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.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
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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.
Dorothy, Let face it you are total suck @ Baking the recipe was GREAT my family tally loves it … the loaf come out the way it shout be. I followed the recipe exactly never use powdered vanilla always use real VANILA IS the best works perfectly….
I look forward to making this great looking.
bread! Can I turn it into muffins using the ingredients as given? Thank You!
Hi, Suzu! Yes, you can use the same ingredients to make muffins with this recipe! You can also check out our recipe for “Mini Zucchini Muffins”!
Turned out great, moist, kiddos loved it! I added carrot cause I needed to use it and was short a zucchini but it worked. Would the recipe work just for banana bread minus the zucchini?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Latisha! I have several other banana bread recipes that have the correct measurements (without zucchini!). Please search for “banana bread” in the search bar to find them. Enjoy!
What a disappointment! The loaf didnt rise properly & is very doughy. I was concerned that ¾ tsp of baking soda & ¼ cup of buttermilk wouldn’t be enough to make the loaf rise. I left the loaf in the oven about 10-15 minutes longer & it still didn’t rise properly. I followed the recipe exactly except used powdered vanilla instead of liquid (& my oven works perfectly).
Hi Dorothy – I’ve never had this issue with this recipe. That amount of leavener/activator will definitely allow the bread to rise.
can you double the recipe
That should work!
A great recipe, super moist and flavorful!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Debbie!
Delicious bread! I added in some cinnamon, all spice, and cardamom and finished it with some dried cranberries and pecans. Super moist (took longer to cook), but turned out fantastic.
I just made this. I only had two bananas so I used two cups of zucchini. It was soooo good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Lisa!
This bread was delicious and easy. I used some frozen shredded zucchini that I had saved and I did not have buttermilk, so replaced it with 1/4 cup of sour cream. So tasty! Thanks for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Sara!
Love this recipe!
Substituted sour cream for buttermilk
Had to bake it longer (1 hr & 15 mins)
Tasty & delish!!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, Jude!
Made a couple of tiny adjustments…. Used unsweetened almond milk, added dark chocolate chips and made them into tiny muffins. Breakfast on the go or a quick snack yum!
Had to make a second batch two days later because everyone ate them all on Mother’s Day!
So happy to read this, Shauna!
Delicious!!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Leia!
Please disregard my last message! I see that this recipe already requires buttermilk!
I had it confused with another that calls for whole milk!
Sorry!
Suzy
No worries, Suzy! Please let me know if you have any other questions. :)
this is my new zucchini banana bread recipe. Very easy to make and very tasty
Woohoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Nancy!
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!
Thanks for the tip to squeeze the zucchini
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.