Gluten Free Zucchini Bread | Moist, Tender, Naturally Dairy-Free!

By Nicole Hunn | Published: March 1, 2023 | Posted In: Desserts, Quick Breads

fingers picking up slice of zucchini bread

4.99 from 109 votes

Prep Time : 15

Cook Time : 50

This gluten free zucchini bread is tender, moist, and delicious, uses up tons of fresh vegetables, and you won't believe how easy it is!

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Incredibly moist and tender gluten free zucchini bread, made with tons of summer's pushiest vegetable. This is your new favorite zucchini recipe!

overhead image of 3 slices of gluten free zucchini bread with green flecks and chocolate chips lying flat on wrinkled white paper

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What makes this the best gluten free zucchini bread

Zucchini and squash are difficult vegetables for baking because they hold so much moisture. In baking, excess moisture tends to make baked goods mushy and flavorless, and prevent some of the browning that creates flavor and adds different textures like a crisp crust.

In this gluten free zucchini bread recipe, we remove much of the moisture from the zucchini by shredding it, placing it in a tea towel or a fine mesh bag, and wringing out as much of the excess water as possible. We then puree some of the zucchini with oil and some of the other wet ingredients in the recipe to create an emulsion that traps enough moisture during baking to create a tender crumb that still has tons of flavor.

Plus, if you have someone in your family that hates vegetables, you can sneak some of them in by serving this lightly sweet, moist and tender zucchini bread. You can't taste the actual zucchini at all, but it's still in there! And since it's made with oil, not butter, it's also naturally dairy free.

gluten free zucchini bread with chocolate chips in nonstick loaf pan lined with white paper on purple cloth

Gluten free zucchini bread recipe ingredient notes

All purpose gluten free flour blend – I love the results that Better Batter gives me, and you can always make my “mock” Better Batter blend yourself. Be sure to use one of my recommended flour blends, including xanthan gum so your bread holds together and stays fresh.
Salt – balances out and complements all the other ingredients
Baking powder – adds rise in the oven. Make sure your baking powder is fresh, and measure it carefully
Baking soda – helps the bread brown in the oven
Cinnamon – adds a lovely, warm spicy but subtle taste to your bread; you can leave it out, though, if prefer a more plain, straightforward flavor
Chocolate chips – optional, but I do love the richness that they add to this delicious bread
Sugar – I use both granulated and light brown sugar to give this gf zucchini bread its sweetness, tenderness, and depth of flavor
Oil – We use a neutral oil (options include canola, vegetable, grapeseed, peanut, safflower, peanut, or avocado oil) to blend with some of the grated, drained zucchini to create an emulsion that adds tons of moisture and tenderizes the bread
Zucchini – be sure to remove as much moisture as possible or your zucchini bread will have an intended bouncy texture and may not bake all the way through
Eggs – these help provide lift and help bind it together so it slices cleanly

Ingredients of gluten free zucchini bread in round glass and ceramic bowls on light wood surface with words corresponding to each ingredient: gf flour, chocolate chips, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil, baking powder, baking soda, salt, zucchini

How to prepare zucchini for gluten free baking

Zucchini and other summer squash naturally have a ton of moisture, and they grow so quickly (and harvesting the vegetables makes the plant produce even more!). The moisture isn't a problem for a recipe like this one, which could easily be designed to account for the moisture since it's not being baked until crisp, like our gluten free zucchini tots.

But baking requires consistency, and the moisture in zucchini varies tremendously from one vegetable to the next. Draining the zucchini of as much moisture as possible before measuring it by weight is the way we standardize our ingredients.

You can drain the grated zucchini by placing it in in the center of a tea towel (just a kitchen towel with a flat weave that doesn't shed) or even an old t shirt. Just wrap the cloth around the grated vegetable, and squeeze until the liquid is all gone.

Using Nut Milk Bags for Draining Moisture

You can also use cheese cloth to do the same, but it tends to be too fragile and tears easily under pressure. My favorite way to drain the moisture from zucchini and cauliflower is with a nut milk bag, which is just a strong mesh bag designed for filtering out the nut pulp left behind from making a nut milk.

When you use a nut milk bag to drain zucchini or cauliflower, you're preserving the solid and discarding the liquid. Drain it over the sink and flush the liquid away.

Here's my favorite nut milk bag (affiliate link; feel free to shop around), if you're interested. I like that it's larger than many, and strong enough for repeated use. In fact, mine has lasted through many years of regular.

How to make gluten free zucchini bread

This is a simple recipe that is mixed together beginning with dry ingredients, then adding wet ingredients. But the wet ingredients are prepared a bit differently. Let's walk through the recipe:

First prepare the zucchini

We begin before we even place any of the ingredients into the wet ingredients by shredding the zucchini, skins and all, on a standard size grater. Then, to make sure your zucchini has the same amount of moisture as expected, you will wring out as much moisture as possible. There are some success tips on how to remove moisture from zucchini above and in the recipe below.

Composite image of dry ingredients with whisk and mixing spoon in large metal bowl, small bowl of chocolate chips in fingers, green shreds added to dry ingredients, eggs and liquids whole and blended in blender container, and being mixed into dry ingredients

Whisk dry ingredients and blend wet

Next, we place all the dry ingredients (gluten free flour blend including xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, the optional ground cinnamon, and the sugars) in a large mixing bowl, and combine them well.

Be sure to break up any clumps in the brown sugar. Toss the chocolate chips in a bit of the dry ingredients and set them aside.

Add a bit more than half of the shredded and drained zucchini to the dry ingredients and mix throughout. The rest of the prepared zucchini is then blended fully with the eggs, oil, and vanilla. That puree is then mixed into the dry ingredients until combined.

Large metal mixing bowl with light green batter and black mixing spoon, with chocolate chips added, batter in white paper-lined metal loaf pan, with chocolate chips on top, and baked in same pan

Transfer the zucchini bread batter to a prepared loaf pan and bake

The batter at this point will be relatively pourable, and smooth except for the shredded zucchini that hasn't been pureed. It will also be light green in color.

All that's left is to mix in the chocolate chips tossed in some of the dry ingredients, transfer the batter to a greased, lined standard loaf pan, and top with more chocolate chips. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, maybe with a few moist crumbs attached.

This bread doesn't burn especially easy, so don't worry too much about overbaking it—unless you're using a dark colored loaf pan that attracts more heat than we'd like. Be sure it's baked completely or it will collapse as it cools.

Tips for making the best gluten free zucchini bread

If you follow my gluten free zucchini bread recipe to the letter, you won't go wrong. But there are still some extra tips you can use to make sure your gluten free treat is perfect.

Don't skip pureeing some of the zucchini

Back when I first made this recipe, I added in mashed banana, but after much tweaking and experimenting, I now omit the banana and add pureed zucchini instead, alongside the eggs and oil. Don't be tempted to skip this step, as it really boosts the moisture content, keeping your gluten free quick bread soft and delicious.

Toss the grated zucchini in the dry ingredients

Toss the grated zucchini with the dry ingredients so the pieces don’t clump together. They’re baked right into the loaf, and show up as tiny green flecks in the bread.

Measure the gluten free flour blend the right way

While I include a volume measurement in my gluten free zucchini bread recipe, I much prefer that you pay attention to the weight measurement instead.

My reasoning is simple: You'll more closely match my irresistible results when you measure flour by weight (easy to do with a kitchen scale), than if you pack it into a cup and hope for the best.

Really wring out that zucchini

As you're grating your zucchini, you're sure to notice that this once firm, dry vegetable quickly turns into a soggy pile. For this reason, it's extremely important that you take the time to wring the excess moisture out of your zucchini.

It's true that the point of zucchini is to add tons of moisture to bread, but if it's too moist, your bread is going to come out gooey. You may be able to save it by baking longer, but there could also be a point where there's simply too much water to bake off.

brown crust of gluten free zucchini bread with chocolate chips on top in light gold colored metal loaf pan on brown table

Gluten free zucchini bread ingredient and substitution suggestions

Gluten free, dairy free zucchini bread

Luckily, since this gluten free quick bread is made with oil instead of butter, it's naturally dairy free. Be careful about your chocolate chips, though. Some are dairy-free, but others are not.

Make sure yours are if you need to be dairy-free. The semi-sweet chocolate chips from Trader Joe's are dairy-free.

Gluten free, egg free zucchini bread

Since there are two eggs in this recipe, you may be able to successfully replace each of them with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). I haven't tried this substitution, though, so proceed with caution! A “flax egg” might also work, but tends to add a truly unwelcome flavor.

Slice of light brown gluten free zucchini bread with chocolate chips and green flecks being grabbed by fingers

How to store leftover gf zucchini bread

When you keep it tightly wrapped in a zip-top bag, your leftover gluten free zucchini bread should last about 3 days on the counter. Just keep it sealed tight, and squeeze out as much air as possible from the bag.

How to freeze zucchini bread

If you've made lots of extra gf zucchini bread in an effort to use up all your zucchini (been there, done that!), you can store your extra loaves in the freezer to enjoy later.

I like to store whole loaves. First, let your zucchini bread cool completely. Next, slice it and wrap the slices in groups of 2 or 3 tightly in plastic wrap and then place the bread inside a zip-top bag. Your bread will easily last up to six month in the freezer so long as it's carefully wrapped.

When you're ready to eat some gluten free zucchini bread, just leave a group of slices on your kitchen counter or in the fridge overnight to defrost. Refresh in the microwave or, better yet, your toaster oven on low.

FAQs

Is zucchini gluten free?

Zucchini in its natural state is always gluten free.

What's the best way to grate zucchini for baking?

I find that a box grater is the easiest tool for grating zucchini. I suggest leaving the skins on your zucchini to speed up the preparation process.
Also remember that freshly grated zucchini is loaded with excess moisture, so you'll need to diligently drain it off to maintain the proper ratios for your zucchini bread batter.

Does this bread taste like zucchini?

No! If you're not a fan of veggies, you'll be thrilled to know that the taste of zucchini does not come through in this recipe for gluten free zucchini bread.
Instead, the zucchini adds a ton of moisture to the batter so that you end up with a bread so tender, it's almost like a dessert.

Can I add nuts or dried fruit to this bread?

Absolutely! Feel free to add walnuts, raisins, shredded coconut, and other mix-ins to your zucchini bread. So as not to mess around too much with ingredient ratios, I suggest sticking with one cup or less of mix-ins.

Can I use a different gluten free flour for this zucchini bread recipe?

You're always free to experiment with my recipes by substituting ingredients. Unfortunately, I just can't promise what your final results will be like, and the flour blend choice is the most important one you'll make!
For this recipe, my gluten free all purpose flour of choice comes from Better Batter or Cup4Cup, as discussed one the gf flour blend page. I have not tried using almond flour, coconut flour, or any other blends, so I can't say how they'll turn out — but I wouldn't recommend using any of those flours in anything other than a recipe that was designed to be made with them.

Can I use frozen grated zucchini?

You can use frozen grated zucchini—but only if you had removed most of its moisture before freezing it. Otherwise, frozen zucchini with all its moisture would become mushy as it defrosted. To make this recipe easier and quicker, just grate and drain extra zucchini and then freeze it to use another time. Just let it defrost, gently squeeze out any remaining moisture you didn't remove the first time, and then proceed with the recipe as written.

Can I use this recipe to make gluten free zucchini bread muffins?

I don't like this recipe as muffins, instead of a quick bread. Instead, use this recipe for gluten free zucchini muffins instead. It's perfect! And don't miss our superfood muffins, made with almond flour, grated zucchini, and grated carrots.

Can I use this recipe to make gluten free zucchini bread muffins?

Why did my zucchini bread sink in the middle?

If your bread sank in the middle as it cooled, it wasn't baked all the way through. That may have been because your oven runs hot (most ovens do, including mine), which is why I always recommend baking with a standalone oven thermometer that you replace often. In addition, if you didn't wring enough moisture out of your zucchini, the extra moisture won't be able to bake all the way out, leaving you with a sunken middle and most likely a gummy texture.

Why you need gluten free zucchini baking recipes

When the zucchini plants start to flower, you know you've got to get your recipes ready if you hope to stay ahead of things. Or at least not falling miserably behind. That's why I consider every no-fail recipe for baking with zucchini to be a public service!

Zucchini naturally holds so much moisture, but can be drained of most of it. You can make use of all its moisture and use it in cooking to add creaminess without adding dairy by pureeing it into your tomato soup. Or you can use it in baking in this gluten free zucchini bread, and these other favorite gluten free zucchini recipes:

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Gluten Free Zucchini Bread Recipe

This gluten free zucchini bread is tender, moist, and delicious, uses up tons of fresh vegetables, and you won't believe how easy it is!

Course: Bread, Quick bread

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 50

Yield: 8 slices

Author: Nicole Hunn

Ingredients

1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter here; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
½ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
⅔ cup (4 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips (use dairy free chips to keep the recipe dairy free, if necessary)
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
2 ⅛ cups (215 g) drained grated zucchini (weight is zucchini as drained of liquid; See Recipe Notes)
2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature
¼ cup (56 g) neutral oil (like grapeseed, canola or vegetable oil)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease a standard 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan and set it aside.
In a large bowl, place flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, baking powder and optional cinnamon, and whisk to combine well.
Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl, add about 1 teaspoon of the dry ingredients to the chips and toss to combine. Set the chips aside.
To the flour mixture, add the granulated sugar and light brown sugar, and whisk to combine (working out any lumps in the brown sugar).
Add 1 1/4 cups (125 g) of the grated zucchini to the dry ingredients, and mix gently to combine. Set aside the dry ingredients.
Place the remaining 7/8 cup (88 g) of grated zucchini, the eggs, oil and vanilla in a blender, and pulse until well-blended and beginning to emulsify.
Create a well in the center of the bowl of dry ingredients, and add the wet ingredient mixture. The batter will be very wet.
Add about 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and reserved dry ingredients to the batter and mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Scatter the remaining chocolate chips on top and press down lightly to adhere.
Place the loaf pan in the center of the preheated oven.
Bake, rotating once, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (about 50 minutes).
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes in the loaf pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Notes

Measuring and preparing the zucchini

First, grate at least one medium-size zucchini (but you'll probably need more). Drain the grated zucchini by placing it in in the center of a tea towel (just a kitchen towel with a flat weave that doesn't shed) or even an old t shirt.

Just wrap the cloth around the grated vegetable, and squeeze until as much of the liquid is gone as possible. The shredded and drained zucchini will clump and not feel wet, only damp, to the touch.

Only after the zucchini has been shredded and drained of moisture do you measure it on your digital kitchen scale. Grate and drain more zucchini as necessary to reach the proper amount of zucchini for this recipe.

Nutrition information.

Nutrition information is per slice of a standard 9-inch x 5-inch loaf of zucchini bread. It is an estimate only from online calculators, provided as a courtesy, and should not be relied on under any circumstances.