It’s February. It’s cold out, and the garden is giving me anything but a surplus of zucchini right now. But as I made this clean eating zucchini bread, I thought back to this past summer to one particular day. I was sitting on the patio watching my son tumble and fumble his way through the garden.
I watched him as he inspected a ladybug sitting on a leaf. He got so close on his hands and knees, they nearly bumped noses. Not an ease thing to do with a ladybug.
He poked it in the behind, and it buzzed away angrily, upset to have its lunch disturbed in such a rude and unceremonious manner. He giggled, and moved onto a spot in the ground next to a zucchini plant that was heavily weighed down with fruit just begging to be picked and rescued from the hot summer sun.
The earth was moist from a recent morning watering, so he happily settled in and began to dig. He wasn’t digging for anything in particular, but he ended up finding a worm. He pulled it up, took a close look, sniffed it and looked back at me with an expression that seemed to say “I just bit into a really sour lemon, Mama”. All he could say as he held up that worm was, “dirty“.
He’s been dirty ever since.
Yep, my kid loves to be in the garden. He loves to help, loves to dig, loves to use the tools, and especially loves to pick the fruits and veggies. He takes his job very seriously. We had to check the zucchini nearly every morning to see if one was ready to bring in that day. It was a good summer.
I knew this would be a fantastic recipe the second I had all the ingredients mixed together. Even in its uncooked state, the batter smells absolutely divine!
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Clean Eating Zucchini Bread
(Makes 1 loaf or 10 slices)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1 generous cup grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 tablespoons safflower or olive oil + extra for oiling the pans
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 3/4 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Oil 2 medium loaf pans with olive oil (use a mister if you have one), or 1 large loaf pan.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and nutmeg.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, zucchini, apple sauce, egg and egg white, olive oil, lemon zest and yogurt. Mix well.
- Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture and blend well.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and place in the oven.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Note: You may need to cover this loosely with foil if the top starts to get to brown.
Oh YUMMY!!!! I loved waking up to this recipe in my inbox 🙂 Zucchini bread if one of my FAVORITES! Can’t wait to try this–thank you thank you!
Ali – Glad I could make your day a little brighter! Enjoy!
Is there anything you recommend for a substitute for the yogurt? Looks delish!
Brooke – That depends on what kind of substitute you need. Do you need something completely dairy free, or just a different type of dairy?
Just a tip I learned – zucchini can be really moist and full of water. The first time I made a zucchini loaf (one from CE Mag – with zuc and apples) it turned out to be a soggy mess. the other day I made chocolate cupcakes with a HUGE marrow from a friends garden but squeezed out lots of the water and the brownies turned out perfect. I literally just put a big handful of grated zuc in my hands and squeeze but I am sure the better way is with cheesecloth 🙂
Mandy – What an excellent suggestion!! Thank you!
Just made this bread—oh, so yummy!! I didn’t have plain yogurt, so I used vanilla–still came out just as good. I used one loaf pan and didn’t realize that my oven is a little on the hot size so the top got a bit darker than I wanted, but didn’t ruin the taste. Thanks, as I was wondering what to do with one lonely zuchhini!!
Laurie – Fabulous! Mine got a little brown on top too, but it was still really tasty! Glad you got to use that one little zucchini!! 😉
what about banana bread? Could you substitute banana for zucchini?!
Libby – Hmmm. That’s a good question! I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not. Try it with equal amounts of banana. Should be good!
umm..im confused..it says that it makes one loaf but you say to oil two med loaf pans…lolz
Desiree – Oops! All fixed. Thanks!
Looking forward to trying this. We are always given zucchinies from our friends’ gardens in the Summer & I love zucchini bread.
Jen – I hope you enjoy it!
Oooh, I cannot wait to try this. I heart zucchini bread!!!
On a side note, I enjoy looking through your blog. I am a frequent visitor, first time commenter.
Can I make a request for a lemon poppy seed muffin??? My son loves them, but I have not found a clean version!!!
Jenn – Most definitely!!! In fact, I have a lemon muffin recipe here: https://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-lemon-muffins/. All you would have to do is add 1-2 tbsp. poppy seeds!
My bad, I just did a search here and you have lemon muffins. I will just add poppy seeds!!! So excited!!!
Jenn – lol. No problem! Let me know how you like them!
Any non-dairy sub for the yogurt?
Erin – I haven’t tried. Maybe if you did 1 more tbsp. of oil and an extra 1/2 cup apple sauce? But I’m not sure how that would turn out.
Erin – I found this on the web – Make the coconut yogurt yourself out of coconut milk, tapioca starch (to thicken) and non-dairy, non-soy starter (from GIPro).
What about adding 1/2 cup pecans? Would that throw out the balance? I have a large pecan tree in front yard, always looking for ways to use those nuts! LOL.
Shannon – I’m sure that would work just fine! Enjoy!
I just tried this recipe last night. Had a huge zucchini from a friend’s garden and used half of it to make TWO loaves! This loaf is extra good the next day — thank you for the recipe! Any suggestions on swapping out the zucchini for pumpkin?
Backtomobay – Glad you enjoyed it! With the pumpkin, you’d have to play around with it. Now that you know what the batter is like, use use enough pumpkin to achieve that same consistency. The concern is the liquid content. But zucchini has water in it too so you may be able to sub in equal amounts, give or take. Sorry! Wish I could be more specific. I’ll have to work on a pumpkin bread recipe next!
My garden is producing gigantic zucchini… mostly b/c I forget to check for them often. Could you give an estimated zucchini measurement so I know how about how much of a zucchini to use?
Sorry, bad question! The measurement is there. I read it too fast the first time around.
CPA – No worries! Let me know how you like it!
Adesomer – It’s worth a shot. The main thing is getting it to bake fully. But in a shallower pan, it might still work. Let me know how it turns out!
Eliz – I never peel my zucchini for any recipe. But I suppose it’s a matter of personal preference.
Missie – That’s fantastic! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Could you substitute greek yogurt or soy yogurt for the plain non-fat yogurt? Thanks
Sidney – Sure!
Just made this and it was Delish! I added walnuts on top for a little crunch….Thanks so much for the recipe!
Glad you enjoyed it!
can you sub anything for the honey??
Maple syrup?
Agave, too.
Agave isn’t clean though.
Can I sub whole wheat pastry flour for the whole wheat flour?
I believe so, yes.
can i use white flour without affecting the recipe? I cant use whole wheat flour.
I believe so.
Awesome!
I would go with the 8×4.
I don’t see why not.
The flavor will be slightly different, but it should still be okay. You could try a tsp. of lemon extract too if you have that.
That’s awesome!! Yum!
Oh yum! Let me know how they turn out!
Oh, wow. This recipe was fantastic! I made mine into muffins and baked for 20 minutes. They were perfect. They were really light and fluffy.
Awesome! Glad you liked them!
Can’t wait to try this tonight!!
I hope you enjoy it!
Haha! Ya, sharing is definitely an issue for me. But I guess you have to feed the kiddos too. As Mini Chef always says, “That’s life!” LOL
It’s a pretty sweet bread in my opinion.
I don’t recommend it unless you know how to sub with gluten-free flours. The two you mention have no gluten.
Hi there,
I know this may sound strange but what can I substitute the applesauce for? My kids actually have an allergy to apples. Is it used in place of oil? If so, how much should I substitute?
Thanks in advance!
In this case, yes. You can sub with oil. I would just use equal amounts since the amount is small.
I’d love to try these as muffins. Any changes needed besides adjusting the cooking time to 20 mins?
I don’t think so. But I would use the foil wrappers. With paper, you might not get the wrappers off.
Oh yum! This is my first time making zucchini bread, and I’m feeling pretty proud especially since I also used homemade yoghurt and grounded my own flour! I slightly reduced the honey and found it sweet enough, and I enjoyed it with some Greek Yoghurt and it’s delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
Mariam – My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Hi, I wanted to know could you use oat flour instead the wheat flour?
Brandy – You could, but it would probably fall apart because of the lack of gluten.
Hello there –
I made your yummy bread earlier this week, and I added a 1/2 C of baking cocoa. I also used 1/2 honey and 1/2 agave. It’s so delicious! Thank you!
Laura – A 1/2 CUP baking soda????! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Recipe says oil 2 pans but says also it only makes one loaf and only says to put in 1 loaf pan at the end?? Wanting to make it but kind of confused.
Michelle – The recipe says 2 medium OR 1 large pan. Totally up to you and what you’d like to make.
I am totally baking this as I type! It smells better than amazing! And I picked the giant zucchini right out of my garden. That is the best part!
Amy – Awesome!! I hope you enjoy it! 😀
I just made this, doubled the recipe so I could make muffins and breads- The loaves came out amazing!! Super moist, and so flavorful – the lemon was a great addition! The muffins totally overcooked. oops. Hubby still likes them but they are so dry- my fault! Great recipe!
Dawna – Glad you enjoyed the bread at least!! 🙂
I made this last night and to make it even healthier/heartier, I only used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and added 1 cup of almond flour. I also added extra cinnamon (1 TB) and 1 TB vanilla. I would probably add even more cinnamon and vanilla the next time I make this. It was delicious and made a full loaf, rising to the top of the pan. Delicious!
Michelle – That’s fabulous!! 😀 I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Forgot to comment last week, I made this as banana bread and we loved it! I’m glad I made 2 loaves because we killed the first one real quick! 🙂
Monica – Haha! So glad you enjoyed it! 😀
was wondering how much and what kind of chocolate are in these. I tried to read each of the comments but didnt see chocolate.
Gardengrammy – There is no chocolate in this. Are you thinking of the Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf?
Question:Could I swap the whole wheat flour with brown rice flour?
Yeukai – Sorry, no. Not unless you have a particular gluten free mix that makes a good sub. If you were to do that, it would probably fall apart from lack of gluten.
I love this! And so does my 18 month old! I made a few modifications you might like too. First I added grated carrots and chopped apples. Then I added about 1/3 c applesauce, only 1/4 c honey and a tsp of stevia. I also omitted the lemon zest. It’s not too sweet but all the applesauce and apple chunks make it both moist and yummy. Thanks again!!
Nikki – Sounds wonderful!!! 😀
Can I substitute coconut or almond flour for the wheat flour?
Teresa – Sorry, no. The entire recipe would need to be reformulated. Try the Urban Poser. She’s grain free and does a lot of baking.
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe?
Angie – No, sorry. But MyFitnessPal.com has a super easy-to-use calculator.