walnut & cranberry zucchini bread

zucchini bread

Slowly but surely, the zucchini in our CSA share have been growing by the week. It was easy to deal with the cute little patty pans, the small heirloomed striped zucchinis, and the lovely crook-necked yellow squashes. I was adding them to scrambled eggs, sautΓ©ing them with garlic, and happily managing the slow-build of summer squash that was entering our kitchen. Then came the big guns: large, unwieldy dark green and bulbous zucchinis….and I was a little bit frightened.

You see, my husband and I aren’t huge fans of summer squash. While I’m coming around to actually starting to like zucchini (a huge step in my personal development), my husband’s smile wavers when there’s some zucchini staring up on his dinner plate. He’ll eat it but he isn’t happy about it. However, he does like zucchini bread. In fact, the loves it. When I made some chocolate zucchini muffins a few years ago, he went crazy for them. So I figured that the easiest way to deal with one of the monster squash was to grate it into a pile and make zucchini bread.

zucchini bread

This recipe makes 2 loaves of the quick bread which is perfect. Cornelius is heading out for a two week bike tour next weekend which will take him and a friend up to Nelson and Kaslo and the surrounding area. One of the loaves will be eaten this week and the other one will be frozen so that he can take it with him in one of his panniers. I’m sure he’ll be very happy to tuck into a slice or two of homemade zucchini bread while resting from the hilly ride along the Crows Nest highway.

zucchini bread

While I didn’t stray to far from the original recipe posted by Elise, I did make a few changes. I subbed in roasted walnut oil for the melted butter and added a couple tablespoons of molasses because I was worried from the comments on her post that this loaf could be dry. My zucchini yielded just over three cups so instead of saving the small amount of zucchini for another use, I just stirred it all into the batter. I also added in ground cloves since I thought it would go nicely with the rest of the spices in the recipe. No harm done whatsoever. This quick bread had great flavour and I loved the buttery crunch from the walnuts. The loaf was moist without being greasy and despite the added molasses, this bread wasn’t too sweet at all. It was zucchini bread perfection.

And just a reminder to those using the roads and highways to keep an eye out for cyclists and give them plenty of room when you pass! And this goes out especially to those RV drivers who seem to love to hug the shoulder. Thank you.

38 comments to “walnut & cranberry zucchini bread”

  1. 1
    bellcurves   August 10, 2010 at 9:10 am

    I’ve been looking for good zucchini bread recipes to try out. There’s one I like but I’m trying to find differend kinds of recipes to see which one I like best. I love zucchini bread.

  2. 2
    Charmed Earth   August 10, 2010 at 9:28 am

    I can’t wait to try this. I made a delicious curried zucchini soup last night, and I’ve been wanting to try a bread soon. I think I found something to bake this weekend!
    xo

  3. 3
    OffTheHooks- Ashley   August 10, 2010 at 10:42 am

    first of all, i love how familiar this post is. nelson, kaslo and the crowsnest highway have all been very happy parts of my life. and i was just thinking the other day that i’m not going to be able to keep up with picking little zucchinis much longer. they’re starting to puff up fast!!!
    can’t wait to try something other than the standard chocolate zucchini loaf, thanks!

  4. 4
    Elizabeth   August 10, 2010 at 11:01 am

    All summer I have been waiting (hoping?) for the CSA-driven zucchini glut, but it hasn’t happened. Whenever it does, I’ll be making this bread.

  5. 5
    Jacqui   August 10, 2010 at 11:41 am

    I’ve been wanting to head up to Nelson and Kaslo for awhile now, I hear it’s beautiful. I bet it’s even better by bike… and a loaf of zucchini bread!

  6. 6
    Maddie   August 10, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    I find the giant, mutant summer squash off-putting. I’ve grated and baked the little ones into a cake, but there’s a crazy-big yellow squash still left over. Glad I’m not alone in my hesitancy to tackle it…

    Safe travels to your husband! πŸ™‚

  7. 7
    Bijoux   August 10, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    That bike trip Cornelius is going on is something my husband would LOVE to do! I, on the other hand, would love to sink my teeth into this delicious looking zucchini bread! I love using walnut oil in salads but never though to add it into baked goods before. Something to keep in mind next time I bake…

  8. 8
    Post-College Working Girl   August 10, 2010 at 9:58 pm

    my boyfriend…and well obviously me too…would love this! He is trying to be healthy, so when I tell him it has zucchini, it will be golden in his eyes…!

  9. 9
    Jessie   August 10, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    I like zucchinis very much but have never thought about adding it to my cakes and breads. Looks like I have something to explore!

  10. 10
    Joanne   August 11, 2010 at 3:20 am

    Good luck to Cornelius on his ride!

    I love zucchini in all of its forms, but especially when infused into baked goods. My roommate swears that one of her favorite of my baked goods is Martha’s zucchini cupcakes, which I made last year. And to think these are going up against cheesecakes, etc.! I will have to try this quickbread. I the cranberry addition.

  11. 11
    karen   August 11, 2010 at 3:58 am

    mmmmmm that loaf looks gorgeous! i can almost taste it! i’m sure Cornelius will love every single bite, especially after a long bike ride. πŸ™‚

  12. 12
    heather @ chiknpastry   August 11, 2010 at 6:45 am

    plus, when has adding molasses ever been a bad thing?! this looks great – i too love zucchini bread!

  13. 13
    Sue   August 11, 2010 at 8:33 am

    I usually make a zucchini orange bread with nuts but I am definitely going to try this variation! Good luck to your hubby on his ride – that is a seriously hilly route.

  14. 14
    Rebecca   August 11, 2010 at 9:58 am

    I just made this and it is as good as it looks! I used whole wheat flour and reduced the sugar to 1 cup and it is still really amazing. I noticed the directions leave out when to add the oil – might be a good idea to add that in πŸ˜‰

  15. 15
    kickpleat   August 11, 2010 at 10:18 am

    bellcurves, please try this one out – it’s a goodie.

    CE, I hope you like this bread, I really enjoyed it! A curried zucchini soup sounds good too.

    Ashley, so glad that this post resonated with you! I wish I was heading to the east kootneys too! I love it up there.

    Elizabeth, with our csa, the glut is here! Yesterday more zucchini tumbled this way! Enjoy it when you can πŸ™‚

    Jacqui, it is so beautiful up there! A few years ago we went camping around there and loved it. I’d move up there in a heartbeat.

    Maddie, shred that huge one into this quick bread. It’s worth it and once you eat it, it becomes totally non-threatening.

    Bijoux, this is the first time I’ve used walnut oil in baking and it worked out well.

    I hope you both love this bread, PCWG! It is healthy and delicious.

    Jessie, if you like carrot cake, zucchini bread isn’t much different at all. My husband thinks it’s better πŸ™‚

    Thanks Joanne, I’ll pass along the well wishes. As for this bread, it’s a good one. I haven’t tried Martha’s cupcakes, but I think this one can stand on its own!

    Karen, I think he will too.

    Agreed, Heather.

    Sue, your version sounds good too. I’m sure some orange zest would be lovely in this! Yup, it’s hilly but he should be okay – he did ride his bike to Montreal once!

    Rebecca, doh! Thanks for the recipe spotting. Fixed! Glad you loved the bread πŸ™‚

  16. 16
    Julia   August 11, 2010 at 11:03 am

    We have also been working through a slight over-abundance of summer squash. It is not my favorite vegetable in the world either – I like it quite a lot in small quantities, but our CSA is providing us with anything but small quantities!
    We actually just recently posted about one new recipe we tried that was really good: http://foodandtheabstracttruth.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/summer-squash-gratin/
    And I was planning on making a zucchini cake today, but might just make your zucchini bread instead!

  17. 17
    Ashley   August 11, 2010 at 1:06 pm

    Oddly I’ve never made zucchini bread before, and so I just bought some zucchini on the weekend to make some. I was going to make the one in the enchanted broccoli forest but maybe I’ll make this one instead! It looks amazing.

  18. 18
    redmenace   August 11, 2010 at 5:39 pm

    I absolutely support this excellent use of zucchini abundance. Zuke bread is the best and yours looks amazing, as usual!

  19. 19
    Dana   August 11, 2010 at 11:23 pm

    I just let go of our CSA right before the zucchini onslaught. The timing is a shame both because I actually really like the stuff and because I have never made zucchini bread. I know, can you believe it?? This looks hearty healthy and tasty. One of my best friends is growing it and I’m hoping she throws some my way.

  20. 20
    kickpleat   August 13, 2010 at 11:12 am

    Julia, I hear you on over-abundance! Zucchinis to the max over here too. Your gratin looks great and I’m sure you’ll love this bread too.

    I hope you try this one out, Ashley. It’s not as oily as other recipes I’ve seen and it’s super yummy.

    Thanks redmenace!

    Dana, you’ve never made zucchini bread? You’ll love it, I’m sure of that.

  21. 21
    gina   August 13, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    yumyum i want to make this πŸ™‚ i might substitute raisans bc they are my fave!

  22. 22
    Amy @ cookbookmaniac.com   August 15, 2010 at 1:09 am

    You have me swooning over this bread. wow. look at all those beautiful colours!

  23. 23
    Megan Gordon   August 15, 2010 at 10:07 pm

    Ah yes…swimming in zucchini. And my neighbors, for some strange reason, keep bringing me some of their own. I’ve been using them in every which way except baking, so I’ve got to get on this. Thanks for the inspiration–and love the fact that this uses walnut oil. I use it in salad dressings often, but don’t think I’ve ever baked with it. Coolness.

  24. 24
    Amanda   August 16, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    Do you think you could substitute applesauce or mashed bananas for the walnut oil?

  25. 25
    kickpleat   August 16, 2010 at 12:32 pm

    gina, raisins would be fine in this πŸ™‚

    Thanks Amy, I love how the photo turned out & I love the flecks of colours.

    Megan, this was my first time baking with it and it worked out fine!

    Amanda, yes, I think you can safely add in applesauce or mashed bananas! I did that in this chocolate-zucchini muffin recipe: http://everybodylikessandwiches.com/2006/09/wait-theres-green-in-my-muffin/

  26. 26
    Esty   August 17, 2010 at 11:24 am

    I’d like to make this for a dinner, what flavors/foods will this go well with?

  27. 27
    kickpleat   August 17, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    Esty, not sure what you mean since you can eat this for dessert.

  28. 28
    Bridget   August 19, 2010 at 3:52 am

    Did you know that you can grate zucchini and freeze it for later use in quickbreads and such? Very easy, and you can save some of the summer bounty for a surprise fresh zucchini bread this fall or winter.

  29. 29
    Kate   August 24, 2010 at 10:26 am

    Oh my, that looks insanely tasty. You get to sneak summer veggies into a bread with Christmasy, desserty spices. What a treat. Can’t wait to make it.

  30. 30
    kickpleat   August 25, 2010 at 1:05 pm

    Bridget, yes! I just did that a couple of weeks ago. I can’t wait to use it in the depths of winter.

    Thanks Kate, it’s a good loaf with yummy warm spices. Enjoy!

  31. 31
    Jo   October 2, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’ve been using my mom’s zucchini bread recipe forever and this one was a really nice change. I never thought to put cranberries in it, and I love how moist the molasses makes it. This will be my go-to recipe for zuchinni bread from now on!

  32. 32
    Erica   December 22, 2014 at 12:14 am

    Delicious recipe, thank you for sharing. I used only 1 cup of sugar and it was sweet enough for me.

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