(Better Than) Grandma's Zucchini Bread Recipe

Name: (Better Than) Grandma's Zucchini Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 3 large eggs (room temperature); 1 cup white sugar (200 g); ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed (150 g); 1 cup canola oil; 1 Tbsp vanilla extract; 2 cups grated zucchini (firmly packed, do not squeeze out excess liquid ( about 2 to 2 1/2 medium zucchinis)); 3 cups flour, spooned and leveled (380 g); 1 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 3/4 tsp salt; 1 Tbsp cinnamon (heaping); ¼ tsp nutmeg; 1 ½ c add-ins: chocolate chips, raisins, pecans, walnuts, etc. (optional); 4 Tbsp coarse sugar (for topping bread)

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This is my attempt at a better than Grandma’s Zucchini Bread Recipe, and the easiest way to improve it was to omit the raisins because apparently no one likes them! A crunchy sugar top with moist cinnamon spiced bread is so irresistible. Only 15 minutes to prep and some old school tricks from grandma helps make this recipe even better!

Slices of zucchini bread on parchment with cinnamon sticks beside.

Ingredient Notes
Ways To Vary This Recipe
Step-By-Step Instructions
Recipe Tips
Storage
Common questions
Other Zucchini Recipes
(Better Than) Grandma’s Zucchini Bread Recipe
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Ok, ok, is there really anything better than the way grandma made it? Probably not, but a few tweaks I made to our family recipe made it even better in my opinion.

And when surveying readers, NO ONE wanted raisins in their zucchini bread recipe which is what grandma put in hers so really that’s all I had to cut out to make it the very bet, ha!

I couldn’t take grandma’s recipe and share it as my own, so I just put my own spin on it and kept the base recipe as my guide. Zucchini bread is one of the most nostalgic baking recipes for me–what is yours?!

Love to bake? It’s not usually something I am really great at, but I do love these recipes a lot: Pumpkin Chip Banana Bread, White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins, White Chocolate Almond Banana Bread, or if you have more zucchini, try this Grilled Zucchini Pasta Salad!

Why you’ll love this zucchini Bread Recipe

The texture, the flavor–it’s everything! I am going to certainly get into some trouble for saying this is better than grandma’s recipe, but honestly, it is just WOW. The crunch on top, the moist fluffy bread, the cinnamon, it’s just an experience!
So easy to freeze. Make two loaves and freeze one for later. It does so well in the freezer and thaws nicely.
Aside from the eggs, it’s a pretty easy recipe to cut in half for a single loaf. Everything in this recipe is fairly simple to half. The eggs will likely be best if you beat three eggs, and then divide in two. Scramble up the extra eggs and have a fluffy breakfast!
Such an easy recipe! The shredding of the zucchini is the hardest part to be honest. Everything else is just mixing and stirring. The kids could even help with this recipe!

Ingredient Notes

See full list of ingredients with exact measurements below in the recipe card.

Flour, sugars, oil and other ingredients arranged on surface ready for recipe.

I use all-purpose flour. I strongly suggest that you measure by weight for best results. If you don’t have a scale, make sure to sir and aerate the flour first and then spoon it in to the measuring cup before using a knife to level.
You don’t need to remove the skin of the zucchini in this recipe. The skin adds a really pretty green speckled color throughout the bread and is not detectable once baked.
I made this recipe using slightly less of each sugar and found that the bread was still good, but it was definitely lacking. Grandma’s recipe used 2 cups of white sugar and I wanted to use some brown sugar to add some richness and enhance the texture slightly as well and found that the brown sugar is key to be honest.
I use canola oil in this recipe. Vegetable oil will work great as well.

Ways To Vary This Recipe

change up the add-ins: the easiest way to vary this zucchini bread, is to add all the extras. I LOVE raisins baked in but I learned quickly very few people do so I made the images without any add-ins and made it a choose your own adventure! Chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, pecans, coconut, and more!
make them into muffins! Cook time is much shorter (about 20-25 minutes) but another great way to enjoy this recipe.
add a streusel topping like in this Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake
give it a citrus twist: Skip the cinnamon and nutmeg and add a few tablespoons of lemon zest for a refreshing lemon zucchini bread

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat eggs with electric hand mixer until light and frothy. Add sugars and beat until smooth and incorporated.

Sugars, oil and vanilla mixed into beaten eggs in bowl.

Step 2: Add sugars, vanilla and oil and beat until smooth and incorporated.

Shredded zucchini added to zucchini bread batter mixture.

Step 3: Stir in the zucchini. I use the larger side of my box grater to shred the zucchini and pack it in pretty well to the measuring cup, pressing down. No need to wring out the zucchini.

Dry ingredients in glass bowl with spoon.

Step 4: Whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a separate bowl. I use a heaping tablespoon of cinnamon cause I LOVE all the cinnamon flavor.

Dry ingredients added to wet ingredients in glass mixing bowl.

Step 5: Add dry ingredients to wet and stir only until combined—don’t over mix!

Prepared zucchini bread batter in bowl with wooden spoon.

Step 6: Fold in any add-ins at this time. I did not use any for this set of images.

Floured and greased bread pan before batter added.

Step 7: Grease and flour 2 loaf pans (8.5 by 4.5 inch).

Sugar topped zucchini bread batter in bread pan before baking.

Step 8: Pour batter evenly into the two pans. Sprinkle coarse sugar over top in a thin layer—this is optional but adds a nice sweet crunch to the top of the bread.

Baked zucchini bread in pan on cooling rack.

Step 9: Bake for about 50 minutes to 1 hr or until toothpick comes out clean.

Two loaves of grandma's zucchini bread cooling on wire rack.

Step 10: Cool for about ten minutes on a cooling rack and then remove the loaves from pans and cool until ready to serve. Eat it all before anyone gets their hands on it!!!!!!

Slices of zucchini bread arranged on parchment.

Recipe Tips

Beating the eggs is key for the perfect texture. Getting the eggs nice and frothy before adding any other ingredients adds extra air to the mixture giving a lighter crumb texture and also helps when combining the eggs with the other ingredients. This is a key step for success!
When reading grandma’s recipe, the original recipe said to bake at 325°F but she crossed it off and wrote in 350°F. I tested both ways and found that I preferred the lower heat setting for a nice slow bake–the best that comes to those who wait, right?!
Small/medium zucchinis will make the best bread. If you get a zucchini that is very large, it will have large seeds you will have to work around.
Stay close to the oven once you hit around 40 minutes of baking! When you get to the 40 minute mark, check in and then adjust if needed. There are still variances in cook times due to several factors. If the top looks like its getting too dark at the 40 minute mark, loosely tent foil over it so as not to burn the top.

Storage

I tested several different storage options. I found that this zucchini bread recipe stores best in the refrigerator in an airtight container that does not touch the top of the loaf. This kept the sugar topping nice and crunchy and the bread kept for about 5 days.

You can store it at room temperature for about 2 days but the sugar topping becomes soft and moist versus keeping its crunch. You can wrap it in foil or store airtight in a container.

Freezing: To freeze, allow the bread to cool completely. Wrap it in foil or plastic wrap and then place in a freezer safe bag or container, or wrap it a second time. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Common questions

Does zucchini need to be peeled before adding it to zucchini bread?

No, you do not need to remove the skin before adding the zucchini into zucchini bread. It becomes soft when baking. Keeping the skin on also gives the traditional green specks throughout the bread.

Why is my zucchini bread dry?

This is likely due to the addition of too much flour. For best results, measure the flour by weight. Individual variances in flour measurement can add up to about 1/2 cup more of flour which can cause the bread to become very dry. The bread could also be dry or texture is off from over-stirring the batter.