Paula Deen Zucchini Bread is a warm, cinnamon-spiced quick bread loaded with fresh grated zucchini and crunchy walnuts. It takes about 15 minutes to mix and one hour to bake, making two full loaves that serve 10. This is the kind of bread that sits on the counter at every church breakfast and potluck in the South.
The thing that makes or breaks this bread is how wet your zucchini is. Paula calls for 2 cups grated, but if you skip squeezing out the extra water, the center stays gummy. Wring it in a clean towel until barely damp, then measure.
You can mix the batter the night before and refrigerate it in the pans. Bake straight from the fridge, adding 5 to 10 extra minutes. The loaves freeze well wrapped in foil for up to three months. Let them cool completely before wrapping or moisture gets trapped inside.
Paula Deen Zucchini Bread
Course: BreakfastCuisine: American, SouthernDifficulty: Easy10
servings15
minutes1
hour680
kcalA dense, moist quick bread with shredded zucchini folded into a cinnamon-nutmeg batter and studded with chopped walnuts, baked in standard loaf pans until golden.
Ingredients
2 cups grated zucchini
1/3 cup water
4 beaten eggs
1 cup Vegetable oil
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped (or pecans) walnuts
Directions
- Preheat and mix: Preheat oven to 350 °F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.
FAQs
How do you keep the bread from being soggy in the middle?
Squeeze as much water as you can out of the grated zucchini before adding it to the batter. Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and twist hard. If the center is still underdone after an hour, tent foil over the top and bake another 10 minutes.
Can you use pecans instead of walnuts?
Pecans work fine and taste a little sweeter. Toast them in a dry skillet for a couple of minutes first so they hold their crunch after baking. The texture of the bread stays the same either way.
How long does zucchini bread last at room temperature?
Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or stored in a sealed container, it stays fresh on the counter for about 3 days. After that, move it to the fridge where it keeps for a full week. Slice before freezing so you can thaw only what you need.
Why does the recipe use so much sugar?
Three cups of sugar for two loaves comes out to about a tablespoon and a half per slice. The sugar balances the mild flavor of the zucchini and helps the crust brown and crisp. Cutting it below 2 cups changes the texture and the loaves come out drier.
Can you make this in a bundt pan instead of loaf pans?
A bundt pan works, but the bake time changes. Check it around 50 minutes with a toothpick. Grease and flour the pan well because the batter sticks more than a standard cake. Let it cool 15 minutes in the pan before flipping.
