Expect a beautiful brown crust and a light and soft interior crumb speckled with dark chocolate chips and grated zucchini. This recipe is excellent for breakfast, as a snack or dessert and keeps well for several days. Make banana zucchini bread, the perfect intersection between banana bread and zucchini bread. This is such a simple, tasty, and comforting recipe. You only need a few pantry staples, a box grater, a bowl, and a fork. With the same batter, you can even make zucchini muffins (see variations chapter below). This quick bread combines the natural sweetness and flavor of overripe bananas with the gorgeous moistness of shredded zucchini. The crumb is almost cake-like, compact, tender, and never dry. As usual with most quick bread recipes, you can add your favorite add-ins, such as dark chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, and more.
Wet ingredients
Bananas: use ripe or overripe bananas that have black dots on the skin. They are sweeter and easier to mash. Zucchini: you can use any zucchini, including green, grey, and yellow zucchini. Olive oil: Olive oil is healthier than most other oils and works perfectly in quick breads. Substitute avocado oil, melted coconut oil, or another neutral vegetable oil like canola oil and sunflower oil (less healthy). Sugar: you can use white or brown sugar. Vanilla extract: substitute cinnamon or other spices like nutmeg, cloves, and all-spice. Milk: we use almond milk. Substitute other non-dairy milk or regular milk.
Dry ingredients
Flour: We make this with all-purpose flour. To make the recipe healthier, substitute 50% whole-wheat flour for all-purpose flour. We haven’t tried it with gluten-free flour. Baking powder: it helps the bread rise in the pan. Baking soda: it makes a tender crumb and a gorgeous brown top. Salt: just a pinch to tie the flavors together.
Add-ins (optional)
Dark chocolate chips: substitute a dark chocolate bar chopped with a knife. Walnuts: substitute chopped pecan nuts, almonds, cranberries, or raisins.
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 9 x 5 inches (23cm x 12cm) loaf pan with parchment paper on the bottom and brush the sides with olive oil or melted butter. In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork. Add olive oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond milk and stir to combine. Rinse, dry, and grate the zucchini with the large holes of a box grater, then squeeze some of their water out. Fold the grated zucchini into the banana mixture, then add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine to break most lumps, but without overmixing. Tip: There is no need to peel the zucchini. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and the chopped walnuts. Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes at 350°F or 180°C. The banana zucchini bread should be dark golden brown on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly dry. Let it cool completely—at least 3 hours, but better overnight—on a wire rack, then slice into 0.8-inch or 2-cm thick slices and enjoy. Make the batter as per our instructions, fill the muffin pan, and bake for about 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. To check for doneness, poke them with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out dry, the zucchini muffins are ready. If not, keep baking in increments of 2 minutes. Let it cool down completely. Cooling down is an essential part of the recipe because the starch changes textures as it cools, and excess moisture escapes, creating a beautiful crumb. The minimum cooling time is three hours, and we recommend half a day to a day for the best texture and flavor. Storage: Place the loaf in a reusable plastic bag and store it in a cool corner of your kitchen for up to 3 days. Alternatively, store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freezer: This is an excellent recipe for freezing. Let the bread cool down completely, then wrap it in freezer-friendly film and freeze for up to 3 months. You can freeze it whole or in slices. Thaw: Defrost in the fridge, microwave, or at room temperature.
