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Pair sweet, fresh blueberries with late-summer zucchini in this easy blueberry zucchini bread recipe! Try it topped with butter or cream cheese for a delicious breakfast or afternoon snack. This recipe makes two loaves—enjoy one now and share or freeze the second for later. Make the quick-bread batter in 20 minutes before baking the loaves for 1 hour.
I adore quick breads. Not only are quick bread recipes easy to make (even for beginner bakers!), they exude coziness and are the perfect giftable baked good.
Depending on the season, my go-to quick breads are Dominique Ansel’s banana bread, my favorite classic pumpkin bread recipe in the fall, or zucchini bread in late summer.
Even though I love zucchini, my family does not so I have to sneak it into recipes like pineapple zucchini cake, my kids’ favorite chocolate zucchini muffins, and this blueberry zucchini bread.
This recipe is a twist on my classic zucchini bread recipe. Grated zucchini keeps the bread moist while blueberries add sweetness and a burst of summery flavor. I also like to finish the bread with a sprinkle of coarse sugar that bakes into a crunchy topping in the oven.
This recipe makes two loaves. Enjoy one right away with a pat of butter or smear of cream cheese for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Gift the second loaf to a neighbor or freeze it to enjoy later!
Recipe testing notes
Toss the blueberries with a bit of flour before adding them to the batter. This helps keep them from sinking straight to the bottom during the hour-long bake time.
This is a great way to use up larger zucchini. Over-large zucchini tend to have a spongier texture and less flavor. Turning them into bread is a great way to use them up, since they get grated and almost melt into the batter during baking anyway.
Don’t squeeze or drain the grated zucchini. Unlike when you make something like zucchini fritters, you want the moisture in the zucchini for a moist and delicious bread. Simply grate the zucchini using a box grater and add it to the batter as-is.
Zucchini prep tip
Unlike recipes like chocolate zucchini bread where the dark color of the batter completely hides the zucchini, you will still see flecks of green in the finished bread if you leave the skin on the zucchini.
If you want to completely hide the zucchini from your picky kids (or partner), peel the skin off before grating the zucchini. If you’re using large zucchini, the skin tends to get a bit bitter anyway, so taking an extra minute or two to peel it is a good idea.
How to make this blueberry zucchini bread
This easy blueberry zucchini bread comes together with the “muffin method” — mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately, then stir them together at the end.
To start, use a mixer to beat the eggs and sugar together. As you beat air into them, the mixture will thicken slightly and become pale in color.
At that point, add the oil. Once that is combined, mix in the zucchini and vanilla and set this mixture aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. You don’t want to over mix. Gently fold in the blueberries (make sure you coated them in flour first!).
Divide the batter between two 8×4-inch loaf pans. For a crunchy sugar topping, sprinkle some coarse sugar over the loaves before baking at 350°F for 55-60 minutes. The bread is done when the top is golden and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
Let the loaves cool for about 20 minutes before turning them out from the pans. Cool completely before slicing and digging in!
Storage and freezing
Store the cooled blueberry zucchini bread well-wrapped at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also store it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
This bread freezes beautifully. Wrap the cooled loaves in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of heavy-duty foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let the bread thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours before enjoying.
You can also freeze individual slices of the bread. I like to wrap the slices in plastic wrap before storing them in a zip-top freezer bag. Frozen slices can be unwrapped and microwaved for about 60 seconds to thaw and warm them through.
Blueberry Zucchini Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries gently tossed in 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- course sugar for topping optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease (2) 8×4-inch loaf pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together eggs and sugar until thickened and pale yellow in color. Beat in the vegetable oil. Mix in the vanilla and zucchini. Set aside.3 large eggs, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, 2 cups grated zucchini
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the flour-coated blueberries.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans. If desired, sprinkle a bit of coarse sugar onto each loaf.course sugar for topping
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean.
- Let the loaves cool for 20 minutes before turning them out from the pans. Place the loaves on cooling racks to finish cooling.
Notes
Ingredients
- Any neutral oil, such as avocado oil, may be substituted for the vegetable oil.
- If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw. Toss them with the flour and add them to the batter right from the freezer to prevent them from staining the batter.
Storage
- Store well-wrapped at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- Freeze wrapped in plastic wrap and heavy-duty foil for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes! Do not thaw the berries first; toss them with the flour and add them to the batter right from the freezer.
Yes. Divide the batter into a greased or lined muffin tin, adding about 3 tablespoons of batter per well. Bake for 18-22 minutes.
I typically use the large holes on my box grater when I make this recipe, but I have also used the smaller holes for more finely shredded zucchini as well.
You know how to make a quick bread! Your butternut squash bread is also amazing. I made this one with blackberries instead of blueberries and we ate half the loaf on day one. Delicious. Trying it with yellow squash and wineberries right now.
Blackberries? Oh my goodness, that sounds amazing. I’d love to hear about the yellow squash version! Have a great weekend and happy baking!
-Jamie
This is wonderful! I’ve already made it twice this week. I wish I had started making it when blueberries were in season. Anyway, it’s a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by Lauren.
-Jamie
I made this recipe as muffins and they were great! Only baked for about 15 minutes. I subbed a mashed banana for most of the oil (ended up using about 2 tbsp to equal 1/2 cup) and swapped in ground flax for some of the flour as another commenter suggested. Even with those changes, they came out crisp on the outside but perfectly moist on the inside.Great recipe!
I have made this bread many times this fall as I had a plethora of zucchini. It always turns out so moist and I get rave reviews on it. (Thanks to you!)
We have 11 blueberry bushes and I’m always looking for new recipes to use them in. We have a huge garden every year and zucchinis are usually a bumper crop… So….. This bread is perfect! Thank you!!
Wendy,
Your garden sounds amazing! Thank you so much for following MBA and have a wonderful day!
Jamie
This blueberry zucchini bread recipe has made it to my go-to list of recipes. The bread is moist and delicious. Thanks for yet another delicious recipe!!
Josette-
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed the bread – thanks so much for coming back to leave your feedback on the recipe. Have a great day!
-Jamie
This is fabulous! I made this as muffins the other day, and what a success!
Since I need to be gluten free, I had to make some adaptations, and just because I love coconut oil, and coconut sugar, I used those.
Instead of the wheat flours, I used 3/4 cups of almond flour, and 3/4 cups of Shirley’s gluten free blend, which is on her website
http://glutenfreeeasily.com/perfect-pound-cake/
and for good measure I threw in a handful of walnuts.
You would not believe how a family can turn into little piglets in no time flat! These were gone before I could even take a picture!
Awesome recipe!
Great recipe! Everyone loved it. I used frozen blueberries and it turned out great.
Just made this! Substituted applesauce for the oil, added 1/4 c. white sugar, 1/4 c. brown sugar and about 1/4 c. honey. My bread came out a little dense, but very moist! Yum!
Oh. My. Goodness.
These are absolutely something special. Stumbled upon your site looking for something to do with all the blueberries I had. I just happened to have a zucchini in the fridge, and I also happen to LOVE zucchini bread. What a brilliant combo! I did make a few changes: I used whole wheat pastry flour and then combined 1/2c oats and 1/2c wheat germ in the food processor and ground it into a flour. I also baked these in 12 muffin tins, topped them with a sprinkle of whole oats and sugar as you had for texture. Delish! I will however cut the sugar down next time, especially if I plan to top them in sugar — they are just a tad too sweet for me. Thanks for the brilliant recipe, a keeper for sure. Now I’m going to explore the rest of your site for more yummy things to make!