Zucchini Oat Bread (gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free)

Naturally sweetened with applesauce and banana, this healthy Zucchini Oat Bread is the perfect Summer quick bread to bake and enjoy in the morning!

Have you ever had a sugar-free quick bread before?

I’m not talking refined sugar-free, like some of my other recipes. I’m talking no sugar: no white or brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey. etc.

Maybe you’ve had sugar-free banana bread? My classic Banana Bread recipe does have added sugar for the perfect amount of sweetness, but I’ve seen other Banana Bread recipes with just banana as the sweetener.

This Zucchini Oat Bread is naturally sweetened with banana and applesauce, for a hint of fruity sweetness to make this simple bread healthy and ready to load up with toppings of any kind.

This Zucchini Oat Bread is the bread you make when you want a super healthy carb to enjoy for breakfast. This is also the bread that I warned my Dad, the worlds biggest chocoholic, not to eat because it’s so healthy. For anyone who loves their chocolate and is used to refined sugar, this bread may not live up to your expectations of a classic, very sweet quick bread.

However, if you are like me, and like a simple, naturally sweetened bread, then this Zucchini Oat Bread is your jam. Hey! It tastes even better topped with jam too 🙂

Besides being naturally sugar-free, this bread is also gluten-free and dairy-free.

For a naturally gluten-free and incredibly moist bread, I’m back at it again with my absolute favorite: oat flour (certified gluten-free).

For the sake of ease and to ensure your baked goods turn out and aren’t a crumbly mess, I recommend buying oat flour for muffins. Unless you have a high powered blender and can get your oats blended up as fine as the oat flour you can buy in a store. For example, my blender does a great job blending up oats, but my food processor does not blend my oats up fine enough.

To make this Zucchini Oat Bread dairy-free also, simply use coconut oil (instead of butter) and almond milk.

So, how do you make this super-healthy Zucchini Oat Bread?

To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Leave two sides sticking out for easy removal.

Now, in a large mixing bowl add all of your dry ingredients and mix them together (oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt). Please don’t forge the nutmeg! Nutmeg is a must-have for legit Zucchini Bread! 🙂

Next, in another mixing bowl, add all your wet ingredients and whisk them together (coconut oil, banana, applesauce, almond milk, vanilla and eggs).

Whisk your dry ingredients and wet ingredients together.

Finally, you’ll add in your shredded zucchini to the batter. However, prior to adding the zucchini into your batter you’ll want to squeeze out the excess moisture from the zucchini first. I like to do this by putting the zucchini in between two paper towels, and then pressing down on the zucchini very hard all over. Not fancy, but it gets the job done!

Fold in your zucchini, pour your batter into the loaf pan, and bake.

P.S. I think it can be hard to tell when the center of an oat flour based bread is done, because of the density of oat flour. It appears springy to touch on top, but can sometimes still be a bit underdone in the center. Be sure to check your bread with a toothpick and if in doubt, bake it as long as the recommended longest amount of time (1 hr and 5 minutes).

Let your bread cool entirely, then slice and top with your favorite toppings. I would highly recommend my personal favorite, cashew butter! And a little jam with your cashew butter wouldn’t hurt either 😉

Want more healthy breakfast ideas? Check out my Banana Bread Breakfast Cookies, Orange Carrot Oat Muffins, or Chocolate Banana Oat Muffins (with hidden veggies!).