Zucchini bread is one of my very favorite varieties of “quick bread.”
Lightly sweetened, with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, it’s a tasty way to use up any extra zucchini you may have on hand and will appeal to even your pickiest eaters! In fact, my husband (who tends to be a picky eater when it comes to “healthy” stuff) has been enjoying this bread all week, and has already requested that I make it again. It’s perfectly moist and delicious!
What I love about coconut flour is that just a little bit goes a long way, making it more economical using than blanched almond flour. Treats made with coconut flour also tend to be higher in protein, as you need quite a few eggs to provide structure! While we’re on the subject of eggs, I don’t recommend using flax or chia “eggs” in this recipe, as the result tends to be gooey and under-baked. They just don’t rise and fluff-up the way that real eggs do. However, I do have a vegan recipe in the works, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, you may want to try my Vegan Pumpkin Bread as an alternative gluten-free and egg-free option.
I made this Zucchini Bread several times to get it just right, both as muffins and as a loaf. I actually prefer the muffin version, since they bake faster and are automatically portioned, but both ways taste delicious. (I’ve included instructions for both below.) Enjoy!
—
Paleo Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread
Makes 1 standard loaf (or 12 muffins)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup coconut flour
6 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, tightly packed
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a standard (9-inch by 5-inch) loaf pan with parchment paper. (If you’re making muffins, line a standard muffin tin with 12 baking cups.)
In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, eggs, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda and use a whisk to stir well, breaking up any lumps as you go. The batter will most likely be thicker than the cake-like-batter you’ve come to expect when making quick breads. Stir in the shredded zucchini then scoop the batter into the loaf pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. (Or divide the batter into the 12 lined muffin cups.)
Bake the loaf at 350F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden and firm. If baking muffins, bake them at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Because this bread is very moist, I recommend storing it in the fridge for best shelf life. It should keep in an airtight container for up to a week– if you don’t eat it all before then!
Paleo Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini , tightly packed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a standard (9-inch by 5-inch) loaf pan with parchment paper. (If you're making muffins, line a standard muffin tin with 12 baking cups.)
- In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, eggs, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda and use a whisk to stir well, breaking up any lumps as you go. The batter will most likely be thicker than the cake-like-batter you've come to expect when making quick breads. Stir in the shredded zucchini then scoop the batter into the loaf pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. (Or divide the batter into the 12 lined muffin cups.)
- Bake the loaf at 350F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden and firm. If baking muffins, bake them at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Because this bread is very moist, I recommend storing it in the fridge for best shelf life. It should keep in an airtight container for up to a week-- if you don't eat it all before then!
Nutrition
Nutrition Info (per 1 slice out of 12): Calories: 142, Fat: 7g, Carbohydrates: 14g, Fiber: 2g, Protein: 4g
*Note: I tried baking this loaf with simply a greased baking pan and it stuck like crazy– I couldn’t remove the loaf without destroying the bottom of the bread. This is why I recommend using parchment paper or silicone baking cups. These silicone muffin cups work like magic!
As I mentioned above, I don’t think flax or chia “eggs” would work well as a substitute in this recipe, but please let me know if you have any success with other substitutions in the comments below!
—
Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite quick bread?
Could I swap the maple syrup for mashed banana or apple sauce?
This recipe sounds great! I want to try making this tonight but the main reason is I am trying to find something that I can sneak extra veggies into my toddlers. I want to make these using a mini cupcake pan- do you think this would work? Also, instead of using 1.5 cups of zucchini, do you think it would work using 3/4 zucchini, 3/4 carrot?
I had some defrosted squash mix that I needed to use up. I actually didn’t remove the excess moisture from the shredded squash beforehand, but I believe both of my loaves turned out fine. I tweaked the recipe by adding 1/2 c more squash, used honey as my sweetener, added 1/4 c ground oats, used a bit of ground clove and ginger along with extra cinnamon (I love spices), and 1/3 c cocoa powder. My bread didn’t stick, but I used vegetable oil. I wished it had been a bit sweeter, but I didn’t have any maple syrup. Overall, I enjoyed the flavor and texture. I am not following a paleo diet by the way. I was just looking for a healthy and tasty recipe.
5 Stars! Fantastic recipe. Followed the instructions exactly but left the bread in for 55 mins – came out perfect! My daughter loved it and even my wife (who hates any paleo recipes) thought it was amazing. Thanks!
I’m glad to hear you all enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
i WOULD LOVE THE vEGAN VERSION OF THIS RECIPE YOU MENTIONED IN THIS POST. i COULDN’T FIND IT ON YOUR SITE. tHANKS!
Love this recipe. Made a few chaNges. 2 cups of ZUCCHINI, honey instead of maple syrup. Also adding baking powder alOng with the baking soda.
Flavor is delious!
Hi MEgan,
Could you freeze this bread if you chose to make three or more batches for later company?
I’m doing a pantry/fridge and freezer challenge, so i made some interesting substitutions: a few TBSP of coconut syrup and the rest maple syrup. Also, 2 TBSP hazelnut flour as I didn’t have quite enough coconut flour.
The flavor of these is fabulous! As others have mentioned, the texture is definitely a bit on the eggy side, but I kind of guessed that, based on the recipe!! As long as I don’t try to compare it to traditional zucchini bread, this is amazing! And my four-year-old thinks these are the BEST treats: even better!!
Your pop up ad freezes my phone every single time!
I’m sorry to hear that! What type of phone are you using? Are you referring to the ad that’s at the bottom of the screen on your phone? I don’t allow pop-up ads other than the one at the bottom of the screen, so it’s important to know if one is sneaking through. I’ll report it to my advertising company to make sure we figure out how to stop it.
Subbed honey for maple syrup (and lessened the amount to .15 cup) and I am in awe of how incredible this loaf came out! It’s dangerously delicious. Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
Made this loaf yesterday and it is delicious. As a Canadian who is a fan of pure maple syrup, the subtle maple taste is wonderful. Megan said I could eat it for breakfast (she classified it as breakfast food) so I did this morning and it was perfect with a bowl of yogurt and fruit. I did bake it for about 15 minutes longer than the recipe stated and it was perfectly baked. Thank you Megan!
Very easy to make and quite delicious. I did find it too eggy though.
Any ideas on how to reduce eggs to half but keep moisture?
thanks
I used a maple flavored agave syrup instead of just a regular maple syrup. These are SO GOOD!
Can I use honey or agave instead of maple syrup?
This bread is delicious! I used stevia instead of maple syrup and came out perfect.
Do you need to squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini after shredding, or put it in just as is?
I put it in as is, but I think you could squeeze it out if you prefer your bread a little drier.
This is the first Paleo Bread Recipe that I’ve truly enjoyed. Very tasty. I cut the maple syrup to 1/4 cup and substituted the equivalent remaining 1/4 cup with a “good” sugar substitute. It was still delicious!
Just wanted to let you know that yours is the first coconut flour recipe that has turned out for me!! I have wasted so many eggs I was hesitant but glad I have it one more chance, this is delicious!! Also, for those asking about the sugar in the syrup, I used a sugar free variety and it came out perfect! Definitely try this if you have oodles of zucchini and crave something sweet. I ate mine with cream cheese, perfecto!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
I made this recipe this week with zucchini from my garden. The only modification I made was to use Swerve instead of maple syrup. It was absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Used ground chia (6 tbsp) and water (18 tbsp) and it worked! I also added chocolate chips and walnuts. Delicious!
This recipe was a fail for me. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out easily with the parchment paper and it was moist, but it didn’t feel like bread. It was spongy because it had so many eggs. It even tasted eggy and reminded me more of a strata. My 5 yo loved it, though, so it won’t go to waste and I’ll be sure to try other Detoxinista recipes because I’ve heard they’re usually amazing. 🙂
I’m on weight watchers and was wondering if anyone knows the point value on one muffin.
Just tried these and they’re delicious! Perfect recipe!taste great and my little ones love them. Thank you!
Fabulous! Just made these into 6 jumbo muffins. Baked them more like it was a loaf pan. Turned out great!
I only had 1/4 c maple syrup so I added what honey I had on hand then made up the remainder with organic unbleached sugar. Also, I didn’t have any parchment paper, so I oiled 3 mini-loaf pans then inserted coffee filters. I’ll let you know how that worked out after they’re out of the oven.
I’m new to food combining and wondered if this bread would be a protein?
can i replace the maple syrup with apple sauce? or something else, a banana?
I haven’t tested that substitution so I couldn’t say for sure. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Hello, the nutrition facts per serving are for 1 muffins ? If we do the bread then we cut it in 12 slices to have the serving info?
Yes, exactly!
Hello- I was wondering if I can use butter in place of the melted coconut oil? If so, one for one substitute? Does the butter have to be melted as well? Thanks ladies!
Yes, definitely! I would melt the butter so the measurement is the same.
Thank you so much for the reply! I appreciate it! 🙂 Excited to try this!
Okay here was my variation from this afternoon, and they turned out really great!! Thank you for this recipe! It’s hard to find a good base to work with when working with coconut flour.
My little one devoured it! Great texture and taste as well! They were moist, but they weren’t too moist or mushy either.
-I used 5 eggs room temperature instead of 6.
-I used 1/4 cup of melted butter instead of melted coconut oil.
-I used 1/3 cup of maple syrup, not 1/2 cup.
-I added 1/2 heaping cup of cut in half blueberries when I added in the zucchini.
-I also pressed/squeezed the water out of the zucchini in a colander with a bunch of paper towels before adding them to the recipe.
This was sooo good! I can’t stand throwing away the pulp from my juicer because there is so much fiber left behind, among other things. I juiced a summer squash, carrots, and red bell pepper and used the pulp to make this recipe. I didn’t change it in any other way. The texture and level of moisture was PERFECT. No need to squeeze any moisture out of anything and no more wasting juicer pulp. Thanks for the recipe!
Ah, what a great idea!! Thank you so much for letting me know that the juice pulp worked well in this recipe. I think I’ll have to try that myself!
Can you post the nutrition facts for these?? Or at least the calories? 🙂
I added in some pumpkin purée and it was delish!
It’s already there for you! Look directly below the recipe card for nutrition info for any recipe on my website.
Thank you for this tasty zucchini coconut flour bread recipe. Kudos to you and all the young people pushing for healthier foods.
Thank you for this tasty zucchini coconut flour bread recipe. Kudos to you and all the young people pushing for healthier foods. I have made this recipe twice this month. I am 75 but my hurrah are fir young people and the brave doctors pushing for better health.
I just made this bread exactly as the receipe stated adding 1/2 chopped pecans at the end of the mixing stage. It is super super yummy!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I was concerned, with my new healthier lifestyle, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy zucchini bread again.
These are sooo good with walnuts added! I made muffins and added about 1/3 of a cup of roughly chopped walnuts and that extra bit of crunch is so tasty!
zucchini muffins ….the best I have eaten….wow…
I was hesitant at first due the 6 eggs this recipe calls for and I was right that many eggs is far too many. I even tried to bake longer than the suggested time frame and the zucchini ‘bread’ still came out wet to touch, like a wet cake of sorts, Tres Leches if you will. I ended up throwing away this batch. What a complete waste of energy a food sources. I would suggest modifying yourself or finding another recipe altogether.
I needed a recipe using coconut flour and zucchini, so I tried this one. It is very moist and baked nicely in 30 minutes at 350F in a stone muffin pan (no oil/flour/muffin liners needed). My only dissapointments are that I can smell the baking soda and the overall flavor is a little bland. I wonder if 1/2 tsp salt and more (doubled?) spice would improve the flavor.
I added coco and swapped the coconut oil for vegetable oil because it stuck to the muffin paper. It didn’t stick as bad.
Did you ever end up publishing a vegan recipe? I haven’t found one.
Why do you use baking soda rather than baking powder in t his recipe?
can you substitute 1/ 2 mashed banana or applesause in place of the maple syrup? i can’t have sugar unless in fruit. thanks.
We love this. I’ve made four loaves so far with our garden zucchini. I made my own zucchini marmalade to put on it. This is a keeper recipe.
Verrrry good! I just made this and it moist and delicious! I only subbed date syrup because that is what I had on hand and it made it taste nice and rich. I love this recipe and appreciate you sharing it with us!