We love to create recipes that utilize fresh produce and since zucchinis are in season right now, we thought why not make a delicious bread with it. We were so excited to create a healthy, yet scrumptious bread that is also gluten-free with the ripe vegetables of this season.
Well, that excitement soon faded as we started to make the bread and each time it came out so wrong. First, it was way too dry, like get caught in your throat and make you choke, dry. Then it was completely too moist, almost a custard constancy. The third try, just as bad as the first two, but we knew we were getting close so we didn’t give up! Finally, after the fourth time making it, it came out perfect! The taste was there and so was the consistency and boy, what a relief it was to be successful! To say this recipe was a labor of love is an understatement, but we must admit, taste-testing each batch made the process pretty enjoyable.
The star of this bread is zucchini which helps keep it so moist and delicious. Zucchini contains large amounts of vitamin and minerals. It even has a high content of omega-3 fatty acids! You can read a full overview of the health benefits of zucchini in our post: Zucchini Pasta with a Vegan Alfredo Cream Sauce. We also used almond flour as our base for a few reasons, it is gluten-free, full of flavor and full of nutrients unlike the processed gluten filled kind of flours we typically see in baked goods.
Almond flour is simply finely ground almonds with the skin removed, One cup contains 100% of your daily Vitamin E needs. While it contains a lot of fat, it is monounsaturated fat which is excellent for maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and will also keep your blood sugar stable.
This bread is the perfect mid-morning snack, or you can even enjoy it as a dessert! We love to eat it with our favorite dairy-free yogurt…it is a match made in snack heaven. We hope you enjoy our labor of love as much as we do!
Ingredients:
2 cups Almond Flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup cashew milk (can use any milk you like)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 grated zucchini, squeeze dry between paper towels to make sure there isn’t any excess water
2/3 cup gluten-free oat flour (can make your own by grinding gluten-free oats in a blender or food processor)
2/3 cup total mini chocolate chip divided into 2 equal parts (we used Enjoy Life dairy-free mini chocolate chips but you can use whatever you like)
Instructions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350*. Line an 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2.) In a medium to large bowl, add the almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and whisk until all combined and there aren’t any clumps.
3.) In a small mixing bowl, add the egg, maple syrup, milk of choice, coconut oil, and vanilla extract – whisk until combined. Combine wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Be careful not to overmix. Add in the zucchini, oat flour, and 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips – stir to just combine.
4.) Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup of chocolate chips on top of the batter. Bake for 50-55 minutes until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. I know this will be hard, but allow the bread to cool completely before cutting into it. And then you can enjoy!
