Why This Zucchini Bread Is So Special

This homemade zucchini bread recipe is the first recipe I ever posted here, and it's still one of my favorites. It's full of memories, delicious flavors, and homemade comfort. (Want to know more about why zucchini works so well in baking? Here's a great explainer.) Scroll down for the full printable recipe!

But this recipe isn’t just about the bread. It’s about the memories — and for me, those memories come with a lot of dirt, barns, and a whole lot of imagination.

A Little Farm Mischief

I grew up on an acreage just outside Omaha, Nebraska, with ten acres to run wild — and we made the most of it. But our favorite place to play wasn’t actually ours. Behind our property was a field my uncle rented for row crops, and right in the middle of it stood an old red barn — classic Midwest style, with a hayloft up top and animal stalls below.

There was even an old well where a windmill used to stand. Naturally, we decided it made the perfect spot to play house, farm, or whatever else our imaginations cooked up. Looking back, I’m pretty sure we weren’t supposed to be there (it wasn’t technically our land)... but thankfully, we never got caught.

The Best Part of the Day

After hours of running wild in the hayloft, pretending we were bandits or hiding out from imaginary enemies, we’d eventually make our way back to the house — absolutely starving. And my mom? She always had something waiting for us.

I’m not talking about fruit snacks or Little Debbies. I mean real snacks — the kind only a mom like mine would whip up without blinking. Some days it was buttery popcorn and tart Granny Smith apples (always with a sprinkle of salt). Other days it was cheese, summer sausage, and crackers.

But the best days? The ones we still talk about? Were the ones when we opened the door and the smell of warm zucchini bread hit us before we even made it to the kitchen.

Those were the golden days of summer.

Mom’s Handwritten Recipe

If you’re here looking for a “healthy” zucchini bread recipe — you know, the kind with applesauce instead of oil, fake sugar instead of the real deal, and oat flour blended in like it’s a smoothie — this ain’t it.

This recipe is loaded with two cups of sugar and a full cup of oil. It is not health food. But is it soft, sweet, and absolutely irresistible? Oh yeah. Does it completely disguise the fact that there are vegetables in it? Like a champ.

This is zucchini bread that thinks it's cake. And that’s exactly why I’m sharing it.

Optional Health Tweaks

• Replace all or half of the oil with applesauce
• Use a sugar substitute

Printable Recipe

Here’s the full recipe card with all the ingredients and instructions!

My Mom's Zucchini Bread

April 15, 2020

by Ashleigh Huffman

Category Breads Desserts Recipes

Delicious served warm. This was my mom's recipe and every time I eat it, it brings back fond memories of my childhood.

Persons

2

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Total Time

1 hour, 15 minutes

Notes

**If you're trying to cut back a little on calories, you can replace the oil with applesauce or even do a mix of half applesauce and half oil.

Ingredients

• 2 C. Sugar
• 1 C. Vegetable Oil
• 3 Eggs
• 3 t. vanilla
• 2 C. Raw, grated zucchini (with skin on)
• 2 C. All Purpose Flour
• 1 t. Baking Soda
• 1/2 t. Baking Powder
• 1 t. Salt
• 3 t. Cinnamon
• 1 C. Chopped Walnuts (Optional)

Instructions

• 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (or spray) two loaf pans.
• 2. Blend sugar and oil together. Add eggs & vanilla. Beat together. Add zucchini and dry ingredients. Mix well. Add nuts, if using.
• 3. Pour into the two greased pans and place in preheated oven for 1 hour.
• 4. Check with a toothpick to be sure center is cooked through.
• 5. Let cool in pan for at least 15 minutes in pan. If difficult to remove from pan, gently glide a butter knife around edges to ease the bread away from the pan.