Amish Zucchini Bread Recipe

This Amish zucchini bread recipe makes a rich, sweet quick bread that’s soft, moist, and loaded with warm spice flavor. It’s a great way to use up summer zucchini and can be made as a loaf, muffins, or even cake.

If you enjoy cozy seasonal baking, try my cast iron skillet cinnamon rolls or this pumpkin maple galette next.

Introduction

This Amish zucchini bread recipe was given to me by a friend an Amish friend, when I lived in the Crown of Maine. Her baking was always a welcome treat — rich, sweet, and full of comfort.

This recipe is a great way to use up zucchini when the plants are producing faster than anyone can keep up. It freezes beautifully, making it ideal for baking in batches and enjoying well into the colder months. My garden fresh vegetable side dish is another great way to make the most of annual zucchini harvests.

Why This Recipe Works

• Soft, sweet texture, that holds together well without feeling heavy, making it perfect for slicing and serving.
• Simple pantry ingredients, come together easily, so you can whip it up anytime without a special trip to the store.
• Spiced with just the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg, to give each bite that warm, nostalgic flavor.
• Perfect for making ahead, it freezes well and holds up nicely after thawing — just like my peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies, which can be frozen without the jelly and filled later for a simple treat ready whenever you need it.
• Bake it your way, in loaves, muffins, or snack cakes depending on how you want to serve it.

Ingredients Needed To Make Amish Zucchini Bread

This delicious recipe uses basic baking ingredients. You will likely have them in your kitchen.

• ZUCCHINI: This recipe is a perfect home for garden fresh zucchini. Whether you’ve got a surplus from your own backyard or picked some up at the local market, it adds a soft texture and subtle flavor that makes this bread so special.
• OLIVE OIL: I use olive oil in this recipe because it’s one of the healthier options available, and it adds just the right amount of richness. Other oils will work too, but this one has always given me the most consistent results.
• CINNAMON & NUTMEG: These classic warming spices bring a real depth to this bread’s flavor. They balance the sweetness and provide that nostalgic aroma that makes you think of a cozy kitchen, making each slice feel like a special treat.

See recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations and Substitutions

• Replace some of the zucchini with shredded carrot or grated apple, for a subtle twist that adds natural sweetness and a little extra texture.
• Add chopped walnuts or pecans for crunch, or stir in dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, or unsweetened coconut flakes to create your own signature version.
• Add chocolate chips for an extra rich, double-sweet version, if you really love chocolate, try my double chocolate cookie recipe; it’s one of my all-time favorites.
• Try lemon zest and poppy seeds, for a fresh, bakery-inspired upgrade that brings a little brightness to each bite.
• Add crushed pineapple for a tropical twist, it brings extra moisture and flavor that’s often overlooked but works surprisingly well in zucchini bread.

Preparing The Zucchini For This Recipe

If you grate up a few cups of zucchini, and try to toss it directly in this recipe, you’re going to be in for a big disappointment. Why? Well … all zucchini is not created equal.

The moisture content of this popular vegetable varies, often a great deal, from one piece to the next. It is dependent on the growing conditions that the zucchini plants it came from matured under, the time of harvest, and the storage methods used post-harvest.

The key to ensuring that you get a good loaf of zucchini bread every time is to control the amount of liquid that goes into the recipe. You can do this by removing the liquid from the zucchini, and then returning the exact portion of it that you want in the recipe back into the batter.

After shredding the zucchini, spread it out on a baking sheet and sprinkle it with a little salt. Let this sit for a good 15-20 minutes to allow the salt to extract the excess liquid from the zucchini.

Then rinse it well. You don’t want all that added salt to be in your recipe.

Finally, put it in a flour sack towel and squeeze every bit of liquid that you can out of it. Set 1/4 cup of the liquid to the side.

Now, you are prepared to make a really stellar loaf of bread.

How To Make Zucchini Bread

Once you’ve prepared the zucchini for this recipe, go ahead and gather all of the other ingredients. It helps to have the ingredients and the measuring utensils out on the table before you start putting the recipe together. 

This prevents scrambling for the things you need in the middle of making the dish. 

Set the oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with a good quality cooking spray. You can grease it by hand if you prefer to use a healthier fat; such as farm fresh lard.

In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and the liquid you set aside from squeezing the zucchini. Mix together.

In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and flour. Mix together.

Pour the wet ingredients in the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix together, being careful not to overmix. Mix by hand, just until the flour is saturated. Electric mixers are best avoided here.

Pour the mixture into the greased loaf pan.

Bake until a butter knife inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. About 55-60 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven. Allow them to cool for 20-30 minutes.

Then remove the loaves from the pans and place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing to prevent clumping in the loaf. If you slice them too soon the bread will have a dense chewy texture.

Serve

This bread is just right served plain, but it also pairs well with all sorts of toppings and sides. Add a pat of butter or a smear of cream cheese, or toast a slice in a cast iron pan and top with a scoop of ice cream.

If you’re serving a crowd, make a buffet table with different variations and a pot of herbal tea or coffee. For something truly special, pair it with my chai spiced cacao or a hot mug of coffee flavored with my chocolate coffee creamer — both are comforting favorites that complement this bread beautifully.

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