Zucchini Bread with Pumpkin ♥

Zucchini Bread with Pumpkin, a season-crossing quick bread ♥ AVeggieVenture.com, part zucchini bread, part pumpkin bread, part spice cake. After a healthy makeover, Half the Calories. Great for Make-Ahead & Food Gifts.
Here's an easy, moist quick bread but with identity issues. It's zucchini bread, flecked with barely detectable summer squash. But it's also pumpkin bread, rich in color. And it's a spice cake, packed with cinnamon and nutmeg! I love the season-crossing combination of zucchini and pumpkin in the same loaf, a nod to bidding summer farewell and welcoming the cooler days of fall. It's lovely on Day One but even better on Day Two. Better still? I've given the recipe a healthy makeover, cutting calories by half – though you'd never guess!

Real Food, Comfort Food, Perfect for Late Summer & Early Fall. Budget Friendly. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Great for Make-Ahead & Food Gifts. Rave Reviews.

The First Loaf

Warm out of the oven? Disappointing. But by the next day? Rave reviews.

"Alanna, this is excellent!"
"We warmed it up a little and oh, it tasted good."

This is a moist, flavorful zucchini bread. On first taste, I missed a bit of oomph from currants or walnuts but by the second, the cinnamon and nutmeg took hold and I, too, savored every bite.

This is a winner, a definite keeper.

The Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth & .... Loaves

I've learned to make a double batch or cut a single in half to set aside. That's because Zucchini Bread with Pumpkin smells so good while it bakes that nobody wants to wait a day to dig in! Even on the first day, it's very good, barely sweet, real comfort food.

But by the second day? Ooo-la-la. What a difference a day makes.

COMPLIMENTS!
"... amazing. So flavorful!" ~ Stephanie
"So moist, with a rich sweetness." ~ Darby
"... you're right about the wow factor the next day." ~ Robin
"... indeed better the next day! What a super moist bread!" ~ Daisy
"Delicious ... yummy right out of the oven too ..." ~ Anonymous

Zucchini Bread with Pumpkin, a season-crossing quick bread ♥ AVeggieVenture.com, part zucchini bread, part pumpkin bread, part spice cake. After a healthy makeover, Half the Calories. Great for Make-Ahead & Food Gifts.





RECIPE for ZUCCHINI BREAD with PUMPKIN

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Oven time: 45+ minutes
Time to table: 2 hours but especially good after resting a day
Makes 1 loaf, about 16 slices

1/2 cup (112g) vegetable oil
1 cup (200g) brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup (245g) canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups (250g) grated zucchini from 1 large zucchini, no need to squeeze
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (125g) whole wheat flour or another 1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (yes, tablespoon) cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt

Heat oven to 350F/180C. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray. (If you're out? Try DIY Substitute for Baker's Joy, just three ingredients and works like a charm!)

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the oil and brown sugar until well-mixed, making sure to work out any sugary lumps that seem to come with brown sugar. (Once, I even had to switch to the food processor when those pesky little lumps just wouldn't work themselves out!) Add the eggs and beat until the mixture turns almost syrupy. Add the pumpkin and mix until completely incorporated. (That's because from here on, you want to mix only enough to incorporate the dry ingredients, if there's too much beating, the bread will develop holes.)

In a separate bowl, toss the zucchini and remaining ingredients. Mix this into the batter, mixing only until just combined.

Transfer to the loaf pan and bake for 45 - 60 minutes, checking at 45 minutes by inserting a knife into the center, if it comes out clean the bread is done, if it doesn't, bake for another 5 minutes at a time until the knife does come out clean. With my oven, my pan, my ingredients – versus yours – up to 80 minutes of baking time might be needed.

Let cool for 15 minutes. Gently turn the bread onto a rack and let cool completely. Wrap in foil and let rest at room temperature for flavors to meld overnight or for about 8 hours.


A Veggie Venture - Printer Friendly Recipe Graphic



Still Hungry?



Quick! Quick! More Recipes With These Ingredients

zucchini pumpkin

Baking with Vegetables? Yes! A Few Favorite Recipes

~ Pumpkin Bars ~
~ Carrot Cookies ~
~ Pumpkin Pepita Bread ~
~ Sweet Cornbread ~
~ more baking with vegetables ~

~ Autumn Pumpkin Bread ~
~ Shhh Banana Bread ~
~ Zucchini Bread with Carrot & Candied Ginger ~
~ Spiced Honey Cake ~
~ more quick breads (sweet) ~

~ more quick breads (savory) ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

Seasonal Eating: Late Summer & Early Fall Across the Years

Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Pizza Quick Tomato Sauce Tomato & Rice Salad (< I crave this!) Zucchini Bread with Pumpkin (< lovely for early fall!) Swiss Chard Gratin Broccoli Parmesan Casserole Four Seasons of My Favorite Herb Green Beans with Mayo-Soy Sauce (<< totally easy, so good!) Farmgirl's Swiss Chard Tuna Salad Grilled Cheese BLT Homemade Onion Dip Julia Child's Lentil Salad Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Vinaigrette (<< this week's dramatic favorite!) Raw Butternut Squash Salad Slow Cooker Butternut Squash with Ginger & Dried Fruit Easy Steamed Bok Choy Salad Roasted Salmon with Garden Hash & Creamy Avocado Sauce Warm Lentil Salad with Spinach & Goat Cheese



Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables. Join "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables, seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

© Copyright Kitchen Parade
2005, 2010 & 2020 (repub)
Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 17, 2008

    I was quite doubtful to try this recipe, as the spices are called for in amounts far beyond any other similar recipe that I have. This Zucchini Pumpkin bread is amazing. So flavorful! I went through all my other similar recipes and threw them out after tasting this one. I added a 1/2 tsp of ginger, which I thought added pizzaz on top of the amazing flavor. -Stephanie Morro Bay, CA

    ReplyDelete
  2. No namby pamby spices around here, baby! So glad it worked for you! Love the inspired addition of the ginger.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great recipe! I made a few changes...didn't have quite enough zucchini, so I added 2 grated carrots, and I was out of veggie oil, so I substituted coconut milk (and then added a little grated coconut to the dry ingredients to boost up that flavor). I also ran out of sugar (guess my pantry was a little understocked that day) and substituted agave syrup for the last few tablespoons. The result was AMAZING. So moist, with a rich sweetness. I will definitely make it again...might even try the "real" version sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aiii, Darby, lucky break because that's a lot of changes for a recipe! So glad it worked out well, your instincts (and your pantry) to the rescue!) Thanks for taking the time to let me know ...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I made these as muffins and you're right about the wow factor the next day. The first day they just tasted too sweet but by Day 2 there was a lovely spicey-ness about them.
    Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is indeed better the next day!What a super moist bread!I followed all your suggestions and my 9 month old loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am dying to try this recipe out, but I don't have whole wheat flour. When using unbleached flour, should I still use the same quantity? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Angie - the original recipe called for all-purpose flour so you should be in good stead using the same amount. Let me know how it goes!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJuly 09, 2012

    Delicious - thanks for posting. I made just as you suggested (but stuck with the 100% whole wheat flour because that's what I had). I thought it was yummy right out of the oven too, by the way.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna