Grain free zucchini bread; made with coconut flour and flaxseed, this is a paleo friendly, gluten free, dairy free, high protein recipe. It’s also nut free!
I love making quick breads, especially ones using grated or pureed vegetables which give bulk and substance to grain free breads without being too heavy. One of my personal favourites is this grain free zucchini bread, particularly because I can just grate the zucchini in raw, which is very efficient! Whack everything into a big bowl, mash it all together and chuck it in the oven; no fuss. Unlike most grain free breads, this recipe is also nut free, which is a nice change and perfect for allergies/sensitivities too of course.
Combining the lightness of coconut flour with ground flaxseed gives this grain free zucchini bread such a nice texture, while also making this a mega high fibre slice. Ground flaxseed can soak up quite a lot of moisture and keeps this bread soft and gives it some stretch, without using gluten-containing ingredients. Add in the zucchini and you have a wonderfully soft loaf, perfect for piling high with all of your favourite toppings. You can also flavour this loaf to be slightly sweet or slightly savoury; I have put some suggestions in the recipe notes below.
To get the most out of your grain free zucchini bread, I’d recommend slicing up the whole loaf into 1cm slices and then freezing as it keeps in the freezer really well. Then you’ve always got some handy when you’re in the mood for toast! I pop a small square of greaseproof paper between each slice so it’s easy to pull individual serves out (don’t you hate it when the toast slices are stuck together?!).
Grain free Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 75 grams coconut flour (2/3 cup)
- 110 grams ground flaxseed (2/3 cup)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarb soda
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 300-400 grams zucchini/courgette (2 medium-large)
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (125 mL)
- 6 eggs
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a loaf tin* with baking paper.
- Combine all the dry ingredients (coconut flour, ground flaxseed, baking powder, bicarb and salt) in a large bowl, ensuring no lumps are in the flour. Add in any herbs/nutritional yeast/other dry seasonings, if you are using them (see recipe notes below).
- Grate the zucchini and add the to the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients (oil, eggs, vinegar, honey).
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine everything evenly. You should have a thick, wet kind of "dough."
- Scoop the batter into the loaf tin and press it in so the surface is smooth and even.
- Bake for approximately 55-60 minutes or until the top is a deep golden brown, slightly crunchy and the centre of the loaf feels firm to touch.
- Allow the loaf to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- 3-5 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes and an extra pinch of salt for a slightly savoury, cheesy loaf;
- 2-3 tbsp mixed dried herbs and an extra pinch of salt (oregano and thyme work nicely, or an Italian-style herb mix);
- An extra 2 tbsp honey or a touch of maple syrup and 1 tsp cinnamon for a slightly-sweet version.
Love this recipe!
Thank you so much Monica! š
Cold eggs made the melted coconut oil go hard, might be a good idea to add eggs at room temperature to the recipe. Could not re-melt the oil without cooking the eggs so had to start over.
This looks yummy! I’ll be trying it today. I wonder….for those looking for a substitute for ground flax, would it be worth their while to try ground chia seed? I have used them interchangeably for other recipes.
Thank you for your comment Teri! I think ground up chia seed can be used interchangeably for flax, though to be honest I can never find it in the shops here so I hardly ever use it myself. I wonder if it will affect the consistency of the bread though as there is so much flax in this – and chia and flax have a slightly different texture. š
Hi Monique, I would like to make this but am on an egg-free diet. Are there substitutes for this? perhaps flaxseeds + water?
Hi Melissa, unfortunately for this bread you do really need the eggs in it because it needs so many of them. With the chia or flax egg substitutes, I have found they only work when a recipe needs a small amount of egg, maybe 2-3. They just don’t have the same binding capacity in large amounts. Plus, there is already a lot of flaxseed in there, so I don’t think flax eggs are going to give the same effect. Sorry about that!
Iāve just made this bread. I do really like the taste, but itās VERY moist. Should I have used the paper towel to dry the zucchini. Also when roasting, when I try to pull it out of the toaster and just falls apart and pieces get stuck in the toaster. Did you have this issue? Or did you use toaster oven where itās flat and you put it on a tray in it? Iām just using a regular toaster with the frozen bread (which is moist even while frozen)
Hi Becky, sorry for the delay in getting back to you, thank you for your feedback. I have had mixed feedback on whether it is necessary to dry the zucchini before making this bread. Originally when I made this recipe, I tested it without drying out the zucchini. But I think that it might be safer to recommend drying out the zucchini using a tea towel or paper towel – because coconut flour seems to vary so widely with how absorbent it is, and because everyone will measure slightly differently, and because all ovens are different… I think drying out the zucchini is more likely to produce a firm bread. Hope that all made sense! š Regarding toasting, I usually just pop the slices in the oven to toast, or, and this might sound weird… I defrost it (microwave) and then just toast it in a frypan on the stove (a few minutes on each side). It is a bit sticky/soft when it’s in a regular toaster. (Though if you make it with the zucchini dried out, it might be easier!) Monique x
Hi You wrote to preheat oven to 180 C. I believe you were suppose to say 180 F as after one hour I still had a gooey dish of batter
Hi Diane, I’m sorry you didn’t get the result with the recipe. I’m a bit confused by your comment though – 180 C i.e. 180 degrees Celsius is much hotter than 180 F i.e. 180 degrees Fahrenheit. I definitely meant to write “180 C” for Celsius. This is about 350 F. š
Hi Monique, I saw this recipe and am keen to try it out. In the past when I have used zucchini in baked recipes, I have had to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini before adding it in to the mixture. Your recipe does not mention this. Does that mean it is not necessary?
Hi Linda, thank you for your message! With my recipe, it’s not really necessary to squeeze out the zucchini. When I designed the recipe, it was with no squeezing – there’s lots of flaxseed and coconut flour in there to help soak up the moisture that is given off by the zucchini. I have made this before and just patted a little of the excess water out with paper towelling though – I do think it helps to make a more “bready” texture š
Hi! I was wondering what I could use instead of eggs? My little girl cant eat them.
Hi Chandor! I haven’t tried making this recipe without eggs unfortunately, as this particular bread (given the large amount of coconut flour) tends to require quite a lot of them. You could possibly try replacing them with a mixture of mashed banana and “chia eggs” (maybe 1 and 1/2 mashed bananas and 3 “chia eggs”) but I can’t guarantee the loaf will still turn out the same, as these vegan egg substitutes tend to only work really well when replacing a small amount of eggs. Another option would be to look for a vegan egg replacer (usually sold as a powder) which you can find in health food stores. š
OH MY GOODNESS!! my first ever attempt at baking a “paleo bread” i just finished making it and let me say it taste so good !!!!!! i did add in dried herbs and nutritional yeast flakes and was thinking next time i might add sun-dried tomatoes. Great recipe!!! thankyou for sharing š š
Brianna, thank you SO much for this wonderful comment and rating! I’m so happy to read this and so happy you liked the bread. Yum, I love adding in all of the herbs and nutritional yeast too – and sun-dried tomatoes (or maybe some diced olives?) would be great too! š
Hi! Is there a replacement for bicarb? I don’t have it and I have never heard of it before! Also, any suggestions for flax seed replacement? I have whole flax seed, but definitely not enough to make 2/3 cup ground. Thanks!
Hi Briana! The bicarb is also known as baking soda – do you have that? Otherwise you can try using baking powder (which is slightly different, but might be okay. You’ll likely need to double the amount). In terms of a ground flax substitute, I’m sorry but I’ve not tried this recipe with anything else. Ground flax helps to bind the bread together. You could potentially use whatever ground flax you have, and then make up the rest of the amount with oat flour or buckwheat flour. If you do that, let me know how you go! š
Loved this bread and i shared it wrh friends who didnt think it was gluten free! šš
Aww Hazel I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for commenting. It’s always so nice and reassuring when even people who aren’t into gluten-free like something š
Hi there!! Is there a substitute for flax as I can’t have that :(. Also is this Bread able to be toasted and crunchy?
Hi Nava! I’m not sure if there is a perfect substitute for flaxseed in this recipe I’m sorry. You could try to use almond meal/almond flour which is quite similar in texture, though I haven’t tried it that way. Flaxseed has a bit of a stretchy, sticky consistency when it mixes with liquid so I think with almond flour it might end up a bit more crumbly.
With regards to toasting, you can definitely toast this bread, it stays quite soft in the centre though! It’s kind of more dense and moist like a lot of paleo-style breads. š
This looks amazing. I am featuring it tonight on Allergy-Free Thursdays. Can’t wait to see what you share this week!
Elle, thank you so much! It’s always a treat to be featured š Love this link up!!
I love zucchini bread and yours looks delicious, Monique! Thank you so much for sharing it with us at Allergy Free Thursdays!
Thank you so much Raia š Zucchini bread is just the best, there are so many great recipes aren’t there. Such a versatile vegetable!
How many calories per serving ?
Hi Leanne, I prefer not to count calories on my recipes so unfortunately I’ve not got this data readily available (I have had a few requests for such info though so I am considering it in the future). There are lots of calorie calculators online where you can type in ingredients, if that’s important for you to check right now š Monique
This looks awesome!
Thank you so much Bethany! It’s one of my favourite quick breads. Zucchini is just so versatile š
Does it work without the cider vinegar?
Hi Charlotte! The apple cider vinegar helps to raise the bread a little as the vinegar reacts with the bicarb and creates air bubbles If you don’t want to use the cider vinegar you can also try a dash of lemon juice. It will probably work without the vinegar just perhaps a little more dense (though I have not tried it without it). Monique x
Thank you, I’ll give it a go š