Spiced Zucchini Bread Recipe

'Tis the season for spice and everything nice — well, spiced bread, that is. There's something about the fall and winter months that makes us want to add spices like nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon to all of our recipes. And considering how delicious they are, it's pretty easy to see why! Recipe developer Hayley MacLean clearly agrees with this sentiment, and her spiced zucchini bread recipe is proof of that. Zucchini bread is like banana bread's slightly greener sibling, and with these added spices, it offers a festive kick.

"I love the wonderful warming spices in this bread," MacLean says of this dish. "The flavors of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are so perfect for the season and add such great depth to the bread!" She also says that she definitely sees this as a fall-themed recipe and notes how "the spices used are quintessential to cooking during this time of year." She says, "They fill the air with such a familiar, cozy fragrance, and warm the body through," and honestly, what more could you ask for from a seasonal recipe? Let's get started.

Like many types of bread, this recipe calls for some staple ingredients — luckily, most of them are already sitting in your pantry! For starters, you'll need some flour, baking soda, baking powder, white sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Additionally, you'll need some applesauce, eggs, vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. And, of course, it wouldn't be zucchini bread without the beloved green squash, so be sure to have some grated zucchini on hand.

Finally, for some extra crunch, MacLean includes chopped walnuts in this recipe, but those are optional. "The walnuts can be switched out for any other mix-ins you would like," MacLean notes. "Chocolate chips would be a wonderful addition, along with any nut of your liking!"

Once you have the ingredients for this recipe sorted, you can get started. First, preheat your oven to 350 F and grease two loaf pans. Then, grab a large mixing bowl and beat together the eggs, oil, applesauce, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Now, grab a separate bowl and toss in the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk these ingredients together until just combined.

After you've finished mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately, you can finally combine them. It's important to mix them separately at first so that there aren't any lumps or unmixed ingredients. Simply add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, mixing until you get an even batter. "This batter can look rather dry while you are making it, but resist the urge to add more liquid," MacLean warns. "The shredded zucchini adds moisture when it is folded in, and it brings the batter to the perfect consistency." Speaking of the shredded zucchini, go ahead and fold that in at this point. Also, add your chopped walnuts if you'd like, along with any other add-ins that sound good.

As soon as you've finished making the batter, go ahead and pour it out evenly into the two greased loaf pans. Then, pop them into the oven to bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. After they finish baking, let the loaves cool for 20 minutes in the pan, and then transfer them to wire racks to finish cooling.

At this point, you're ready to enjoy your spiced zucchini bread! "This bread is best enjoyed warm with a bit of butter and a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning — the perfect start to a chilly Autumn day," MacLean suggests. Of course, you can enjoy this bread any time of day, and something tells us that this just might become your favorite fall-themed recipe.