The Best Homemade Zucchini Bread

It’s smack dab in the middle of summer, which means it’s the time of year when zucchini squash is everywhere. One of our favorite things to make with all this extra zucchini is moist and delicious zucchini bread.

First, we shred the zucchini in a food processor so it creates about three cups of beautiful, bright green strips. We stir in butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until it’s well-blended, then add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, baking powder and cloves to finish the batter. Think about how good your kitchen is going to smell with all those delicious spices baking in the oven.

Add the zucchini bread batter to a sprayed loaf pan, and then bake it in a regular oven or countertop oven for about an hour. Then, voila! Your house smells like baking spices, and you’ve got a gorgeous loaf of zucchini bread waiting for you once it cools.

When you slice it open, you’ll be able to see the bright green strips of zucchini dispersed throughout the bread, which gives it a beautiful color. A sugary crust forms on top, and even kids won’t mind diving into this rich vegetable bread.

For a delicious and visually appealing twist on the original recipe, try adding walnuts (pictured here), pecans, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts or pistachios to the batter before baking. The nuts add a nice crunch to every bite and look gorgeous when you cut into the loaf.

Zucchini Bread

Yield: Serves 10
Author: Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen

Ingredients

3 small zucchini
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Using shredded blade, with food processor running, add one zucchini to food chute. Process until shredded. Repeat with remaining zucchini.
In a large bowl, stir zucchini, butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until well blended.
Gradually add, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, baking powder and cloves. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan.
Bake 60 to 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Whether you are cooking for two or prepping a large family meal, the Hamilton Beach® Stack & Snap™ 12 Cup Food Processor takes the guesswork out of food processing with a simple function guide that shows you which blade to use and which button to press. Designed to be uniquely simple – there’s no twisting, turning or locking required when assembling the food processor.

Say hello to easy access and goodbye to hard-to-reach pizza and toast. Small enough to fit on your counter, but large enough to fit a 9” x 11” bake pan, 6 slices of toast or a 12-inch pizza, the Hamilton Beach® Easy-Reach™ Convection Oven has an innovative roll-top door to increase workspace, visibility, and access to the oven.