This incredibly easy zucchini bread recipe is our family's favorite! Made with brown sugar to keep it nice and moist, and cinnamon and vanilla for a delicious flavor, I'm confident that you'll think it's the best, as well. Be sure to check the notes for mix-in ideas, as well as options for making zucchini muffins and mini-muffins. A summer staple perfected!
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper so excess parchment hangs over each side.
Place the zucchini in a clean dish towel, gather the ends together, then twist and squeeze to drain out as much liquid as possible.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until completely combined. Fold in the drained zucchini.
Add the zucchini mixture to the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to fold together until a few streaks of flour remain. Add the chopped walnuts and gently fold to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth into an even layer, and sprinkle the granulated sugar evenly over the top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 65 to 75 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and allow the bread to cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Leftover bread should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
As mentioned above, be sure to squeeze out as much water as you can from the zucchini.
Make nut substitutions if you’d like. Walnuts are a classic, but pretty much any other nut will work – try pecans, cashews, anything! You can also omit the nuts if you’d prefer, as well.
Mix-In options: Chocolate chips, raisins, and dried cranberries are all great options. You can swap them in for the nuts, or do a mixture.
Serving Ideas: While this bread absolutely stands on its own, you can dress it up for dessert with a slather of cream cheese frosting.
Storage: Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing: This bread freezes exceptionally well. Wrap in plastic wrap, then tightly in foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Converting to Muffins: If you’d like to turn this zucchini bread into zucchini bread muffins, line a muffin pan with paper liners and fill each about ¾ full. You should get around 18 muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 24 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For mini muffins, they'll need about 10 to 13 minutes to bake and you'll get around 3 dozen.