Quick – name three vegetables that you can use in both sweet and savory dishes. It’s not as easy as you’d think, right? I’m not really going to jump on a broccoli cookie trend, or reach for a slice of tomato cake. This is why I love the almighty zucchini so much. It’s one of the most versatile veggies out there, equally delicious in both sweet and savory preparations. And although I’d have to say that my favorite way to eat zucchini is in a savory, cheesy caramelized tart, my appreciation for zucchini in sweet breads grows deeper every growing season. My classic Zucchini Nut Bread has always been a family favorite around here, and when you add chocolate like in Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffins the kids really get into it.
But when you throw blueberries to the mix, you’ve got yourself something that’s next level delicious. This Blueberry Almond Zucchini Bread is something you’re going to want to have in your late summer rotation. I love to bake up a couple of these loaves (cause bonus, the recipe makes two!) on a weekend morning to enjoy with a hot cup of coffee. And there will still be enough when Monday rolls around to make an easy breakfast for the kids. Just warm up a slice in the toaster for a few seconds and let the butter melt in… delicious!
Does zucchini bread actually taste like zucchini?
The short answer is no. For some people and many kids, just using the word zucchini is an immediate turn off. Kids are commonly veggie resistant, so when you offer them something called Zucchini Bread, their immediate reaction will likely be “no way”. I’ll admit, I have had to come up with creative names for things when my kids were little that didn’t necessarily include the actual name of the vegetable.
But zucchini is an easy sell because it’s super mild. When baking with zucchini, think of it as you would think of bananas, pumpkin, applesauce or any other addition to a quick bread. It adds moisture and good texture, and it’s still so mild in flavor that it won’t overpower the overall taste of the bread.
How to make Blueberry Almond Zucchini Bread
For this Blueberry Almond Zucchini Bread, you’ll use a regular cheese grater to grate the zucchini. Don’t worry about peeling it and don’t even worry about squeezing the moisture out of it.
The zucchini goes into a mixing bowl with the rest of the wet ingredients like eggs, vegetable oil and lemon juice. The dry ingredients are basic: flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt. We combine the two bowls and fold in the blueberries.
The slivered almonds make a gorgeous crust on top and add a really cool texture. If almonds aren’t your thing, try crushed pecans or walnuts.
One for Now, One for Later
You will get two loaves out of this recipe, yay! Use the extra loaf to bring to a friend or neighbor, or to freeze for later. If you are growing zucchini, this Blueberry Almond Zucchini Bread is a great way to use up your harvest. Those frozen loaves really come in handy when you’ve got last minute visitors coming. I hope you love it as much as we do. Enjoy!
Blueberry Almond Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 cups zucchini grated
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Using a cheese grater, grate the zucchini into a medium-sized bowl. Discard any seeds.
- To the zucchini, add the eggs, vegetable oil, water and lemon juice. Whisk until combined.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the zucchini mixture to the flour mixture. Stir well to combine. Fold in the blueberries.
- Divide batter evenly between the two loaf pans. Sprinkle the slivered almonds evenly over both loaves. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan completely before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Chock full of delicious ingredients and my houseguests were impressed .
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
The recipe sounded really good. However, I never got to finish baking it to taste it. Split it into 2 loaf pans as the recipe said. It overflowed all over my oven. Ended up throwing the uncooked batter in the garbage (so sad to waste all the ingredients!) and them had to clean my oven. Not the way I was planning on spending my Sunday afternoon.
Hi Lori,
So sorry that happened! Were you using standard size loaf pans? It sounds like the pans may have been too small.