Sourdough Zucchini Bread
This is the best sourdough zucchini bread, made with sourdough starter discard. It is lightly sweetened, subtly spiced with cinnamon, and includes chopped walnuts for a satisfying crunch!
If you happen to have excess zucchini and leftover sourdough starter discard, don't miss out on making this easy sourdough zucchini bread recipe. In fact, why not bake a few loaves and store them in the freezer for later?
Similar to our recipes for sourdough lemon cake, sourdough pumpkin bread, and sourdough banana bread, this recipe is incredibly simple to make, and you'll be amazed by its tender and moist texture.
We love creating recipes that make good use of sourdough discard, as it helps minimize food waste while adding an extra layer of flavor to this quick bread.
This recipe offers a delicious way to encourage your family to consume more veggies too!
Enjoy this lightly sweetened quick bread at any time of the day, whether it's morning, noon, or night.
Ingredients needed
An added convenience of this recipe is that you don't need an electric mixer. The ingredients effortlessly come together with just a spatula, making the mixing process a breeze.
- freshly grated zucchini
- light brown sugar
- eggs
- sourdough starter
- vanilla extract
- avocado oil
- flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- salt, cinnamon
- chopped walnuts
- chocolate chips or raisins (optional)
How to make it
Step 1: Preheat the oven
Preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C) and lightly grease a 9" x 5" baking pan.
Step 2: Prepare zucchini
Grate the zucchini using a box grater or a food processor. Use your hands to squeeze the zucchini to release any extra moisture and excess water. Leave the zucchini in a colander while you mix the remaining ingredients.
NOTE: To ensure consistent results with every bake, use grated zucchini that has been thoroughly drained to remove excess moisture. The variation in moisture content of each zucchini can greatly affect the outcome, and our method helps maintain consistency.
Step 3: Mix dry ingredients
Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
Step 4: Mix wet ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients and stir until the mixture is smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Give the zucchini one last squeeze and fold it into the batter.
Step 5: Bake
Pour the batter into a greased 9” x 5” baking dish and bake at 350°F (176°C) for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
NOTE: The batter can be cold fermented in the fridge overnight after it has been mixed and poured into the baking dish. Keep it covered until you are ready to bake.
Step 6: Cool
Let the zucchini bread cool for 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges to release them from the dish and transfer the bread to a cooling rack.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
How to store and freeze
For storage, once the sourdough zucchini bread has cooled entirely, cover it and keep any leftovers at room temperature for 1-2 days. Alternatively, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
If you wish to freeze the bread, wrap the cooled loaf first in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.
To thaw the frozen bread, allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Once thawed, bring it to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Recommended kitchen tools
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- 9" x 5" baking dish (affiliate link)
- mixing bowls (affiliate link)
More sourdough discard recipes:
We love sharing recipes that utilize sourdough discard. Browse through our sourdough discard recipes for a little baking inspiration. Here are just a few!
- sourdough brownies
- sourdough chocolate chip cookies
- sourdough banana nut muffins
- sourdough pop tarts
Sourdough Zucchini Bread
EQUIPMENT
Before You Begin
INGREDIENTS
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (60 g) chopped walnuts
Wet Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (220 g) grated zucchini
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (109 g) avocado oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
- Grate 1 ¾ cups (220 g) grated zucchini using the large holes of a cheese grater. Place it in a colander and squeeze out excess moisture. Leave the zucchini in the colander while you mix the remaining ingredients.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder, ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda, 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt, 2 teaspoons (4 g) ground cinnamon, and ½ cup (60 g) chopped walnuts.
- In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar, 2 large eggs, ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard, 2 teaspoons (10 g) vanilla extract, and ½ cup (109 g) avocado oil with a spatula until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the grated zucchini.
- Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool for 10-15 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack. Slice and serve.
NOTES
- Adjusting salt: We use Redmonds fine sea salt weighing 5 grams per 1 teaspoon. If using regular table salt, use ¾ teaspoon. If using flaky sea salt, use a heaping 1 ¼ teaspoon.
- Flour: All-purpose flour can be substituted with bread flour.
- Long Ferment: After mixing and pouring the batter into the baking dish, you can cold ferment it in the fridge overnight. Just be sure to cover it until you're ready to bake.
- Discard Recipes: This recipe is designed to use leftover sourdough discard for added flavor and to reduce food waste. However, you can use an active starter if that's what you have on hand.
- Measuring Ingredients: Our recipes are developed using a kitchen scale for precise measurements. Measuring cups can lead to inconsistent results, so keep that in mind if you’re not using a scale.
- To store: Allow the bread to cool completely, then cover and store at room temperature for 1–2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- To freeze: Wrap the cooled loaf in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature before serving.
I made this recipe for the first time yesterday and I was very pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to make , I used my neighbours as ginny pigs , they loved it so moist and very tasty . Thank you
So good!!! I cold fermented over night and I have to
Say it’s a new favorite of mine! I also substituted avocado oil for Olive oil… Great recipe.
Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Katia!
Hi!
New-ish to making sourdough (I’ve made about 20 loaves. Love it. So fun!). I always use my large round Le Creuset Dutch Oven. May I use it with this zucchini sourdough recipe? Do I need to adjust anything?
Thanks for your help. My husband found your website and I’m excited to try your recipes. Thanks for having me 🙂
Aimee
Hi Aimee! This recipe must be made in a loaf pan because it is a quick bread batter instead of a dough like typical sourdough bread.
Amazing bread! I omitted the walnuts and I added 1/4 cup sour cream at the end as I always to for spiced bread. I could eat the entire loaf in one sitting!
I think it's delicious too! Thanks for sharing your changes, Pam.
I made this recipe into muffins and they were delicious.
I baked for about 40 minutes and modified the vegetable oil by using equal parts butter, vegetable oil, and homemade apple sauce. I also cut the sugar in half using coconut sugar and organic cane sugar and felt they were just right on the sweetness for us, we usually like things lightly sweetened.
SO GOOD!! I am looking through all your sourdough recipes after making the pizza dough the other night! So I made this one today because I needed to feed my sourdough and I had zucchini. I did make a few changes: used 113g King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour, 2 tsp cardamom in place of cinnamon (because I LOVE cardamom), reduced brown sugar to 140g, oil to 95g. It is still totally sweet enough even with reducing the sugar that much. I will absolutely make this again. I also divided it between 2 8x4 pans (around 450g per pan) and baked for about 40 minutes. They are kind of short loaves, but they are tasty!! Thank you for another great recipe! 🙂
This was so yummy but for some reason mine turned out so dry! My dough was stiff like cookie dough. I even added some milk which helped but my finished product was so crumbly and idk why. I’ve been doing sourdough a while now and love to bake, I’m racking my brain on what went wrong 🤔
Hi Emma, that is strange. Did you happen to use a different flour than usual?
just made this; it was lovely. not too sweet, comforting cinnamon and food texture from the walnuts. I baked them in a muffin tin at 350 for 20 minutes (suggested in another comment), and it probably could have come out a minute or two sooner. I'll definitely be making this again when we have an excess of garden-grown zucchini.
I substituted 1:1 gluten free flour and added 1/2 a cup of applesauce to make it more liquidy per the need of GF flours. It turned out great! Moist, subtle flavors mixed well, and nice and fluffy.
I have shredded zucchini in my freezer. Can this be used for this recipe? Thanks!
Yes it can. I would allow it to thaw and squeeze excess moisture before using in the batter!