pumpkin zucchini bread

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread is super moist, tender, and perfectly spiced! Cozy up with a slice for your new favorite Fall breakfast or little treat. This easy-one bowl recipe is ready to bake in no time–and you probably have all the ingredients on hand!

Because I have been craving both zucchini and pumpkin breads lately, I am so happy to report via this lovely recipe that you can, in fact, combine the two and it is indeed a magical, miraculous result. This bread is sweet, soft, spiced, moist, and dense but not too heavy. And I am loving the crunch from the pepita topping! I highly recommend it for your fall baking extravaganzas (which are totally a thing for you, too, right?).

My fall extravaganzas always, always include this bread, the best pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice oatmeal cookies, brown butter pumpkin cinnamon rolls, and a fair amount of these cozy and comforting fall recipes! I also constantly make batches of apple pie filling to layer cakes and trifles. The Fall season just speaks to me!

Professional Tips for Quick Breads & Pumpkin Recipes

• Don’t over-mix. Over-mixing is especially easy with one bowl quick bread recipes. I switch from a whisk to a spatula to finish folding the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
• Watch that bake time! Quick breads bake a long time, so it can be easy to over or under bake them. Keep a cake tester nearby and do a quick check as you near the 35 minute mark.
• Use canned pumpkin puree. Some people have a strong preference for fresh; however, as a pastry chef, I prefer canned pumpkin over fresh pumpkin for baking. Canned pumpkin’s moisture is tightly controlled, which makes it consistent. Too much moisture will make a quick bread gummy.
• Let your pumpkin zucchini bread cool! I know, I know. I am guilty of this baking sin too, but cooling properly allows the crumb to set. Slicing quick bread while still hot will make it appear underbaked and compress the loaf.

Ingredients

• Zucchini: You will need about 2 cups of shredded zucchini for this recipe. Save any extra zucchini for some of mom’s zucchini bread or a savory dish like my zucchini nachos!
• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to hold all the sugar, oil, zucchini and pumpkin without making a chewy, tough quick bread.
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder: Double acting baking powder will react instantly when it is mixed with an acid and then again when it is heated. Because it is double acting, it has a slower, more stable rise than baking soda alone.
• Kosher Salt
• Vegetable Oil
• Spices: I use store-bought pumpkin pie spice in this recipe. but if you have a moment, I recommend the homemade blend from my pumpkin spice recipe. It has all the fall favorites, including cloves and nutmeg!
• Whole Eggs
• Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture, and light molasses flavor. Coconut sugar or dark brown sugar can be substituted if desired.
• Sugar
• Pumpkin Puree: I use Libby’s pumpkin puree to develop all my recipes. Use whichever brand you prefer. Just be sure to grab pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix!
• Vanilla Extract
• Pepitas (optional): Pepitas are the insides of pumpkin seeds. They will toast nicely on the bread to add texture and beautiful toasted flavor.  

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Bake zucchini pumpkin muffins instead. This pumpkin bread recipe turns into my on-the-go afternoon snack when I bake it in muffin form, similar to my pumpkin pecan muffins. Just divide the batter into lined muffin tins and bake for about half the time! I also love topping those with my cream cheese frosting recipe!
• Substitute coconut oil for vegetable oil. Just like I did in my fluffy coconut flour pancakes, you can use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. It will still be moist, flavorful and you won’t taste the coconut.  
• Make a streusel topping. You can use oat, cinnamon, or pecan streusel. Sprinkle a crumb topping, like the one from my coffee cake muffins or caramel apple crumb cake, on top before baking, but be sure not to place too much, as it could keep the bread from rising.

How to Make Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 9” x 5” loaf pans and coat with granulated sugar. Tap out any excess sugar. You can use it in the recipe if you want!

Step 2: Place shredded zucchini in a colander. Cover with a layer of paper towels to absorb some of the liquid. Set aside while you prepare the batter.

Use room temperature ingredients. Your batter will mix more evenly if your ingredients are at room temperature, especially your dairy and produce. A more even batter means a more consistent crumb and a better rise! Tender breads here you come!

Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

Step 4: In a separate large bowl, whisk together light brown sugar, sugar, oil, and eggs until smooth and no streaks of egg are visible. Whisk in pumpkin puree and vanilla.

Step 5: Whisk dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until partially incorporated.  Tap out the whisk. Add zucchini and finish mixing with a rubber spatula until just incorporated.

The order of mixing matters. Make sure you follow the mixing protocol. The eggs must be emulsified with the oil and sugar before adding the pumpkin puree or the dry ingredients. Otherwise, it could lead to greasy bread.

Step 6: Divide between the two prepared pans. If you so choose, top with pepitas. Bake in a preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, rotating about halfway through.

The amount of batter in each pan will impact the bake time. The pumpkin zucchini bread is done when a cake tester is inserted into the center and comes out clean or with just a few clinging crumbs. No wet streaks! You can also use a paring knife or toothpick.

Step 7: Cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out to finish cooling completely on a wire rack.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out my other favorite quick breads!