Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Y’all. I’m trying really hard to become a summer lover. Or even a summer liker. This season is really super duper hard on me. Maybe it’s because May through August in Alabama feels like the surface of the sun. So my solution for summer survival? Lots of reading, watching my favorite movies, crafting, and of course – baking. It seems counter productive to heat up the house with the oven while outside it already feels like an oven. But the kitchen is my happy place, and making pretty food, well that’s my jam. Bonus points if the food is made in gift-able form, like these mini blueberry zucchini bread cakes. 

This year we had tons of zucchini in the garden and for the first time-thanks to my hubby-our own blueberries! I love using our homegrown ingredients to make delicious food. And my hens are laying the prettiest eggs. So what to do with all the zucchini, blueberries, and eggs? Dessert! Did you even question that I would be making sweets? 

Have you tried zucchini bread?  I think bread is a little misleading as this is much more of a cake than bread. Think banana nut bread. But minus the bananas and add zucchini. It doesn’t sound like it would be good. But it totally is. Throw in some pecans, a crumb topping, and a smattering of blueberries, and you’ve got a winner. If you don’t like blueberries, no prob! Just omit and add extra zucchini. 

My first recipe experiment didn’t include blueberries. It’s still delicious! If you only have zucchini, please make this anyway! For the zucchini only version, my daughter said it tasted like fall and she’s so right! That’s because of the cinnamon and pecans. She requested that we make it again for our Halloween Party. Good thing we froze lots of shredded zucchini! 

The topping is optional, but if you’re wavering on it-go for it! It really takes the cake to a whole new level in my opinion. Everyone who tried it in our family voted in favor of the topping! In the recipe card below, I’ve included a lemon glaze if that’s more your thing. We’ve tried it all the ways. You really can’t go wrong. 

Happy halfway through summer, friends! 🙂 

Print Recipe

Blueberry Zucchini Bread (Cake)

This delicious summer cake is perfect to use up that bumper crop of zucchini!

Ingredients

Cake

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups shredded zucchini (do not drain)
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Crumb Topping

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup softened butter, salted

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 F.
• Prepare 2 large loaf pans or 6-7 mini loaf pans.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil, sugars, and vanilla.
• Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and stir until combined.
• Stir in the zucchini, blueberries, and pecans.
• Pour into pans and bake for 40-60 minutes.
• While baking, prepare the crumb topping. Pour all ingredients into a medium bowl and mix together with a fork or your hands. To prevent the topping from sinking into the cake, add this after about 30 minutes of baking. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake and continue to bake until cake is done.

Notes

*For zucchini only version, omit blueberries and use 2-4 cups of zucchini. I use 4 in mine. It’s perfectly moist!
*You can use an optional lemon glaze instead of the crumb topping.
Lemon Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp milk. Whisk together until smooth and pour over cooled cakes.
*I use the mini loaf pans to make give away sized cakes. These are perfect for gifting! I fill them about 2/3 full.