Zucchini Applesauce Bread. One of my favorite recipes of all time. Seriously all time. I use it at work to sneak veggies into a dish where the kids won't notice then, sans chocolate chips of course, and they LOVE IT! The applesauce cuts down on the sugar content and there's not even any dairy! I can't use coconut at work (FDA ruled it a nut ๐ and we're a nut free facility) so I use plain old vegetable or canola oil but I'm sure coconut oil would work just fine.
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Speaking of work....I won an award!!!!!!!!!! Parents and teachers nominate the staff at their kids' ย centers throughout the entire region for the Awards of Excellence. There was a big snazzy ceremonyย (that I didn't attend...oops), and it turns out, I won one!!! The Caring for Others award :-). In case you're wondering just what that is:
Caring for Others Award The Caring for Others Award recognizes individuals directly supporting members of the Bright Horizons family who go above and beyond in their daily interactions with colleagues. They put serving others first. They are approachable, follow through with a sense of urgency, and are recognized as the go-to people who willingly offer help, patience, and responsiveness to anyone in need. They build strong relationships with their internal customers through proactive outreach and develop creative solutions to resolve challenging situations. These recipients embody the "why not" approach to all with whom they interact. - Bright Horizons Family Solutions
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I was pretty excited. Being a chef at a early childhood development center has been an amazing experience, but, in a school, the kitchen can sometimes get overlooked. After this award, I've never felt more appreciated at my job!
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Well. That was quite the tangent but I just had to share! Back to the food. So, as I said, one of my favorite recipes. Healthy, moist, delicious bread with vegetables to boot! I add chocolate chips at home because I'm a legit chocoholic, but if you want to say truly healthy just omit them. We ate it as a dessert the other day and felt pretty good about it! Just as good as a slice of cake without all the guilt. What could be better??
Zucchini Applesauce Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ยฝ tsp baking soda
- 1 ยผ tsp cinnamon
- ยผ tsp nutmeg
- ยผ tsp allspice
- ยพ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ยฝ tsp salt
- 2 cups zucchini, grated
- โ cup + 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- โ cup + 2 tablespoon applesauce
- ยฝ cup chocolate chips (optional)
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350หF. Grease a 9X5 loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, vanilla extract and salt. Stir in zucchini, applesauce, and vegetable oil.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. If using the chocolate chips, stir them in here.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes. Turn loaf out onto a wire rack and cool for another 5 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
Julie is Hostess At Heart says
Congratulations on your award. I would say that this indeed an award! This bread looks amazing. I have made zucchini bread and cake, but haven't in quite a while. This is the perfect reminder to do so!
aberdeenjenae says
Thank you so much! I've never made zucchini cake before, that sounds wonderful.
maplesyrupgirls says
looks delicious! cant wait to try!
CakePants says
This looks super tasty! I love sneaking in extra fruit/veggies into baked goods. Congrats on your award!
aberdeenjenae says
Thank you! It really is a great way to sneak healthy foods into delicious bites.
Dan says
I was skeptical with the zucchini chocolate combination, but now am amazed with it. This bread is quite the sweet treat.
Luanne Reinbold says
This is delicious!Zucchini bread with applesauce and half a cup chocolate chips .Its a hit! ๐
Kara says
I made quite a few changes to this, but what I came up with in the end was very delicious! I used white whole wheat flour, reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup. Used a mix of melted butter and melted coconut oil and reduced the amount a little bit, but increased the applesauce to make up the difference. I also added 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seeds and sprinkled the top with hemp seeds. Even with all of my changes it was completely delicious!
Aberdeen says
Wow!! That sounds amazing ????.
Amanda says
Love this bread!
Don says
Made it! Awesome!
Aberdeen says
Thank you so much!
Michelle morsles says
I am making it right this second. I noticed that your recipe doesn't call for baking powder like so many other zucchini bread recipes do. Is there a reason for that? It is now going on 1 hour and 20 minutes and the toothpick is not clean when checking for readiness.
Aberdeen says
Hi Michelle! Thanks for your question. It always seemed to rise just fine without the baking powder! The amount of time can vary depending on your oven and the size of your baking pan. If you do want to add baking powder, I'd maybe start with a teaspoon and see how it goes. Hope that helps!
Ellen says
Iโm just wondering, when measuring out the 2 cups of flour, should it be โpacked inโ or just measured more loosely.
Thanks!
Aberdeen says
Measured more loosely! I never pack in flour, only brown sugar ๐.
Debbi says
Hi there, you didnโt mention whether you need to squeeze out excess water from the zucchini. So I partially squeezed, but was still pretty wet. I have just popped it in the oven with fingers crossed, but for future reference, yes or no to the squeezing?
Thanks
Lou says
Love the bread, I added carrots and chopped walnuts with blueberries! Itโs wonderful!
Aberdeen says
What a great idea! Might have to that to my next batch ๐.
Jae says
Absolutely delicious!
Elisabeth Small says
JUst made this and it is delicious! Also, I wanted to let you know that , although retired now, I worked for Bright Horizons for almost 18 years! Great company. Congratulations on your Award of Excellence!
Aberdeen says
Thank you ๐๐, so glad you liked the bread!
Heather says
Wondering if you can use all apple sauce instead of the oil?
Elle says
This was a hit at my child's preschool holiday party! I had only one cup of zucchini, so I added a cup of shredded carrots. It worked great swapping half the flour amount for whole wheat flour. Thanks!