Apple Zucchini Bread

This apple zucchini bread is a tasty all-day treat. You can eat it in the morning with coffee, as a quick afternoon snack or a light post-dinner dessert. Apples are a staple fruit, and zucchini is abundant given the season. This bread balances sweet and savory flavors with chopped pecans to give it a nice crunch. Delightfully moist, this recipe can be “dressed up” on the fly with a dollop of whipped cream or Greek yogurt. Consider serving slices of this bread chilled on a hot summer day or fresh out of the oven.

Our apple zucchini bread recipe can be prepped and baked in under 90 minutes, with 50 to 55 minutes being baking time. You don’t even need to set this for long before slicing or serving. Let it cool for 10 minutes after it’s out of the oven, and this bread’s ready to be enjoyed. The recipe makes three loaves: one to eat today, another to have on hand when everyone asks, “Is there more?” and a third to pop in the freezer for the next lazy weekend.

Apple Zucchini Bread Ingredients

Eric Kleinberg for Taste of Home

• Flour: Stick with traditional all-purpose flour for this recipe, and don’t turn to an alternative-flour substitute. Flour is your BFF for baking any bread. Let it rise just enough in the loaf pan without spilling over.
• Baking soda: This chemical compound is another important baker’s essential. Arm & Hammer or a store-brand baking soda should work just fine.
• Ground cinnamon: Adding cinnamon isn’t solely about flavor in this recipe. Cinnamon’s brownish hue adds color to your bread. Be sure to use ground cinnamon so the flavor is evenly dispersed (those who eat your bread will thank you).
• Ground nutmeg: You can use pre-ground nutmeg in a spice jar or grind it fresh.
• Salt: Use table or sea salt (if finely ground). Avoid salts that are particularly “chunky.”
• Eggs: Incorporating eggs creates a binding that makes your batter “gel.” Make sure your eggs are at room temperature for the best results.
• Sugar: Granulated white sugar adds sweetness to this bread. We don’t recommend swapping it out for brown sugar or sugar alternatives.
• Brown sugar: Using brown sugar increases the moistness of this bread, as this type of sugar includes molasses.
• Vanilla extract: Most baked goods would taste bland without vanilla extract. If you have pure vanilla on hand, use it in liquid form; do not use a paste. You can also use seeds from half a vanilla pod in place of a teaspoon of extract.
• Zucchini: This recipe calls for 2 cups of zucchini. This equates to either one large zucchini, two medium zucchini or three small ones.
• Apples: Apples are the shining star in this recipe. Consider using Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Macintosh, Fuji and Gala—and don’t be afraid to mix and match. As a rule of thumb, 3/4 of one medium apple equals one cup of finely minced or grated apples.
• Pecans: This nut adds a slight crunch to the bread but can easily be omitted if you don’t like nuts, are allergic or simply don’t have any on hand.

Directions

Step 1: Stir the dry ingredients and whisk the eggs

Eric Kleinberg for Taste of Home

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Then add the oil, sugars and vanilla.  Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl using a fork or mixer.

Step 2: Combine dry and wet ingredients

Eric Kleinberg for Taste of Home

Take the bowl of eggs and slowly pour it over the dry ingredients. Mix well until there are no lumps.

Step 3: Add zucchini, apples and pecans

Eric Kleinberg for Taste of Home

Next, add the zucchini, apples and pecans. The batter should feel and look stiff. Using a large spoon or silicone spatula, pour the batter into your greased pans and evenly disperse.

Step 4: Bake

Eric Kleinberg for Taste of Home

Bake at 350° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake the bread for 50 to 55 minutes and cool it in the pans for 10 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Eric Kleinberg for Taste of Home

Apple Zucchini Bread Variations

• Dress it up with glaze: Combine 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, two tablespoons of 2% milk and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract in a small for a  Quick Vanilla Glaze.
• Top it with pralines: Make this a tasty Praline-Topped Apple Bread. Replace the chopped pecans with pralines. Our test kitchen found that 1/4 cup of pralines sprinkled over each loaf is the perfect amount.
• Add a caramel accent: Name a better duo than caramel and apple! Zucchini surprisingly tastes great with caramel too. We recommend the caramel recipe in our Caramel-Pecan Monkey Bread. Simply boil three ingredients (brown sugar, butter and cream) in a small saucepan, cool and then drizzle on top of the bread.

How to Store Apple Zucchini Bread

It depends on how you enjoy eating your bread, chilled or at room temperature. Just know that breads like this tend to last longer in the fridge. Covering the bread is essential, whether with aluminum foil or a lid; otherwise, it will become rubbery. The bread should be good for about five days in the fridge and three to four days at room temperature— if it’s not all gone by then.

Can you freeze apple zucchini bread?

Yes, you can absolutely freeze apple zucchini bread. The best scenario is to hold off on slicing and stuff it in a resealable plastic freezer bag. The bread should stay fresh in the freezer for about three months. Remove the bread and thaw it in the fridge or on a countertop a few hours before you’re ready to serve, or overnight if you can manage it.

Apple Zucchini Bread Tips

Eric Kleinberg for Taste of Home

What are the best apples to use?

The short answer is that any apples will do the trick. That said, some apple varieties are the best for baking. These include Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith and Macintosh. You might even try mixing and mingling apples if you can shop at a farmer’s market vendor that grows and sells several options.

How do I avoid a “soggy middle” when baking apple zucchini bread?

If your zucchini apple bread has a doughy center or quickly sinks when poked with a toothpick or knife, it most likely means you are baking in a pan that’s the wrong shape or size. Another reason could be that you are not baking it long enough, perhaps because your oven runs cold. If this is the case, don’t put the bread into the oven until 10 minutes after it’s been pre-heated.

Can I peel and shred apples and zucchini ahead of time?

We love time-saving tips! But in this case, do not prep the apples and zucchini too far ahead of time. These water-based foods will quickly get soggy. If you must shred ahead of time, do it no more than three days before you bake the bread. Before assembling the recipe, make sure the shredded pieces are still somewhat firm.