Brown Butter Zucchini Bread

This brown butter zucchini bread is incredibly moist, warmly spiced, and just a little richer than classic zucchini bread. Browning the butter gives the loaf a subtle toasted, nutty flavor that works so well with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and brown sugar.

If you have more zucchini than you know what to do with, you’ll also want my guide to freezing zucchini for baking so you can keep making zucchini recipes long after summer is over.

Why You'll Love This Brown Butter Zucchini Bread

• Extra flavor from one simple change. Browning the butter adds a warm, toasted flavor that makes an already good zucchini bread taste even better.
• Super moist without being heavy. Applesauce and grated zucchini give you that soft, moist crumb you want from a good quick bread.
• One loaf or four mini loaves. Bake it in a standard loaf pan or divide the batter into four mini pans for gifting, freezing, or selling.

The Secret Is the Brown Butter

You can make zucchini bread with vegetable oil, and I did for years. Oil gives quick breads great moisture, but it doesn’t contribute much flavor. Browned butter does both.

In this recipe, I don't replace the small amount of moisture that evaporates while the butter browns.

Normally that loss can matter in baking. Here, the zucchini and applesauce already bring plenty of moisture to the batter. The end result is still an exceptionally moist loaf.

How to Brown the Butter

Place ½ cup butter in a small saucepan over medium to medium-low heat.

Allow it to melt completely, then continue cooking. The butter will foam and sputter as the water cooks off. Stir or swirl the pan occasionally so you can keep an eye on the milk solids at the bottom.

Once you see golden brown bits and smell a distinct toasted, nutty aroma, take the pan off the heat.

How to Prepare the Zucchini

I grate my zucchini by hand using a box grater.

There's no need to peel it first. Just wash it, trim the ends, and grate it.

After grating, spread the zucchini onto a couple of paper towels and gently pat the surface.

You're not wringing it dry or trying to remove all of the zucchini's moisture. That moisture is part of what gives zucchini bread its soft texture. You're simply blotting away a little excess water from the surface.

How to Make Brown Butter Zucchini Bread

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you don't need a mixer.

1. Brown the butter.

Brown the butter until the milk solids are golden brown and smell toasted and nutty. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.

2. Mix the wet ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, browned butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.

You don't need to beat a lot of air into the mixture. Stir until everything is well blended.

3. Combine the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

4. Bring the batter together.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold just until most of the flour disappears.

The batter will finish mixing when you add the zucchini, so don't keep stirring until it looks perfectly smooth at this stage.

5. Fold in the zucchini.

Add the grated zucchini and gently fold until it's evenly distributed.

Stop once everything is combined. The finished batter should be thick but very moist.

Baking Mini Zucchini Bread Loaves

This recipe fits perfectly into four 6 x 3.5 x 2-inch disposable aluminum loaf pans.

My favorite 1-pound mini loaf pans with lids

Divide the batter evenly among the four pans.

Bake until the tops are set and the centers test done, about 25 to 35 minutes. I start checking at the 25-minute mark because ovens and small loaf pans can bake very differently.

There are two ways I like to check them.

Insert a toothpick near the center of the loaf. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs rather than wet batter.

You can also very gently touch the center of the surface. If wet batter sticks to your fingertip, it needs more time. If the surface feels set and doesn't stick, you're getting very close.

That second test is especially useful when you're baking several mini loaves at once.

Let the loaves cool in their pans for about 15 to 20 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Baking One Full-Size Loaf

You can also bake this recipe as one standard loaf.

Transfer the batter to a prepared loaf pan and bake until the center is completely set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

A full loaf will naturally take considerably longer than the mini loaves, so use the visual and texture cues rather than relying only on the clock.

Don't Overbake Zucchini Bread

This is one recipe where I'd rather start checking a few minutes early.

Zucchini bread continues to set as it cools. If you wait until the loaf feels completely firm and dry while it's still in the oven, you may have already baked away some of the moisture you're trying to preserve.

Look for a set top, a center that doesn't feel wet when gently touched, and a toothpick with moist crumbs rather than wet batter.

Those cues are more reliable than baking time alone.

Storage and Freezing

Once completely cool, wrap the zucchini bread well or place it in an airtight container.

It stays wonderfully moist at room temperature for several days. In fact, like many quick breads, I think the texture is even better after it has had a little time to sit.

For longer storage, wrap the cooled loaf tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it.

Mini loaves are especially convenient for freezing because you can thaw one at a time instead of committing to a full-size loaf.

And if your problem isn't leftover zucchini bread but extra zucchini, use my guide to freezing zucchini to save your summer harvest for future baking.

This started as one of those accidental recipe changes I made because I was missing an ingredient. Now brown butter is the way I want to make zucchini bread every time. If you already love a good, super-moist zucchini bread, try this version the next time you have a zucchini sitting on the counter. I think you'll taste the difference.