Sneak veggies (and moisture!) into a classic loaf with a family favorite recipe for Zucchini Banana Bread.
Banana bread has taken on many a culinary co-pilot around these parts, from chocolate swirls to peanut butter chips and nearly every variety of streusel in between. Now, everyone’s favorite quick bread is getting a veggie-inspired makeover with this recipe for Zucchini Banana Bread.
While banana bread and zucchini bread are proven standalone favorites, the marriage of the two results in what will undoubtedly be the most moist and flavorful quick bread to ever cross your lips.
And while overripe bananas are crucial to making the best banana bread, I’ve devised a trick that will transform your green bananas into darkly speckled and sweet fruit in 15 minutes (or less). So now you can skip the agonizing wait and speed up that ripening process from days to minutes.
But the real secret to zucchini banana bread success lies in a simple trick that means the difference between tasty triumph and having trough running through the center of your bread. Hint: It’s all about the squeeze.
Read on for my tips and find inspiration for more banana-inspired sweets with recipes for pudding, wonton poppers, cakes and more.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 very ripe, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 ½ cups)
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs, beaten lightly
- 6 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 medium zucchini
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Line a 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper then grease the parchment paper with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Shred the zucchini on a box grater. Measure out 1 ½ cups of shredded zucchini then squeeze is with your hands over the sink to remove excess liquid. Fold the zucchini into the batter then scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake the bread for 50 to 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack to cool then lift the loaf out of the pan, slice and serve.
Kelly's Notes:
- Squeezing the excess moisture out of the zucchini ensures your bread won’t sink in the center.
- Extra-ripe bananas are the key to the most moist, flavorful banana bread. Don't be afraid to let bananas turn completely brown before using them for banana bread. If you don't have extra-ripe bananas, check out my video for how to ripen bananas in 15 minutes.
- If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can make a quick version using whole milk and lemon juice or white vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, and then pour in the milk until it reaches the 1-cup mark. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, then use ¼ cup for this recipe and save the rest for another use.
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
This bread is delicious! I like the fact that it contains zucchini which adds vitamins and nutrition to the recipe. I did make a few changes to the recipe. I used coconut oil instead of butter, 1/3 c. of coconut sugar instead of 3/4 c sugar, and I made muffins instead of loaf bread. Highly recommend.
Awesome! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe, Nancy!
We LOVE this recipe!!! I’ve made it several times, it’s delicious.
Woohoo! I’m so happy to read this, Kim!
Excellent and easy
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Ginette!
I made this recipe exactly as written. I measured out one and a half cups of zucchini and then squeezed the water out of it. I used powder buttermilk which I always have on hand. It turned out perfectly. The people who are complaining of watery bread must have problems with their oven or the way they mix the ingredients or the amount of zucchini they used. This recipe works perfectly fine if you follow the instructions as written. I would also say you should check about elevation. I wonder if any of them were at a very high elevation.
Thanks so much for your note, Elaina! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe!
I already have zucchini shredded up so I’m trying to figure out how many cups of the zucchini I would need because I don’t know how many they were all big zucchini could you please help me out and tell me how many cups of shredded zucchini I’m sorry thank you very much❤️
Hi Debby! You’ll need 1 ½ cups of shredded zucchini. :)
Can’t wait to try the Banana zucchini bread!! It looks wonderful
I hope you enjoy the recipe, Susan!
I made this recipe exactly as written except I used 1 cup whole milk instead of making buttermilk. After 1 hour the bread looks and smells finished but about 3 Inches of it is still uncooked when I stuck a chopstick in the loaf. Do you think this is because of the milk?
Hi Emily! Yes, you need the acidity in the buttermilk to react with the leavening agent so the bread will rise. The buttermilk also ensures that this quickbread is moist and tender.
My whole family loves this recipe, But I was wondering if you’ve tried the recipe with honey or syrup instead of sugar?
Hi Kim! I haven’t tried either of those substitutes so I can’t say with certainty what the results would be.