The first time I ever had zucchini bread as I child, it kind of blew my mind. “Wow, you mean you can turn a vegetable into dessert?!” I said. A few dozen years later, remixing notions of what ingredients go together is my favorite way to create new dishes.
This week’s clearance basket from my local produce market, held a pair of battered (though still salvageable) zucchinis. Having gotten a little zucchinied out this summer, I resolved to turn them into a loaf of chocolate zucchini bread. Still, after a few days of holiday baking I wasn’t really in the mood for something sweet and I had a lump of cheddar in the fridge that needed to be used before I head to Saudi Arabia for a few weeks.
That’s when I thought to myself “If you can surprise people by putting zucchini in a sweet bread, why not put it in a savory bread?”, so that’s exactly what I did. Vaguely reminiscent of a frittata, this bread uses a lot of eggs, giving it a moist crumb that’s redolent of olive oil and thyme. Rather than mix in shredded cheese that would melt into oblivion, I wanted the cheese to have a big presence. That’s why I cut the cheddar into big chunks, layering the blocks of cheese into the middle and on top of the bread.
When it comes out of the oven, the cheese on top forms a crispy golden crust of browned cheese, while the chunks in the center leave hollow pockets in the bread lined with savory melted cheese. Unlike many baked goods, this one is definitely better the second day, so it’s a great make-ahead brunch dish. When I made this, I wanted something simple that I could snack on and take on the plane with me, but if you’re making this for brunch, adding crumbled sausage or bacon is fair game. This would also work great in a muffin tin because the batter is pretty thick.
Ingredients
- 325 grams zucchini (about 2 medium zucchinis)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 sprigs fresh thyme (stems removed and leaves minced)
- 80 grams Cheddar cheese (cut into 1/3-inch cubes)
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175C). Spread a thin layer of olive oil evenly onto every inner surface of a standard 9"x5" loaf pan. Dust with flour to coat evenly. This will keep your loaf from sticking to the pan once it's baked, so make sure you don't miss any spots. You can also line the inside of your pan with parchment paper.
- Remove the ends of the zucchini, then shred it into a colander using the large side of a box grater. Add the salt and toss to distribute evenly. Leave the colander in the sink or over a bowl and allow the excess water to drain from the zucchini for at least 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and paprika together.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs, olive oil and water together until the mixture has emulsified (combined) and it's light and frothy. Add the drained zucchini and thyme in with the egg mixture and stir to combine.
- Dump the egg mixture into the flour mixture and use a spatula to fold everything together until the mixture is just combined. Be careful not to over-mix the batter or the bread will become tough.
- Spread half the batter into your prepared loaf pan then add half the cheese. Add the rest of the batter and smooth off the top. Stick the remaining cheese on top, and then place the pan in the oven. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean (about 45 minutes in a convection oven).
- When the zucchini bread is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool completely.
What a great departure from the typical sweet zucchini bread. I will have to give this a try. Thanks, Marc.
woow great idea- will try tomorrow :)))
Incredible. Made this 3 times and each time it’s come out absolutely delicious. Last time I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour, and it’s even better– a slightly different taste, but awesome :).
Thank you Marc!
Glad to hear you like it and great idea! I think this might taste good with rye flour and carraway seeds too:-)
This is so good. Exactly what I was craving. The recipe is spot on as it is, but also very versatile. I have sometimes substituted Greek yogurt for olive oil to cut fat, and most recently made this with basil, sundried tomatoes, chili pepper flakes and goat cheese. Amazing!
Marc, thank you for sharing this recipe! I was staring at these beautiful, giant, zucchini sitting on my counter and wanted to make some savory bread… Your recipe was the top search result and I am very impressed!! Going to try take two in the morning, and add chorizo, for a brunch. I will be back for more recipe ideas in the future.
Hi Jessica, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the bread! Adding chorizo sounds like a great idea, though you may want to cut back on the salt in the batter a bit to account for the salt in the sausage.
I tried making this bread last night and didn’t have as good of luck as the other posters. It just tasted very eggy and was quite mushy. I made another (sweet) zucchini bread with the same zucchini so I don’t think it was the moisture of that…was disappointed because I was really looking forward to it.
Hi Greg, sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. Was the bread cooked all the way through( i.e did the toothpick come out of the center of the bread without any batter on it?) Did the sliced bread look like the photos? If not, can you describe how they differed? When you say “mushy” do you mean a raw wet kind if mushy or a dry spongy kind of mushy? Lastly did you weigh the zucchini or use the approximation?
Just used this recipe as an idea for some jalapeño, bacon and cheddar zucchini bread and it turned out awesome!! Thanks for the post.
Just used this recipe as an idea for some jalapeño, bacon and cheddar zucchini bread and it turned out awesome!! Thanks for the post.
Does anybody know approximately how many cups of zucchini 325 grams would be? I’m guessing around 2, as that seems to be what most zucchini breads take. I just wanted to make sure because instead of the “two medium zucchinis,” I have some rather large zucchini from my garden that I need to use.
Thanks in advance! 🙂
I’m guessing here, but I’d say anywhere from 1.5 to 2 cups depending on how well you pack your cups. If you’re going to be doing much cooking, I’d highly recommend getting a digital scale. They’re small, cheap and much more accurate than volumetric measurements for things that are easily compressed (like shredded zucchini).
Thanks for sharing! i really love savoury breads/cakes like these!
I was wondering if you think it would work gluten free? Have you ever tried? I have a premixed gluten flour that i could use, or perhaps millet?
Hi Yuko, since this isn’t a bread in the traditional sense (i.e. it’s not dependent on gluten formation for texture), gluten free flours should work. That said, unless you know it’s a 1:1 substitute for all purpose flour, you may need to make adjustments to the amount of flour to compensate.
I just made this. Added a bit of onion. Divine!
This looks yummy… I just made some traditional sweet zucchini bread and need to use up more zucchini. It never occured to me until today to make a savory zucchini bread… duh!!! Looking forward to trying it … going to add onion, garlic and jalapeno’s… can’t wait!!! thanks for the post!!!
I just made these with the following exceptions – shredded cheddar cheese mixed into the batter and dried Italian seasoning (1 tsp) instead of fresh thyme. wonderful!
I only had shredded Parmesan on hand so I used that instead, but otherwise followed the recipe. Delicious! Thank you!
Made this today- delicious! Will post some pictures on my blog next week. Thanks for recipe 🙂
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This works great using gluten-free flours. I’ve used brown rice flour and sweet brown rice flour with goat cheese (if feta, cut back on salt). I also bake it in a cast iron skillet, pre-heated on a burner before adding the batter. It cuts down on the baking time and gives a larger area of crust – kind of like a frittata. When I asked neighbors if they wanted to try it, they said just a small piece, then came back wanting more and the recipe!
PS I forgot to mention that rice flour can be used in the same proportions, but if you use a mix with potato or other starch and/or xanthan gum it will take more liquid (or cut back on the mix by at least a third). Or use part mix and part rice or other GF flour. Good luckand have fun experimenting until you get it just the way you like it..
I made this last night and had a piece for breakfast this morning with European butter. It was great. This bread is a really nice alternative to zucchini desert breads if you’re looking for a way to use up excess Zucchini.
For gluten free I used 1 1/4 cup brown rice flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch, plus 1/4 tsp xanthan gum. Lactose free so I used vegan fake cheese. Also I used muffin tins and took 15 mins off cooking time. Everything worked great and they were delicious.
Is it ok to make this with self raising flour?
I’ve never tried it so I can’t guarantee it will work, but you you should be able to get rid of the baking powder and use self rising flour.
Just made this in a 6 muffin tin and cooked for 25 minutes – fantastic … moist and very tasty.
I do not know what I did wrong but it seems to be unbaked even after a hour.It’s still sticky inside and also did not rise well. 🙁 But my oven is a bit tricky, so maybe have to try different degrees etc.But tastes delicious.
Hi Lucy, it sounds like your oven may be cooler than the temperature it says its at (this is a very common problem). You may want to consider getting an oven thermometer that you can leave in the oven so you can compensate. Otherwise, try turning you oven up about 20 degrees the next time you try this.
Anyone know the total carbs for one serving?
Hey Mark! Quick question – I am going to make this loaf for some co-workers for breakfast tomorrow. Since you said it tastes better the next day, I am going to make it a day ahead. So do I need to refrigerate it? or will it do well sitting on the counter for about 12-18 hrs? I also plan on adding onions and garlic. What do you think?
Hi Tina, provided you’re not in a very hot place, it should be fine outside. That said, I’m not a food safety expert, so please use your own best judgement.
I feel like such an idiot! I wondered why all recipes for zucchini bread contained so much sugar! I didn’t realise it was supposed to be a dessert. Prefer veggies to be savory so going to try your recipe Marc
Hi Jennifer, that’s pretty understandable. Adding vegetables to sweet cakes/breads like carrot cake, zucchini bread, etc is more about adding moisture than about flavor, which is why they’re often used in sweet baked goods. The zucchini serves the same purpose here.
I feel like such an idiot! I wondered why all recipes for zucchini bread contained so much sugar! I didn’t realise it was supposed to be a dessert. Prefer veggies to be savory so going to try your recipe Marc
Mm the bread was delicious! Thank you Marc. And the recipe actually worked without any modifications required which is pretty unusual!
I can’t eat bread with yeast. I absolutely love this loaf and it’s a sneaky way to feed kids veges. Am trying today as muffins as soup going to be ready before the loaf would have. Fingers crossed this works. I’ve also used spinach in this recipe and it works too & added red peppers. Thanks so much for this 🙂
Hi Rebecca, glad to hear you like it! Great idea making this as muffins, they should turn out well since they will have more surface area for the cheese to brown.
Should I drain or squeeze the grated zucchini very well?
Hi Cindy, salting and draining the zucchini in a colander is enough. You can shake off the excess liquid after letting it sit for a bit, but there’s no need to squeeze it (in fact you want there to be some liquid left so the zucchini stays juicy).
Can I add jalapeños to this?
Hi Laurel, that’s a great idea! If you use canned ones, just be sure to drain them well.