Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
on Aug 18, 2023
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Easy and moist, this quick bread is the perfect thing to make as summer turns into fall.
Quick breads are magical. Almost immediate gratification of the sweetest and most satisfying kind. This is a mashup of two of the best quick breads in my arsenal: zucchini bread and pumpkin bread. With the addition of some autumnal spices (cinnamon and cloves), this bread comes out moist and tender (but not soggy!) and very sliceable.
See the variation in the recipe notes for pumpkin zucchini muffins!
Table of Contents
Pumpkin Zucchini Bread. This easy, moist, quick bread with cloves and cinnamon is the perfect thing to make as summer turns into fall.
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Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – Provides the structure for the bread.
- Baking soda and baking powder – Allows the bread to rise.
- Ground cinnamon and cloves – These spices provide that amazing warm autumnal aroma and flavor.
- Canned pumpkin puree – Make sure not to use pumpkin pie filling, which has additional spices and ingredients in it that would overpower the delicate flavor of the pumpkin and zucchini.
- Eggs – Also provides structure and keep the bread moist.
- Unsalted butter – Melted and cooled.
- Sugar – Adds sweetness.
- Vanilla extract
- Zucchini – See below for how to prepare the zucchini to make this bread.
Preparing Zucchini for Zucchini Bread
Grating fresh zucchini is easy and takes only a couple of minutes. Just use the large hole of a box grater. Alternatively, if you have a food processor with a grating blade, you can use that.
Unless the zucchini has a very thick, tough skin, you don’t need to peel it before grating. Some recipes instruct you to squeeze the grated zucchini to remove excess water, but if you are using a small to medium-sized zucchini, this is not necessary. Larger zucchini may have more water, but most zucchini doesn’t need to have the water squeezed out. In fact, one of the reasons zucchini-based quick breads are so moist is because of the water in the zucchini, so you don’t want to remove all of it.
If you are using a larger zucchini and you can tell as you grate it that there is a lot of moisture in the strands, then give it a squeeze with your hands over the sink to remove excess liquid before adding it to the batter.
Tips
- When you add the dry mixture to the wet, stir just until there are no streaks of flour visible. Don’t overmix or it will cause the bread to become tough.
- When you grate the zucchini, use the biggest holes on a box grater, or you’ll end up with pulp instead of individual shreds of zucchini.
How to Make Zucchini Pumpkin Bread
- Preheat the oven. Grease one 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.
- Combine the dry ingredients.
- Combine the wet ingredients. Stir in the zucchini.
- Mix together the batter. Stir just until there are no streaks of flour visible.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake. Cool in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack.
FAQs
If your zucchini is very large, you should slice it in half and scrape out the seeds before grating it, which could make the bread soggy.
One of the best tips is to make sure that about 15 to 20 minutes after you take the baked zucchini bread from the oven, you remove it from the pan and continue cooling it on the wire rack. Removing the bread from the pan allows the air to circulate all around the bread, especially the bottom, which is the warmest part of the loaf.
Unless the zucchini has a very thick, tough skin, you don’t need to peel it before grating. If the skin is very thick or rough feeling, then yes, you. should peel it first.
If your zucchini is large then you should remove the interior seeds which might make the bread soggy and/or add an unpleasant taste or texture to the bread. Just cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds. Grate the remaining flesh.
What to Serve With Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
More Quick Bread Recipes
- Classic Zucchini Bread
- Best Easy Banana Bread
- Mini Banana Bread Loaves
- Carrot Raisin Bread
- Orange Cranberry Bread
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Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated zucchini (peel the zucchini before grating if the skin is tough)
Instructions
- Grease one 8 x 4-inch loaf pan (see Notes for muffin variation). Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together.
- Beat the pumpkin, eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Add the zucchini and stir until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir just until there are no streaks of flour visible. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake the loaf for about 50 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove the bread or muffins from the pan, and allow to cool completely.
Notes
- When you add the dry mixture to the wet, stir just until there are no streaks of flour visible. Don’t overmix, or it will cause the bread to become tough.
- When you grate the zucchini, use the biggest holes on a box grater, or you’ll end up with zucchini pulp instead of individual shreds of zucchini.
- If you are using a larger zucchini and you can tell as you grate it that there is a lot of moisture in the strands, then give it a squeeze with your hands over the sink to remove excess liquid before adding it to the batter.
- To make pumpkin zucchini muffins, instead of the loaf pan, grease 12 medium-sized muffin tins and line them with paper liners. Divide the batter evenly in the muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 15 to 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
