Zucchini bread is a fall baking staple—a favorite quick bread everyone feels better about eating because there’s a smidgen of vegetables in there.
Well, we pack a whopping 6 cups of fresh zucchini in this delicious loaf!
Make it easier to feel good about saying yes to this fall treat.
We don’t stop at adding more zucchini. The flour and sweetener are important to consider too. Why not go whole grain and unrefined when you can?
That’s why we use 100% sprouted white whole wheat and sweeten it with just enough coconut palm sugar. Sprouted wheat has a sweeter, less wheat-y flavor than regular whole wheat and produces a softer crumb.
How does sprouting make the wheat better?
- Naturally manufactures vitamin C, increases vitamin B, carotene levels, and minerals.
- Initiates the digestion process, breaking down the complex sugars, which makes digestion easier and the vitamins and minerals more bio-available.
- Neutralizes enzyme inhibitors and reduces phytic acid (an anti-nutrient) that inhibits absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc.
- Sprouted wheat is NOT gluten-free. However, because of its lower starch content, some people who have been on a gluten-free diet due to gluten sensitivity have been able to eat sprouted flour.
We use this same sprouted white whole wheat flour for our Cinnamon Rolls recipe and everyone marvels that they’re 100% whole wheat.
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And what exactly is coconut palm sugar?
Coconut palm sugar is made from sap extracted from the coconut palm flower and then dehydrated. It has a dark, caramel color and tastes similar to traditional brown sugar, yet slightly less sweet.
Let’s be clear—it’s still sugar, so it’s not health food. However, it’s a healthier alternative to refined white or brown sugar because coconut sugar has a more desirable makeup of sucrose, fructose, and glucose. Read more about that from Dr. Weil.
Trace minerals, inulin, and a lower glycemic index are an added bonus of pitching the white stuff—for the truly food-geeky details, check out this article from Dr. Axe.
Our Sprouted Zucchini Bread isn’t just good for you, its fragrant spices and soft morsels of candied ginger will make you forget it’s a healthy indulgence.
Follow these 6 Steps to better-for-you Sprouted Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread
Tips for making Sprouted Zucchini Bread
- Bring cold eggs to room temperature by placing eggs into a bowl of warm water for 3-4 minutes. Cold eggs can cause the coconut oil to harden when mixing.
- Store bread loosely wrapped in foil on the counter. This bread will be quite moist, so it needs some air. Best if eaten within 3 days, otherwise, freeze for up to 1 month.
- Make your own candied ginger! Crystallized ginger is readily available, but it is always dusted with sugar. This homemade Honey-Candied Ginger Recipe will keep it in-line with eating clean (eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods).
Recipe Variations
- Any sprouted or regular whole wheat will work in this recipe, but you’ll appreciate the milder flavor of white whole wheat flour (sprouted or not).
- Honey or maple syrup can be used, however, these liquid sweeteners add moisture so an increase in flour (2-3 tablespoons) may be needed to prevent the loaf from being too moist. Regular white sugar can also be substituted (if you must).
- Make muffins instead—use cupcake liners
in your muffin tin and bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes.
Sprouted Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 6 cups shredded zucchini about 1 1/2 pounds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 cup coconut palm sugar
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 2 large eggs *room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups sprouted white whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 2/3 cup chopped honey-candied ginger or crystallized ginger
- Parchment paper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan with a little coconut oil and line with parchment paper (this will help the loaf lift out of the pan without sticking).
- Grate the zucchini using the large holes of a grater. Spread the zucchini out in a colander set in a large bowl and sprinkle with the salt; gently toss zucchini to mix in the salt. Set aside for 15 minutes until the zucchini begins to release its moisture.
- In a large bowl, whisk 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons oil, eggs, and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini (there should be 3/4-1 cup of liquid released). Stir the zucchini into the sugar-egg mixture.TIP: The liquid can be saved and frozen for adding to soup recipes -- just be sure to label that it has already been salted.
- In a medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon baking soda until spices are well incorporated. Stir the dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture just until the flour is moistened, then fold in the walnuts and ginger.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only one or two moist (not wet) crumbs. Check the bread at 45 minutes and if the top of the loaf is browned before the center is done, cover loosely with aluminum foil for the remainder of the baking time.
- Cool on a wire rack in the pan for 30 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.
Video Displays Here or In Post
Notes
*Cold eggs can cause the coconut oil to harden when mixing. Bring cold eggs to room temperature by placing eggs into a bowl of warm water for 3-4 minutes. Freeze and use the juice from the zucchini to use in soups.
in your muffin tin and bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes.
Nutrition
If you try this Zucchini Bread or any other recipe on the blog, please rate the recipe and let me know how it went for you in the comments below.
It makes my day to hear from you!
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heather says
oh gosh! I LOVE the idea of candied ginger in here…what an amazing flavor to add!!!
Hope says
I love how much zucchini you have packed into this loaf! Those spices and walnuts make it extra tasty!
jennifer says
oh my gosh, the ginger in this recipe sounds AMAZING! GREAT IDEA!
Raia Todd says
Love the ginger, walnuts, and spices! So delicious!
Zuzana says
What an idea with adding ginger in. Loved it.
Megan Stevens says
I love that you use sprouted flour. So much better for the body! Thanks for this yummy recipe!
paleoglutenfreeguy says
I love candied ginger but never thought to add it to my zucchini bread. It’s perfect! It adds a great zing that a bread like this could use.
Jean says
Such an amazing combo of ingredients. The ginger is such a wonderful addition.
ChihYu says
Such a delightful bread! The ginger complements the zucchini so well and gives it a tangy kick!
Daniela says
This looks delicious! Something my family would definitely enjoy!!!
Emma says
Hi Judy,
This bread was wonderful. This is the first time I baked with sprouted flour. I was amazed by how high my bread baked up. In the past, when I baked with whole grain flour, it always came out more dense than I liked. With that in mind, I was tempted to cut the recipe with half white flour, but decided against it, wanting the bread to be healthier. Anyhow, I am pleasantly surprised with how high sprouted flour bakes up (my bread was a good bit higher than your bread; I used sprouted emmer flour…I don’t know if that makes a difference). I also used 1/2 cup Lakanto sweetener and 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar. I love the flavor of nutmeg, so I also added 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg. The bread ended up tasting a little bit like gingerbread, which I LOVE, so I was very happy with the end result.
BTW, I wanted to let you know that in your recipe you call for 1 tsp. ground cloves, yet in the directions you say to add 1/2 tsp. ground cloves, and 1/2 tsp. allspice.
Judy Purcell says
Hi Emma!
What a delight to read your comment today! I’m so pleased your experience baking with sprouted wheat was so successful — it really does make a difference to the flavor and texture of the wheat when it’s been sprouted. It could be the emmer that made your loaf taller, but I’m guessing it’s probably altitude as we are over 6,000 ft here in Colorado Springs so sometimes we lose a little bit of that spring once it comes out of the oven.
Thank you for letting me know about the discrepancy in the recipe so I can get that fixed — I am so grateful to my readers for helping me catch things like that!
I do hope you’ll check out our other sprouted recipes and let me know how it goes!
Emma says
Oh, I didn’t think about the altitude factor; I always forget about that. I am at sea level, so I’m sure that was a factor. I will try out your other recipes, and let you know what I think. I’m glad I found your site. My type of cooking is very much in line with how you cook.
Judy Purcell says
Emma, I’m glad you found the site too and took the time to connect — that’s the best part for me. As much as I love sharing good food, hearing from my readers makes my day. I’m glad to help too. So if you have a question about anything at all, either comment or PM me on Facebook for a quicker reply. 🙂
Emma says
Well, this is totally off topic. I am dealing with perimenopause, and the accompanying difficulty of weight gain/difficulty losing weight now. I’m curious if you are dealing with that, and how? Have you done a post about that? I always find it curious when I come across food blogs, where food consumption seems to be the dominant activity, and the food blogger doesn’t appear to have a problem with weight. I have to assume that they eat a lot less that what appears to be the case. Anyhow, I noticed that a lot of your commenters seem to be women, and many of them likely in their perimenopause/menopause years,and it would be nice to know how others are dealing with this issue. I’ve never seen this issue talked about in a food blog. I’ve seen it talked about in diet blogs/websites, etc., but never a food blog. How does one balance being a foodie while going through perimenopause/menopause? It would be a nice conversation to have…outside of the diet sphere.
Judy Purcell says
Hey Emma, I’m so glad you asked this question. The perimenopause/menopause years issue is something I relate with closely and feel like it would be a worthwhile post to explore and write about. This season of life has definitely brought changes in metabolism and a stubborn scale for sure. I know I have a different perspective than what is out there on diet sites and believe I can offer some hope. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming post (be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already) on it in the next month or so – it will take me a bit to do proper research to offer value beyond my own experience. Thanks for the inspiration!
Emma says
Thank you! I’m looking forward to it. All I know is I’m not a fan of eating less because that can just slow down the metabolism even more. I don’t eat excessive amounts of food anyhow, so eating less doesn’t make sense to me. I’m insulin resistant at this point. My fasting blood glucose has slowly crept up from the low to mid 90s to 100-110 range. My Dad has diabetes, so I have been monitoring myself closely, and getting nervous about my number slowly going upwards. I’ve been doing a lot of research trying to help myself, and so far I have found information about the combination of chromium picolinate and magnesium being helpful in balancing out blood sugar, and improving the metabolism. I just started taking that, so I won’t know for a bit if it’s working. I’m eager to know what has been helpful to others.
In all my research, nobody seems to know exactly why women become insulin resistant/diabetic as they transition into menopause, just that the fluctuation in hormones is somehow linked to this development. Something about that doesn’t seem right though; it seems contrary to health for the body to suddenly “turn on itself” like this. Also, it seems like it’s an epidemic now, whereas, it was not something that I recall hearing about when I was younger, nor did my parents ever mention this being a problem with women from past generations. It does make sense,mthough, that a lack of minerals, like chromium and magnesium, from depleted soils, would create this type of problem. Although I’ve eaten “healthy” for most of my life, it’s only been recently that the term “healthy” has included the majority of our food being organic, grown in soil that is healthy itself, and not destroyed from pesticides/chemicals. My understanding of what is actually healthy has evolved a lot over the last several years. Whole foods that are grown in depleted soil, and sprayed with pesticides/chemicals, is not healthy despite it being whole, unrefined foods. We have been purchasing our produce from a local organic CSA the last year and a half, in an effort to get more food that is grown in super rich soil, and is not sprayed with pesticides.
Anyhow, I think the body is being crippled in its efforts to function correctly because of the unhealthy and “healthy” (but not really) food that we eat. I’m doing everything I can to actually eat what is truly healthy, and, hopefully, to reverse any deficiencies that may have developed over the years. I know that it can take time though, so I’m trying to be patient. 🙂
Emma says
Oh, also, I read about berberine being really good at lowering blood sugar levels, but then I learned that it is also a very potent natural antibiotic, so that’s not an option for me. I’m not willing to destroy my gut health in an effort to lower my blood sugar.
Shelby @Fitasamamabear says
I’m not sure I’d be able to share this….
mjskitchen says
have never worked with sprouted wheat before, but have read a lot about it. Your bread looks so moist and delicious and I absolutely love the addition of the candied ginger. I eat some of that everyday but never thought of adding it to zucchini bread. Great recipe!
Judy Purcell says
Oh, you’ll love adding the candied ginger to zucchini bread. 🙂
Gabi says
This Whole Wheat Sprouted Zucchini Bread is amazing, Judy! I love to bake with whole wheat and zucchini, Can’t wait to try it!
Traci says
Gimme all the sprouted wheat bread, especially if there’s zucchini in it. YUM! Love the color and texture of this one too…pinning now!
Caroline says
I love that this is healthier and I’m a big fan of ginger so even better!
Cindy Gordon says
I am a huge fan of zucchini in all forms! I also LOVE ginger! I think that this will be a winner for me!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
This sounds so healthy and delicious! I can’t believe how much zucchini is packed in there but I’ll bet it makes it super moist!
ChgoJohn says
I’ve never used sprouted wheat but now you’ve piqued my interest. Whole Foods, eh? 🙂
Judy Purcell says
I was grateful to find the sprouted wheat at WF, it can be pricey to order online due to shipping. Hope you give it a whirl.
Raymund says
You made me miss my mom, she regularly makes this at home when I was young.
Judy Purcell says
Aw, I love it when food reminds us of home. 🙂
Linda says
Hi Judy, I love your twist on zucchini bread, indeed so very healthy. The bits of ginger sound really interesting. I’ve not yet used sprouted wheat. I know you have written on the benefits in the past and have always wanted to start. I noted your comment that you found it at Whole Foods; I’ll check it out as I don’t think I’ll be sprouting my own any time soon 🙂
John@Kitchen Riffs says
So many great spices, including crystallized ginger (which is seriously good stuff). I like sprouted wheat in bread — such nice stuff. I haven’t seen sprouted wheat flour before, though. I’ll have to look for it!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I like sprouted wheat but I always want the bread before I start growing the wheat. I’m eager to give this bread a try.
Judy Purcell says
I sprouted wheat berries and dried them and ground them for flour. Once. I haven’t had the patience to do it since. I did a modest but enthusiastic dance in the aisle of Whole Foods the day I found sprouted wheat flour on the shelf. Granted, not as fresh, but do-able. 🙂