If you know someone who “doesn’t like zucchini,” they’ll still love this bread. The zucchini does help the bread stay so incredibly moist, tender, and it just melts in your mouth. Between the oil, sour cream, and natural moisture from the zucchini and green apple, it’s impossible to have a dry loaf. I think the green apple flavor shines through and you really can’t even taste the zucchini, especially because the brown sugar frosting is so scrumptious. That is really for me what dominates the total flavor profile. Truthfully, the boiled brown sugar frosting is the best part of the recipe in my opinion. And while the bread is still amazing without the frosting, the frosting takes the recipe to the next level and I highly recommend adding it!
Ingredients in This Recipe
This is such a simple recipe and you’ll likely have everything in your pantry and fridge to make this recipe right now!
For the bread:
Egg Vegetable or canola oil Sour cream or Greek yogurt Vanilla extract Granulated sugar Light brown sugar All-purpose flour Cinnamon Ground ginger Baking soda Baking powder Salt Granny Smith apple Zucchini
For the brown sugar frosting:
Unsalted butter Brown sugar Milk or cream Vanilla extract Salt Confectioners’ Sugar
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Apple Zucchini Bread
Making zucchini bread with apples is as quick and easy as making classic zucchini bread. The apples add lots of flavor, but not a lot of prep time to the recipe — promise!
How to Prepare the Zucchini and Apples for This Recipe
A Note About the Bake Time
Anytime one is baking with apples, zucchini, bananas, berries, or any fruit or vegetable, the natural juices from the vegetable or fruit seep out during the baking process. It is very important to bake your bread though, and approximately 50 minutes should do the trick, but that is not written in stone. You need to watch your apple zucchini bread and not the clock when evaluating doneness. Do not be afraid to bake your bread for 70 minutes if that’s what it needs in order to get it cooked through.
More Easy Zucchini Bread Recipes:
My Entire Zucchini Recipe Collection — From sweet to savory, sides to main dishes, this collection of amazing zucchini recipes has you covered! In the fridge: Store airtight for up to 8 days. In the freezer: Store airtight for up to 4 months, noting that if you are planning to freeze this bread, I would frost the bread upon thawing and not before freezing it because the frosting could change textures with the freezing/thawing. Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread – This EASY, no-mixer homemade quick bread combines tangy lemon flavor with tender zucchini which keeps it so incredibly soft, tender, and moist! Topped with a simple lemon glaze, this bread is not overly sweet. It’s PERFECT for breakfast, brunch, as a snack, or as a lighter summer dessert! Blueberry Zucchini Bread — This blueberry zucchini bread is a quick, no-mixer recipe that’s sweet, but not too sweet. Each bite is bursting with fresh blueberries! Blueberry Banana Zucchini Bread — This is an easy zucchini bread recipe that’s packed with bananas and juicy blueberries. I guarantee this will be your new favorite quick bread! How to Make Zucchini Bread (Classic Recipe!) – Super moist, tender, loaded with chocolate chips, and so EASY to make!! One bowl, no mixer, and THE BEST zucchini bread you’ll ever try!! Zucchini Banana Bread — This zucchini banana bread is so soft, tender, uber-moist, dense enough to be satisfying, but still light! It’s just sweet enough to taste like a dessert and not like you’re eating vegetables. It really is the BEST zucchini bread recipe!! Carrot Zucchini Bread — Fast, easy, one bowl, no mixer!! Super soft, moist, and tastes so good you’ll forget it’s on the healthier side! Originally posted August 21, 2020 and reposted August 11, 2023 with updated text.
