Time for another recipe from the AK archives that’s a true baking staple: my healthy zucchini bread, made with olive oil!
I first created this recipe back in 2018 and I make it every year when zucchini season is in full swing. I promise you won’t regret making this bread. There are so many ways to customize it, plus it’s easily dairy free and perfect when slathered with a little nut butter + sprinkle of sea salt.
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What makes this a better-for-you zucchini bread?
Traditional zucchini bread recipes tend to have plenty of oil and refined sugar to keep them moist and sweet. In this healthy version of zucchini bread:
- We’re using extra-virgin olive oil. The rest of the moisture comes from nutrient-dense zucchini!
- The zucchini itself adds a boost of veggies & fiber to the bread. The perfect breakfast or snack.
- It’s naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup instead of refined sugar.
- It can be dairy free! Just be sure to use dairy free milk and dairy free chocolate chips (if you’re adding those).
Healthy zucchini bread ingredients
This simple, delicious and healthy zucchini bread recipe is bursting with notes of maple, cinnamon and a hint of citrus. You’ll seriously never go back to another zucchini bread again! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Zucchini: shredded zucchini adds moisture to the bread so that we don’t have to use a ton of extra oil. Here’s the grater I use!
- Pure maple syrup: this healthy zucchini bread recipe is naturally sweetened with maple syrup.
- Eggs: you’ll just need 2 eggs for the bread. I haven’t tested it using flax eggs but let me know if you do!
- Milk: feel free to use any milk you’d like. I like to keep the zucchini bread dairy free by using unsweetened vanilla almond milk. You could also use freshly squeezed orange juice for more of a citrus flavor!
- Flour: Feel free to use all-purpose, or you can use whole wheat pastry flour to keep this bread fluffy while including whole grains. You can also use white whole wheat flour or 1:1 all purpose gluten free flour.
- Flavor booster: you’re going to love the cozy flavor that cinnamon and orange zest add to the bread.
- Baking staples: you’ll of course need powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: we’re adding a bit of olive oil so that the zucchini bread is perfectly moist. If you don’t have olive oil, feel free to use avocado oil, melted coconut oil, or melted butter or melted vegan butter.
- Mix-ins: I love adding toasted chopped walnuts and dark chocolate chips in the batter + on top for a beautiful, super delicious zucchini bread, but you can really get creative with your mix-ins!
Customize your healthy zucchini bread
While this healthy zucchini bread recipe is very straightforward, it’s also incredibly versatile.
- Switch up the mix-ins: You can add chocolate chips, coconut, dried fruit or basically whatever your heart desires. Time to get wild!
- Make it gluten free by using 1:1 all purpose gluten free flour.
- Make it nut free by skipping the nuts in the recipe and using a nut-free milk.
I’m a little obsessed with this bread. I love serving it warm with butter or peanut butter. Another great way to enjoy it is with a drizzle of honey + a sprinkle of sea salt. SO GOOD.
Tips for baking this zucchini bread
- Be sure to squeeze out all of the extra moisture after shredding your zucchini, and remember to measure the shreds AFTER squeezing it out.
- Do not overmix the batter, otherwise you’ll end up with a bread that’s more dense and gummy instead of fluffy and soft.
- Use an 8×4 inch loaf pan or an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch pan so that the bread bakes perfectly. A wider pan will decrease the baking time.
Turn this bread into muffins
If you’d like you can use this zucchini bread recipe and make muffins. Here’s how to do it:
- Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or use muffin liners. To be safe, I always spray the inside of the liners too.
- Prepare the batter as directed, then divide evenly between liners.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a tester comes out clean.
How to store & freeze homemade zucchini bread
- To store: this healthy zucchini bread should be kept well-covered in foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days, then I recommend transferring to the fridge or freezer.
- To freeze: let the bread cool completely and either cut it into slices before placing it in an airtight container or freezer-friendly bag in the fridge, or freeze the whole thing for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature once you are ready to eat. You can also feel free to freeze individual slices for a quick on the go treat.
More zucchini recipes you’ll love
- Zucchini Bread Pancakes
- Coconut Chocolate Zucchini Smoothie (with sneaky veggies)
- Peanut Butter Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal
- Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake with Lemon Frosting
Get all of my zucchini recipes here!
I hope you love this healthy zucchini bread recipe! Be sure to let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment below and rating the recipe. You can also upload a photo to Instagram and tag #ambitiouskitchen. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ to 2 cups shredded zucchini that has been squeezed of excess moisture with a paper towel (from about 1 large zucchini)
- ½ cup (101 grams) extra virgin olive oil (or sub melted and cooled coconut oil or melted butter/vegan butter)
- ½ cup (156 grams) pure maple syrup
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons milk of choice (or sub fresh squeezed orange juice!)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Optional: zest from 1 large orange
- 1 3/4 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour (or sub white whole wheat flour)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Optional add-ins:
- ½ cup (90 grams) chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top of bread
- ½ cup (56 grams) chopped toasted walnuts (or chopped pecans)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8x4 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the zucchini, olive oil, pure maple syrup, eggs, milk, vanilla extract and optional orange zest until smooth and well combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Fold in toasted nuts and/or chocolate chips, if desired.
- Bake: Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, sprinkle with extra chocolate chips, if using, and bake for 50-60 minutes until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Cut into 10 to 12 slices.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on April 25th, 2018, republished with new photos on August 19th, 2020, and republished on August 19th, 2025.
This is delicious! The orange zest adds such a brightness and the bread is perfectly sweet without being cloying. I used pumpkin pie spice in place of cinnamon and omitted the chocolate chips and nuts. This is definitely going in my regular baking rotation! Thank you!
This bread was seriously so delicious and I love its clean ingredients. I sprinkled some organic sugar over the top before I baked it and it added the yummiest crunch and extra kick of sweetness.
Ooo love that idea!!
We loved these!!!
I’m so glad!
This is the best zucchini bread recipe that I’ve found. The texture is divine, it’s light and moist on the inside with a pleasant crust outside. It was very easy to make.
Note: I did not have enough olive oil on hand so I subbed avocado oil which worked wonderfully.
Perfect! So glad you loved it!
Can I replace honey for the maple syrup? And do I need to toast the nuts before adding them in?
yes you can use honey! Toasting the nuts is optional 🙂
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup? Also do I need to toast the nuts?
SO GOOD! I added dates and a little vanilla protein powder was fantastic
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
I added the OJ and orange zest and it’s a game changer! Delicious easy recipe even my 3 and 1 year olds loved.
Amazing! Glad it was a hit!
I loved how you created the recipe to be much more healthy . It’s in the oven right now cooking and it sounds delicious. I have a quick question though. It seems like the saturated fat per slice is quite high and I really cannot figure out how you came to that calculation as I am, somebody who is trying to watch her saturated fats intake.
One of our favorite breads! The saturated fat is likely coming from the 1/2 cup of oil used in the recipe.
Thank you ! It was amazing by the way!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Best I’ve tasted with much better ingredients!
I’m so glad!
Amazing- my whole family really enjoyed it (we almost ate the whole loaf in one evening)! I added walnuts and served it toasted with a dollop of Greek yoghurt. I subbed plain flour with wholemeal flour. To make the batter fluffier I beat the eggs first before whisking in the rest of the wet ingredients which I think worked.
Amazing! Glad it was a hit 🙂
This bread turned out absolutely incredible! Entire loaf already gone.
So glad it was a hit!
I made this into muffins and it worked out great! I also subbed applesauce for the oil with no problems 🙂
Perfect! So happy to hear that 🙂
Hello. I just wanted to mention that the summary sentence right above the recipe says: “The best healthy zucchini bread made with whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and naturally sweetened with honey.” However, the actual recipe calls for olive oil. Do you prefer olive over coconut? I’ve never baked with olive oil before. Thanks!
Thank you for the catch! I’ve updated this recipe since I first wrote it, and I prefer it with olive oil (but you can use either!)
Super moist and so flavorful. I used a GF flour blend and it turned out perfect. So nice to see a recipe with so many recommended substitutes!
Amazing! So happy to hear that.
These were delicious! I subbed the orange and zest for the milk and sprinkled a little turbinado sugar on top. They came out so moist and flavorful. This will be my new go to zucchini muffin recipe. Made 12 muffins. I baked them for 18 minutes.
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
Simple and delicious
Glad you enjoyed!
Easy and delicious! I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and it was still sweet enough,
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Hi! I made this bread but used the gluten free 1-1 flour and used the same measurements. After 50 mins I tested it with a knife and it didn’t come out clean. I gave it 10 more mins and same thing. After and 1.5 hours I took it out and it’s completely gooey inside. Any ideas?
The batter tasted great. ◡̈
So strange! It sounds like there was too much liquid – did you squeeze out ALL of the excess moisture from the zucchini?
The taste of this bread is great. However mine did not cook all the way in the middle. When it says to mix the dry into the wet ingredients until JUST combined. But then add the oil and mix more, I feel like that causes it to be over mixed which may be why it didn’t work.
Sorry to hear that! Overmixing will leave you with a dense, gummy bread, but mixing in the oil should just give it moisture. Did you squeeze out ALL of the liquid from the zucchini? And use the spoon-and-level method for measuring the flour?
I used all purpose flour (it’s all I had) and it came out quite dry even when I decreased the cooking time by 5 minutes.
Hmmm it sounds like there was too much flour – did you measure it using the spoon-and-level method?
These are fantastic muffins!!! Made 2nd batch today and have grated and frozen the remainder of a huge zucchini in 1 cup portions so we can make more of these tasty treats. Thank you!
Amazing!!
Can I sub honey for maple syrup? Same amount?
Thanks .. 🙏🏻.
We have a lot of zucchinis from our garden and this recipe is calling us!!!!
Maple syrup should work!
The zucchini bread will be done in a muffin pan for a quick, healthy treat on the go. Pictures coming soon.
Perfect! Hope you love it!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I did make modifications according to what was in my pantry… used white flour and canola oil and added toasted walnuts. I used a muffin pan and the recipe made twelve big, moist muffins. Yum!
I LOVE this recipe! I have made it so many times and just love the zing of the citrus. I usually have clementines in the house for the kids, so I use that in place of the almond milk (but both ways are good!). I bake as mini muffins (about 18 mins) and the kids gobble them up. I’ve also baked a loaf for neighborhood bunco night and it was a hit! So delicious!
Amazing! So glad this recipe is a hit for the whole family, Heather 🙂
This is an excellent zucchini bread. Love it with dark chocolate chips & toasted walnuts. This recipe really fills the loaf pan. Next time I make I will make one or two cupcakes to lessen batter in loaf pan. Both times I made the center falls upon cooling. I tried cooking a few extra minutes 2x but no difference.
Yay! I am so glad you’re enjoying this bread recipe, Gail. What size loaf pan are you using? I haven’t had this issue before so I am not sure why it is happening with this recipe.
I love this bread, but I use mejool dates and date syrup with coriander honey. I also replace half the vanilla with French orange water.It’s baking now and my kitchen smells heavenly.
Oh this sounds delicious, Cynthia. Thanks you for sharing your feedback, so glad you’re loving this recipe!
Made this recipe using Bobs GF flour and it is amazing. Great taste and texture. Always chips and walnuts ❤️.
Aw yay! I am so glad this recipe turned out great for you, Collette!
Made this recipe using Bobs GF flour and it is amazing. Great taste and texture. Always chips and walnuts ❤️.
THE BEST EVER!!! Not too sweet, perfect texture. I even made it gluten free and it was wonderful. This is going to be my go to recipe. Love the coconut oil at the end, really a new and nice touch for moistness!
YUMM! Happy to hear you found this recipe and are loving it ❤️
This is a great bread! Perfect moisture, taste, and a nice crust. Thank you!
Can I use almond flour or coconut floor in this recipe? Thank you
Hi! I wouldn’t recommend swapping the flour in this recipe (sorry!) but I have a similar recipe that uses almond flour here 🙂
I added around close to 1/3c more vegetable oil (a tiny bit less than a third cup), added about 1/4c more honey, added a lot more cinnamon, then allspice, nutmeg, and ginger. Baked at 325 for ~40 min covered with foil, then uncovered for ~20-23 more minutes. TURNED OUT AMAZING!
Perfect! Glad you loved it!
I got a giant zucchini from my neighbour so I’ve been looking for recipes. This loaf tastes great! It has a nice light texture, not dense at all. I used grated orange rind which gives it a lovely flavour. I used 1% milk with a splash of whipping cream (needed to use it up!), and butter. The chocolate chips were a must and I used toasted pecans instead of walnuts. Baking time was 77 minutes for me at 325. So good!
p.s also made the zucchini pizza crust which is good also! See review.
Hi! Do you measure the 1/3 cup coconut oil then melt it?
Usually I eyeball 1/3 cup in a small bowl, microwave it, then measure it out! Any leftover melted coconut oil can just be poured back into the jar 🙂
Love this loaf!! It’s my go-to for using up zucchini, but it also works with butternut squash, applesauce, or banana! I make it vegan by using flax eggs and it rises beautifully with a soft, moist crumb. Highly recommended 🥰
So happy to hear that!! Love that you’ve tried all those variations 🙂 Thanks, Geneva!
I love this zucchini bread! I used one cup of oat flour and one cup of all purpose flour because it’s all I had, and subbed apple sauce for the oil for health reasons. It came out perfect!
I’m glad that it turned out delicious! Thanks so much for leaving a review, Emma!
For step 2, mix by hand the ingredients or blend with a hand mixer until smooth? Thank you for the clarification!
Sorry for the confusion! Yes you can mix with a spoon or mixer 🙂
I have been making chocolate zucchini bread using date paste in the same ratio as instead of honey or maple syrup. Also I use thawed frozen bananas in place of applesauce. I was looking for a recipe that was not chocolate (which is really good by the way) for a new flavor. I was kind of thinking just adding walnuts and maybe dried cranberries. Any advise is appreciated.
Have you tried this Spiced Apple Zucchini Bread?? One of my favorites for the fall!
Your zucchini bread recipes are delicious. I wanted to know can the flour be substituted for almond flour?
I haven’t tried that in this recipe so I can’t be sure, sorry! I think a 1:1 all purpose GF flour will maintain a more similar consistency.