Almost Vegan Zucchini Bread
If I could have made a U-turn on the freeway, I would have… that’s how much I didn’t want to go to this party.
The sheer fact that I was forced to drive in a straight line at high speeds is why I made it to this party.
Now… nothing was wrong with the party. It was set to be a perfectly fine evening of good food and tons of people that I didn’t know. Food and new friends? Come on Joy… get into it!
But sometimes it’s just hard to get into it… right?
I tried every trick in my book. I painted my nails pretty. That usually ups my game. I shaved my legs even though I was wearing a long skirt… you know, for inner confidence. I wore my favorite watch. I wore my favorite ring. I washed my car. I said some prayers. I even made this Almost Vegan Zucchini Bread.
I just couldn’t snap out of my recluse/hermit/ohmygod itotally justwant tostayat hhoooommmmeeee tendencies.
So I drove down the freeway to a party.
Guess what?
I had a good time. Yea. Totally. Of course I had a good time.
Guess what else?
I was so so so glad to get home and sneak a slice of this bread and call it dessert.
Real life. Happening.
As you expect, you’ll find the usual suspects in this breakfast bread.
Zucchini. Shredded.
Cinnamon and such.
And then I put buttermilk in vegan bread. No biggie.
Calling something aaaallllmost vegan just makes it totally not vegan. I know. I’m just really down with the fact that this bread is sans butter, sans eggs, and totally has buttermilk in it. I like buttermilk more than I like being vegan.
If you want to go full vegan… buttermilk can totally be substituted for soy milk or water.
Almost Vegan Zucchini Bread
makes one 8×4 or 9×5-inch loaf
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
3 tablespoons ground flax seed meal
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk (or soy milk or water, just add about 1/8 teaspoon of vinegar as well)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8×4-inch or 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flax seed meal, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and sugars. Whisk thoroughly, then add the shredded zucchini and nuts (if using).
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula. Make sure all of the flour is thoroughly incorporated into the batter. Spoon batter into prepared pan and place in the oven. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Bread will last, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 5 days.
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Oh my goodness Joy! I just got the chills. I JUST posted a vegan zuke bread recipe too… freaky! http://www.scissorsandspice.com/2011/10/vegan-mofo-veg-housewives-of-new-jersey.html
This looks delicious. I would make it vegan by adding some vinegar to soy milk (vegan buttermilk!) Love the anecdote about the party. So glad you went
We just got a ridiculous amount of zucchini and squash in our csa box this week–thanks for the perfect timing!
Joy,
I am the same way. Every time there’s an event, I turn into a hermit/recluse/etc., and every time I go, I end up having a good time, but I can never psyche myself into going again! Something I need to work on. Anyhoo, this bread looks great and I may need to make it to get my husband to eat more zucchini- and it would be a tasty treat for me! Thank you!
i’m so glad you understand! thank you!
I understand what you mean. I was supposed to attend my first ever food bloggers meet but chickened out. Yesterday, I met up with another blogger for the first time, all nervous and jittery. Boy, was I glad I went. We have a great time together.
Coconut milk is a substitute if you want to be totally vegan. I really like your photos too. Thanks for the post. This will be a great addition to our holiday food table this year.
This looks like an awesome bread. I love zucchini bread.
I’ve done a little reading, and it seems nearly impossible to be purely vegan.
i’m finally back on your subscriber list! for some reason i was dropped & i have no idea why. the z-bread is wonderful…i have a daughter who eats strictly a plant based diet so i’ll make it for her…using almond milk w/ a jigget of vinegar! i can relate to your “hermit angle”…there were/are times when i feel as you did. sorry to say, though, i’m not always glad that i bit the bullet & went to the party. sometimes the party was not better than an evening at home. zingara
Love zucc bread and this is no exception. Nice.
Delicious and healthy recipe! I love zucchini bread.
I fight my inner hermit a lot, especially when my life is super busy and I feel like I’m overwhelmed. Good for you for finding ways to try to make it more enjoyable! I’m glad you had fun. And the bread looks delish.
Hahaha, oh my goodness, you sounded just like me about that party. I almost NEVER want to bother getting cute and leaving the house (and if it is raining, snowing, or looking like doing either, you can totally bet I want to stay in my sweats), but I am almost always glad when I do. And yet getting home to my sweatpants and whatever treat I have tucked away in my kitchen is still such a good feeling…
Love zucchini bread. Best way to eat zucchini? I think yes.
Wow, thanks for the recipe!! Im a vegetarian and always on the look out for new ones:)
I just posted a regular lasagna recipe transformed using meat substitutes, lol..where this is a will, there is a way:)
Have a great day!
Statements in Fashion
Your post and all the comments on here make me feel better about my own hermit ways. It’s just too much work to get dolled up and drive sometimes. I’m always up for a game on the Wii or catching up on a tv show or movie. Those are tried and true forms of entertainment. Going out can be hit or miss and then I get extremely sleepy at an early hour.
This bread sounds like yet another great reason to stay at home. :-)
Ha ha! I totally don’t feel bad about myself anymore for never wanting to go anywhere but always having a wonderful time when I do just make myself go. =) This sounds really delicious and I think I’ve got everything but the flax seed stuff so I may have to try this recipe this weekend! Wonder if my son would try it….
I totally hear ya on the sometimes-I-just-want-to-stay-home vibe. I had that last night when I had to go out to a meeting. Sadly it was not as fun as your evening turned out to be, but at least I still went. :)
Glad to know I’m not the only one that feels like a hermit some times.
This looks FANTASTIC. I’m a huge fan of zucchini bread (recently) and of your blog (for a lot longer) ;0) Was wondering if you might be interested in doing a virtual trunk show with your readers. If you are interested you can email me at the email I listed to leave a comment. Looking forward to your email and especially to the next yummy you’ll come up with!! ~M
This looks delicious! Bookmarking now.
Joy, I so hope this works. I just moved to Spain from Alabama and am missing all things baked. I didn’t have any measuring cups so I eyeballed it all and now I have zucchini bread baking in a cake pan in the oven. I know it’ll be tasty! Thanks!
making this today!
Definitely understand the “I just want to stay home” feeling. We recently moved to a place that more of our friends live, and its been fun… except they want to get together EVERY weekend and do a pot luck. The first couple weekends were a lot of fun. I made lots of yummy things to bring and had a great time. And then we hit the 2 month mark and I was like “Blech. I don’t feel like cooking again.” I think it would be more fun if it was only once a month, you know? Every weekend is just too much.
Joy,
I have a question about your quick breads. You must use a bigger loaf pan than is normal for the standard sets or something, because whenever I make your banana, pumpkin, or zucc bread the batter always rises way too much and spills out in my oven! I thought I had an 8×4, but it looks like you mostly use a 9×5 so I thought that was the problem, but you suggest either/or in this recipe. Am I doing something wrong, or just trying to fit too much batter into my pan?
I love that you don’t have butter and eggs in this zuc bread, but what you call “almost vegan”, I just call “super frugal” or “don’t feel like going to the store”! :)
you nailed it!
Nooooo this is such a problem….I have zucchinis in my fridge, and I am craving craving craving this zucchini bread but I have an exam and a paper due tomorrow………….life is full of dilemmas. All I want is for this bread to jump out of the internet.
So. Good! Love the way you bumped up the spices and left out the butter and eggs – don’t miss them at all! And it made a dent in the humongous zucchini in the fridge. Next time I’m using a bundt pan to get even more of the yummy crust – thanks!
Hermit high-five!
Vegan quickbreads are so good that buttermilk can only make things better.
I made this bread with gluten-free flour for my mom’s birthday, she loved it. It was delicious, thanks so much.