Gluten Free Zucchini Bread – Iowa Girl Eats

Gluten Free Zucchini Bread is soft, tender, and dairy free too! This lower fat, healthier zucchini bread recipe will be a hit all summer long.

When I think of the foods that defined my childhood in the summertime they include copious amounts of Pasta Salad, sliced tomatoes with lots of salt, drippy Bomb Pops, scoops of Dirt Cake, juicy watermelon wedges, and fat slices of Zucchini Bread slathered with butter.

Plus seemingly unlimited packets of Purplesaurus Rex Koolaid fished out of a big tupperware container with a cream colored lid #IYKYK — but that’s a different post. 😉

Anticipating the kickoff to summer, I asked my Mom to send me the Zucchini Bread recipe she used to make us kids then swapped the all purpose flour called for in the recipe with gluten free all purpose flour instead. Guess what? It is JUST as amazing as the original!!

Gluten Free Zucchini Bread is tender, moist, and cinnamon-spiced, plus it gets softer and more comfortingly-cozy as it sits on the counter all week. You’ll know exactly what I mean when you make it. 😉

Gluten Free Zucchini Bread

Summer is the perfect season to keep this easy gluten free quick bread on the counter at all times. It’s made with everyday ingredients I guarantee you have on hand at this very moment, plus fresh zucchini which will be coming out of our ears — ie growing in abundance — from now until the fall. It’s super simple to whip up, naturally dairy-free, plus I use an everyday ingredient to keep the fat a little lower.

Ingredients Needed

• Gluten Free Flour Blend: Be sure to use a gluten free flour blend WITH a binder, such as xanthan gum. This recipe has been tested with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour.
• Leavening agents: Baking Soda and Baking Powder help the gluten free zucchini bread rise.
• Cinnamon: Cinnamon in the zucchini bread batter will fill your home with the most AMAZING scent! All of my family members commented on it when I was testing this recipe!
• Eggs: Eggs provide structure and richness to the gluten free zucchini bread.
• Sugar: I use granulated sugar in this recipe for a pure, perfectly sweet tasting zucchini bread.
• Oil: My Mom’s recipe calls for oil which keeps the zucchini bread really tender and moist. You may use vegetable oil, canola oil, or coconut oil that’s been melted then cooled slightly.
• Unsweetened Applesauce: I love swapping some of the oil/fat in quick bread and muffin recipes with unsweetened applesauce to cut down on the overall fat in the recipe. Just make sure it’s unsweetened so we’re not adding additional sugar to the batter.
• Vanilla: Just like the cinnamon, vanilla extract adds lots of cozy flavor to this recipe.
• Grated Zucchini: Use the large side of a box grater, or the grating attachment on your food processor to shred that baby up!

Should You Squeeze the Water Out of the Zucchini?

Generally, no, you don’t need to squeeze or wring out the excess moisture from the shredded zucchini before adding it to the batter. That said, if your grated zucchini is clearly dripping with liquid, gather it in your hands then give it a squeeze over the kitchen sink. Otherwise it’s fine to add undrained.

What About Peeling the Zucchini?

Similarly, you do not need to peel the zucchini before grating it. Actually, the skin of the zucchini is what holds the flesh (the insides) of the zucchini together, so whether you’re baking, sauting, or roasting zucchini, it’s always a good idea to leave the skin on otherwise your cooked zucchini will basically turn to mush.

Can I Freeze Gluten Free Zucchini Bread?

You can absolutely freeze gluten free zucchini bread! Let the loaf cool to room temperature on the counter then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil, and then place inside a freezer safe Ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator before slicing and serving.

Alrighty – raid your garden, the Farmer’s Market, or the grocery store for some zucchini and let’s get to baking!

How to Make Gluten Free Zucchini Bread

Start by beating together sugar, eggs, unsweetened applesauce, oil, and vanilla in a stand mixer, or large mixing bowl if using a hand held mixer, until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.

Next add a gluten-free flour blend WITH binder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon to a large bowl then whisk to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2 batches, mixing until just combined before adding the next batch.

Lastly, grate a small zucchini on the large side of a box grater, or in a food processor using the grating attachment. Again, generally there is no need to squeeze or drain the grated zucchini before adding to the batter if it’s not dripping wet!

Stir or fold the zucchini shreds into the batter then pour into a nonstick sprayed loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 55 minutes to an hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. I prefer using a skewer vs toothpick because a skewer is long enough to get all the way into the center of the zucchini bread.

Let the gluten free zucchini bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store wrapped in plastic wrap, or inside a Ziplock bag.

This gluten-free zucchini bread recipe is absolutely heavenly when devoured warm and slathered with salted butter, but the bread does get softer and more dreamy as it sits on the counter throughout the week. Oh my gosh, I can’t wait for you to taste, and hope you love this delicious gluten free summertime treat – enjoy!!

More Recipes Using Zucchini

Photos by Ashley McLaughlin