I know, I know... TWO quick bread recipes in one week. But... it's just too good to not post. I was going to post some other carb-y goodness, but I am in such an autumn mood right now, that I had to share a pumpkin recipe with you. And with all the pumpkin recipes in all the land, this one is the best.
No, really, it is. You see, cause there is zucchini in it, it ties the end of summer into the beginning of fall, making it a nice way to transition from one season to another.
Plus, the two main ingredients are a veggie and a fruit (the pumpkin - sometimes I find it so hard to call pumpkin a fruit, ya know what I mean?) which means this bread is totally on the healthy side. And that means it's okay to eat half a loaf on your own and not feel guilty.
If you are questioning the combination of the zucchini and pumpkin together, don't! The zucchini adds a butteriness to the loaf and really complements the pumpkin flavor.
I am super excited because I have so many pumpkin recipes and ideas that I want to share with you. I am going to be in the kitchen non-stop starting tonight and even then, I am not sure if I will have enough time from now until winter starts to share allllll my favorite pumpkin recipes. Here is a quick preview of my favorites:
- Chocolatey smoothies
- Skinny lattes
- Spicy curry
- Loooooaaaaaads of pumpkin-y carbs
Fall is basically the time where I turn all regular food into pumpkin food. I hope you like pumpkin because otherwise, I might not see much of you for the next few months. Don't panic though, I promise I'll sprinkle a few non-pumpkin related foods in here, too. But for now, let's take a moment to admire how amazing this loaf is. We covered the pumpkin and zucchini, but did we talk about the chocolate? I added bittersweet chocolate chips because I like how it contrasts with the natural sweetness of the bread, but you can use milk or semi-sweet chocolate, too.
I also chopped up a chocolate bar and tossed it in. I used a Green & Black's Ginger chocolate bar because it gave this bread a nice little zing that complements the pumpkin spice (because you know, ginger is the best part of the pumpkin spice mix).
You don't have to run out and buy this chocolate if you don't want, but it is so yummy! Also, it's not pictured here, but I had some leftover salted caramel glaze from my peach bread that I drizzled over a slice of this bread and ZOMG, it is delightful beyond words.
The zucchini pumpkin bread is moist, but not heavy. Sweet, but not overly so. I didn't want to add too much sweetness, because for breads like this, I like to toast them up and add some butter-yum.
You really don't need that much sweetness to it because the chocolate does that, plus this allows the pumpkin to shine through more. I recommend allowing this bread to cool for about 3 hours and take a nice thick slice and smother it in butter and add a dash of cinnamon while it is still warm.
You can thank me later. Don't have time to make this yummy pumpkin bread now? Pin it for later! Also, check out my honey pumpkin bread.
Recipe Card
Zucchini Pumpkin Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup 225 g pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 ½ cups 225 g shredded zucchini
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup 200 g lightly packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup 150 g granulated sugar
- ¾ cup 173 g unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups 375 g, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon [pumpkin pie spice] <-- click for recipe
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup 180 g bittersweet chocolate chips
- 3.5 oz chocolate 90-100 g, chopped
- 1 cup walnuts 125 g, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9x5 loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, zucchini, eggs, sugars, butter and vanilla together.
- In a separate medium bowl, mix together 3 cups (375 g) flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon together.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Coat the chocolate and the walnuts in the remaining flour. Fold into batter.
- Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
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