American
Cinnamon-Spiced Zucchini Bread
A moist American zucchini bread with warm cinnamon, tender grated squash, brown sugar, and a crisp turbinado top.
12 servings · 25 minutes prep · 70 minutes cook
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt, for batter
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger, optional
Wet Ingredients
- 2 cups grated zucchini, about 2 medium zucchini
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, for draining zucchini
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
Optional Mix-Ins
- 1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped, optional, toasted and chopped, or use pecans
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, optional, dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup raisins, optional
Topping
- 1 tbsp turbinado sugar, optional
Directions
Prepare the Zucchini
- Grate zucchini and toss it with kosher salt.
- Let stand for 15-20 minutes, then squeeze out excess moisture with a clean kitchen towel. The zucchini should be moist but not dripping.
Mix the Batter
- Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger.
- In a large bowl, whisk melted unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar until smooth.
- Whisk in egg, vanilla extract, and sour cream until fully combined.
- Fold in the drained zucchini.
Bake and Cool
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently just until combined.
- Fold in walnuts, bittersweet chocolate, or raisins if using.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if using.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs or the center reaches about 200F, 60-70 minutes.
- If the loaf browns too quickly, loosely tent with foil during the last 15-20 minutes. Tent only once the top is evenly deep brown; the foil should prevent further coloring without trapping the loaf’s sides.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
