Greek yogurt zucchini bread is a lighter alternative to classic zucchini bread, thanks to a handful of wholesome ingredients that pack a flavorful punch. Made with agave (or honey), coconut oil, Greek yogurt, and fresh zucchini, this will be your new favorite summertime snack. To make this bread into muffins, see my note below the recipe.
Today’s Greek yogurt zucchini bread is a variation of my classic zucchini bread and zucchini muffins recipes. We’ll make a couple ingredient swaps and substitutions, but it’s just as moist (if not more so!) and flavorful as the original. This anytime bread is welcome on the breakfast table or as a totally delicious snack. Topped with peanut butter or Nutella and it certainly counts as dessert. That’s why I love zucchini bread so much in the first place—it’s acceptable all day long.
Let’s get started!
This Is Lightened-Up Zucchini Bread
Made with wholesome ingredients, Greek yogurt zucchini bread is a lightened-up quick bread recipe with the same delicious flavor you expect from traditional zucchini bread.
To sweeten the bread, we use agave instead of granulated sugar, though honey or maple syrup also work. Instead of butter, we’ll use melted coconut oil. For added fat, we’ll incorporate protein-packed Greek yogurt—which also makes the crumb super moist. Moisture is usually sacrificed when fat (the oil) is reduced, but not when using Greek yogurt. Plain and simple, this lighter zucchini bread is wonderful to have around when you want something a little sweet that’s not dripping with oil or overloaded with sugar. And there’s vegetables sneakily hiding inside!
Overview: How to Make Greek Yogurt Zucchini Bread
Like all quick bread recipes, today’s zucchini bread comes together easily. You only need a couple mixing bowls—no mixer required.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together. This includes the oil, agave (or honey), egg, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Fold in the zucchini, orange zest, and walnuts.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes.
To Sum Up Greek Yogurt Zucchini Bread
This bread is:
- Super soft and moist
- Simple and straightforward
- Flavored with orange, cinnamon, and vanilla
- Packed with wholesome ingredients
- A healthy breakfast, snack, or dessert
- Ready in an hour
- Freezer-friendly
If you have any leftover Greek yogurt after making this bread, be sure to try my peanut butter Greek yogurt frosting next. It’s excellent on top of wholesome chocolate banana muffins or even chocolate cupcakes!
And if you have more zucchini to use up, add this zucchini cake to your must-bake list and these zucchini fritters to your dinner list! For more inspiration, browse my 20+ favorite zucchini recipes—both sweet and savory!
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Greek Yogurt Zucchini Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy, healthy, and wholesome Greek yogurt zucchini bread will be your new favorite recipe for this classic quick bread!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (80ml) canola, vegetable, or melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup (120ml) honey or organic blue agave
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (121g) plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (130g) shredded zucchini (see note)*
- optional: 2 teaspoons orange zest (so good!)
- optional: 3/4 cup (95g) chopped walnuts, (115g) raisins, or (135g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Whisk the oil, agave, egg, yogurt, and vanilla together in a medium bowl until combined. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Avoid overmixing. Fold in the zucchini, orange zest, and walnuts.
- Spread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the bread is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the bread from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing and serving. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Bread freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-Inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Muffins: Prepare batter as instructed. Grease a 12-count muffin pan or use liners. Fill with batter all the way to the top. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for an additional 13-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving. Makes about 10-12 muffins.
- Yogurt: I use plain nonfat Greek yogurt. You can use low fat or full fat instead. Vanilla or honey flavors would work wonderfully here!
- Zucchini: If your zucchini is extra wet, give it a few blots before adding to the batter.
- Adapted from zucchini bread.
Could I substitute almond flour for the ap flour? Thanks!
Hi Gabriella, We don’t recommend almond flour as it has very different baking properties and is not always a 1:1 swap. Best to stick with all-purpose flour here.
I hate Sally, this is so good my husband always wants it on hand!! This is really good. I haven’t tried it with the orange zest yet, but, WOW, so good!! Can’t imagine it being better, but one day i will try adding the orange zest.
Forgot to add my rating. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could. The orange zest is very good but we like it just as much without
This was another great one from Sally. Personally, I will omit the orange zest next time to see what I think. I used honey and added dark chocolate chips. I think it would be great with cinnamon chips as well.
This recipe was superb! We are lovers of banana bread but this beat my recipe. Just excellent First recipe of Sally’s that I tried and was so pleased that I’ll be making more. Love the fact that she gives alternate ingredients. Also, oven temp reduced is perfect for these muffins or any muffins for that matter. Great baking tip.Try ‘em you’ll like em!
Have made this loaf several times – It never disappoints! And as Sally stated – the orange zest is amazing. Thanks for sharing 🙂
So good! Was planning on making this so the kids would have after school snacks for next week, but 1/2 the loaf is gone. I’ll be making several more. Made the recipe as is with orange zest and raisins.
This recipe is one of my favorite. I almost always use Gluten free flour because of celiac and it works well. No one can tell the difference. Well today, I took this recipe, used GF flour, added a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice along with the cinnamon , and swapped the zucchini for same amount of pumpkin. They turned out so good. My family agrees! Thank you for your delicious recipes!!
Loved this recipe, I actually omitted vanilla and added instead maple flavoring, also half zucchini and half chopped apples. Sooo good
Can you swap out Maple syrup for the honey in the same quantities?
Absolutely!
I have made this TWICE within 2 weeks! Delicious! I added chocolate chips the 2nd time and it was perfect:)
This will be my “go to” zucchini bread recipe going forward. So good and moist. I love the hint of orange flavor. It smells so good when it is baking and we couldn’t wait for it to cool completely before we sampled it!
Hi Sally, I can’t wait to try this recipe! Do you think I could use lemon zest instead of orange zest?
That would be delicious! Zucchini and lemon make a great pair.
This recipe is amazing!! I made muffins and used vanilla greek yogurt. So fluffy and moist! I will definitely be making this again! Thank you!
Delicious! I used chocolate chips and did one teaspoon of vanilla and a half teaspoon of orange extract. This is a keeper. Thanks for the recipe.
Could you use applesauce in place of the oil?
Hi Lauren, we haven’t tried it, but some readers have reported that they’ve had success with subbing half applesauce for half the oil. Let us know how it turns out for you!
This recipe is really delicious. My two year old is already on his second piece.
Whenever I make it though, it always falls and becomes more like a bread pudding consistency.
What can I do to make it rise? What might I be doing wrong?
Love your recipes. Thank you so much!
Hi Serena, so glad to hear this bread is a hit! If it is sinking and still seems a bit wet inside, it’s possible it just needs a few more minutes in the oven to fully bake through. Also, be sure that your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. We find they start to lose their leavening power after about three months. Hope these tips help for the next batch!
I second what she said! It smelled so good and was so promising out of the oven. Crumb test was great. It just totally deflated while it cooled. I did have to tent it for the last 15 min, did this make it fall? So sad because I can’t handle the texture.
Hello what is the macro breakdown for this recipe please
We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Hi. These are my go-to zucchini muffins and I make them often, using the recipe exactly as written. (the orange zest adds a nice flavor)! However I’ll soon be entertaining a guest who needs to eat dairy-free foods. What would be a good sub for the yogurt, do you think?
Hi Teresa, we’re so glad you love these muffins! We haven’t tested it but a dairy free yogurt like a coconut based yogurt should work. Let us know if you try it!
My plain Greek yogurt is fat free. Will that work?
Hi Bee, Yes, we use use plain nonfat Greek yogurt.
Gluten free flours work great! Like previously stated don’t just use almond flour due to the different baking properties. Bob’s Red Mill, KingArther, Krusteaz all others “gluten free all purpose flour & gf baking flour” (or make your own, easy to do with many online recipes). These GF flours measure 1:1 for baking & act just like regular flours. The added xanthan gum & the mixture several flours is the key to baking with GF flours.
*** also have baked many recipes on this site using white whole wheat for family. This is a healthy version & not as heavy as whole wheat flour.
Hello, I liked it a lot and I was very struck by your comment!❤️ I would like to know how much gluten free flour should I use in this recipe and how much should I use zanthan gum in this recipe? Thank you!!❤️