The Best Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread Recipe Around
Trying to make delicious gluten-free zucchini bread? Look no further! Our tried-and-true recipe gives you tender, flavorful results every time.
Recipe and description updated 1/28/23
I am of the firm belief that the idea of zucchini is much better than the reality. That one can gently press a small seed, no bigger than a fingernail, an inch into the garden soil and get such a enormous, blossoming, fruiting vine is nothing but a small miracle. But after the first half-dozen or so, my eyes glaze over and I shudder at the thought of another month of zucchini everything, just to use it up. But there is always this light & delicious gluten-free zucchini bread!
Jump to RecipeIt happens every year, this zucchini fatigue, and yet we persist in planting the seeds in our garden beds. Or at least I do. I know I’m not alone in this, because every August 8th, there is a holiday devoted to dumping your zucchini on your neighbor’s porch, anonymously and preferably in the dark of night.
So what do I do with my abundant harvest of this squash (and what can you do with the zucchini that could make an appearance on your porch sometime later this week)? I make ratatouille, I make a stir fry, I turn them into fritters, I shred it and put it into risotto (along with some blossoms), I thinly slice it and serve it raw dressed with only a light lemon vinaigrette, but best of all (at least for the kids) I make tender and spicy loaves of zucchini bread.
How Do You Make Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread?
Before you start baking, it’s important to have all your ingredients and supplies on hand. You’ll need a zucchini, gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, sea salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, avocado oil, eggs, whole milk (or coconut milk if you’re dairy free), lemon juice, vanilla extract and walnuts.
Here are the ingredients in this gluten-free zucchini bread recipe:
- 1 full cup of grated zucchini (from about 1 medium zucchini)
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose gluten-free flour blend (such as Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1)
- 1/4 cup almond flour (or finely ground almond meal) (OR substitute regular all-purpose gluten-free flour if you have a nut allergy)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already has it)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup avocado oil (or other light oil)
- 2 extra large eggs
- 1/4 cup regular whole milk
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 mini loaf pans with gluten-free cooking spray (or one standard 9-inch loaf pan) and set aside.
- Place the shredded zucchini into some paper towels and gently squeeze out any moisture. Fluff the zucchini with a fork and set aside.
- Put the all-purpose gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl and whisk to blend. In another large bowl add the brown sugar, canola oil, eggs, coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla and walnuts. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until combined. Fold in the grated zucchini (I always reserve just a little to sprinkle over the tops of the loaves) and the nuts.
- Divide evenly between the pans, sprinkle over the reserved zucchini and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then carefully turn out to cool completely on a rack.
Frequently Asked Questions About Zucchini Bread
Absolutely! The last time I made it, the bread needed to be not only gluten-free, but dairy free, because it was a gift for a friend by substituting the whole milk for full-fat coconut milk. But you can use any milk substitute you like!
The bread is spicy, tender and studded with chunks of chopped walnut. But if you have a nut allergy, replace the almond flour with additional gluten-free flour blend, and omit the walnuts.
Yes! Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic, then foil and freeze for up to 3 months. You may want to slice it in advance so you can use it one slice at a time.
No need! The skin of the zucchini is quite tender and soft when baked it the bread.
Yes! I find that squeezing water out using a paper towel is the easiest method. Then simply fluff the shredded zucchini with a fork before stirring it into the batter.
Squeezing as much water out of the zucchini before adding to the batter definitely helps with this, but it’s also important to turn the bread out of the loaf pan after it cools a bit, so it can finish cooling on a rack.
So what do you do with all of your zucchini?
Love quick breads and muffins? Try these other recipes!
If you make this recipe, or any of my others be sure to tag me on Instagram, and use the hashtags #agirldefloured #deflouredrecipes!
The Best Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread Around
Equipment
- 3 mini loaf pans or 1 9×4 inch loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated zucchini (from about 1 medium zucchini)
- 1¼ cup all purpose gluten-free flour blend
- ¼ cup almond flour (or finely ground almond meal OR substitute regular all-purpose gluten-free flour if you have a nut allergy)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already has it)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup canola oil (or other light oil such as avocado)
- 2 extra large eggs
- ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk (or regular whole milk)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup walnuts or pecans (chopped, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 mini loaf pans with gluten-free cooking spray (or one standard 9-inch loaf pan) and set aside.
- Place the shredded zucchini into some paper towels and gently squeeze out any moisture. Fluff the zucchini with a fork and set aside.
- Put the all-purpose gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl and whisk to blend. In another large bowl add the brown sugar, canola oil, eggs, coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla and walnuts. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until combined. Fold in the grated zucchini (I always reserve just a little to sprinkle over the tops of the loaves) and the nuts.
- Divide evenly between the pans, sprinkle over the reserved zucchini and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then carefully turn out to cool completely on a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?LET US KNOW HOW IT WAS!
I made this today. I used a mix of sorghum flour, millet flour and potato starch. Followed the recipe exactly. I used a large loaf pan and it took 50 minutes to cook. My children waited patiently for it to come out of the oven…..on his first mouthful my 11 year old proclaimed, “Mom, it’s candy bread!”. Need I say more?…..10 minutes later the loaf has vanished! Thank you. Great recipe! And my testers are very fussy!:)
Thanks for sharing your success! 🙂
Hi Alison,
Thanks so much for this recipe! Mine came out spectacularly! It was light and fluffy, and I made it into a cake by adding some citrus cream cheese frosting. I switched out the flour for all rice flour, and added double the zucchini. It was delicious. I am excited to find a good resource for gluten free goodies. I was going to give you credit on Instagram, but did not find you. Here is my thanks!
This is a wonderful recipe! I did 1/2 organic brown sugar and 1/2 organic coconut sugar – to keep it sweet but cut back a little (I think it would be sweet enough with all coconut sugar too ), I also did chopped walnuts and I added blueberries. They are devine! I also made these as muffins as I did not have a loaf pan. I doubled the recipe and froze a bunch for my 2yr old son – it’s great to grab and know while delicious it also has good nutrition also (zucchini, eggs, walnuts, blueberries, almond meal).
Hi Alison, thank you for this wonderful recipe. I just wanted to ask if the bread would still turn out if I was to add an extra 1/2 cup of grated zucchini? Would more flour be required to counter-balance the extra moisture?
Hi Judy, I haven’t tried it with additional zucchini, however because it gets a thorough squeezing I don’t think much, if any, additional flour would be required. Good luck!
Hi Alison, I’m about to make your zucchini bread… will let you know how it turns out! So glad to find you! I enjoyed reading some of the notes and was surprised to see both of my daughters names, Kyla and Shana. These are not my daughters, but fun to see their names since they are both a bit unusual.
Thanks for your passion! Judi
Hi Judy! Welcome and let me know how it goes! PS your daughters’ names are beautiful–I like unusual names too. My daughter is Willa. 🙂
This recipe looks delicious! How can I adapt your recipe to a low carb lifestyle? I would like to use almond and coconut flour but I am not sure of what the ratios should be.
Will egg replacer work with this recipe? We are Nuts and Seeds, dairy, gluten, rice, egg and citrus free. Ugh!
I personally haven’t tried it, however it seems to be a very forgiving recipe and many people have reported success with their substitutions. 🙂 Good luck!
Terrific! My daughter (the gluten free one) was making herself a loaf of this yesterday and I asked if she’d make some extra for me to take to a meeting I was supposed to bring a snack to. At the end of the meeting, there were still trader joes brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and other assorted snacks left on the table. The only plate that was cleared off was your gluten free zucchini bread. 🙂
LOL! I love that! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
My husband just loves this! I used the coconut flour and whole milk because that’s what I had on hand. But it turned out wonderful and he says he can’t even tell that it’s gluten-free. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Just made this. Turned out perfect! Delicious and beautiful. My very picky 7 and 4 y/o’s loved the bread. Thank you so much for sharing.
Made this today and it turned out wonderful!! I used cashew flour instead of the almond flour and I used fresh eggs that i pulled right out of my chicken coop. Such a hit at my fourth of july party, even though it was gluten free!
I am going to try this recipe! So far I’ve battered and fried zucchini, made ‘zucchini tots’, bread and butter style pickles, dill pickles, relish, grilled it, made chicken dishes with it, grated it and sauted it, grated it and frozen it…
Thank you for sharing this Gluten Free recipe! I have to eat GF but my family does not; however, I couldn’t keep this bread out of my husband’s and children’s mouths! Not only were the loaves beautiful, but they baked so evenly and tasted amazing! My boys (6 and 5 years old) told me they didn’t like zucchini until they had this bread. Now they even devour sautéed zucchini. 🙂
Many thanks!
I will be back to your website for more!
This was my first attempt at gluten free baking since some disastrous gf brownies I made once. I want to thank you because this turned out so amazing, dare I say better than the gluten filled recipe I used in years past. I think it’s the nutty almond flour texture that I love so much. The only sub I made was I used coconut milk in a box, not the full fat kind because my hubby did the grocery shopping this week 😉 Great recipe!
Outstanding…I’ve made your GF zucchini bread twice now…from my garden to my table, a real treat!
One question: Is the amount of vanilla actually 1 tablespoon?
Yes! I love vanilla, but if you prefer less, feel free to reduce. 🙂
I made these in an 8-mini tray, at almost 6,000 feet, in Nothern Arizona. It took about 10-15 mins. longer. I kept the heat at 350 F because raising the heat might have dried it out.
I didn’t have all the ingredients, so I had to substitute whole milk for coconut milk, and extra baking soda and lemon juice for the baking powder. I also didn’t have any vanilla or xantham gum.
I added: chopped up banana chips, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds (on top as well) and it was fluffy and moist. The bread also rose perfectly. No one would know it was gluten-free.
Hi Alison, I met you at the Gfree expo down in Pasadena last month. We were sitting together at lunch. I have an abundance of zucchini growing in my garden right now and decided that I wanted to make some bread out of it last night. I have been using the recipe from gluten free goddess but I wanted to try something different and yours popped up in my search. I tweaked it a little bit by adding some lemon zest and pumpkin pie spice….yummy!! Anyway, thanks for sharing your recipe, I look forward to trying more of them.
Hey Kerrie! Nice to hear from you–I love your modifications!! Thanks for sharing and hopefully we will meet again someday. 🙂
This recipe is DELICIOUS! I just made a batch with my mom and it takes so light and delicious. Next time I may substitute some honey or molasses for the brown sugar. Great recipe for a gluten-free girl like me!
I have never made zuchini bread… And the cookbook collector I am none of them had a recipe. Found your recipe and whipped it up with a large zuchini given to me. I used a food chopper to shred the zuchini and added flax seeds and roasted salted sunflower seeds instead of walnuts … This was easy and oh so delicious. Definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe! I teach a nutrition class to seniors and one women is a Celiac so this will be perfect!
Hi, Can you omit xanthan gum? I cannot digest it. If so, what do you replace it with? Thanks!K
Yes, try using guar gum instead, increasing it by 25%. Or if you’re really feeling adventurous, you can replace it with psyllium husk or ground flaxseed in equal parts.
Recently diagnosed with autoimmune thyroid disorder and ND has me gluten- dairy- and sugar-free. Cutting out gluten and dairy have been easy. Sugar not as easy. This recipe looks amazing. Has anyone substituted with stevia? And what did you use as a bulk replacer? Any and all ideas welcome. Thanks!!!
I just found this recipe and made it right away for a friend who is feeling down. I added chocolate chips for the happiness factor. lol
It came out delicious!! My husband loves it too! I will be making this again over and over! Thank you so much for sharing!
Have you ever tried cutting back drastically on the sugar? What does that do to the texture? If it makes it crumbly, what could I add to help that? I’m looking for good GF loaf recipes that don’t include a lot of sugar.
Thank you!
Hi Joy, I haven’t. In baking there are certain things that give a baked good “structure.” Among them are gluten (which is out), eggs and sugar. If you take one out…others are needed in its place to help hold the loaf up. That said, there are many people who experiment with alternative sugars (like date or coconut) with some success. If you do, remember that the loaf will probably be flatter and denser. Let me know if you try it and how it works. 🙂
Hi Joy,
I just made this recipe with half the sugar (subbed 1/4c raw sugar + 1/4 raw honey for the called-for 1c sugar; I didn’t decreased any other liquids to compensate for the liquid honey, though I squeezed the *heck* out of the zucchini shreds!): it was delicious, had a great crumb, and a light texture. My family devoured the “zucchini cake”, as I called it.
Happy reduced-sugar eating;-)
Awesome! Thanks for the update…glad it turned out well. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, it was delicious! (And that is not something I’d say of all the gf recipes I’ve tried, lol).
I used 1/4 c raw sugar + 1/4 c honey in place of the 1 c sugar, called it “cake”, and my family devoured the double batch. “I guess I DO love zucchini, Mama!” announced my 4yo.
I tried this recipe today and it turned out very well. The texture was perfect. The flavour was very good too, although it had that slightly beany aftertaste that happens when I used Bob’s Red Mill GF flour for baking; will try a different flour blend next time with this wonderful recipe. Thanks very much for sharing it, Alison.
Yes, I don’t like Bob’s for that reason. Glad you liked it anyway. 🙂
I have just finished baking my second batch of these. They are fabulous! They freeze beautifully as well! The only substitutions I made were using whole milk and I used coconut flour that I had on hand rather than the almond meal. I have so much zucchini that I’ll be making many batches and freezing them! Thanks!
Hi,
I just now tried this recipe and I have made some substitutions since I am supposed to also be corn-free. A search online told me that I could substitute 1/2 t. of cream of tartar and 1/4 t. of baking soda for the baking powder. I don’t know why, but I just now checked my oven and it spilled over completely. Thankfully I put the full-sized loaf pan on top of a cookie sheet or else I would have had a mess. What did I do wrong? It smells wonderful by the way. I can’t wait to try it.
Well, I’m guessing that your substitutions caused the blow out. Hopefully it will still taste delicious. 🙂 Next time, try using corn free baking powder. Here’s a link. http://www.hainpurefoods.com/products/product.php?prod_id=1842
Can you substitute with brown rice flour?
Substitute what? The gluten-free flour blend? No. Gluten-free flours need to be blended for best flavor and texture. A good gluten-free blend will have both whole grain flours and starches. Hope this helps.
Hi, I only have one large loaf pan and a HUGE zuchinni. Can this recipe be used to make muffins? I have two tins of those!
Yes! 🙂
I just made this, I have and 8 mini loaf pan and they were perfect!!! This is now my favorite bread/cake that is gluten free. My changes were coconut oil, almond milk and lime juice. It still tasted great, the bread was moist, soft, full of flavor.
Do you think I could use the same recipe but with carrots instead of zucchini? it was so good that I want to keep making it!!
Yes! Go for it! 🙂
Love this recipe!! I’ve made 3 batches this week! It’s so hard to find gluten free recipes that actually taste good! Thank you so much and please keep posting!
This is the second of your recipes that I have tried (GF chocolate cake – OMG!), and both of them are my go-to recipes for sweets! EVERYONE, GF or not raves about them. Nice work, keep the recipes coming!!
Must be the time of year – another one here with a mountain of zucchini, googling for GF zucchini bread recipes!
I just made it, like so many others, with quite a few substitutions:
No lemon juice, no cinnamon, no xanthum gum, no canola (ick, lol), no coconut milk, no vanilla, no nuts. Sub’d some of the above with lemon zest, melted butter, and buttermilk. Had to add 1/4 cup more gf flour as the mixture was very runny (might have been because I used too much zucchini).
Baking now in one of those floppity silicone cake pans, as I don’t have a loaf pan for now. Smells delicious, looking forward to enjoying a slice shortly, with a dollop of whipped cream and warmed fresh wild Canadian blueberries.
Great! It’s so forgiving…let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Alison – it was absolutely delicious! Baked like a charm – took an extra 10 minutes or so. Spongy and light, and very, very good. DH is taking the rest of the cake to work today to share with the staff.
I used “Cloud 9 Pound for Pound Baking Mix,” from Vancouver, BC, which I’d bought at Costco on spec. It does have xanthum gum already in it.
http://www.cloud9specialtybakery.com/secret-ingredient.html
Thank you SO much for sharing a well-thought-out recipe.
We don’t have any “diagnosed” gluten intolerances, but I do notice that we feel better after eating a gluten-free meal. Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes!
Thanks so much Alison! Your gluten-free zucchini bread is absolutely delish! So moist and yummy! And a great way to incorporate the zucchini harvest! Just wondering…my batter spilled over the sides of my standard-sized bread pan while cooking? We live at altitude (5300′), and maybe that is the reason?? Any ideas? If not…I will just place the load pan on a cookie sheet next time! Thanks again! Blessings, cathie
Hi Cathie,
I don’t have much experience with high altitude baking, however, King Arthur suggests increasing oven temperature by 15-25 degrees to help “set” the batter before it over expands. Obviously cooking time would need to be reduced, as well as possibly covering the bread with foil to protect it from over browning. Give that a try next time (and put a pan under it just in case). Please let me know how it goes so we can help others who live a high altitude.
Thanks,
Alison
This bread is so good – not dense or doughy like so many gluten free quick breads. I made a few subs that worked great – used half and half in place of the milk, subbed 1/8 c. almond meal and 1/8 c. corn meal for the 1/4 c almond meal, used organge juice instead of the lemon juice and used Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus. Oh, and I added 3 T of mini chocolate chips. A girl has to have her chocolate fix!! Really good – thank you for sharing! I am pinning this recipe and following you.
This bread has a perfect crust and the middle is moist and tender. It almost melts in your mouth!
After trying the batter I just had to make another batch. I love it!
When I tasted the batter I thought it was going to be disgusting! So bitter!. When the bread came out it was amazing! I feel ill from eating 2 doorstep sized pieces with butter. Can’t wait to make it for my friends. Thanks!
I made this for a friend who doesn’t eat gluten or dairy. Used gluten free coconut lite because I couldn’t find it in the full-fat. Made it with gluten free oat flour along with the 1/4 cup of almond flour. It is soooo good. I am making more tonight. It is very quick to mix up. Thank you for the recipe.
Cool! I will try to make this with my grandmother today (september14).
This was SOOO yummy!!! I used fat free coconut milk and just normal gf flour (no almond flour) and it is so delicious. I’m going to be making this lots!
hi,
i’m excited to try this recipe! just to clarify, do you used canned coconut milk or refrigerated coconut milk that comes in a carton?
Great question. Honestly, either will be fine. Use whatever milk you have on hand, dairy or otherwise. 🙂
hi,
i’m excited to try this recipe! just to clarify, do you use canned coconut milk or the refrigerated cartons of coconut milk?
So I see this thread has been up for a while and I didn’t read through all the comments so please forgive me if you’ve answered this already. I found your recipe on Pinterest and I followed it to the tee — except for one little thing. I omitted the walnuts and added chocolate chips in their place. (I have memories of a yummy zucchini bread with CC and had to try.) I am the ONLY GF person in the house (diagnosed with gluten sensitivity four years ago) and finding a recipe that everyone likes is key. My son and husband always have issues with the texture of GF things. I don’t bake enough goodies to really experiment though – we don’t need the sweets, LOL. Well, despite my coating the choc. chips with GF flour, they sunk to the bottom of the bread like stones and some of them stayed stuck to the pan. I baked it in a regular size loaf pan and it came out of the pan fine – minus some chocolate chips. My guys LOVED it! Hurray! Texture was great and taste was delish. Batter seemed a bit thin and it took a little longer to cook ~50 minutes but I was meticulous in my measurements. I know that sometimes GF batter is thinner so I wasn’t dismayed, but I’m guessing that the thin batter caused the heavy choc. chips to sink. Any suggestions?
Glad you liked the recipe…and next time try mini chocolate chips. 🙂
Since I’m an herbivore, I used flax eggs. I also used coconut sugar. Fabulously delicious recipe!
Best zucchini bread I ever made. How could I add pumpkin?
Just use grated pumpkin instead of zucchini
I am about to try it. I have used both interchangeably for similar recipes and they were both good.
I’ve been looking at this recipe for weeks now and finally made it last night. It was really straightforward and came out wonderful!! I omitted the nuts and probably put a bit more courgette (zucchini) than the recipe said and about three-quarters of the sugar. It was still yummy and I’m wondering (i) how to tweak it to make it just a tad more bread-like, because it is little cake-y; and (ii) what alternatives can be made based on this recipe (other vegetables or whether it can be a plainer GF bread without the zucchini). What would make it more bready? I think it probably has too much sugar for a standard bread and i would like to make it healthier………..
Either way, I’m adding it to my recipe. I don’t quite know whether to serve it as a bread accompaniment to a main course or as part of a healthy dessert………