Vegan Zucchini Bread with Plant-Based Feta and Pecans
Everyone's baking banana bread – and it feels like they've been doing it for years. But zucchini bread? Not a chance! Yet zucchini is just as amazing for sweet and savory baked goods. Time to change that and finally give this underrated veggie the attention it deserves!
But wait: zucchini are squash?
Zucchini are actually a subspecies of summer squash and belong to the plant family of cucurbits. These little green "cucumbers" are botanically speaking real squash – just much smaller and more tender than their big relatives.
The perfect bread for any occasion:
Our moist zucchini bread is perfect for many different occasions: for a cozy Sunday brunch, a relaxed picnic, a hearty snack time, or an afternoon treat.
How you can vary this recipe:
You can vary the ingredients however you like. If you don't like pecans or can't eat them, you can alternatively use walnuts, almonds, or any other nuts. The black olives can also be replaced with green ones or left out completely.
Important tip about vegan feta:
Make sure to use vegan feta cheese that's nut-based, not coconut oil-based! The latter melts when it gets hot, which makes your bread soggy inside. So definitely check the ingredient list beforehand!
The preparation is super simple:
The preparation is really easy. The zucchini gets coarsely grated and then mixed with the remaining ingredients. Then the pan goes in the oven, gets baked, and you can enjoy the bread.
We used a 25-centimeter long loaf pan as our form. If you have a smaller, larger, or round pan, that'll definitely work too, but the baking times will change. If you've had experiences with other pans, we're always happy to hear about your experiences in the comments!
How the zucchini bread tastes best:
The bread tastes best when it comes fresh from the oven and is still warm. Then it's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside – AMAZING! But it still tastes good the next day too. You can also just put it back in a contact grill, toaster, or oven to warm it up again. And it also tastes really, really good with a topping like vegan cream cheese or another plant-based spread.
And by the way, here are even more zucchini recipes for you.
Vegan Zucchini Bread with Plant-Based Feta and Pecans
Ingredients
- 400 g (3.25 cups) wheat flour (type 405) or spelt flour (type 603)
- 10 g (2 tsp) baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 100 g (3.5 oz) pecans
- 50 g (1.75 oz) black olives
- 200 g (7 oz) zucchini
- 0.5 lemon (zest)
- 400 ml (1.66 cups) plant-based milk
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300 g (10.5 oz) vegan feta cheese (nut-based)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 355 °F (fan). Add flour, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl. Chop the pecans into small pieces, add them as well, and mix briefly.
Halve the olives, coarsely grate the zucchini, finely grate the lemon zest, and add them to the bowl along with the plant-based milk and olive oil. Mix well.
Finally, cut the vegan feta cheese into small pieces or crumble it with your hands, add it to the other ingredients, and gently fold in.
Transfer the batter to a greased loaf pan and bake for 60–70 minutes at 180 °C / 355 °F (fan). Test with a toothpick to see if the bread is done – insert a wooden skewer diagonally into the bread and pull it out. If no batter sticks to it, the bread is ready. Note that you might see some "residue" on the skewer from the vegan feta cheese, and that's totally fine. Remove the zucchini bread from the oven and let it cool completely.
