peanut butter balls with dates.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Zucchini: this can be any summer squash (courgette). Green as pictured, yellow, pattypan, whatever – if the skin is soft, it’s a summer squash, and will work here.
• Spelt flour: you can use a mix of light and whole grain spelt if you want a lighter loaf, or substitute wheat flour if you prefer.
• Oil: use any light-tasting liquid oil in place of olive oil.
• Milk: any non-dairy milk can be used (if it can be poured, not canned coconut milk). I always use oat milk.
• Sugar: use any type of granulated sugar. I stopped using coconut sugar last year but of course it will work here. It’s good with brown sugar but liquid sweetener makes the bread stodgy.
• Chocolate: use chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips.
• Cinnamon: feel free to add extra spices, like nutmeg, cardamom, or cloves. Something like chai spice is nice too.

Step by Step

Step 1: mix the milk and oil, then stir in the grated zucchini.

Step 2: add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Step 3: transfer to a lined bread tin.

Step 4: bake for about 50 minutes and cool before slicing.

Recipe Notes

Please keep in mind that this is a rather small, low loaf and it’s meant to be. If you want a larger loaf you could try doubling it but I think it might not bake all the way through.

Make sure the bread is fully cooled before slicing. If it’s still warm, it has a tendency to crumble a bit.

How to Store

Storage: keep in a sealed container at room temperature for a day or two, or refrigerate if your home is warm.

Freezing: cool fully before transferring to an airtight container and freezing for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature. The bread is a little more delicate after freezing.

Expert Tips

• Don’t omit the vinegar: this has a fairly small amount of baking powder, but the vinegar reacts with the baking soda while baking and makes for a good rise.
• Keep the zucchini water: it’s nothing but a hassle to have to grate, then squeeze, then measure when baking with zucchini. The recipe should be developed to use the natural water in the zucchini!
• Choose small zucchinis: this is more of a general tip – I worked at a market farm for two years and one of the biggest takeaways for me was to always, always choose the smallest summer squash available, even if it’s per piece pricing. The bigger they get, the more watery they are, and you’re losing out big time on flavour. When it comes to squash, smaller is indeed better.

More Vegan Zucchini Recipes

Pesto Pizza
Roasted Zucchini
Vegan Pasta Bake
Green Pasta