This strawberry zucchini bread is a lovely summertime quick bread recipe. It’s a great way to use up that bounty of zucchini from your garden! Make a loaf of this on the weekend to enjoy as part of brunch, and everyone will be raving about it.
Plus, anytime I can get more fruits and veggies in my kiddo’s diet is a win in my book!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe, and some helpful notes about a few of them:
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Avocado oil or olive oil – Either works!
- Applesauce – I prefer unsweetened applesauce, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder and baking soda – Yep, you’ll use both. They leaven in different ways, which helps the overall rise of this bread.
- Zucchini
- Strawberries
- Pecans – Optional, but I love the nutty taste and crunchy texture that they add.
Instructions
Making this bread is very simple. You’ll find full recipe amounts and instructions at the bottom of this post, but here’s a few helpful tips and photos:
I recommend you start by getting your zucchini grated and strawberries chopped, so that those are all ready once you start making your quick bread batter.
If you don’t want to break out a greater, I have great luck with tossing chunks of peeled zucchini in a food processor and pulsing it a few times. It’s so quick and easy!
Also, as a heads up – you don’t need to worry about draining the zucchini or anything like that. The moisture actually helps the overall recipe here.
Once that’s done, set those aside. Now, start making your quick bread batter by whisking together the eggs, sugar, and oil in a large mixing bowl. When those are well combined, stir in the applesauce, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Next, add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Conventional baking wisdom tells you to mix these in another bowl separately first, but here’s the trick I use: I just add the flour first on top of the liquid ingredients, and add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda on top of that. Then I gently use a spoon to stir just the dry ingredients at the top of the bowl for a few seconds, then I go ahead and mix ‘em in completely with the liquid below. Easy, and always seems to work for me!
Go ahead and fold in the zucchini, strawberries, and pecans. Here’s what the batter will look like:
Then just pour the batter into a loaf ban, bake it, and get ready to dig into deliciousness!
Recipe FAQ
Here are some common questions that may come up as you prepare this strawberry zucchini bread.
How should you store zucchini bread? Enjoy this bread at room temperature the day you make it. Because of the fresh strawberries, I’d avoid leaving it out on the counter for more than a day or two. If it will take your family longer to eat it, I recommend freezing extra slices. (You can also try keeping it in the fridge, but keep in mind the cool air may cause it to dry out.)
Can you freeze zucchini bread? Yes. Wrap it in plastic wrap tightly, then place that in a zip top bag in the freezer. When ready to enjoy, let sit at room temperature. If you don’t think you’ll eat an entire frozen loaf in a day or so of defrosting, I recommend instead freezing in slices the same way – that way you can pull out a slice anytime you’re craving one.
Can you add chocolate chips to this bread? Sure, feel free to add a half cup of chocolate chips if you’d like.
Allergens
*Disclaimer – Always double check ingredients to confirm a recipe meets your allergy needs. While I try to note potential allergens below, there is always the chance I may miss something or that manufacturer formulations may change.
As written, this recipe is dairy free and soy free.
This recipe does contain eggs, wheat/gluten, and tree nuts.
You can easily make this nut free by leaving out the pecans.
While normally I’d recommend a flax egg to make egg free, and gluten free flour to make gluten free, I’m not sure those swaps would work in this recipe. The eggs and flour provide a lot of structure that help hold in the chunks of zucchini, strawberries, and pecans – so I don’t know that typical substitutions would provide a strong enough final product. Of course, you are always welcome to try them, and if you do, let me know how it goes in the comments.
I hope you enjoy this strawberry zucchini bread! If you get a chance to try it, please feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below. And if you’re looking for more quick bread recipes, be sure to try our dairy free banana bread.
Strawberry Zucchini Bread
This strawberry zucchini bread is a delicious quick bread. It's tender and packed with flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 medium zucchini, peeled and grated
- 1 cup strawberries, finely chopped
- ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and avocado oil. Stir in the applesauce, vanilla, and cinnamon.
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Add the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl. Stir everything together until combined.
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Fold in the zucchini, strawberries, and pecans.
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Pour the batter into the loaf pan and cook at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick pulls out clean from the center of the bread.
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Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a plate or cooling rack to let finish cooling. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition analysis (approximate per serving): 231 calories, 10.5 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 240 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 14 g sugar, 4 g protein, Vitamin D: 1%, Calcium: 2%, Iron: 8%, Potassium: 3%
Share: What’s your favorite way to use zucchini? If you tried this bread recipe, what did you think?
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