Banana does double duty as an egg replacer while adding sweetness and a touch of flavor to this vegan zucchini bread that’s also bursting with juicy raisins, crunchy walnuts and cinnamony sweetness!
I’m a little early for zucchini this year, but I want to be ready when zucchini madness starts in July and August. Plus, I’m personally pretty excited for zucchini this year. So far my zucchini plants are growing faster and better than anything else in my backyard garden. Usually my zucchini tanks, so I’ve got high hopes!
I’m planning for the best outcome and ready with a killer recipe for vegan zucchini bread.
This was adapted from my mom’s recipe. She’s had it forever, and when I told her I was working on a vegan zucchini bread recipe, she insisted I base it on hers, because it’s the best. I had to agree with her on that, so I went along with it.
I subbed a mashed banana for the eggs in mom’s recipe, which worked out great because (1) bananas make an excellent egg substitute in baked goods like this, and (2) the resulting baked good ends up having a hint of banana bread flavor too, and banana bread is delicious. The banana added a whole new dimension to my old favorite zucchini bread recipe. If you like even more dimension, check out these chocolaty muffins.
How to Make Vegan Zucchini Bread
Start by coarsely grating your zucchini.
Then mash up your banana using a potato masher or fork. The banana gets mixed up with your liquid ingredients, and your dry ingredients get mixed up in a separate bowl. Add the liquid to the dry and stir just until mixed. Fold in the zucchini, walnuts and raisins.
Transfer everything to a bread pan and bake to perfection.
Tips for Making Amazing Vegan Zucchini Bread
- Be careful not to overmix the batter. Just stir until the ingredients are blended, and no more! This will avoid the baking soda fizzing out and the gluten in over-developing, which can make your bread tough.
- I like to freeze my overripe bananas so I have them on hand all the time for recipes like this. Just be sure to thaw them completely before using, and throw the whole banana into the recipe, including any liquid that’s generated during thawing.
- Vegan quick breads are always a bit more delicate than non-vegan ones. To avoid crumbling, make sure your bread has cooled 100% before removing it from the pan and slicing it.
- It also helps to use the right knife when slicing. I always have the best luck with a sandwich knife, but a good quality serrated knife works too.
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Vegan Zucchini Bread
Banana does double duty as an egg replacer while adding sweetness and a touch of flavor to this vegan zucchini bread that's also bursting with juicy raisins, crunchy walnuts and cinnamony sweetness!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (could sub all-purpose)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ripe banana
- 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (or your favorite baking oil)
- 1/4 cup unflavored soy or almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup coarsely grated zucchini
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Lightly oil an 8 or 9 inch loaf pan.
Stir the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a medium mixing bowl.
Place the banana into a separate medium bowl and mash it with a fork or potato masher.
Add the sugar, oil, milk and vanilla extract to the banana and stir until well mixed.
- Add banana mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
Fold in the zucchini, raisins and walnuts.
Scoop the mixture into loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.
Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before removing the loaf from the pan and slicing.
This sounds great! One question though, my partner is gluten intolerant so what would be the best/easiest sub for the flour? GF all purpose flour?
Thanks
Thanks Rhi! Gluten free all purpose would probably be your best bet, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for sure. I’m hoping to test some more of my recipes with gluten free blends in the future, but right now my experience with these flours is pretty limited. If you do try this out with a gluten free blend please let me know how it works out! Of course, if I get a chance to test this or any of my other recipes out with gluten free flours I’ll post updates in the notes section of the recipe.
I have done a similar type zucchini bread but without sugar and used buckwheat flour as I’m gluten free too , worked fine !
Sounds like a great idea! Thanks Jo!
I just made this and it’s amazing! I’m not a huge zucchini fan, but I sure do like it in bread :) Thank you!
Yay! My boyfriend said pretty much the same thing – he was skeptical but loved the bread. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it too. Thanks for letting me know! :)
Thanks for sharing the recipe – your photos are really lovely and I bet the bread tastes so as well. I will definitely try this on my own.
P.S. If you don’t have ripe bananas, but want to make the bread, you can put your fruit in the oven for about half an hour and they will become ripe. Here are the exact instructions:
http://www.listonic.com/protips/get/opqpndomrm
Thanks Paula! I hope you enjoy this when you try it! Awesome tip on the bananas – I had no idea, but it definitely makes sense. I’ve been sticking my bananas in paper bags and crossing my fingers that they ripen in time for baking. I’ll try sticking them in the oven next time. Thanks so much :)
Well actually, you can ripen banana this way as well – but you should also insert an apple in the bag because it emits a gas tham makes bananas ripen. Unfortunately, it takes longer than in the oven :)
I just made this using coconut palm sugar instead of cane sugar, stevia-sweetened chocolate chips (I cannot have cane sugar), and an experimental mixture of coconut, rice bran, and wheat flour. The result was more like a dough than a batter, but it’s so delicious! Tastes like it would make excellent chocolate chip cookies (which I will be testing next time my CSA puts a zucchini in the box).
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it! I’ve been meaning to make some zucchini cookies too. :)
This was amazing and the first vegan baked good that I’ve made so far! Absolutely delicious. I also added organic, unsweetened coconut flakes to the batter and mixed them in with the zucchini and raisins. Turned out wonderfully and I’m thrilled that’s it’s vegan. Thanks for sharing!
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it, and coconut sounds like a wonderful addition! :)
I’ve made this twice so far, and will continue to do so. I like that there is not a ton of added sugar, and the bread itself is not too sweet. My 10 month old loves this too!
Yay! Glad you’re both enjoying it. Thanks Kate!
Thank you for this great recipe! The banana adds something different than the usual zucchini bread. I currently have my second batch in the oven, but as muffins instead. I needed it to bake faster this morning! And be a good portable snack for today as I am driving my daughter to an appointment. Thanks again!
I’m glad you’re enjoying it! I’ll bet it’s great as muffins too. :) Thanks Stacey!!
Just made a double recipe into muffins again today. I didn’t have any almond milk on hand so I just left it out. I didn’t miss it at all.
Oh awesome! I’m glad it worked out! Thanks Stacey!
How long did you bake the muffins for ?
Is the batter supposed to be more doughie than battery? Mine is really stiff. I doubled it but i’m sure I did the right proportions.
It’s thick a thick batter – not pourable like pancake batter since there’s very little liquid – more scoopable like muffin batter. I just updated the instructions to clarify this a bit. :)
I want to make this recipe! What size banana did you use? And, did you use the liquid from the grated zucchini? Thank you!
A medium banana, and there shouldn’t be too much liquid if you use it right away, but throw it in if there is any! :)
Thank you for your response!
Very welcome. :)
Will rice milk work if I don’t have soy or almond? BTW, I have tried quite a few of your recipes with excellent results!
Rice milk will work! I’m glad you’re enjoying the recipes! Thanks Lori!
This was delicious! Not to sweet. The raisins added just enough sweetness. Also what I really liked about this recipe is that is used regular baking ingredients that I have at home. I didn’t have to go to the store to get random “vegan” stuff to assist in baking. We will make this again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks Laurie!
Thanks for the tip about freezing overripe bananas. I know it seems like an obvious thing to do; however, I hadn’t thought of it.
Glad it helps! I’m trying to include more tips like this in my blog posts. :)
One of my girlfriends is up to her ears in zucchini from her garden which means I am too! So I found this recipe and I cannot stop making it! It’s perfect! Thank you!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!!
Can I use coconut sugar instead of the granulated sugar
Yup! Enjoy!
Love this bread so much. All my friends and family love it, too. We grew some massive zucchinis this year, and I’ve now made 5 batches of this recipe. Soooooo good. Love the banana in it, too. Thank you!!!
Yay!! I’m so glad it’s a hit! Thanks so much Heather!
This is so delicious! I don’t usually have much luck with baking, especially not “healthier” baking, but this bread turned out perfectly. Thanks!!!
Yay!! Glad you enjoyed it!
I used Kirkland dried cherries in place of raisins and pecans instead of walnuts because that’s what I had. Wow! This was very yummy! I made it for my daughter who is vegan, but the entire family liked the bread.
That sounds delicious!! I’m so glad it was a hit!
Great recipe! I just made this and it was the best zucchini bread I have ever had!
Woo hoo! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Kaley!
This is my favorite zucchini bread recipe so far, and I’ve tried three. In the last 3 months, I’ve made 7 loaves, it’s that good! My friends and family love it too. I would definitely recommend making this ASAP.
Wow!! I’m so glad you love it! Thanks so much Sarah!
Could you use coconut milk in place of the other milk?
I think that would work just fine! :)
Is there anything I can sub for the banana? I jut really don’t like bananas.
1/4 cup of pumpkin puree might work, but I haven’t tested the recipe with anything but banana, so I can’t be sure.
I’ve made this bread quite a few times since last summer and love it! I add pecans and chocolate chips instead of walnuts and raisins to make it a bit more decadent. It’s a huge hit with our cat/house sitter. So much that she’s asked we “pay” her with a loaf. :)
Lol! That’s awesome! I’m so glad it’s a hit!
I subbed half of the oil for homemade applesauce I had on hand, and replaced the sugar with pure maple syrup. Awesome!! I made another batch and replaced raisins with vegan chocolate chips. Great recipe!
Sounds delicious! I’m so glad you like it!
Yum! Turned out delish!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Lisa!
This is my go-to when I have dark ripe bananas to use. I make it with carrots, or beets, or even buttercup squash! I had a tiny sweet buttercup I needed to use, I added chopped Medjool dates, used cardamom, ginger and cinnamon with nutmeg- a teaspoon of each. Pepeitas and hemp seed hearts for the nuts, and baked it in a muffin tin. My quickbreads are always a hit, and they are all based on this recipe- Thank you so much!!
Oh wow! That’s so creative! They all sound wonderful – I’m itching to give the beet version a try. I’m so glad you’re enjoying this! Thanks Lisa!