This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
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.
Bread Machine Recipes
If you tried this Bread Machine Zucchini Bread recipe, or any other recipe on Adamant Kitchen, leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know what you think in the 📝 comments below!
And make sure you stay in touch with me by following on social media!
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.
50+ Bread Machine Recipes
Bread machine recipes can be hard to find, as bread makers were most popular before the internet became a thing. …
Find the perfect recipe
Searching for something else? Enter keywords to find the perfect recipe!
I made this yesterday and I thought it tasted good, next time I will put 2 cups of zucchini for a moister bread. I live at high altitude, so I think more zucchini would be good.
I”m glad you liked it, Debbie!
Mine came out great! I’m thinking the ones that came out dry probably scoped their flour directly out of the bag and it ended up being heavier that the 260 grams and therefore needed more moisture. Thank you for adding the grams also this really helps.
Also depending upon when the zucchini was added some machines may not get it all mixed together resulting in clumps.
I am finally going to try this in my bread machine I have a Breadman. I always cook the bread in the oven and takes so much more time mixing the ingredients. I am not going to squeeze out the water and see if it comes out too moist or too dry , I will make adjustments if necessary on the next loaf. Hope it comes out nice and moist. Thanks for the recipe.
How did it turn out Suzanne?
I made two loaves (had to send one to family in N.Y😊) I have to say, it came out perfect both time. The second time, I did tweak it a little by adding nutmeg, vanilla, ginger, & flax/chia seeds ABSOLUTELY MOIST & DELICIOUS!!
Yum! I love the addition of ginger, flax, and chia seeds! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe results in basically sweet sandwich bread with bits of zucchini in it, where as zucchini bread tends to be best when it comes out more like a rather dense and moist cake. If you want a good recipe, try mine:
3 Eggs
1/3 cup peanut oil (or your preferred oil)
1 cup 00 (baking) flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
(up to) 1 cup sugar, raw or brown sugar (start with 3/4 cup, add up to 1 cup if desired; can use white sugar, but it won’t have as much taste)
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
(Optional) 1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 cups fresh grated zucchini
Have a good rubber spatula handy.
Set machine to medium darkness and set it to “Quick”.
Whisk the eggs and add them to the bread pan with the vegetable oil and molasses.
In another bowl, combine the flour, most of the sugar, then all of the salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Mix well and then add it to the bread pan on top of the liquid.
Turn on the bread machine and let the ingredients in the pan mix together. Scrape down the sides if needed. It should take very little time for all of these ingredients to mix into a relatively wet batter.
Once mixed, add the zucchini.
Once the zucchini is mixed in well, add the lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and the remaining optional 1/4 cup of sugar. This can all be done before the beep to add additional ingredients.
Let the machine finish out the cycles and enjoy! When the cycles are done, just check to make sure it is fully baked. If not, set your machine to bake and change the setting to “light” for about 10 minutes or so.
Sometimes, I will also add chocolate chips (added with the last added ingredients). If using sweet or semi-sweet, use only up to 3/4 cups of sugar.
Let cool a bit before trying to remove. Scrape the loaf from the sides, and if you have a long rubber spatula, try to run it far enough to pull the bottom of the loaf off of the pan as well. If the bottom of your loaf sticks, you’re overbaking it a bit, or your pan my be scratched and in need of replacing. This is a sticky batter that will try to stick, but should come free in one piece from a decent breadmaker machine pan. Do NOT be tempted to add more oil.
Im trying this for the first time. A friend of mine gave me a giant zucchini and I thought bread for some reason. So far in the machine the ingredients are very moist. Unlike some peoples experience Im pretty sure this is going to be very moist. FYI using an Oster bread machine
Thanks for sharing your experience, Michael! I hope your zucchini bread turned out wonderful!
Easy and looking delicious too. Which flour goes perfect for this bread, AP or bread?
Hi there. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour.
Finally a perfect recipe for my bread machine. Thank you so much!!!!
You’re welcome, Ed!
Mine came out really dry as well, and I followed the recipe – I even added slightly more zucchini. It doesn’t really taste like zucchini bread, just tastes like overcooked bread 🙁
I’m sorry that happened. I don’t know what could have gone wrong.
I tried the zucchini bread bread machine recipe and it turned out very dry. I followed the directions. Do you have any idea why the bread is do dry?
Hmm… zucchini quick breads are typically fairly moist since the squash contains a lot of water content, so I’m not sure what could have gone wrong.
For moisture another cup of zucchini and forget about. bada bing, bada boom.
Add 1/2 applesauce