Vegan Zucchini Bread

This holiday season I chose to attend several local holiday craft fairs. They're fun and festive, get you in the holiday mood and are a good source of inspiration for gifts and treats. I say inspiration because I usually browse rather than buy at them--price inflation can be fairly significant and there's rarely anything vegan among the edible offerings.

At any rate I usually leave with a couple of unique but inexpensive ornaments and a craving for the traditional treats I've been seeing and smelling all day, in particular the little loafs of various holiday breads lined up in a row.

So I decided to make my own vegan version of my favorite, zucchini bread.

Vegan Zucchini Bread

Vegan Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

Dry ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

¼-1/2 cup oat bran

¾-1 cup sugar or sweetener

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

dash cardamom

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼-1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

½ cup applesauce

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp almond extract

2/3 cup soy milk

2 cups shredded zucchini

Chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Shred your zucchini using either the top disk of a food processor or a box grater.

Mix the dry ingredients together. (Use the higher amount of bran if making the sugar free version to improve the texture)

Stir together the wet ingredients.

Mixing the batter

Combine dry and wet mixes together and stir in the zucchini, taking care not to over-mix. 

In the loaf pan

Pour batter into two parchment lined 7 by 3 inch loaf pans.

Pecan-topped version

Sprinkle the top with the pecans if using. 

 

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F, rotating halfway through.

In the oven

Variations:
Dried fruits such as raisins or dried cranberries can be mixed in with the batter. So can nuts, shredded coconut or chocolate chips

Other dessert-friendly shredded vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, or beets, can be substituted for the zucchini. So can shredded apples or pears.