High Altitude Zucchini Bread
Tried-and-true, this High Altitude Zucchini Bread recipe is my go to. It’s a basic recipe and while delicious on it’s own, is easily customizable for whatever add-ins you might feel like stirring in!
I tested this bread four times to make sure I got it just right. The cooking time was off the first time, the bread got a little dark and dry the second time but by the third I had it dialed. And the 4th was just to ensure that a 1:1 gluten free flour blend could be substituted. And the verdict is that it worked beautifully! FYI, I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour. I’m sure any gluten free flour blend would work just fine too. Oh! And you can make muffins instead of bread if you like. Just decrease the baking time to about 18 minutes or so.
Don’t be mistaken when I tell you this zucchini bread is basic. It’s basically perfect. It’s simplicity at it’s best. I’ve learned that I like breads and muffins without add-ins. I’m a bit of a traditionalist I guess. I’m just not a fan of “things” mixed into my bread and muffins. I don’t really like chocolate chips or coconut in banana bread, pumpkin muffins OR zucchini bread. The only exception is maybe some toasted nuts but even then I prefer it plain jane. Though I do love a healthy smear of butter at the end!
HOWEVER, if mixed-in’s are your thing, then this recipe is the perfect starting point. It could easily handle a handful of dark chocolate chips or some toasted walnuts. The bread is generous on the cinnamon- which I happen to love- but you could easily cut it back just a bit if you want it less cinnamon-y. Try adding the zest of one lemon too. Soooooo good!
The key to zucchini bread success is making sure you get most of the moisture out of the grated zucchini. Otherwise you’ll end up with a batter that is too wet. Too wet = soggy bread. Ain’t no one gonna be happy about that! I also love that this bread only makes one loaf. Most zucchini bread recipes make two loaves and considering I don’t have a lot of self control, one loaf in my house is better than two. You feel me?
So pretty much you can use this bread as is or as a starting point to make it your own. It will be delicious either way!! I hope you’re having a great week and, as always, thanks for being here. I love sharing recipes with you all and am so thankful that I have this space to share something that brings me so much joy. Happy baking and enjoy the zucchini bread recipe!!! xo, Kelley
photos by Kellie Hatcher/ recipe by Mountain Mama Cooks
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A tried and true recipe for high altitude zucchini bread!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 teaspoon baking powder
- 2/3 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup neutral flavored oil (I use avocado but you could use vegetable, grapeseed, or canola)
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup grated zucchini, excess moisture squeezed out
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line a loaf pan with nonstick spray and parchment.
- Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar and oil. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Stir in shredded zucchini. Add dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 55-65 minutes until bread is golden and middle is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing it to cool completely on a cooling rack. Serve warm and slathered in butter! 🙂
60 Comments
Thank you for the recipe! I have a question – do you measure 1.5 cups zucchini then squeeze the moisture or do you squeeze the moisture and then measure 1.5 cups from that? Thank you!
I squeeze the moisture out and then measure the zucchini. Thanks for a great question!
Hi Kelley, I have been using your recipes for a while, and love them. I live in Evergreen, in the foothills outside Denver at 8,000 ft, so I really appreciate the recipe conversion advice. I just made these this morning, and I am trying to have the willpower to not have seconds. However, I noticed that though delicious, they are really flat, which was really a surprise. Would you recommend more leavening, or some other tweak? Thank you!
I’d actually recommend the opposite- perhaps decrease the leavening by a pinch. I’m about 1000 feet lower in elevation than you. When breads fall flat it’s often because they’re rising too quickly and falling before the bread is structure is strong enough. Good luck!!
I just made the bread. Great taste. The center of my bread did not rise so the bread looks like a brick. What could cause the center not to rise?
Depending on your altitude, you might need to decrease the leavening a bit. Or try cooking it longer at a lower heat. Your the second person who’s said this so I think I’ll make it again the week and see if I can see if I did something wrong on my end. Thanks for the comment!
Thank you, Kelley. Though I didn’t watch it bake the entire time, I don’t think it rose and fell. I just think it didn’t rise much. And I forgot to mention, I baked it as muffins, rather than a loaf. The texture was fine, though — not too solid.
Kelly, by “leavening” do you mean the baking powder or baking soda or both? I live in the Rockies about 9300′ up. Any suggestions?
leavening refers to either/both baking soda and baking powder- 9300 feet is fairly high. Use this guide to help you modify!
Made this for the first time. Delicious. Came out perfect. I did bake it for the full 65 minutes. We live at 6200 ft in the San Jacinto mountains so baking has been a real challenge until I found your site. Thank you thank you.
You are so welcome! Enjoy.
Tried this today . Turned out fine, it was a bit dry. I think maybe I squeezed too much liquid out of the zucchini. All in all a great bread especially since we’re at 7350′.
Thanks,
Kirk
I don’t usually have a problem with squeezing out too much liquid. Perhaps your flour was dry or you might have added too much? Make sure not to over cook, either!
Worked great! Added about a half cup of mix-ins (toasted walnut and chocolate chips) and the loaf turned out great, albeit with a bake time of 70 min. Only problem was I didn’t grease the bottom of my pan well enough, so the very bottom of the loaf remained in the pan when I removed it! The rest of the loaf held together perfectly, is beautifully moist and evenly textured, and the top of the loaf has a lovely, slightly crispy crust. This is one of my favorite recipes of yours.
Love your site and recipes – thank you!!! Perfectly puffy cho-chip is a favorite here. This recipe did not work. I measured the flour by weight and the centers fell and edges were high and super sugary. I’m thinking I will decrease sugar and try again. Any other thoughts? ;)) I’m at 6,700 ft. Perhaps add more liquid or an egg? — thx again!
Yes, try decreasing the sugar just a bit and maybe lowering the oven temp. When breads fall, it’s because they rise too quick and aren’t stable enough. I wouldn’t add any more liquid. I’m about 6900 feet and I don’t ever have any problems. Perhaps you didn’t add enough flour?
Thx Kelley! I don’t know, but won’t give up. I’ll let you know next time I try 😉
This recipe is awesome! I am a Colorado native and live in the Denver area. The struggle is real when it comes to baking. I follow you on IG and your recipes are great! Thank you!
Thank you! Enjoy!!
This bread came out perfect. I live at 5000 ft. When I first moved here I tried to make banana bread twice and failed. Definitely need to use recipes for high altitude.
I have a few banana bread recipes too!
Thank you again and again for the recipe for the bread. I know it sounds really needy, but is there any way I could get some kind of logarithm to help me get closer to 9300′ up here? Thank you. I’ve tried so many other suggestions, but to no avail. I’ll take any and all ideas out there.
Love this bread! Made it for the first time today for our Book Club meeting. Rave reviews! Love your website and recipes.
Thank you!
The texture of this bread is perfect; moist and fluffy. I halved the sugar and cinnamon (just personal taste) and cooked for 90mins – probably due to my glass pan. For reference I am in Denver 5,280 ft.
I’m right outside of Denver (in Arvada) and I also had to leave it in for 85 minutes. Seems to have turned out great!
Where do you get a 2/3 measuring spoon? I haven’t got one and can’t find one.
You can use your 1/3 cup twice if that helps. Most measuring cup sets come with a 2/3 but you should have a 1/3 cup!
Cindy was asking about 2/3 teaspoon, not 2/3 cup. Your recipe calls for 2/3 tsp of baking powder and 2/3 tsp of baking soda. How do you figure out how much to use if you have a standard set of measuring spoons?
I just use a scant full teaspoon or a heaping 1/2 teaspoon.
What rack is recommended, three is middle of oven, I think.
It doesn’t really matter. I usually have mine in either the middle or second to the bottom.
This recipe calls for 2/3 tsp of baking powder and 2/3 tsp of baking soda. I literally have about 5 sets of measuring spoons and have never heard of 2/3 tsp. Is this a typo? If not, any idea where I can find one?
It’s not a typo. Just eyeball and use your 1 teaspoon!
I love zucchini pineapple bread! Can I add crushed pineapple to this recipe?
I haven’t tried that. I do have a pineapple-zucchini bread recipe coming soon!
What size loaf pan did you use?
Standard. I think it’s roughly 8 x 4 x 2. Hope that helps!
I’m in Thornton, Co and made mine exactly as the recipe says. It’s almost done but the middle of mine is caved in ☹ any suggestions?
Every oven is different. Perhaps the temperature could be off. It could also be not enough flour or old baking powder. Hard to know if I wasn’t there. What’s your altitude?
It’s so hard to know what went wrong. If the flour is measured incorrectly, too much baking soda/powder or if your oven temp is off. Those could contribute. What’s your elevation?
This is so good! Has anybody tried freezing it? I’m a student and thinking about making a bunch before school starts and freezing it to have throughout the year. Does anyone know if it can be frozen?
Love your recipe it has been the best one yet. I’m at 7000 feet and it turns out perfectly. I do only use high altitude flour, I see a lot of people are having issues with the middle caving. Maybe that could help?
I do usually have to bake it for 65+ mins at 325, never opening the door until 60mins at the earliest.
Has any tried freezing it?
Can grated, previously frozen zucchini be used? Any changes to the recipe, if so?
My only concern is that the frozen zucchini might put off too much moisture. I would try to get as much liquid out as possible before mixing into the batter. Good luck!
Works in Littleton Colorado- delicious. Lots of great advice Kelley! Not sure if readers are familiar with Susan Purdy’s “Pie in The Sky” cookbook for high altitude baking- it has a terrific table for the specific recipe adjustments that need to be made for each 2000 feet in altitudes up to 10,000 feet.
Love this bread and so do my kids! Yummy! Trying it with gluten free flour today— hoping it’s just as good!
Thank you- Paula in Wyoming
Kelly..
Thank you so much for your recipes ! I made your zucchini bread twice the first time I made it it fell in the middle,thought i would try again yesterday.What i did different was used self-rising flour and no extra soda or baking powder and 5 degrees higher and the full amount of time.I live in Arizona 7500 ft. Maybe would work for others. Again thanks for your sight and all your recipes!
Sank in the middle for me here in Denver 🙁 but I don’t have a way to accurately measure 2/3 of a tsp for baking soda and powder so maybe that’s the issue?
Could be that or perhaps you didn’t cook the bread long enough. That’s often the culprit of a sinking cake. Was it cooked fully through?
Only the very middle wasn’t, the rest of the loaf was cooked through (and delicious!)
It turned out great!!! How do I properly store this? In the fridge or on the counter?
Perfection! I had almost given up on zucchini bread because it never came out quite right- always too brown on the outside and gooey in the middle.
This bakes evenly and comes out moist and delicious!
My family thanks you!!
OMG! This made the most fantastic zucchini bread I’ve ever had! I hadn’t made it in many years because it wasn’t a favorite of mine. It is now! I didn’t squeeze all the liquid out and so my batter was a little more liquidy but I just baked it a little longer until my tester came clean. I threw in a little pumpkin pie spice and a little less cinnamon. Another successful recipe I’ve tried from you. Your high altitude recipes have rescued my baking experiences. Thank you!
Hi, what is your opinion regarding swapping out the oil for butter thank you lita marie
I wouldn’t. They don’t have the same consistency.
After cooking 65 minutes, it’s still mushy on the inside, any thoughts?
Perhaps your oven isn’t at the correct heat or maybe the ingredients weren’t measured correctly. Very weird!
This recipe worked beautifully in Westminster, CO! I was out of sugar and used a combo of honey and maple syrup, cut down the sugar measurement to 2/3 cup. I also added pumpkin seed and chocolate chips! Brought it to work and it was a hit. Thank you for providing me with a recipe that wont fall flat like the others!
I have mini loaf pans (4 small pans instead of one loaf)
any suggestion on how to adjust baking time
I live in Denver
thanks