I've taken a tried & true zucchini bread recipe and turned it into mini loaves. Each mini zucchini bread can be customized with their own mix-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or candied ginger.
Follow the recipe to create personalized mini loaves for family members, gifting, or just to keep things interesting when you're overrun with zucchini. A regular batch of zucchini bread will make 4 mini loaves - scale this recipe to easily make a double or triple batch.
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Recipe
Equipment
- 4 mini loaf pans that measure roughly 3" x 5.5" across the top, from the inside edges (so as not to include the thickness of the pan)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces shredded zucchini ~2 cups for a single batch
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil neutral flavor
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup granulated sugar see note (reduce if using sweet mixins)
- ½ cup brown sugar not packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1.5 teaspoon cinnamon see note
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg (a pinch)
- ⅛ teaspoon clove (a pinch)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 9 ounces all purpose flour (2 cups)
- 3 tablespoon turbinado or brown sugar for topping
Flavor mix-ins: quantity listed for each individual mini loaf
- ¼ cup chocolate chips per mini loaf
- ¼ cup walnuts per mini loaf
- ¼ cup raisins per mini loaf and add extra ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon candied ginger per mini loaf and add extra couple pinches of ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ on bake (not convection). Spray or grease your mini loaf pans.
- Shred zucchini: shred on a box grater or food processor. No need to squeeze out the liquid. Add to a large bowl.12 ounces shredded zucchini
- Mix in: Add oil, eggs, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and spices. (You can replace the spices with 2 teaspoon of Pie Spice). Mix thoroughly to combine. NOTE! If including sweet add-ins, reduce sugar by ¼ cup in this step.⅔ cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon table salt, 1.5 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg (a pinch), ⅛ teaspoon clove (a pinch)
- Add baking soda and baking powder and mix thoroughly to combine. You cannot overmix at this point, so don't be shy.¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Gently add flour: Measure out the 12 ounces (2 cups) flour and add to the bowl. Mix gently until just combined.9 ounces all purpose flour
- Scoop batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Custom mixins: If adding in extras, gently stir those in now. Do not overmix or bread can be tough and dense. In general, mix in ¼ cup of 'stuff' per mini zucchini loaf. Sprinkle turbinado or brown sugar over the top.3 tablespoon turbinado or brown sugar
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 200-205℉. At 15-20 minutes, check for doneness with an instant read thermometer. If it reads under 150℉, add 10 minutes and check again. If it reads 180℉ add 5 minutes, and add 2 minutes if it reads 190℉.
- Let cool for at least an hour! Let the bread cool for 1+ hours in its own pan. This lets the heat dissipate and the internal texture to firm up (have you ever cut a quick bread open and noticed how it is gummy when cut into!?). Store on the counter covered with a tea towel for up to 3-4 days. You can also store in a plastic container covered with a paper towel (to absorb extra moisture).
Notes
- Chocolate chips: scant ¼ cup
- Ginger: add an extra pinch of ground ginger and 2 tablespoon of crystallized ginger
- Raisins: add a scant ¼ cup, increase cinnamon by ¼ tsp
- Nuts: add scant ¼ cup
Nutrition
Tips for working with zucchini
Any type of zucchini or summer squash works out perfectly for making both regular and mini zucchini bread. I've used medium and large sizes and they all turn out great.
Larger zucchini might be more watery, but I've used mine as is, without squeezing out extra water and they turned out great. I do remove the seeds in larger zucchini, however.
Most types of summer squash taste incredibly similar with a fairly neutral flavor. Any variety should work in this bread and not impact the flavor or texture. I used green and yellow summer squash in the same batch and as you can see from the photo above, the flecks of color are adorable. If you don't want the flecks of color, simply peel the zucchini.
Zucchini can also be shredded ahead of time and stored, covered in the fridge for a couple days. It stays surprisingly crisp and doesn't brown. I've made bread using shredded zucchini kept in the fridge for two days and it worked great (or should I say grate?).
Standard size vs mini loaf pans
Bread loaf pans are usually one of two standard sizes:
- 4.5 x 8.5 inch pan which holds 6 cups (often called a 1 lb loaf pan)
- 5 x 9 inch pan which holds 8 cups (sometimes labeled as a 1.25 lb loaf pan)
The majority of yeast-based sandwich breads use the smaller loaf pan, while most quick bread recipes call for the larger 5 x 9 sized pan - thanks to a tip from King Arthur Baking on bread pan sizes.
Mini loaf pans are usually a 2-cup capacity. This means that a regular zucchini bread recipe designed for an 8-cup capacity 5 x 9 pan will fit perfectly into 4 mini loaf pans.
The 2-cup mini pans measure 3 x 5.5 inches. The standard way to measure a loaf pan is across the top of the rim, from the inside edge to inside edge (you don't want to include the thickness of the pan). The mini tins are sloped inward toward the bottom, which will measure roughly 2.5 x 4.75 inches.
Mini loaf pan options
I wanted to include a few links to mini loaf pans on Amazon that show measurements so you can get a feeling for the correct size. These are affiliate links, so I do get a small commission if you buy something. I always try to be very up front about my recommendations.
- Nordic Ware regular mini loaf pans (reusable, not disposable) - I have not used these, but might buy them this year. A sturdier aluminum pan will cook slightly better than the disposable kind.
- Chef Made regular mini loaf pans (reusable, not disposable) - same as above, I have not used these.
- Aluminum, disposable mini pans with plastic lids. This is the product I bought for the convenience of gifting with a plastic lid. They worked as expected - nothing to complain or rave about, other than they are labeled as 1-lb loaf pans when they are 2-cup minis.
If you want to get creative, try the Nordic Ware Harvest mini loaf pan that has really cute fall designs like leaves, nuts, and squirrels that bake right into each mini zucchini bread. The individual loaf cavities appear to measure about 2.5 x 4" according to a reviewer. I imagine my zucchini bread recipe will fill all 6 of these, since they are smaller.
I haven't tried this pan myself, but it's on my wishlist now (how can it not be?)! Before you buy it, look through the photos in the reviews. Some people's breads and cakes turn out adorable, others not so much!
How far to fill the pans
The recipe makes roughly 3 cups of batter, which splits evenly by filling four mini pans with ¾ cup of batter each. But I wanted to test if this was the optimal fill amount, because I could easily split the batter among more or less pans.
It turns out that ¾ cup portions are perfect. Here are the results:
- ½ cup per tin made a tiny loaf
- ¾ cup per tin made a loaf with the perfect height and ratio
- 1 cup per tin raised to the top and spread out but didn't dome nice like a muffin. It looked messy, but would be fine if making just for yourself.
Cook time & temperatures
Zucchini breads, whether they are regular sized or small, can all be baked at the same oven temperature - it's the cooking time that will vary.
Preheat your oven to 350ºF - not on convection. Quick breads can dry out when the convection fan circulates the hot air around, so it's best to use the regular bake option. This is true for muffins and cakes as well (but cookies benefit from the even heat distribution of convection).
Bake the zucchini bread mini loaves for 25-30 minutes. The time will vary based on how wet your batter is, the material of your pan, and your oven's temperature variations. Start checking on your bread after 20 minutes.
I find the toothpick test unreliable - I'm still not sure how to make a toothpick come out clean but without drying out the zucchini bread. Instead, I use an instant read thermometer and love the reliability it gives me.
Once you start checking baked goods with a thermometer, you won't go back. The quick breads are perfect every single time. No more under baked gummy breads or loaves that dry out. This is especially helpful when I am giving these away as gifts - I'm confident they are done perfectly and don't have to give the whole speech that 'this might not be my best, but I tried!'
Zucchini bread (and other quick breads) are done when their internal temperature reaches 200ºF and up to 205ºF. This is true for any quick bread recipe, regardless of size.
Freezing zucchini bread
To freeze these mini zucchini breads, first let them cool completely then prepare them for freezing. Leaving the loaves whole will preserve their texture longer than wrapping individual slices which will dry out faster.
Plastic & foil
If you baked the mini loaves in disposable tins, you can leave them in the tin. Wrap a layer of plastic wrap around the loaf and tin. (If they are not in a tin, wrap a layer of plastic wrap around the bread).
The plastic wrap helps keep the bread's moisture from escaping because it's wrapped tight against the bread, keeping air away. However, thin plastic wrap doesn't hold up to the cold freezer temperatures well by itself.
To stand up to the freezer, you'll want to wrap it again, but with foil this time or placed in a thicker freezer-safe bag or container. The foil alone isn't going to form a tight seal, which is why the plastic wrap underlayer was also required. The freezer-safe plastic bag is decent on its own, but it's hard to get all of the air out, so the extra layer of plastic wrap is still providing protection from the air.
Vacuum seal
Alternatively, you can vacuum seal the breads to minimize any chance of freezer burn. The trick to vacuum sealing baked goods is to first place them in the freezer until they are hard - usually a couple of hours. Then remove them from the freezer and vacuum seal.
This prevents the breads from getting squished in the vacuum sealing process. You might think they can be squished and will bounce back when thawed - but that is not the case (as I learned from personal experience).
To eat, thaw in the fridge overnight.
More zucchini recipes
If you're making zucchini bread, there's a good chance you're overrun with zucchini. I know the feeling, so I've collected a whole bunch of recipes to help you cook through them all.
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