Easy Paleo Zucchini Bread Recipe

If you love zucchini bread but are looking for a healthier spin on it, then we have the perfect recipe for you! This paleo zucchini bread is excellent for you, with a ton of nutritious substitutes including almond flour for regular flour and coconut oil for regular olive oil. This, of course, is in addition to the main star of the bread — zucchini. It's one of the only breads with a veggie in its name and it's a great way to get your daily serving. There are a lot of reasons to eat more zucchini, including the facts that this yummy veggie is high in fiber and promotes heart health. It's also filled with vitamin A, B, and C.

Recipe developer Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert of Wholly Nourished came up with this delightful recipe that is sure to be a hit, whether you make it for a quick grab-and-go breakfast or an after-dinner treat. "This zucchini bread contains ingredients I feel good about," Bachtell-Shelbert says. "I love that I can sneak in a vegetable while snacking ... especially for the kids too and they are none the wiser. Pop in some dark chocolate chips and it's an even more tempting veg-filled snack for the littles." We'd have to agree! 

Keep reading to find out how to make this incredible zucchini bread.

To kick things off, gather all of the items necessary to make this bread. You will need some grated zucchini in addition to a few eggs. Instead of olive oil, you will need to buy some coconut oil, which is a healthier option. You will also need apple cider vinegar and almond flour. "The apple cider vinegar activates the baking soda, which requires an acid to work," Bachtell-Shelbert shares. "You could use lemon juice as well." 

Like most bread recipes, this one requires baking soda. A little cinnamon provides the dish with just the right amount of sweetness. And to complete your list, add salt and almond milk. Bachtell-Shelbert adds that "nuts or dark chocolate chips make for excellent add-ins." 

Once you have everything together, you can begin.

Preheat your oven to 350 F so that it's nice and hot when you're ready to put the bread in. In the meantime, take out your zucchini and grate it. Once you've finished grating the zucchini, wrap it in a kitchen towel to remove the excess moisture. "Use a kitchen grater to grate the zucchini just as you would a carrot or cheese," Bachtell-Shelbert says. "The grated zucchini will be fairly wet, which is why it needs to be wrapped in a kitchen towel and squeezed to remove excess water." 

Once you've finished grating the zucchini, take out a mixing bowl. Add in the zucchini first, followed by the rest of the wet ingredients. These include eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. Stir everything well to combine and make a nice, wet batter. 

Like you would do with most other baking recipes, you will want to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. This includes the almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir well to combine. Alternatively, you can also use a whisk to mix up the dry ingredients as well. 

Now, it's time to combine the mixtures. Pour in the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir until everything is well combined. It should look more like cookie batter at this point. Once you've combined the mixes, it's time to add the last ingredient — almond milk. Simply drizzle it in and then stir the mixture one more time so that the almond milk gets incorporated.

Now, spray the loaf pan with coconut oil, so none of the bread sticks to the bottom. Once again, the coconut oil provides a better alternative to other sprays. 

Add the batter to the loaf pan and pop it in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes. As it bakes, continue checking the bread to see if it finishes cooking early. You can use a toothpick and stick it in the middle to check for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, that means that it's finished. On another note, Bachtell-Shelbert recommends checking the bread after 30 minutes. If it's browning too quickly, you can cover it with foil for the remainder of the bake time.

Once the bread finishes baking, take it out of the oven and serve as you wish! "I love to eat my zucchini bread topped with nut butter," Bachtell-Shelbert says. "You could even top with berries. [It] makes for a great snack or breakfast. I like to store mine in the refrigerator." 

Enjoy!