Healthy Vegan Zucchini Bread

I am super excited to share today's healthy vegan zucchini bread recipe! I had so much fun baking this loaf. Not only is the flavor delicious, but this whole foods plant based zucchini bread recipe contains 5 vegetables! Basically you can make this dessert loaf and call it a salad ;).

Why Bake With Zucchini:

Growing up I don't think I ever once saw a vegetable in a baked good (carrot cake doesn't count lol). When I got really into baking when I was younger I started exploring all kinds of baked goods. When I found zucchini bread I thought it was the strangest thing.

However those days were long before I embarked on my health journey. Now days I obsessed with healthy eating, and I am always looking to find ways to incorporate extra veggies. To my surprise hidden vegetable desserts can be a real treat! This healthy vegan zucchini bread is the perfect nutrient dense dessert recipe!

Zucchini adds volume and moisture to this loaf to create the most delicious healthy vegan dessert! If you're looking to cook without oil, I definitely recommend using zucchini. It replaces the moist factor that oil typically provides. It's the perfect low-fat and low-calorie substitute.

Not only does zucchini lower the calories and add moisture, but it also adds nutrition! Zucchini is high in Vitamin A, Magnesium, Vitamin C, Fiber, and many other nutrients.

Why This Is The Best Vegan Zucchini Bread:

This Healthy Vegan Zucchini Bread is one of my favorite vegan dessert recipes, because it doubles as a breakfast and dessert recipes. I live alone, so many recipes I make I end up eating for days in a row. I am a dessert for breakfast type of girl. However there is a limit to the amount of Coconut banana cream pie slices I can have in a row!

This is why this vegan zucchini bread is the best. It works perfectly as both a dessert, or a meal prepped breakfast. When I was in college and working early shifts as a barista I loved recipes like this. I could prep the recipe and have it ready to go for a quick and healthy breakfast.

How To Naturally Sweeten Vegan Desserts:

Making whole foods plant based desserts that are naturally sweetened can be a bit of a struggle. I feel like every day they are coming out with a new sweetener that is essentially just sugar marketed in a new way. Luckily for you I have done the research and I have gotten to the bottom of which plant based sweeteners are healthy and which are a scam.

My rule of thumb when it comes to natural sweeteners is to always go for the one that is the most familiar, and close to its natural form. There's plenty of sweeteners like Xylitol, Stevia and Monk fruit that are considered natural, but have been stripped of their nutrients. I try to stay away from these.

Instead I use whole foods plant based sweeteners. I used one of my all-time favorites for this healthy vegan zucchini bread: date sugar. I love date sugar, because it is literally just ground up dates. Date sugar is great, because it is nutrient dense and high fiber. These are key whenever looking for a plant based sweeteners.

Some of my other favorite nutrient dense sweeteners include: Maple Crystals, Date Syrup, Applesauce, Bananas, Raisins, the list goes on! All of these sweeteners are full of nutrients and fiber. There are so many natural sweeteners out there, just make sure you're looking for high nutrients and not low calorie!

What makes this recipe healthy?

I know that being vegan is a very trendy thing right now, and I am totally here for it! However, with that there comes a lot of overly processed vegan products. Processed food is something you will not find here at The All Natural Vegan. I am committed towards making whole foods plant based recipes. This means that every single recipe on this website was not only recreated to be free of animal products and overly processed and artificial ingredients, but to be made using clean simple foods straight from the ground (mostly!)

This recipe features simple ingredients, because I wanted to show you that eating healthy can be done with simple ingredients you can find at any grocery store. Plant based eating is for everyone, not just celebrities and rich people (both of which I am most definitely not lol). This recipe is perfect for new vegans, or Veganuary.

Why I Love IYA Foods Gluten-Free Vegan Superfood Baking Flour:

This vegan zucchini bread recipe sets itself apart from other zucchini bread recipes because of one special ingredient: IYA Foods Gluten-Free Vegan Superfood Baking Flour. Zucchini bread is traditionally considered a healthy bread recipe, because it contains a vegetable and is typically lower in sugar than other dessert breads.

However, many recipes still contain processed sugars, oils, and refined flours. Like I said before, this recipe is free of all those ingredients, and contains extra vegetables instead. This gluten-free zucchini bread recipe contains 5 vegetables all thanks to IYA Foods baking flour. This flour blend is made from 7 nutrient dense flours that include: Cassava Flour, Pea Protein, Cauliflower Powder, Butternut Squash Powder, Fonio Flour, Brown Rice Flour, and Tapioca Flour.

Does it get any better than that? The way I look at it is this healthy zucchini bread recipe is basically like eating a salad because it's full of so many vegetables! Okay, I'll admit that was a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea!

I love the IYA flour, because it works so well, and doesn't leave any weird tastes. I have become obsessed with replacing other flours with it, because it's so healthy and so delicious!

Ingredients For This Healthy Vegan Zucchini Bread:

Wet Ingredients:

• Zucchini
• Soy milk
• Apple cider vinegar
• Vanilla extract
• Flax eggs

Dry Ingredients:

• Oat flour
• IYA Foods Gluten-free Vegan Superfood Baking Flour
• Ground flaxseed
• Date sugar
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Walnuts

How To Make This Gluten-free Vegan Zucchini Bread:

Making this healthy vegan zucchini bread recipe is actually very simple. As with most vegan and gluten-free recipes you will need a few extra ingredients, however I can assure you that this recipe is simple and easy.

You will begin by preheating your oven to 350. I've made this recipe in a toaster oven and a standard oven and it worked great both times. Next, make your flax egg and set aside until the egg texture forms.

Sift all the dry ingredients except the walnuts together in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl shred your zucchini using a cheese grater. Add apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, flax egg, and soy milk to the bowl and mix.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and add the walnuts. Pour the batter into a nonstick pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until you can poke the loaf with a toothpick and it comes out clean. Poke a hole with a knife to ensure it is finished. Let cool 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions:

What Can I Substitute For Oil In Zucchini Bread?

Many zucchini bread recipes call for oil. However this is an oil-free zucchini bread recipe that requires no oil substitute. The zucchini makes the bread moist already, therefore there is no need for added oil. If you want the moistest loaf, make sure to use unsweetened soy milk as your plant based milk.

Should You Squeeze The Water Out Of Zucchini For Bread?

I am not ashamed to admit that this recipe took many tests to get the texture just right. When I was developing it I kept ending up with a loaf that was way too moist. I thought I could just make it like any other loaf. However since the zucchini adds so much moisture you'll need to add more flour. Therefore for this zucchini bread recipe I wouldn't recommend squeezing out the liquid.

Why Is Zucchini Bread Good For You?

Zucchini bread is good for you if you make it good for you. If you load up the recipe with refined sugars and processed oils, it will not be healthy for you - no matter how much zucchini it contains. However this Healthy Zucchini Bread Recipe is the best healthy recipe, because it is not only free of all the unhealthy ingredients, but it is loaded with superfoods. Thanks to IYA Foods this loaf contains extra veggies!

Related Recipes:

• Vegan Cranberry Orange Bread
• Whole Foods Plant Based Banana Bread
• Apple Cider Chai Bread
• Healthy Vegan Chocolate Cake