Healthy Zucchini Banana Bread is the best way to use up fresh zucchini and over ripe bananas. Moistened and sweetened with fruit and veggies, you can’t even tell zucchini is there except for the wonderful moisture it provides!
This is a hybrid of my two favorite breads, banana applesauce bread and healthy zucchini bread.
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Healthy zucchini banana bread is a great idea in summer when bananas are ripening faster than you can eat them, and zucchini are in surplus.
Moistened and sweetened with mostly fruit and veggies, this bread is healthy, easy to make with white or whole wheat flour, and contains virtually no oil.
We love banana bread a lot! I’m not much into yeast but quick breads are easy.
I love the flavor of banana bread so much that as soon as I see banana start to become over ripe, I throw it in a freezer.
When ready to bake, I thaw it on a counter for 30-60 minutes and mash. Even if it’s still a tiny bit frozen.
Why This Recipe Works?
- Easy: Made in one bowl with common baking staples.
- Healthy: Zucchinis are high in fiber but low in calories and rich in vitamin B6. Bananas are high in potassium and add natural sweetness!
- Versatile: This recipe has been tested with three different flours: whole wheat flour, spelt flour and all-purpose flour.
- Less waste: No feeling bad about throwing out your brown spotty bananas!
Ingredients You Will Need
- Bananas: Use very ripe bananas. If making in summer, bananas ripen super fast in heat. Here is tutorial how to freeze bananas, thaw on a counter in an hour (use the liquid as well), and voila.
- Zucchini: We will need 2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini and not squeezed. Yellow summer squash works too.
- Flour: I have tested this bread with both whole wheat flour, spelt flour and all-purpose flour. I think whole grain adds nice nutty touch to bread. I also think whole wheat pastry flour and white whole wheat flour will work.
- Liquid sweetener: Maple syrup, agave, honey, etc. will work. Not dry sweetener like sugar though because it will offset batter consistency.
- Egg and oil: Adds a little bit of moisture and act as a binder. I have not tested with chia egg or flax egg but you could try.
How to Make Healthy Zucchini Banana Bread
Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray bottom and lower 1 inch of the pan to get a good rise.
Grate zucchini and don’t squeeze. There is not need to squeeze excess water out of zucchini for this quick bread! It will add additional moisture to the bread while it bakes.
Wet ingredients: Mash bananas. Then add egg, oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
Whisk well until no small lumps of leavening agents left. Let sit 1 minute and whisk more make sure it is all dissolved.
Dry ingredients: Add whole wheat flour and stir batter until well combined. Do not over mix your healthy banana zucchini bread batter! Over mixing results in a tougher bread or may cause it to bake unevenly.
Batter will and should be thick. Unsqueezed zucchini will release water and “dilute” it into very moist bread.
Then fold in zucchini and give a few more gentle stirs just enough to incorporate.
Bake: For 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- Use very ripe bananas: The more yellow with more brown spots your bananas are, the sweeter the bread will be. Here is a quick tutorial how to ripen bananas fast.
- Do not squeeze zucchini: The water from the zucchini will release while the bread bakes giving it moisture.
No. Zucchini skin is very soft and once baked becomes very tender. So, no need to peel it and discard valuable nutrients.
If you are out of bananas or short on, substitute with applesauce or pumpkin puree. Any mashed soft fruit should work.
Add up to 1/2 cup of things like chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans, mini chocolate chips, raisins, dried dates or cranberries or unsweetened coconut flakes. Stir in gently to the batter before placing in pan to bake.
Making It in Advance
Storing: If you are baking bread in summer, I highly recommend to refrigerate it in a container lined with double paper towel. It is moist without oil and can develop mold in warm conditions fast.
During cooler months, store covered on a counter for 3-4 days. I usually place it in a container with a lid and leave it a bit open for air circulation.
Freezing: Past day 4, I recommend to freeze the bread. Place in Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on a counter for a few hours.
More Zucchini Recipes to Try
- Almond flour zucchini bread
- Healthy chocolate zucchini bread
- Healthy lemon zucchini bread
- Carrot zucchini muffins
- Lemon zucchini bread
More Banana Recipes to Try
- Pumpkin banana bread
- Greek yogurt banana bread
- Coconut flour banana bread
- Oat flour banana bread recipe
- Protein banana bread
- Almond flour banana bread
- Cottage cheese banana bread
You might also enjoy to peruse through my full collection of quick bread recipes!
Healthy Zucchini Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups coarsely grated zucchini not squeezed
- 2 large very ripe bananas mashed (1 cup)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp any mild tasting oil I use avocado oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, spelt flour or all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add egg, oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk until everything is dissolved well. Sometimes if baking soda and powder have lumps, it takes a minute to let them sit and then whisk again.
- Add flour and stir with spatula just until combined. Add zucchini and stir gently until well mixed. Transfer batter into prepared loaf pan, level with spatula and bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, let cool in a loaf pan for 10 minutes and then transfer onto the cooling rack to cool more. Cut with serrated knife into 12 slices and enjoy.
Notes
- Store: If you are baking bread in summer, I highly recommend to refrigerate it in a container lined with double paper towel. During cooler months, store covered on a counter for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Past day 4, I recommend to freeze bread. Place in Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on a counter for a few hours.
- Use very ripe bananas: The more yellow with more brown spots your bananas are, the sweeter the bread will be.
- Do not squeeze zucchini: The water from the zucchini will release while the bread bakes giving it moisture. Also no need to peel it.
Amazing recipe!!!! I love how healthy it is for my family. We have made a total of 5 loaves already. I use 2 bread pans instead of one because it bakes quicker and more evenly. My kiddos are watching and waiting by the oven door. Just wondering if you could use the same recipe but add some cocoa powder to it? Thanks.
So glad you love the bread and your family too! Adding cocoa powder to this recipe might upset the liquid to dry ratio, but would love for you to try healthy chocolate zucchini bread.
Can I omit the maple syrup/honey to make this baby friendly?
You need some type of liquid sweetener or it upsets the liquid to dry ratio. Let us know if you try something!
I tried this for the first time yesterday and love the texture. I did make some adjustments. I used GF one-to-one flour, substituted applesauce for half of the flour and reduced the sugar by about a 1/4. I also added walnuts and dried cranberries. Yummy!
Thanks for letting us know how you made it, glad it turned out great!
This turned out amazing!!! Wish I could leave a picture!!! Tastes amazing! Made it just as it called for with honey as sweetener! Will definitely be on my regular list!!!! Especially during harvest time when we get so much zucchini!!! Thank you for the amazing recipe!!!
So glad you love it, thanks for the rating and review!
I replaced WW Pastry flour for 1/2 of the mix and for some reason, this FILLED the bread pan to the top after mixing. Instinct told me I should’ve split this into 2 loaf pans but I didn’t. Bear in mind I used a glass loaf pan which apparently doesn’t distribute the heat as well as a metal one. What resulted was a 1/2 cooked loaf. Where it cooked, it was great but the entire center was getting no heat (I even cut into segments and tried to bake some more and it just didn’t work either)… Again, good recipe but for some reason I got rise out of the load (another 2 inches) but didn’t cook all the way through… no idea why.
Yes, a glass pan cooks much differently than metal, I would try again with metal! You may want to try all whole wheat flour or spelt flour next time as well and see what the difference is.
When using frozen shredded zucchini do you still keep all of the liquid?
The recipe has not been tested with froze and thawed zucchini, you might want to remove some of the excess liquid that comes from freezing.
After making your Healthy Zucchini Bread and your Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Bread, my absolute favorite, I decided to try your Healthy Banana Zucchini Bread, which now comes in as my second favorite. I made this per your instructions but added both walnuts and raisins. On my second batch, I also added dark chocolate chips. It was as delicious as I knew it would be. Since my garden is doing so well, I know I’ll be making more. My freezer is going to be quite stocked to hold me through our long, cold winters. Your recipes are the best and unmatched. Im so happy to have found your site. Thank you.
Thank you for the kind words and so glad you love the breads and can make them year round!
I had a couple of bananas and some shredded zucchini in the freezer from summer and was looking for a healthier version of zucchini bread. Made this exactly as written except I upped the cinnamon a bit and added a handful of chopped walnuts. I used whole wheat pastry flour and honey as the sweetener. This bread is delicious… beautiful flavor, tender crumb, and just sweet enough. Thank you for sharing it.
So glad you enjoyed it and had a nice taste of summer during winter 🙂
Can I use more all baking powder instead of baking soda?
Baking is a science and any altering of ingredients might change the desired results. That being said – you might be able to use more baking powder, but the recipe has not been tested without baking soda and we can’t guarantee results.
Have made it twice, great recipe!