This spiced zucchini carrot bread is the perfect way to enjoy a surplus of summer squash. It’s loaded with shredded fresh zucchini and carrots as well as orange zest, cinnamon nutmeg and walnuts. It’s somewhat reminiscent of morning glory muffins – which I’m a big fan of!

Ingredients:

• Shredded zucchini and carrots – it is not necessary to “wring out” your veggies in this recipe. Just shred them and add straight to the bowl.

• All-purpose flour – I almost always bake with King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with alternate flours like whole wheat or oat but based on similar recipes I’ve baked, I would think you could sub up to half of one of these flours. I also have not tried this recipe with gluten-free flour.

• Baking powder and baking soda

• Salt

• Cinnamon and nutmeg – be sure to add the full two teaspoons of cinnamon! It really makes a difference.

• Coconut oil – softened or melted, you can also substitute vegetable oil or canola oil.

• Sugar and brown sugar – I did a lot of testing with how much sugar to use in this recipe and a half a cup of each was the sweet spot for me.

• Eggs

• Vanilla

• Walnuts – can substitute pecans

• Dried cranberries – can substitute raisins

• Zest of one orange – don’t leave this out! It brightens up the flavor of the bread so much!

I packed this bread with tons of cinnamon and nutmeg, carrots, zucchini, orange zest, dried cranberries, walnuts and coconut oil. The mixture of all of these flavors is so delicious and I swear this bread would also be delicious in cupcake form with cream cheese icing! The orange zest really took it over the top and added so much brightness to the flavor of the bread.

The batter starts out a little dry when you’re mixing together the dry and wet ingredients but as soon as you add the carrots and zucchini it reaches normal consistency due to the amount of moisture they’re holding.

I almost always bake quick breads in my Emile Henry ruffled ceramic loaf pan. I usually line it with parchment paper for ease of getting the bread out of the pan. If you’re looking for a metal option, this nonstick pan is affordable and a solid option for even baking. Finally, I love baking quick breads in these mini loaf pans when I want to give it away to others.

This bread didn’t last three days in my house. It’s one of the top 10 things I have ever baked. I did share a few slices with a friend who just had a baby and she agreed that it gets two thumbs up.

If you do have leftovers that you’d like to keep, this bread freezes beautifully. You can wrap whole loaves in plastic wrap and freeze them. Just pull the loaf out and let it defrost at room temp when you’re ready to serve the brad. Alternatively, you can wrap up individual slices so they’re available when you want a single slice. To enjoy, unwrap the slices from the plastic wrap and wrap in a paper towel. Microwave for about 45 seconds on a power of 50% for perfectly warm bread!

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield:  1 loaf

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup coconut oil (softened or melted, can also sub vegetable or canola oil)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup shredded zucchini

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Zest of one orange

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan with butter or cooking spray. Note, you can also make this into muffins. Prepare a muffin tin with cooking spray or liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Combine wet ingredients with dry. Mixture will be thick and hard to stir.

Add in zucchini and carrots and stir until incorporated into batter. It should become more mixable at this point. Add in walnuts, dried cranberries and orange zest and stir to combine.

Bake for 50-60 minutes (loaf), 18-22 minutes (muffins), or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Start checking the bread early. Baking times will vary depending on your oven.

Let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes and then invert and place on a wire rack to cool completely.