If you are anything like us, when quarantine 2020 started, you might have planted a vegetable garden. Starting the seeds with the kids was a fun activity, plus writing the names of the vegetables on the stakes was great letter practice, too! My neighbors and I were leaving seed packets on porches to trade and make sure we had a variety of seeds to plant with the kids. My efforts at homeschooling are imperfect at best, but gardening is one skill I have in my toolkit. Well, since I have a Master’s degree in agronomy, it’s mandatory that I know how to grow a garden, at least! Luckily, zucchini seeds are large and sprout readily and they grow quickly, too! My toddler had so much fun watering the little pots, and it wasn’t until she said ‘look, Mom, a zucchini flower!’ did I realize that it was time to transplant into the ground. Now, the first few zucchinis are coming in, and my lesson plan of teaching kids the joy of eating what you grow is complete. I’m just waiting for my ‘homeschool teacher of the year’ award to arrive in the mail. Totally kidding–we both know I don’t deserve a medal of any kind, especially related to parenting, hah! Anyway, I modified my mom’s eggless banana bread recipe to make this chocolate chip zucchini bread.
Why I love this chocolate chip zucchini bread recipe:
How to make zucchini bread:
First, combine 1 stick of softened butter with the sugar and honey. Use an electric mixer on HIGH to combine. Beat for 1-2 minutes, until it’s nice and fluffy.
Next, add 2 large eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until combined.
Meanwhile, grate one medium zucchini, and place it inside a kitchen towel. Wrap the zucchini into a small bundle, and then wring the towel over a sink to remove excess water from the zucchini. Removing this water will keep the bread from becoming overly wet or soggy. You want to ring it to remove the water 3 or 4 times.
Then, add the zucchini to the bowl and beat to combine.
In order to keep this recipe one-bowl, I like to measure the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt right into the bowl. Typically, I sprinkle these ingredients evenly over the surface of the bowl to help with combining, but for the sake of showing you the ingredients in the photo, I didn’t do this.
Scrape the batter into a 9” bread loaf pan lined with parchment paper in one direction. You can spray the exposed ends with cooking spray if you like, but I didn’t find this to be necessary. These are not non-stick pans, but a properly cooked bread typically releases from the pan once its cooled just fine. This is true for cakes and breads made with butter, not oil, because butter solidifies at room temperature.
Bake for 45 minutes, and test with a toothpick to ensure that only moist crumbs are clinging to it before removing. I just hung a new oven thermometer in my oven and discovered my oven is running hot, so please test with a toothpick before removing the bread.
Let the bread cool in the pan as long as you can before slicing. I know chocolate chip zucchini bread is hard to resist, but the bread will fall apart if you cut it while it’s hot. Also, letting it cool off will help the butter in the cake firm up and release from the pan.
Other quick bread recipes:
Easy Pumpkin Bread Optional add-ins: ¼ cup wheat germ, ½ cup pecans or nuts of your choice.
OXO Grater Cuisinart Handheld Mixer with Storage Case, White Aluminum Bread Pan, 9 Inches
Eggless Banana Bread Chocolate Banana Muffins Zucchini Muffins with Lemon
