This cheesy zucchini bread is hearty, savory and filled with pepper jack cheese. The perfect way to use up fresh summer zucchini!
I love this time of year.
And no, I’m not talking about summer. I’m talking specifically about the few weeks I like to call zucchini inundation.
It brings me back to childhood, my mom’s garden and the ridiculous amount of zucchini she’d shove into anything and everything we ate.
You guys seem to love this time of year too because zucchini pasta with avocado cream sauce and chocolate zucchini bread are two of the most popular posts on this site.
I don’t even have a garden but I like to pretend by buying up all the locally grown zucchini and then forcing myself to find ways to use it in every meal possible.
This year, one of those ways is this cheesy zucchini bread recipe.
Yeah, I’ve done paleo almond flour zucchini bread, zucchini banana muffins and most recently, these delicious zucchini bars before and while I love those equally, I wanted a savory cheese zucchini bread in contrast to the sweetness of those recipes.
How To Make Zucchini Cheese Bread
This is a classic quick zucchini bread recipe where dry ingredients are mixed in one bowl and wet ingredients in another.
The one extra step I take in making this zucchini cheesy bread is sautéing some red onions with olive oil to add in. The softened red onions along with the zucchini, pepper jack cheese and green onions on top really highlight the savory flavors in the bread.
The bread is baked at 350°F for about an hour and the result is a golden cheesy top and a hearty savory crumb inside.
Simple ingredients that come together in a bold flavored zucchini bread.
Can I Use Different Flours?
I use a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat white flours for the zucchini bread. I would comfortably say substituting all all-purpose flour would be fine and vice versa with all whole wheat white flour.
This recipe hasn’t been tested with any gluten-free flour mixes and certainly not any paleo flours.
If you want a tried and true paleo bread recipe, try paleo maple peach bread or paleo lemon poppyseed bread.
Can I Add Other Ingredients?
Yeah, definitely!
With a savory bread like this, you could try some roasted garlic, shallots and almost any fresh herb you like in place of or in addition to the ingredients in the zucchini bread recipe.
You could even use yellow summer squash instead of zucchini or a half and half mix.
Can I Use A Different Cheese?
I personally like the little kick of spice from the pepper jack cheese in this zucchini bread but you can definitely swap it out for something else.
Any cheddar would be great. A smoked cheese like the smoked Jarlsberg I used in the grilled Hawaiian chicken earlier this week would also go well if you like the smokiness.
You could even use feta like I did in these zucchini feta olive oil muffins. Love the saltiness of feta with zucchini!
I’d love to know what your go-to zucchini recipes are for this time of year!
I definitely have plans to spiralize some of my zucchini and remake Chinese chicken zoodles and these simple zucchini noodles with creamy roasted tomato sauce for easy dinners.
And, I definitely want to make this zucchini ricotta bake again because – heck yes to fresh ricotta!!
But I’m determined to come up with a few new to me creations too so please, inspire me with your suggestions/ideas!
Love this delicious cheesy zucchini bread recipe?
Try one of these other zucchini recipes this summer too:
Skillet Zucchini Pesto Pizza
Bruschetta Hummus Stuffed Zucchini
Zucchini Pesto
Thai Chicken Zucchini Noodles
Cheesy Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat white flour
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups packed grated zucchini, squeezed of excess water (about 1 medium zucchini)
- 1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese, divided
- 1 green onion, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan.
- Place olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped red onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
- Combine milk and vinegar (or lemon juice) in a small bowl. Stir gently to combine. Milk should curdle slightly (this is a substitute for buttermilk).
- Add the egg and melted butter to the milk and whisk until combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Add the zucchini, sautéed onions from the skillet and 1 cup of the grated pepper jack cheese. Stir until well combined.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Top with remaining 1/2 cup pepper jack and sprinkle the chopped green onions on top.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, turning pan to ensure even baking half way through.
- Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool for about 15 minutes while still in the loaf pan.
- Remove bread from the loaf pan and place directly on rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I made this recipe twice. The first time it turned out perfectly. Not so much the second time. Toothpick came out clean but center was unbaked. No amount of additional time was sufficient to cook the middle. 😒
We make a lot of Zucchini bread this time of year, but it is sweet. I was looking for a more savory recipe. I made the recipe exactly as posted, though I did not have pepperjack cheese, so I used grated cheddar and some diced jalapeno peppers. It came out great, but it could have risen a little more. I will make it again but will increase the baking soda to 1 tsp., also I will increase the kosher salt to 1 tsp.
The overall flavor of this bread was very yummy, but mine would not cook at all in the middle. Even after 2+ hours the middle was basically raw! Not sure if it was just me or not but it really didn’t work.
This looks great. I will try it however i cannot eat eggs. Is there a reasonable substitute for eggs for this recipe?
Oh wow! I can hardly wait to try your recipe! As soon as I get my kitchen back from being remodeled, I shall make this recipe. Thank you, I shall report back.
I loveddd this recipe!! Great way to use zucchini
This zucchini bread is top notch! Loved it!