Classic zucchini bread with a twist! The addition of Greek yogurt adds moisture and a touch of tang to this classic loaf. Put those rogue zucchinis in your summer garden to good use!
Zucchini bread is a summer kitchen staple that everyone has their own recipe for. I often find zucchini bread to be either too stodgy and dense or dry and over-baked. This particular version contains loads of shredded zucchini as well as full fat Greek yogurt to really ensure a moist, tender crumb. Sour cream can be used instead, but what I love about this Greek Yogurt Zucchini Bread is the ever so slight tang that the yogurt lends to the bread. It offsets the warm sweetness of the cinnamon and nutmeg. Toasted, chopped nuts or chocolate chips can be added for extra texture and flavor. And if you love this recipe, be sure to try my Greek Yogurt Banana Bread and Zucchini Bread with Oats and Chocolate Chips! This zucchini bread would also be extra delicious with a bit of Easy Crumb Topping sprinkled on before baking.
HOW THIS RECIPES COMES TOGETHER
- 1. Whisk all dry ingredients. The flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg are first whisked or sifted together.
- 2. Whisk the wet ingredients: Both the granulated and brown sugars are whisked together with the canola oil, eggs, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract.
- 3. Add the wet to the dry: The wet ingredients are added to the bowl of dry ingredients and mixed briefly.
- 4. Add any additions. At this point, the shredded zucchini and any chopped nuts or chocolate chips can be added to the batter. Gently stir the batter until everything is just combined.
- 5. Bake! The zucchini bread batter is poured into a prepared loaf pan and baked for 50-70 minutes in a 350 degree F oven.
RECIPE NOTES
- Room temperature ingredients. As with many baking projects, room temperature ingredients will ensure a more consistent batter texture. In this case, the eggs and Greek yogurt should be at room temperature.
- Canola oil substitutions: Other neutral flavored oils like vegetable, avocado or grape seed oil can be used instead of canola. Melted and slightly cooled coconut oil would be delicious as well if you like that hint of coconut flavor. Applesauce can be used instead of oil, however I think the texture of quick breads are much better when oil is used.
- Shredded zucchini: I like to shred my zucchini on a box grater, but you can used a food processor as well. No need to squeeze it out unless the zucchini seems unusually wet.
- Zucchini bread additions: Feel free to add up to a cup of chopped nuts, shredded or flaked coconut, chocolate chips or even cinnamon chips would be delicious!
- Pan selection. A typical 9 x 5 loaf pan can be used to bake this banana bread in. I actually prefer to bake my quick breads in a 9 x 4 pullman loaf pan. The taller sides make the slices of banana bread look as though they came out of a fancy cafe. Note that the zucchini bread may take a bit longer to bake in a pullman loaf pan.
Greek Yogurt Zucchini Bread
Equipment
- 1 kitchen scale
- 2-3 medium – large mixing bowls
- 1 whisk
- 1 spatula
- 1 9 x 5 or 9 x 4 loaf pan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) canola oil or other neutral oil
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup 110 grams brown sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (114 grams) plain whole milk yogurt or sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) shredded zucchini
- 1 cup (180 grams) chopped nuts or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat a conventional oven to 350 degrees F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper (optional) and grease a loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk or sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugars and wet ingredients: oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, yogurt and vanilla.
- Add the wet to the dry. Begin to mix and then before all the dry ingredients disappear, add the shredded zucchini and nuts or chocolate chips if using. Gently fold everything together until just mixed.
- Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan. Bake on the center rack for 55-70 minutes. The loaf is done baking with a cake tester inserted into the center loaf comes out mostly clean.
- Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 30 – 45 minutes. Tip it out onto a cooling rack and let the loaf cool to room temperature before slicing. Store the leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
