Zucchini bread is one of my favorite ways to use up all of that extra squash lying around.
I’ve been using the same zucchini bread recipe for ages and it has never failed me. When my younger sister started experimenting with veganism some years back, she cut out the eggs in our family recipe and subbed in “flax eggs” instead. If you’re unfamiliar with flax eggs, they are essentially just ground flaxseed whisked with water (1 Tablespoon of ground flax per 3 Tablespoons of water for one “egg”) and are a popular substitution for chicken’s eggs due to their binding quality in baking. To my family’s collective shock, the veganized version of our beloved zucchini bread was still every bit as good as the original.
I made small tweak to the original recipe (a little less sugar, sub some of the oil with applesauce) while putting together the batter to make it a tad healthier and, yup, still delicious. By the way, please don’t read the word “healthy” and think that somehow this translates into inferior texture or flavor – I would never do that to you. It’s quite the opposite, really; this recipe produces a super moist and flavorful loaf – hand to heart.
The beauty of this zucchini bread is that it tastes just as good straight-out-of-the-fridge cold as it does warm and toasted with a little Earth Balance on top. In fact, I almost prefer it chilled, especially when it’s a million degrees and climbing outside.
You can also double or triple the recipe and give away a few loaves (if you’re feeling generous), or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and stash in the freezer for future use (they’ll be good for a few months that way).
Ingredients:
3 flax eggs (1 Tablespoon of ground flax whisked with 3 Tablespoons of water per “egg”)
1½ cups sugar
2 cups zucchini, grated and drained
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup applesauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flax eggs with sugar, grated zucchini, oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon).
Gradually sift the dry ingredients into the bowl containing the wet ingredients. Stir gently until completely combined.
Pour batter into a loaf pan and bake until a knife comes out clean from the center of the loaf for an hour.
Cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.