Enjoy this whole-grain Blueberry Zucchini Bread for a nutritious breakfast or dessert! It’s vegan and filled with wholesome ingredients.
Vegan Blueberry Zucchini Bread
So there’s a funny story about making this bread that may or may not end with me having multiple failed versions of it stashed in my freezer. At first, I tried to make it gluten-free. HA. Good try, Emilie. While I love making gluten-free treats, I do not claim to be the all-knowing vegan/gluten-free baker (I’ll leave that up to Dana). Basically, the bread did not rise at all and was just a big brick of baked almond flour with exploded blueberries.
Of course, since I hate to waste food and money, I still sliced it up, froze it, and plan to eat it. I mean, it’s still tasty – just not blog-worthy. #nofoodleftbehind
Then I turned to one of my favorite flours to bake with – spelt flour. It’s a tad lighter than whole wheat flour, so it’s great for baking. Just as the recipe was really starting to look promising, our power went out. RIGHT before I mixed the dry and wet ingredients. Ugh.
So there I sat, in a dark apartment during a thunderstorm with no electricity, microwave, oven, stove, or WiFi. Basically a food blogger’s nightmare. I couldn’t mix the batter because glutinous mixes need to be baked as soon as they’re mixed, so they sat on the counter separately for three hours until I could bake the bread. Finally our electricity returned and as I went to mix the ingredients I thought, if this zucchini bread doesn’t turn out good after all of this, I give up.
And boy, what a positive outcome it was. This blueberry zucchini bread is damn delicious. It’s packed with moisture from the zucchini, studded with juicy blueberries, and because of some simple swaps it’s healthy enough to enjoy for breakfast. Or a snack. Or dessert (smothered in almond butter🙌🏼). Your choice!
How to Make Healthy Zucchini Bread
The great thing about zucchini bread is it’s one of those recipes that’s packed full of nutritious ingredients, but you’d never know while eating it. I mean hello, we’ve got an entire zucchini in here!
I set out to make my blueberry zucchini bread even healthier by making a few simple swaps, but I was not willing to sacrifice on flavor. Whole grain spelt flour is a great option in this zucchini bread recipe because it helps pack the bread with fiber and protein. Flax eggs are one of my go-to substitutes in baking because they provide binding power without the use of eggs. And while this recipe does include coconut sugar and oil to keep the bread satisfyingly sweet and moist, I also added applesauce to use a little less sugar and oil without sacrificing flavor.
Keep in mind that while sometimes I love using healthy substitutes to make my favorite recipes a little more nutritious, there’s also nothing wrong with good old AP flour, white sugar and canola oil (I see you Vegan Funfetti Cake).
Ingredients for Blueberry Zucchini Bread
- Flax meal. The flax egg is truly the holy grail of vegan egg substitutes. Simply mix flax meal with water and allow to set before adding to the batter.
- Spelt flour. I love the nutty flour and light texture of spelt flour, but white whole wheat flour would also work well.
- Baking powder and baking soda. These are our leavening agents, which will give our bread rise.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg. These spices add a warm flavor to the bread, but by all means feel free to omit or substitute. Cardamom could also be nice.
- Salt. A pinch of salt in your baked goods is key because it helps provide a balanced flavor.
- Zucchini. It IS zucchini bread after all.
- Coconut sugar. I love the toasty caramel-like flavor that coconut sugar provides in this blueberry zucchini bread recipe, but you could also substitute white granulated sugar
- Applesauce. This adds a bit of sweetness and moistness to the bread to complement the sugar and oil
- Almond milk. Feel free to use your favorite non-dairy milk
- Coconut oil. I like the subtle coconut flavor that this adds, but you could use another neutral oil instead
- Vanilla extract. Always.
- Blueberries. What’s better than a juicy blueberry in a baked good?
How to Store Blueberry Zucchini Bread
This zucchini bread recipe will store room temperature for up to three days. Make sure to store it in an air tight container, or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap so that it won’t go stale.
Like I mentioned above, I have a few versions of this blueberry zucchini bread stashed in my freezer. If you don’t plan to finish the bread within a couple days, it will store perfectly well in the freezer for up to six months. I recommend slicing the bread before putting it in the freezer so that you can enjoy it one slice at a time instead of having to thaw the entire loaf when you’re ready. Make sure to wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and stash in a freezer-safe bag or container.
If you’re more patient than I am, you can set the slices out on the counter to thaw for a few hours, but they will also warm up nicely in the microwave for 15 seconds. While a regular slice of zucchini bread would also be incredible warmed up in the toaster, I don’t recommend it for this blueberry zucchini bread as the fruit may burn and cause a mess in your toaster.
Vegan Blueberry Zucchini Bread
Enjoy this whole-grain Vegan Blueberry Zucchini Bread for a nutritious breakfast or dessert! It’s packed with zucchini, blueberries & wholesome ingredients.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons flax meal
- 7 1/2 tablespoons water
- 2 cups spelt flour or white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
- 1 cup grated zucchini, packed (about 1 medium zucchini)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with oil or cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, add flax meal and water. Set aside to thicken for at least 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add spelt flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Stir until fully combined.
- To the flax mixture, add grated zucchini, coconut sugar, applesauce, almond milk, coconut oil, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- Slowly pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold together until just combined, then add blueberries. Stir until blueberries are evenly mixed through the batter.
- Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
I teamed up with six amazingly talented bloggers to bring you six other vegan recipes featuring blueberries! They’re one of my favorite fruits, so I can’t wait to try all of these recipes. Don’t they look delicious?! Go check them out!
Matcha Frosted Blueberry Coconut Cupcakes from Love Me, Feed Me
Chocolate Blueberry Muffin Ice Cream Sandwiches from Feasting on Fruit
Blueberry Cashew Breakfast Cookies by The Coconut Diaries
Blueberry Granola Tarts from Choosing Chia
Lemon Blueberry Crumb Mug Cake from Athletic Avocado
Blueberry Cobbler Cookie Dough Bites from Healthy Helper
