This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, read my disclosure policy.
I took my Mom’s Banana Bread recipe and turned it into an EASY Zucchini Banana Bread – this recipe was SO good and simple and it disappeared fast! The cinnamon sugar topping is a game changer – and it made this bread out of this world!
Why this is the BEST Zucchini Banana Bread
If you’ve ever wondered can bananas be put in zucchini bread or can zucchini be put in banana bread, then this is the recipe for you!
Regardless of whether you have a garden or not, you can make this easy banana bread with zucchini!
Cinnamon sugar zucchini banana bread is so easy to make and delicious to eat!
I started this recipe with my mom’s banana bread recipe and combined the idea of zucchini with my cinnamon sugar blueberry banana bread recipe. I love quick bread recipes – I have so many on this site and love each and every one.
It was easy to switch my normal banana bread recipe to a zucchini banana bread: all I needed to do was reduce the banana and add shredded zucchini. This results in a delightfully tasteful banana bread with a hint of zucchini. The zucchini is a vegetable which makes this bread a vegetable, yes?
Ingredients in Zucchini Banana Bread
- BANANAS: I like to use really overripe “tired” bananas. Did you know that when your bananas get spotty you can freeze them? I cleaned out my freezer the other day and found about 2 dozen frozen bananas. They turn brown, slimy and gross looking, but they work amazing in baked banana recipes. Just defrost before adding to the batter.
- SOUR MILK: I love using sour milk in my banana bread. This just means you need to add some vinegar to your milk beforehand, to make it “sour”. You can also use buttermilk instead, or if you can even use almond, coconut, or soy milk. In that case, just add vinegar to the mixture to help activate the baking soda.
- SUGAR: I prefer granulated sugar, just like my mom uses.
- OIL: I love making quick bread with vegetable oil – it makes it so easy to mix up. You can also substitute melted butter.
- FLOUR: This recipe uses all-purpose flour but you can use a combination of AP and whole wheat flour.
- BAKING SODA: This is the leavened in the recipe – it’s activated by the sourness of the milk.
- ZUCCHINI: Shred your zucchini with a box grater. No need to ring it out unless it seems unusually wet.
How to make Zucchini Banana Bread
- Add the oil (or melted butter) to a large bowl with granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.
- Add baking soda, cinnamon, salt, milk, and vinegar and stir until batter is combined.
- Stir in shredded zucchini.
- Add to a 9×5-inch loaf pan (or an 8×4-inch) and top with cinnamon sugar. The cinnamon sugar topping – that’s the best part. It gets crunchy in the oven and adds so much delicious flavor to the top of the bread.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the bread.
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- Zucchini shreds easiest using a box grater. You’ll need 1 large or 2 small for this recipe.
- If you have an abundant amount of zucchini you can freeze the shreds – or make extra zucchini bread with chocolate chips or even blueberry zucchini bread.
- You can skip the cinnamon sugar topping but don’t – it’s SO good!
- Zucchini Banana Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf.
FAQ
The sourness of the milk (the acid in the buttermilk) activates the baking soda, helping the bread to rise. If you don’t have buttermilk make your own by adding vinegar or lemon juice to milk.
Yes, you can substitute any non-dairy milk, but you need to add 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice to activate the baking soda.
I never have to, it seems that the zucchini isn’t too wet. But if yours seems wetter then normal, then go ahead, it won’t hurt.
You may have over mixed it or mixed too vigorously. Is it baked all the way? If you didn’t bake it all the way it will collapse as it’s cooling.
Do the toothpick test in the center of the bread. It should come out with just a few crumbs stuck to it when it’s done.
Yes! Add 1 cup of either to the bread before it goes into the pan.
Yes – I’ve had success substituting Bob’s Red Mill one to one gluten free AP flour (in the light blue bag).
Cinnamon Sugar Zucchini Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar divided
- ½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil (or melted butter)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium overripe banana
- 2 large eggs
- 5 ounces buttemilk/sour milk (7 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon divided
- 2 cups (248g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup shredded zucchini about 1 medium
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5x3” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Stir oil and ¾ cup sugar with a wooden spoon. Add bananas, eggs, milk, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt and baking soda and mix until almost smooth (there will be some lumps from the banana).
- Mix in flour until just incorporated, then stir in zucchini. Pour into prepared pan.
- Combine ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs. The edges will be a dark brown and there will be a nice crack down the center.
- Cool completely before removing loaf from pan, but you can cut slices from the pan after it’s cooled for about 15-20 minutes.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- In place of vegetable oil you can also use 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter.
- In place of sour milk you can use buttermilk. Make your own buttermilk if you don’t have it.
- You can use dairy-free milk (i.e. almond milk) but then add 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice to the batter.
Recipe Nutrition
Zucchini Banana Bread is an easy quick bread recipe. This is the BEST banana bread with zucchini and can be made dairy free or gluten free.
Last Updated on July 2, 2023
Love this recipe! I’ve made it twice now in less than a week!
Did you peel the zucchini or drain the liquid from the zucchini?
This is absolutely delicious. I love the crust! Best banana bread to date. I made a few changes, because we are gluten free, that I wanted to share. I did 1/4 cup sweet cream salted butter and 1/4 cup coconut oil instead of 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Only 1/2 cup sugar in the bread and for the topping, I split the 1/4 cup sugar between brown and regular (because come on). I added more salt bc I tasted batter and it needed some, so I added almost a tsp. I just regular milk (no buttermilk or vinegar) and then split the flour 1 cup King Arthur all purpose gluten free and 1 cup Pamela’s gluten free pancake & baking mix. Everything else I kept the same. Thanks for sharing!
So-o-o…when do you add the salt?
Gotta be honest. I didn’t like this. I made it exactly to the recipe and I think the bread really lacks flavor. Maybe I should have used butter? But in reality I feel like it needed another 1/2-1c of brown sugar and more cinnamon.
This smells delicious but when I took it out of the oven, the cinnamon sugar topping hardened and separated from the bread. I only cooked for 40 minutes. Any idea where I went wrong? I’m sure we’ll still eat it up in the morning!
The same thing happened to me so I peeled it off lol it was a big mess. I cooked it for 50min at first but now it doesn’t seem to be cooking. Maybe I used too big of a pan.
When I first read A Handmaid’s Tale in high school I was so traumatized I actually had nightmares. Now that I’m older (not sure about being wiser), I want to read it again before watching the tv show. Some of us in Canada have a long weekend this weekend and I think baking cinnamon sugar zucchini banana bread and reading this book will be the perfect holiday Monday activity. Thanks for the inspiration Dorothy!
sounds fantastic!
The recipe calls for oil but the directions say cream butter. Should it be butter instead of oil?
This sounds great; just like the rest of them!
The cinnamon-sugar crust is your signature banana bread style and I love that you carried it over into this version! I would seriously eat the whole loaf because banana bread of any kind is my BFF!
Featured In
Rate This Recipe