Gluten Free Zucchini Bread

The zucchini bread recipe I have used for many years resides on a 3 x 5 card in a recipe notebook. For those of you who are younger and have never cooked using a recipe card, this may truly seem like an antique! But it makes me smile to use these hand written recipes, some are by family or special friends, in their handwriting ☺️. Enough reminiscing, just wanted you to know how old my zucchini recipe was, I do think it is from high school days 😳! As special as this recipe is to me, I think it is a bit on the oily side, so during this zucchini season, it was time to look around for a different idea. After a couple of experiments I found it! This recipe uses 1/4 cup of oil instead of 1 cup oil my old recipe called for, and it includes the addition of a small amount of alternative milk (I use oat milk), keeping the moisture balance perfect. It is sweetened with pure maple syrup, making it Whole30 compliant and delicious!

I have experimented with different gluten free flours and this one has become my favorite. I can’t tell the difference between this and other flours when baking, no gritty taste - yeah!

This recipe is adapted from realfoodrealdeals.com - thank you!

INGREDIENTS -

2 cups grated zucchini (squeeze out the moisture with a paper towel)
2 cups gluten free flour (recommend Cup4Cup brand)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup oat milk, or other alternative dairy such as coconut or almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two loaf pans.

Grate the zucchini and set aside in a colander to drain. Before adding it to the rest of the ingredients, press down on the zucchini with a paper towel, or squeeze it into a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. This would be a simple step to skip through if you are in a hurry, but it is really important! (I speak from experience) There is a lot of moisture in the zucchini and you can end up with soggy bread if the moisture isn’t removed first.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl add the eggs and scramble them lightly with a fork. Then stir in the maple syrup, avocado oil, oat milk, and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the bowl of liquid ingredients and stir to blend, then mix in the zucchini and nuts. Transfer the batter to the loaf pans and spread evenly. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. The baking time has varied a bit for me, depending on the pans I have used and the amount of moisture I get out of the zucchini 😉.

Insert a knife to determine when the bread is done and when the knife comes out clean, remove the bread from the oven. Allow it to cool about 5 minutes and then place bread on a wire rack to cool completely.

It is the last of zucchini season so give this one a try, and if you enjoy it as much as I have, you will be looking to purchase zucchini at the store all winter long! Enjoy!