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This gluten free zucchini bread is a fan favorite! It’s deliciously moist and tender, and easy to make. Double up and freeze some for later—the best recipe for all those extra zucchinis!
Zucchini bread brings back all the nostalgic feelings for me. Also, it was one of my favorite snacks as a kid, and it always made an appearance at family gatherings. So, similar to banana bread, zucchini bread is incredibly moist and soft, and the light sweetness of fresh zucchini makes you forget vegetables had any part in it.
This is the best gluten free zucchini bread recipe because there are absolutely no compromises when it comes to texture and flavor. Also, it’s tender and sweet, and easy to make! I have started including both my gluten free zucchini muffins and this bread in my kids’ lunches because it’s great for meal prep and freezes well. So, if you’ve got a lot of fresh zucchini from the garden, there is no better way to put them to use! The best and sweetest zucchini squash for the job are the smaller ones that are under 8-inch in length.
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Ingredients Notes
- Gluten-free flour blend – I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour)
- Almond flour – Make sure to use blanched almond flour. This makes the bread soft and moist.
- Cane sugar – I use organic raw cane sugar.
- Baking powder – Make sure to use aluminum-free baking powder.
- Sea salt – I like to use an unprocessed sea salt like Real Salt.
- Zucchini – This recipe uses sufficient zucchini and has plenty of zucchini flavor! You’ll need about 2 medium zucchinis for this recipe.
- Honey – I like to use raw honey for this.
Substitutions
- Blanched almond flour: Feel free to use any other nut flour in place of almond flour. Almond flour adds moisture and makes the bread light and fluffy, so swapping it for other gluten free flours will result in a drier texture.
- Organic cane sugar: You can use any granulated sugar, including coconut sugar. If you use coconut sugar, the bread will be slightly darker in color.
- Coconut oil: Use another oil or fat, including melted ghee.
- Honey: You can swap this for maple syrup.
Adding Mix-ins
This recipe works great with mix-ins! Just add 1/2 cup to the batter before transferring it to the bread pan. Here are my favorites:
- Chocolate chips
- Chopped walnuts
- Chopped pecans
- Dried cranberries or raisins
How to Make Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan with coconut oil, and line it with a parchment paper sling so the paper drapes over two sides. This will allow the bread to easily lift out of the pan.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free baking flour, almond flour, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Strain the zucchini: Place your shredded zucchini on a large paper towel and wrap the paper towel around the zucchini so it completely encapsulates it. Lightly squeeze the zucchini a couple of times to remove excess water.
- Mix the batter: Add the zucchini, eggs, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla to the mixing bowl. Fold everything together until combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Serve: Let the bread cool for at least 10 minutes prior to lifting out of the pan, then let it cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Grating Zucchini
To grate zucchini, wash the zucchini and trim off the bottom end of the zucchini. Place a box grater or plank grater on top of a plate or cutting board that will catch the zucchini shreds. Holding the stem, rub bottom end of the zucchini against the shredder. If using a box grater, use the side with the largest holes. Repeat until all of the zucchini is shredded and discard the stem. Here’s a great visual guide of how to shred zucchini.
Recipe FAQs
Do you peel zucchini before shredding it for bread?
No, you don’t need to peel the zucchini before grating it. Zucchini skin is edible and thin. Using the whole zucchini gives the bread a nice firm texture.
Why is my zucchini bread gooey in the middle?
Your zucchini bread is likely gooey or soggy in the middle because the zucchini had too much water in it. When there is too much moisture, the bread won’t cook through properly. Make sure to extract as much moisture as possible from the shredded zucchini before incorporating it into the batter.
Why does my zucchini bread crumble when I cut it?
Because zucchini bread is incredibly moist, it needs to be completely cooled before you cut into it. If you slice warm zucchini bread, there’s a good chance it will be crumbly. It’s also important to let the bread cool properly because it allows it to finish baking. When you take bread out of the oven, there’s steam inside the crust that will continue to bake the center. Letting the bread cool completely before cutting will greatly improve the texture.
How do I extract the water from zucchini?
To extract the moisture, place your shredded zucchini on a large paper towel and wrap the paper towel around the zucchini so it completely encapsulates it. Lightly squeeze the zucchini a couple of times to remove excess water. You can also let the shredded zucchini rest on a strainer for 5-10 minutes, then lightly press down to extract the water.
Baking Tips
- Make sure to squeeze out as much water as possible from the zucchini. This will help remove some of the excess moisture and improve the texture of the bread.
- You can add ½ cup mix-ins like chocolate chips or chopped walnuts. Just fold into the batter before transferring it to a loaf pan.
- I’ve successfully baked this zucchini bread in an 8×4 inch and 9×5 inch bread pan. Both will work great for this recipe. If using a 9×5 pan, check the bread right at 45 minutes as it will cook up quicker.
- Your baking time will vary depending on the loaf pan you use. Ceramic and glass pans will take a little longer to cook.
Storage + Freezing
TO STORE: Freshly baked gluten free zucchini bread will last at room temperature for 1-2 days and up to a week in the fridge.
TO FREEZE: This bread is great meal prep because it freezes well! To freeze, just wrap the entire loaf or individual slices in parchment paper and place in a freezer safe zip-top storage bag. It will keep in the freezer up to three months.
More Gluten Free Recipes
- Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake
- Gluten Free Whoopie Pies
- Healthy Baked Zucchini Fritters
- Paleo Pumpkin Bread
- Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
This gluten free zucchini bread is a fan favorite! It’s deliciously moist and tender, and easy to make. Double up and freeze some for later—the best recipe for all those extra zucchinis!
Prep: 10Cook: 55Total: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 12 slices 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour)
- ¾ cup blanched almond flour
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan with coconut oil, and line it with a parchment paper sling so the paper drapes over two sides. This will allow the bread to easily lift out of the pan.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free baking flour, almond flour, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Strain the zucchini: Place your shredded zucchini on a large paper towel and wrap the paper towel around the zucchini so it completely encapsulates it. Lightly squeeze the zucchini a couple of times to remove excess water.
- Mix the batter: Add the zucchini, eggs, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla to the mixing bowl. Fold everything together until combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Serve: Let the bread cool for at least 10 minutes prior to lifting out of the pan, then let it cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can add ½ cup mix-ins like chocolate chips or chopped walnuts. Just fold into the batter before transferring it to a loaf pan.
- A 9×5 inch bread pan works great for this recipe, too!
- Your baking time will vary depending on the loaf pan you use. Ceramic and glass pans may take a little longer to cook.
Recipe by: Noelle Tarr / Coconuts and Kettlebells and Kelsey Hite | Photography by: Casey Colodny / The Mindful Hapa
Tiffany says
Best gluten free zucchini bread! Moist and delicious!!
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
It’s so good, right? Thank you for sharing!
Kelsey says
The most moist zucchini bread I’ve ever made! The texture is just right and it’s sweetened perfectly. I made a double batch and make one of the batches into muffins with added chocolate chips, so so good! This recipe will definitely remain in my family’s favorite baked goods.
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
I am so glad you loved it! I just made a double batch too! Freezing one and using the other now for kids’ lunches.
casey colodny says
Yumm, we loved having this for breakfast with some butter and berries. so delicious!
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
I am so glad you loved it Casey! One of my favs!
Irene says
Thank you but I used avocado oil
Irene says
I changed oil to avocado oil and also used gluten free oatmeal. I had to make changes it’s what I had in my pantry
Thank you for the recipe
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
So glad it worked out! Thanks for sharing your substitutions!
Giovana says
Best zucchini bread ever! Moist and delicious!
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
So glad to hear that Giovana!! Thank you for sharing!
Cheryl says
I use bobs on one and Krusteaz gluten free flour and Bob Red Mill is the winner. Both good Bobs a little better
Liz says
This recipe is AMAZING! Made it on whim for breakfast this morning using zucchini from our garden, and its soft, tender, moist, flavorful and not too sweet which I love. You’d honestly never know it was gluten free either! This recipe is a keeper 🙂
Denise says
I followed the recipe exactly (ingredients) and made it into muffins. 20 min @ 350 deg. They are fantastic! Probably the best gf df zucchini bread/muffin I’ve ever had.
Jennifer Middleton says
This was absolutely fabulous! Moist, flavorful and just the right amount of sweet.
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Thank you for sharing, Jennifer! So glad you loved it!
Crystal Wilmer says
I made your recipe into zucchini muffins today for my daughter who was diagnosed as celiac 8 months ago and she said this is the best zucchini bread she has ever had. Of course, we had to all try it then. The vote was unanimous, this is the new favorite. Thank you so much for sharing!
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Aww I love that!! So glad she loved it! Thank you for sharing, Crystal!
Katie says
This bread is tasty but dense. Any ideas on how I screwednit up?
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Hi Katie! It’s likely just a measurement issue! Make sure you’re using the fluff, scoop and sweep method for flours. You also want to drain as much water as possible out of the zucchini so that it doesn’t bring too much water and moisture to the batter. Lastly, over-mixing the batter can cause bread to rise too fast in the oven, and then collapse after baking. Hope that helps!
Jessica says
Absolutely love this recipe! I used Simple Mills Nut and Seed All Purpose mix and it turned out amazing! Your recipes are highly favored in my home! Thanks so much!
Jeanette says
This is a delightful and delicious recipe! I’m so glad that I found it! I’ll be making this a lot because we have a surplus of zucchini in the garden this year!
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
So glad you love it, Jeanette! I actually just made a loaf for my kids’ lunches this week. Thanks for sharing!
Mary D says
This receipe is great!
Mine did not turn out moist. It was on the drier side but edible. Trying to figure out what I did wrong.
– I used Bob’s red mill 1 for 1 gf flour
– blue diamond almond flour
– coconut sugar from thrive market vs cane sugar (load did turn out darker than anticipated)
Questions:
1) is it possible I got too much water out of zucchini or possibly they weren’t very fresh as it has been a 5-7 days since I purchased them?
2) instead of folding in the wet ingredients, I overlooked that instruction and mixed them with the whisk in my stand mixer, coils that be the issue?
3) I whisked the eggs together separately before adding them to the dry ingredients. Do I need to just add them to the dry ingredients without doing this first?
Thanks for your help! Excited to get this recipe right for a tasty, moist zucchini bread.
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Hey Mary D! My husband and I actually rotate making this weekly so we’ve had some time to notice slight differences. I think what you’re experiencing is likely a measurement issue. Make sure that you’re not scooping the 1:1 GF flour directly from the bag. You want it to be stored in a separated container. Then, “fluff” the flour before lightly scooping and sweeping. The Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF packs down so easily! Second, over-mixing eggs definitely can lead to a more tougher dough. When you see “fold” mentioned on a recipe, it’s usually because you don’t want to over-mix the mixture. 🙂 Try just adding the eggs without whisking, and fold everything together. Make sure you’re using large eggs and not medium!
Alison says
Wow, this came out so nicely! It came out the pan easily, and sliced up perfectly. I used 3 mini pans and cooked for 25-30 minutes. Tastes delicious. This is a keeper. Thank you!
Mardi says
This recipe turned out absolutely wonderful! The loaf was as soft, light and fluffy as Angel Food Cake and the texture was melting in my mouth. I did sub dk brown sugar for more flavor (I almost always do this in my baking), and instead of coconut oil I used light olive oil. Thank you for sharing this gluten free delight!
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
So glad to hear it!! Love the substitutes—thanks for sharing!