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Bread machine zucchini bread is the easiest quick bread you can make. Five minutes of prep, no yeast, no rise time, and the machine bakes a moist, tender, lightly spiced loaf in about 90 minutes. Excellent way to use up a glut of summer zucchini.
Most bread machine recipes are yeast breads, but a bread machine can also bake quick breads (chemically leavened with baking powder and baking soda) like this zucchini bread, or banana bread, and pumpkin bread. The “Cake” or “Quick Bread” cycle on most modern bread machines is designed exactly for this: it skips the rise phase and just mixes and bakes. The result is a tender, lightly sweet loaf with the same character as oven-baked zucchini bread, with five minutes of work instead of fifteen.
I’ve tested this recipe in my Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme (which has a horizontal pan that works really well for quick breads) and in a Cuisinart bread machine. The recipe scales for 1 1/2-pound and 2-pound machines. See the Variations section below for chocolate chip, nut, gluten-free, and reduced-sugar versions, or browse my full collection of bread machine recipes.
Notes From My Kitchen
This recipe is adapted from the manual that came with my Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme bread machine, which I picked up to replace my old Sunbeam after it got knocked off the counter. The Zojirushi’s horizontal pan really does make a difference for quick breads; vertical-pan machines work fine, but the horizontal shape gives a more even bake and a loaf that looks like a regular oven-baked quick bread.
We make this most often in late July and August when the garden zucchini gets out of hand. By the time we’ve worked through pickle relish, fritters, and zucchini boats, this loaf is the easy answer for the rest of the harvest. The kids eat it for breakfast all week.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Makes: 1 loaf, about 10 slices
- Active prep: 10 minutes (mostly grating the zucchini)
- Total time: about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours (varies by machine)
- Machine size: Works in 1 1/2 lb and 2 lb machines with the same recipe
- Machine setting: Cake or Quick Bread cycle (no rise time), medium crust
- Flour: 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- Leavening: 2 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp baking soda (no yeast in this recipe)
- Zucchini: 2 cups shredded, do not squeeze out the moisture
Ingredients for Bread Machine Zucchini Bread
This is a chemically leavened quick bread, not a yeast bread, so the ingredient list looks more like a cake than like sandwich bread. The zucchini provides moisture; baking powder and baking soda provide the rise. No yeast, no kneading, no rise phase.
The recipe is written for the standard size and works in 1 1/2-pound, 2-pound, and 3-pound machines without adjustment. Add the wet ingredients to the pan first, then the flour island on top, then the remaining dry ingredients on top of the flour. The zucchini goes in either with the wet ingredients (for a delay timer or simpler hands-off bake) or at the mix-in beep (for the best texture).
- Eggs (3 large, beaten): Beat them lightly in a small bowl before adding to the pan; this helps them incorporate evenly. Three eggs is the right amount for the structure of this loaf; don’t reduce.
- Vegetable oil (1/2 cup): Any neutral oil works (canola, grape seed, avocado oil, etc.). Light olive oil is fine; extra virgin olive oil overpowers the flavor. Coconut oil works but solidifies in cold ingredients, so warm it slightly first. Melted butter substitutes 1:1 for a richer flavor.
- All-purpose flour (2 cups, 250 g): King Arthur All-Purpose is what I use. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level with a knife; don’t scoop directly from the bag (this packs the flour and gives you closer to 280 g, which produces dry bread). If you weigh, use 250 g.
- Sugar (3/4 cup): White granulated sugar gives the cleanest flavor. Light brown sugar (packed) substitutes 1:1 and adds a subtle molasses note (one reader’s favorite swap). For a less sweet loaf, reduce to 1/2 cup; the bread is still good but distinctly less dessert-like.
- Baking powder (2 tsp) and baking soda (1 tsp): Both are needed; they work together. Don’t substitute one for the other. Make sure they’re fresh (less than 6 months past their date) for a good rise.
- Salt (1/2 tsp): Balances the sweetness and brightens the spices.
- Cinnamon (1 tsp) and allspice (1/2 tsp): The classic warm spice combination for zucchini bread. For a more complex flavor, add 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/4 tsp ginger. Pumpkin pie spice (1 1/2 tsp) substitutes for the cinnamon and allspice combined.
- Zucchini (2 cups, shredded): About 1 medium zucchini (8 to 10 inches long). Use the medium holes on a box grater. Don’t peel; the skin disappears in the bake. Don’t squeeze out the moisture the way you would for traditional oven zucchini bread; this recipe relies on that moisture to keep the loaf tender. For a slightly moister loaf, increase to 2 1/2 cups (the most common reader-tested fix for dryness).
Flour notes: All-purpose is the standard choice and gives the most reliable result. Whole wheat flour can be substituted for up to half of the all-purpose (so 1 cup whole wheat + 1 cup all-purpose); a fully whole wheat version is denser. Gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour (like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1) works in equal amounts; one reader confirmed this. Spelt or einkorn can replace 1/2 to 1 cup of the all-purpose for a nutty flavor.
About the dryness issue: the single most common reader complaint is dry bread. The two main causes are scooped flour (which packs in 15 to 20% more flour than spooned and leveled) and old leavening (which fails to rise enough). Spoon and level your flour, use fresh baking powder and soda, and the recipe consistently turns out moist. If you’re at high altitude or your machine runs hot, try increasing the zucchini to 2 1/2 cups. For more bake-related troubleshooting, see my Bread Machine Troubleshooting Guide.
How to Make Bread Machine Zucchini Bread
Quick bread is a different process from yeast bread. There’s no kneading to watch and no rise to time. The machine just mixes for a few minutes, then bakes for the rest of the cycle. Two methods work: adding the zucchini at the mix-in beep (best texture), or adding the zucchini with the wet ingredients (simpler, works with the delay timer).
Step 1. Beat the eggs in a small bowl, then add to the bread pan along with the oil. Wet ingredients go in first, just like a yeast bread.
Step 2. Add the flour on top of the wet ingredients to create an island. Don’t mix; the flour should sit on top of the wet ingredients in a layer.
Step 3. Add the remaining dry ingredients on top of the flour. Sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. They can pile up; the machine will mix everything together.
Step 4. Set the zucchini aside (do not add yet). The zucchini goes in later, at the mix-in beep, so it doesn’t get pulverized in the early mixing.
Step 5. Select the Cake or Quick Bread cycle and medium crust. The cycle name varies by machine: Zojirushi calls it “Cake,” Cuisinart calls it “Quick Bread/Cake,” older Sunbeam and Oster machines may call it “Quick” or “Sweet” (read your manual to confirm there is no rise time in the cycle you select). Press start.
Step 6. After 5 to 10 minutes (or at the mix-in beep), open the lid and add the shredded zucchini. Use a silicone spatula to scrape down any flour stuck to the sides of the pan and gently fold the zucchini into the batter. Close the lid and let the cycle continue.
Step 7. Let the machine complete the cycle without opening the lid again. The total cycle is typically 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on your machine. The bread is done when the cycle ends; if the top still looks wet, let it sit on the keep-warm cycle for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 8. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack. Let it cool completely (at least 1 hour) before slicing. Quick breads slice cleanly only when fully cool; warm slices crumble.
Recipe Tips
Spoon and level your flour. The single most common cause of dry zucchini bread is scooped flour. Scooping packs the flour into the measuring cup and gives you closer to 300 g instead of the 250 g the recipe calls for. Spoon flour into the cup and level with the back of a knife, or weigh it.
Don’t squeeze the zucchini. Traditional oven zucchini bread recipes often tell you to squeeze the moisture out of the shredded zucchini; this bread machine recipe relies on that moisture. Skip the squeeze.
For the best texture, add zucchini at the mix-in beep. Adding zucchini with the wet ingredients works (and is essential if you want to use the delay timer), but the texture is slightly better when zucchini is folded in after the initial mixing. The mix-in beep on most machines goes off about 5 to 10 minutes into the cycle.
If your bread tends to come out dry, increase the zucchini. Several readers have reported success going from 2 cups to 2 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini. The result is a slightly denser, distinctly moister loaf. This is the easiest fix if spooning the flour didn’t solve the problem.
Cool completely before slicing. Quick breads tear when sliced warm. A full hour on a wire rack is worth the wait. The flavor also develops as it cools; day-two zucchini bread is genuinely better than day-one.
Variations
This recipe is the baseline for several easy variations. Each is a simple tweak from the base recipe:
- Chocolate chip zucchini bread: Add 3/4 cup of chocolate chips at the mix-in beep along with the zucchini. Semi-sweet, dark, or mini chips all work. Keep the zucchini at 2 cups; chocolate chips don’t add moisture.
- Walnut or pecan zucchini bread: Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans at the mix-in beep. Toast the nuts for 5 minutes at 350°F first for the best flavor. The original Zojirushi-manual version of this recipe included nuts and candied orange peel; both work beautifully.
- Spiced zucchini bread (extra warm spices): Add 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp cardamom along with the cinnamon and allspice. Substitute light brown sugar (packed) for the white sugar for a richer molasses-and-spice flavor.
- Reduced-sugar zucchini bread: Reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup. The bread is noticeably less sweet but still good (more like a breakfast bread than a dessert). Don’t reduce below 1/2 cup; the sugar contributes to texture and browning.
- Whole wheat zucchini bread: Replace 1 cup of the all-purpose flour with King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour. The result is a heartier loaf with more pronounced wheat flavor. Don’t go fully whole wheat; the loaf turns dense and dry. For a fully whole wheat sandwich loaf instead, see my Bread Machine Whole Wheat Bread.
- Gluten-free zucchini bread: Replace the all-purpose flour 1:1 with a gluten-free all-purpose blend that contains xanthan gum (Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour is the most reliable). One reader confirmed this works perfectly with the same cycle and timing.
- More quick breads and bread machine recipes: Try my Bread Machine Banana Bread for the other classic quick bread, my Bread Machine Apple Cinnamon Bread for an apple-spiced yeast loaf, my Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread for a sweet breakfast loaf, my Bread Machine Honey Oat Bread for a hearty everyday loaf, or my Bread Machine White Bread for the everyday sandwich bread.
This was PERFECT! I used a medium crust, 2 lb loaf, threw everything in (appreciate your dual instructions) and pressed start. This bread is just the right amount of sugar, not an overly sweet bread, but just the right amount.
Zucchini Bread FAQs
Almost always one of two causes: scooped flour or old leavening. Scooping flour directly from the bag packs it into the measuring cup and adds 15 to 20 percent more flour than the recipe calls for. Spoon the flour into the cup and level with a knife, or weigh it (250 g for 2 cups). Old baking powder or baking soda also fails to rise enough; replace anything more than 6 months past its date. As a backup fix, increase the zucchini to 2 1/2 cups for a noticeably moister loaf.
On most machines, they’re the same cycle with different names. Both mix the ingredients and bake without any rise time, which is what a chemically leavened bread like this needs. Zojirushi calls the cycle Cake, Cuisinart calls it Quick Bread or Quick Bread/Cake, older Sunbeam and Oster machines may call it Quick or Sweet. The key is to check your manual and confirm the cycle has no rise time. The traditional Basic White cycle does not work for this recipe; it has rise phases the leavening can’t survive.
No to both. The skin disappears completely in the bake; peeling is just extra work. And unlike traditional oven zucchini bread recipes, this recipe relies on the moisture in the shredded zucchini to keep the loaf tender, so don’t squeeze it out. Just shred on the medium holes of a box grater and add directly.
Zucchini bread is traditionally a quick bread, leavened with baking powder and baking soda rather than yeast. Yeasted zucchini bread exists but tastes more like a savory sandwich loaf with zucchini in it than the dessert-style spiced quick bread most people are looking for when they search for zucchini bread. This recipe uses chemical leavening for the classic quick-bread texture and flavor.
Yes to both, with the same recipe amounts. The recipe makes a single loaf that fits comfortably in a 1 1/2-pound machine or a 2-pound machine. The cycle is the same regardless of machine size; only the cycle length may vary slightly.
Store for 3 to 4 days at room temperature wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container. The flavor improves overnight; day-two zucchini bread is genuinely better than fresh. Refrigeration is OK if your kitchen is very warm but not necessary. For longer storage, wrap the cooled loaf tightly in plastic and freeze for up to 3 months; thaw at room temperature before slicing. Individual slices freeze well too and can be toasted directly from frozen.
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Bread Machine Zucchini Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large Eggs, Beaten
- 1/2 cup Oil, neutral oil
- 2 cups White Flour, All Purpose or cake flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Allspice
- 2 cups Zucchini, shredded
Instructions
- Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Add the eggs and vegetable oil to the bread pan.
- Add the flour on top of the wet ingredients, covering them completely.
- Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice on top of the flour. Set the shredded zucchini aside.
- Select the Cake or Quick Bread cycle (no rise time) and medium crust setting. Press start.
- After 5 to 10 minutes, or at the mix-in beep, open the lid and add the shredded zucchini. Use a silicone spatula to fold it into the batter and scrape any flour from the sides of the pan. Close the lid.
- Let the machine complete the cycle without opening the lid again. Total time is typically 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely (at least 1 hour) before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe came out well. I scooped the flour as recommended, and used light brown sugar. Very nice texture.
This was PERFECT! I used a medium crust, 3 lb loaf – threw everything in (appreciate your dual instructions) and set timer to be complete at 6:09 am. This bread is just the right amount of sugar – not an overly sweet bread, but just the right amount. I think I’ll try 1/2 cup regular sugar and 1/4 cup brown next time, but it really is perfect the way it is.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I made Brandon’s recipe and I did not have zucchini so I replace it with yellow squash. I used the quick setting and medium darkness and it came out very good. A little on the wet side maybe bcse of the squash but it was absolutely delicious. The molasses flavor and the all spice and nutmeg are really good. I think this is a good winter recipe. I’ll be making tot again.
Wonderful recipe! The loaf turned out light and moist and very tasty!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This bread turned out wonderful. I followed the recipe but swapped regular flour for gluten free. I used the “cake” setting on my bread maker and added the zucchini and also walnuts and raisins and chia seeds in during the “add in” phase. It turned out perfectly moist and delicious. The only question I have is if there’s a way to use less sugar or a different kind of sweetener? I used white cane sugar but wondering how it would be with brown sugar or less sugar overall and what kind of adjustments I could make to the recipe if it used less sugar? Thank you!
it was horrible….tasted like flour