Our zucchini harvest season is winding down, but we still have a few large specimens awaiting their fate on the kitchen counter. If the zucchini is small and tender, I’ll usually eat it without much ado: lightly sautéed and seasoned with salt and pepper. The larger ones, however, have a tougher skin, larger seeds and not as delicate of flavor, so those are usually reserved for batch after batch of zucchini bread which I’ll freeze and eat, or give away to friends and family throughout the year.
My zucchini bread recipe stems from a recipe given to my husband by his family. I’ve experimented and tweaked some things here and there, and have come up with my own well-worn and loved variation. Every kitchen witch has their own method, after all.
For me, the chopped dates are essential. The original recipe calls for chopped nuts, which are also delicious, but I reduce the sugar from its original 2 ¼ cup down to 1 ½ (or less), so the dates give it a little added sweetness. The real magic in the dates, however, is in their texture. They almost melt into the bread while it’s baking.
Zucchini Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: two loaves 1x
- Category: breads, breakfast
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar (I usually only use 1 cup)
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped dates
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two standard sized loaf pans.
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and grated zucchini.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the chopped dates.
Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans and place on the center rack in preheated oven. Bake for 60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let loaves cool for 20 minutes before removing from loaf pans. Serve immediately or store in aluminum foil. Loaves can be frozen and thawed at room temperature when ready to serve.
PIN IT FOR LATER
This bread looks so good, Lindsay! The dates, yes! Must try that. Thanks for the recipe!
Looks very good! It’s so good with a cup of coffee. Thanks for the recipe!
Made your bread recipe today. I only used 1C sugar, didn’t have dates so added 1/2C organic coconut flakes instead. Also added 1/4t clover, which I love with nutmeg. The house smelled heavenly while baking and it tasted so good on this cold, rainy Saturday! Thanks…really enjoyed :0)
After a very successful trial of this recipe earlier in the year (using the one and only courgette that had grown on our two plants), which everyone loved, I tried this again today with grated apple substituted in. The recipe still worked brilliantly – really moist, warmly spiced, with the dates melting through. I think this forms one of those really great base recipes, which can be adapted and experimented with in many different ways. Thank you!
Apples! That sounds delicious. We have a bunch of apples from my husband’s grandparent’s house, so I’m thinking I might try this substitution tonight. Thanks for the tip!