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Easy Pureed Zucchini Bread

by erika Published: Oct 19, 2020 Modified: Jan 27, 2025 10 Comments

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Sara Cornelius zucchini bread.

When we were looking for the best zucchini bread recipe, you may recall a reference to a pureed zucchini bread–aka the easiest zucchini bread recipe you’ll ever make. This unique recipe basically tied for fifth place out of twelve recipes in the bake off, submitted by the very talented Sara Cornelius at Cake Over Steak!

Lest you forget, this recipe stood out for its unusual method of pureeing the zucchini in a blender so that it’s ready to incorporate into the batter in seconds! Per Sara:

“This is my very loose adaptation of a recipe my friend gave me. I’ve always hated the process of shredding zucchini and squeezing the water out before making zucchini bread, so I love how this one just has you puree it. It’s definitely on the sweet side, which is probably why I love it. I usually do it plain but I’ve also done it with walnuts before. I’ll be really interested to see if you find any recipes that are kinda similar to it.”

Sara Cornelius

In my research, I only came across one other recipe that also used pureed zucchini. So thank you Sara for introducing us to this cool new technique!

BAKING TIPS

Made as is, the cinnamon will allow the zucchini flavor to shine through with minimal additional flavor besides the sweetness of sugar. Feel free to play around with other flavor boosters like:

  • subbing half brown sugar
  • adding some ground ginger, nutmeg or allspice for a more fall-spiced loaf
  • adding lemon zest
  • lifting the lemon/ginger/nutmeg combo from this delicious loaf?)
  • add a sugar top! Simply sprinkle ~2 tablespoons of granulated or turbinado sugar on top of the loaf prior to baking.
Sara Cornelius zucchini bread.

Sara Cornelius’ Easy Pureed Zucchini Bread Recipe

Erika Kwee
Hate shredding and wringing out zucchini to make banana bread? Try this easy technique of using pureed zucchini to make a uber-soft and smooth, luscious zucchini loaf!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 50 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish, Snack
Servings 2 loaves

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb zucchini (about 2 small)
  • 1 cup vegetable oil 198 grams
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour 390 grams
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)
  • 3 large eggs 150 grams
  • 2 cups sugar 400 grams
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans.
  • Puree the zucchini and oil together in a blender and set aside. 
  • In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and walnuts/chocolate chips (if using).
  • In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add zucchini/oil mixture, mixing until well blended. Add flour mixture and stir until well blended.
  • Divide batter evenly into loaf pans and bake for 45-50 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out with crumbs on it. (I like to put my loaf pans on a sheet pan, just in case there's a disaster and batter spills over the sides.) Wait a couple of minutes to cool and then remove and place on wire racks to continue cooling.

Notes

Per Sara: This also freezes well. I usually cut each loaf into thirds, keep 1/3 out for eating, and put the rest in the freezer to take out 1/3 at a time. I always eat it toasted with butter on it. SO GOOD. 
Keyword loaf, quickbread, zucchini, zucchini bread
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Reader Interactions

Comments

    5 from 1 vote

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Newal

    March 24, 2025 at 12:14 am

    How can I make this without the refined sugar. Can I swap out for maple syrup or honey?

    Reply
    • erika

      March 24, 2025 at 10:31 am

      I haven’t tried this myself but that should work!

      Reply
  2. Darlene

    November 21, 2024 at 3:03 pm

    Delicious!!! I substituted a 1/2 teaspoon of Chinese five spice for 1/2 of the cinnamon. It tastes like the holidays. So good!

    Reply
    • erika

      December 1, 2024 at 5:41 pm

      Love it! Thanks so much for reporting back!

      Reply
  3. David

    August 17, 2023 at 1:30 pm

    Do you purée with the skin on or off?

    Reply
    • erika

      September 13, 2023 at 10:02 am

      Skin on!

      Reply
  4. Barbara

    August 16, 2023 at 1:43 pm

    Did you puree your zucchini raw or cooked?
    About how much would that translate to in volume of pureed zucchini ~1cup?

    Reply
    • erika

      September 13, 2023 at 10:03 am

      I puree it raw! I haven’t measured, but I’d imagine the volume would be slightly less than a cup.

      Reply
  5. Cora

    July 10, 2023 at 9:51 pm

    5 stars
    I love this! Nice and fluffy. I made half of the recipe and baked it in a pie dish for 35 min. Also used brown sugar because I enjoy the flavor. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Tina Garfinkel

    November 21, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    Can’t wait to try this – a great idea!
    Small typo: you’ll want to change the header that refers to shredding zucchini to make banana bread (instead of zucchini bread . . .).

    Thanks for your wonderful site!

    Reply

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