Zucchini Bread with Coconut Sugar
I love this time of year - our garden is so green and abundant and we are harvesting vegetables every morning, including lots of zucchini! Which, of course, means that it’s time to make zucchini bread. I couldn’t resist trying out Smitten Kitchen’s Ultimate Zucchini Bread recipe and adapting it with a couple tweaks. I swapped out the white and brown sugars for coconut sugar and I used coconut oil instead of the oils suggested by Smitten Kitchen (safflower oil, olive oil, or butter). I also reduced the amounts of both the sugar and the oil.
Coconut sugar is the dehydrated and boiled sap of the coconut palm flower. Because coconut sugar goes through minimal processing, it retains many of its inherent antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals - especially in comparison to the standard granulated white or brown sugars, which are heavily processed. For those of you who may not be a big fan of coconut, I just want to note that the coconut sugar does not have a noticeable coconut flavor. Instead, it just adds a nice light nutty almost brown sugar-ish flavor to this bread and other baked goods.
This recipe will definitely be my go-to zucchini bread going forward - it was incredibly easy to make (you just use one bowl!) and it is so moist and delicious. Even with using coconut oil, you don’t taste very much coconut since the zucchini is really the predominant flavor with a background nutty and spice-y taste from the coconut sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. This recipe is also easily adaptable - as noted, you can choose between quite a few options for oils and you can add in chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, or any other add-ins that you would like.
Enjoy!
Makes one 9x5 inch loaf
Ingredients
370 g (about 2 cups) grated zucchini (grated on the large holes of a box grater), no need to wring out
2 eggs
130 g coconut oil (melted) (or feel free to use other oils - like olive oil or safflower oil - or melted butter)
115 g coconut sugar, grind in coffee/spice grinder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
1 and 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
260 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with butter or nonstick spray or oil - your choice!
In a large bowl, combine the grated zucchini, oil, eggs, coconut sugar, vanilla, and salt. Use a fork or whisk to mix until combined. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder and mix until combined. Finally, add the flour and again mix until combined. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing from the pan or cutting.
