This best zucchini bread is really the best! It’s perfectly moist with applesauce and cinnamon-scented. Prepare to be amazed.

Feeling confident about this recipe, over here: we think it’s one of the best zucchini bread recipes out there! What makes it the best? Well, to us it’s the perfect texture: moist, but not oily. And it’s got the perfect flavor: cinnamon-scented, with just the right sweetness. To us, it’s everything that a zucchini bread should be! We also have a vegan variation and a Greek yogurt variation — we’ll share more about those below. Keep reading for all our secrets!

Related: 15 Summer Side Dishes You Need

How to make the best zucchini bread

What makes this recipe the best? This is a zucchini bread with applesauce, meaning that both applesauce and zucchini substitute for some of the oil. This makes the texture perfectly moist, but not too oily. With ¼ cup of oil for the whole loaf, that’s less than 1 teaspoon per slice! Another one of our secrets is using turbinado sugar, which gives it an almost caramel-y flavor (more on that below). And it’s seriously scented with cinnamon: the 1 tablespoon is not a typo: it makes for just the right amount of spiced goodness.

Here’s how to make the best zucchini bread (see below for the full recipe):

Whisk together oil, applesauce, sugar, eggs* and vanilla.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and add the shredded zucchini.
Bake in a 9-inch loaf pan for about 1 hour at 350 degrees Farenheit.

This one is a big hit in our household — especially with our son Larson! Slather it with peanut butter or almond butter for filling snack.

How to store zucchini bread

What’s the best way to store zucchini bread with applesauce? Here are a few different ways:

Room temperature (2 to 3 days): If you think you’ll eat the bread quickly, store it at room temperature and cover it with a towel. The benefit of this method is that it keeps the crunchy texture on top and is easy to eat.
Refrigerated (1 week): Refrigerating your zucchini bread helps it to stay fresher longer. You can eat it cold, or let it come to room temperature before serving.
Frozen (up to 3 months): To extend the life even further, pop your sliced bread into the freezer in a sealed container. It can last at least 3 months, or maybe more. We like doing this with half of the loaf, and keeping the other half out at room temperature.

Easy Zucchini Bread — **This version** is a healthy twist, made with Greek yogurt in an 8-inch pan

Zucchini bread variations

Alex and I have created several variations on zucchini bread for different tastes and dietary preferences, including:

Easy Zucchini Bread: This version is a smaller loaf, making it a bit of a healthy spin! It’s got Greek yogurt and is made in an 8-inch loaf pan.
Vegan Zucchini Bread: This one is similar to this recipe, but uses flax eggs instead of eggs to make it fully plant-based and vegan.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins: If you’re looking for a gluten-free option, these healthy zucchini muffins are made of 100% rolled oats with no flour.

What’s a quick bread?

A quick bread is any bread that uses baking soda and baking powder for leavening, instead of yeast. Yeast breads require a bit more technique, including proofing and shaping the dough. Some examples of yeast breads are our Best Sourdough Bread and Dutch Oven Artisan Bread. Quick breads, on the other hand, can be baked right away (hence the “quick”) and require no special techniques. Quick breads include banana bread and zucchini bread, muffins, scones, and biscuits.

A note on turbinado sugar

You may have noticed that turbinado sugar is called for this in this recipe, instead of traditional recipes that use white sugar or brown sugar. What is it? Turbinado sugar is raw sugar; it has large crystals and a caramel-y flavor that’s a bit more complex than refined sugar. The distinct flavor is because it’s less processed than refined sugar (it’s boiled only one time to remove the molasses).

While unfortunately that doesn’t make it any healthier than refined white sugar, it gives it a unique flavor. We’ve also added the large crystals to the top of the bread to give it a satisfying crunch! If you can’t find turbinado sugar, you can substitute light brown sugar instead: but we recommend trying it out if you haven’t yet!

Looking for zucchini recipes?

Got more zucchini to use up? Outside of this easy zucchini bread recipe, here are some of our favorite zucchini recipes using that popular green veggie:

This zucchini bread recipe is…

Vegetarian and dairy free. For gluten free, head to our zucchini muffins recipe. For vegan, you can use flax eggs instead or go to our Best Vegan Zucchini Bread recipe.