I get a bit nervous when it comes to “lightening up” recipes since I’ve had both successes and (massive) failures in doing so. Most memorably, there was the time I substituted in whole wheat flour for all-purpose when I was making doughnut holes. The result? An all-too enlightening discovery that doughnut batter can actually take on the color and texture of charred Cheetos.
All slip-ups aside, this healthier version of Paula Deen’s Zucchini Bread is a definite hit. I’d been craving just a taste of something sweet and carbo-loaded, so I followed the hundreds of FoodNetwork.com reader comments and subbed in some healthier ingredients like apple sauce for oil and Splenda sugar substitute for the real stuff. The result was a moist zucchini bread treat packed with healthy flavor. Wrap up a loaf and share the slimmed-down goodness with your neighbors and friends!
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 ½ cups Splenda sugar substitute
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Combine the flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and Splenda in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the apple sauce, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry then fold in the nuts (optional).
- Pour the batter into 2 standard loaf pans (or five mini-loaf pans) that have been greased with cooking spray.
- Bake the standard-sized loaves for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (alternately, bake the mini-loaves for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean).
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Finely made your healthy zucchini bread what a hit!!!
My question is on the nutritional facts. I have recently lost 40 pounds….and I’m concerned with the caloric intake.
Maureen
Happy baking
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Maureen! And the nutritional information for this recipe is just an estimate, however, I do have recipes with nutrition facts calculated by a registered dietician. Here’s a link to those recipes in case you’re interested: https://www.justataste.com/category/recipes/nutrition-facts/
This was moist and delicious, all that I hoped it would be. Thank you!
You are so welcome, Pam. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I like your recipes.
Thanks so much!
I didn’t get to plant zucchini this year. But I happily find myself receiving zucchinis grown in friends’ gardens. What fun.
I have fresh zucchini to make my favorite zucchini bread. I’ve used this recipe for years. I’ve tried others, but always come back to this Wisconsin farm-woman’s recipe. Here’s a link to the recipe and a story about garden-giving reciprocity. http://food-fun.wisconsinfood.com/edible_antics/2008/09/food-fun—givi.html
I was looking for a heart-healthy zucchini bread recipe, as my husband recently had a heart attack. This bread served that purpose well. It was moist and delicious.