You won’t believe how delicious this gluten free zucchini bread is! The secret is the gluten free baking tips that will change the way you bake!
Growing up on a farm, my family always planted a big garden. Zucchini were always plentiful so we were always looking for recipes to make good use of them! Every year we would make zucchini bread muliple times.
As an adult, when we finally owned a house, I started my own garden. We planted tomatoes, peppers, green beans, kale, onions, and of course zucchini. My daughter would tell everyone she was growing “zucchini bread.”
My go-to recipe over the years was the Zucchini Nut Bread from Taste of Home. If you aren’t gluten free, you can check that out right now. It’s delicious!
When I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I knew I had to come up with a way to keep this bread a tradition in our family.
I did some research and some trial runs to find the best way to make amazing gf zucchini bread.
I finally came up with an easy recipe that uses a simple store-bought gluten-free flour blend.
The game changer for me what finding some amazing gluten-free baking tips on America’s Test Kitchen. Here’s the highlights:
Successful Gluten Free Baking Tips
♥ Add an extra egg when you are converting a recipe to gluten free! This will give it a lighter, fluffy texture.
♥ For best results, let your batter sit for at least 30 minutes covered. For this particular recipe, we can just leave it on the counter top at room temperature because the eggs being out 30 minutes won’t hurt. Surprisingly, many gluten free bakeries leave their batter in refrigerator overnight and bake the next day!
♥ Bake 10 minutes past the “toothpick” check. This means you will have to keep an eye on your bread at the end of the bake time. I like to set several timers, to ensure that I don’t miss the toothpick check mark. Once you can insert a toothpick in the center of the loaf and it comes out clean, bake for 10 more minutes to avoid a gummy texture.
♥ Lastly, you need to let your gluten-free bread cool completely before cutting into it. This is the hardest one for me, because I love warm bread. However, if you want to avoid gummy texture, you’ve got let the bread cool.
Game changers? Absolutely! Now let’s get started on this Best Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread recipe!
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Gluten Free Zucchini Bread Ingredients
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of canola oil
4 eggs (this includes the extra egg I was talking about!)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (this stuff is amazing!)
1 teaspoon of salt
A teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups of shredded zucchini (Measure carefully and level. I wouldn’t add more than that.)
Instructions:
If you haven’t already shredded your fresh zucchini, go ahead and do that! I like to use my Kitchen Aid Mixer for the job! It’s so fast and easy!
All you need to do is use a grating attachment. Gone are the days of shredding by hand with a box grater (and shredding your hands!)
If you haven’t invested in a Kitchen Aid Mixer yet, I absolutely recommend it. We’ve had ours for over 10 years and it’s been well used and totally worth it!
Alright, now that your grated zucchini is ready, let’s bake!
Grease two loaf pans with butter. I used glass Pyrex 1.5 Quart Loaf pans. The size of your pan and the material your loaf pan is made from WILL affect the way your bread cooks. If you use something different, you will need to tweak your bake time.
In a large bowl, combine your sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed. (I use the Kitchen Aid for this!)
In another bowl, mix the gf flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder. Next, adding just a little bit at a time, add your dry ingredients flour mix into your wet ingredients sugar mixture.
Last, add your zucchini and mix thoroughly. I use the Kitchen Aid mixer for this step.
Cover and let it sit on the counter top for at least 30 minutes. This is going to allow your flour to soak in the extra moisture it needs. I like cover mine with a dishtowel but you could also use plastic wrap.
Set a timer for 30 minutes. When it goes off, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pour your batter into 2 oven safe greased loaf pan dishes.
Baking
Place in the oven and bake for 60 minutes. Do a toothpick check to see if it comes out clean. If it does, continue to bake for 10 more minutes. If you didn’t pass the toothpick check, continue to monitor in 5 minute increments until you do.
Once your loaves have baked the extra 10 minutes, it’s time to let them cool. Let them cool completely before cutting in to avoid gummy texture.
So, bake time will be about 70 minutes total. Ovens vary, and pans vary so keep that in mind and keep a close watch. Your bread may take more or less time to bake.
And that’s it! The Best Gluten Free Zucchini Bread recipe! I hope you enjoy some amazing gluten free zucchini bread really soon!
FAQ about Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
Should I squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini?
No. I do NOT squeeze the moisture out of the grated zucchini. If your zucchini is excessively wet, you might consider gently draining it, but I wouldn’t squeeze it. The moisture from the zucchini is what makes the bread moist.
Can I substitute a different kind of gf flour for Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1?
Most gluten free recipes require a flour blend. Meaning, it isn’t just flour. It has other elements in it besides like xanthan gum or a blend of flours. I like to use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 because it makes this simple.
There are other gluten free 1 to 1 flour brands out there. The key is that it has to be a flour blend labeled as a 1 to 1 substitution.
Other Gluten Free Articles You Might Enjoy:
If you loved this recipe, be sure to check out my Gluten Free Banana Muffins recipe. It’s another family favorite for breakfast!
This Gluten Free Chocolate Lush Dessert is a real crowd pleaser! It’s one of my go-to gluten-free recipes when I am asked to bring a dessert to an event.
We make this Surprisingly Easy Gluten Free Ice Cream Cake for birthdays! The next time you need a make-ahead dessert with simple ingredients – give this delicious dessert a try!
If you still have an abundance of zucchini to use up, be sure to check out this Kid-Friendly Grilled Zucchini Recipe. It’s one of our favorite gluten-free zucchini recipes because it’s fast and delicious!
Don’t miss these Gluten Free Pudding Dirt Cups. Kids absolutely LOVE these! And it’s a bit of nostalgia for some of us…what’s better than eating gummy worms in chocolate dirt?! What fun!
Want our go-to birthday cake frosting recipe? Check out this Gluten free Vanilla Buttercream frosting. It’s super simple and totally delicious. Perfect for frosting cupcakes or decorating a birthday cake. It’s versatile and truly a delicious recipe that is perfect for non-gluten free people as well.
Print the Best Zucchini Bread Recipe
This moist zucchini bread is our favorite quick bread recipe. It’s a great option during zucchini season for breakfast or a delicious snack. The printable recipe card for this great recipe is directly below.
The Best Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
Equipment
- Kitchen Aid Mixer
- 2 Bowls
- 2 Glass loaf pans
Ingredients
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup Canola oil
- 4 Eggs (this includes the extra egg)
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 3 Cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Baking powder
- 3 cups Shredded Zucchini – Measure carefully and level.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine your sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed.
- In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder.
- Next, adding just a little bit at a time, add this flour mix into your sugar mixture.
- Last, add your zucchini and mix thoroughly.
- Cover and let it sit on the counter top for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pour your batter into the greased loaf pans.
- Bake for 60 minutes. Do a toothpick check to see if it comes out clean. If it does, continue to bake for 10 more minutes.
- If you didn't pass the toothpick check, continue to monitor in 5 minute increments until you do. Bake time is about 70 minutes.Let them cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
- Add an extra egg when converting
from a normal recipe. (This recipe
already has the extra egg included.) - Let your batter sit for at least 30
minutes covered. - Bake 10 minutes past the “toothpick”
check. - Let your bread cool completely
before cutting into it to avoid gummy
texture.
Want to save this Gluten Free Zucchini bread for later? Pin the image below to your Gluten Free Living board on Pinterest.
this looks so good and yummy. thanks for sharing 🙂
Absolutely! Hope you get to enjoy some delicious bread soon!
mighty impressive recipe!
so yummy.
thanks for sharing!
Happy to share! It’s delightful!
Looks so good. Do you think if I veganize this it would come out as delicious? 🤔
I think you could try an egg replacement product. You might have to play with the bake time a bit. Let me know if you do and how it turns out!
My batter does not look at all like yours. Is there any other liquid aside from the four eggs? Is it missing from the recipe?
The zucchini itself will add quite a bit of moisture.
I meant is there any other liquid aside from the eggs and the oil.
The only liquids are the eggs, oil, and vanilla, but your zucchini will add a surprising amount of moisture! Hope it turns out delicious for you!
I have always squeezed all the moisture out of the zucchini after grating it. ( for regular bread ) am I to understand with this recipe do not squeeze the zucchini moisture out ?
I did NOT squeeze the moisture out of the grated zucchini. I haven’t found that my zucchini was excessively wet, but if you do, I wouldn’t squeeze moisture out, but perhaps gently drain it. I have not tried this with frozen zucchini yet (I do plan to in the future). When I freeze it, I expect there will be more moisture than I want so I expect I will drain some of that off. Hope that helps!
This could be the perfect bread recipe for my gluten free neighbors! I like to bake up some yummy breads in the Fall as gifts for my neighbors and I think this one will work perfectly.
Great! I hope everyone enjoys it!
Thank you for these gluten free baking tips – they are excellent, and I’m saving them for future reference! I love cooking, but I admit that baking is where I still have a lot of learning to do. Fortunately I am a very willing student. 🙂
I didn’t know about the kitchen aid grater attachment! I think I need to look into that ! Love these GF tips, I don’t have to eat GF but find my body is happier in general when I limit it so these tips are very helpful ☺️
We LOVE our kitchen aid attachment set. Makes grating so simple! Hope you get to enjoy some gf zucchini bread soon! 🙂
I know why you call this bread amazing!! It is definitely amazing!! I have celiac disease and am always on the lookout for amazing baked goodies. I will keep this one on hand. The texture is perfect!!
Thanks Lisa! That made my day! I knew I had a winner when my kids really dug in and my guests kept going back for seconds! Glad you enjoyed it!
Okay so this is the first gf anything I’ve baked. I was worried when my batter looked too runny, BUT THIS TURNED OUT SO GOOD. I also added DF chocolate chips to one of my pans and it also turned out great.
YAY Shanda! That makes me smile! And chocolate chips sound like an amazing addition. I’ll have to try that sometime soon!
First time baking gf and this will be the recipe I use .. so ty .. does baking in glass or metal loaf pans make any difference in time etc .. tysvm
Hi there! I always use glass loaf pans, so my timing is based on glass pans. If you choose to use a metal loaf pan, I believe the general rule of thumb is that it cooks about 10 minutes faster. You will want to diligently do a toothpick check to see if that rule of thumb applies.
Can I use almond flour for this recipe? That is what I have on hand. I am trying to bake some zucchini bread for my son who has Celiac’s. The recipe I made today just replacing regular flour with almond flour was a complete flop. Maybe it was because I didn’t leave the batter sit before baking?
I have never used almond flour for this recipe. I don’t think I would recommend it as I would guess that you would also need to add other elements like xanthan gum, other flour blends, etc. I love to use the 1 to 1 flour because it already has those items in it and you will get excellent results.
Can you use butter instead of canola oil? Or coconut oil?
Honestly, I haven’t tried substituting anything different for the canola oil. Please let me know if you try it!
I think coconut oil would be your best substitution. This article says that you can use it 1:1 in place of oil. https://www.thekitchn.com/baking-with-coconut-oil-what-you-should-know-238333 I believe you could also substitute butter for canola oil.
I got so many compliments on this bread! Everyone loves it so much! Making 2 more loaves today!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed this gluten Free zucchini bread recipe! My family agrees – it’s SO good!
Can I use vegetable oil rather than canola?
Yes! I’ve used vegetable oil and that works just as well as canola oil.
Also wondering if you use 1or 2cups of sugar as the amount is listed differently in the 2 lists of ingredients
Oh thank you for catching that! It’s 2 cups of sugar!
Thanks Crystal! I’m new to gluten free and love making breads for a snack. This recipe is so good! Will be making it again for my whole family!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! My family LOVES this recipe too!
Just made this recipe today, can’t even tell its gluten-free. My adult son and his friend tried a piece but couldn’t stop at just one.
Yay! Thanks for sharing! So glad you enjoyed it!
Have you ever used dethawed frozen zucchini? Lots of water! 3 cups of zucchini turned into more like 2 cups of zucchini, and at least a cup of water
I have not used frozen zucchini for this recipe. My best guess would be that you will need to drain off some of the liquid so that it is more like the consistency of fresh zucchini.
Excellent, I am going to try with a bit of orange zest and cranberries next time. You definitely do need to let the batter rest, it made a difference and I will try with other recipes too. Thank you
Awesome! And thanks for sharing!