Sour Cream Zucchini Bread
This easy Sour Cream Zucchini Bread is moist, tender, has just the right amount of sweetness and warm spices, and is one of the best ways to use up some of that extra zucchini!
Servings: 2 loaves (about 12 slices each)
Estimated Calories: 217
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 1 cup extra-light tasting olive oil, or vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups shredded zucchini, leave skin on, grate into a bowl, and don't drain the liquid
- ½ cup sour cream, I use full-fat
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Spray the bottom and sides of two 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pans with cooking spray (I use glass/Pyrex pans; you can use metal instead). Line the long side of each loaf pan with parchment paper; leave a small amount of overhang that you can use later to easily lift the baked bread out of the pans (see the step-by-step photos in the post if needed).If you don't have parchment paper, that's okay. Just spray the loaf pans and proceed with the recipe.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar and oil until well-combined.
- Add the eggs, zucchini, sour cream, and vanilla extract to the bowl; mix until well-combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves until well-combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients; mix just until combined and there are no spots of dry flour remaining.Be careful not to overmix the batter, as this can cause your bread to be tough.
- Evenly divide the batter among the prepared loaf pans.
- Bake on the center rack in the oven for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of both loaves comes out clean.In my oven, it takes 75 minutes. But since all ovens are different, start checking at 60 minutes. Be careful not to overbake the bread, which can make it dry.
- Remove the pans from the oven to a wire cooling rack; allow the loaves to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the loaves from the pans (if you used parchment paper, you should be able to easily lift them right out), remove the parchment paper, and place the loaves on the wire cooling rack; allow to cool completely (this will take about 1½ hours).
- Slice and enjoy!Be sure to cool the bread completely before slicing (slicing it too soon could cause the bread to have a gummy, undercooked texture).
Recipe Notes
- For best results, select smaller zucchini; they are usually juicier and have fewer seeds and more tender skin. As a reference, I used one medium zucchini that weighed just under 1 pound to get 2 cups of shredded zucchini.
- If you want to use a large zucchini, taste it first to make sure it is not bitter. Then remove the seeds and peel off any tough skin before grating.
- Grate the zucchini using the larger holes on a box grater, and grate it into a bowl because it will immediately start to release its liquid. But don't drain that liquid; you need to add it to the batter to keep the bread moist.
- When measuring the zucchini, I do not pack it down in the measuring cup.
- If all you have are 9x5-inch loaf pans, you can use them. The bread will likely be done quicker, so you may need to reduce the baking time. The loaves will be shorter as well.
- Store your zucchini bread at room temperature wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in a plastic storage bag for 2 to 3 days or up to a week in the refrigerator. Freeze for longer-term storage.
- Estimated calories shown are for 1 slice (based on 12 slices per loaf).
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