Easy Savory Zucchini Bread with Cheese (Whole Wheat)

This zucchini bread with cheese is the perfect way to use up garden zucchini in a delicious, savory loaf – a nice change from sugary zucchini breads! It’s moist and full of flavor from two cheeses, garlic, herbs, and nutty whole wheat flour. The loaf freezes great whole or in slices and makes a great snack, side dish, or breakfast. It’s amazing right from the oven and toasted may be even better!

A savory zucchini bread? Um, yes! While I’m the first to admit that no-fail zucchini bread is my go-to bread recipe when the zucchini starts producing from the garden, this delicious zucchini bread with cheese and herbs is my second favorite bread to make. So basically we can have zucchini bread morning until night!

Other things on the must-make list when the zucchini is producing is this amazing white zucchini cake (that caramel-y broiled nut frosting…), and these chocolate cupcakes – which will be frozen for special occasions. Freezing this way is my favorite way to “preserve” zucchini!

And this savory loaf will join them, as I love having my freezer stocked with baked goods for times when zucchini isn’t as plentiful. It works out so much better for us that those packets of soggy shredded zucchini that always get lost in the back of the freezer!

And if you’re not sure about making and serving a loaf, or simply would like to have the oven on for less time, then you’ll want to try the muffin variation I’ve included in the recipe card. Both muffins and slices are wonderful to have in the freezer to pull out for toasting to serve with soups in the fall.

Do you have a ton of zucchini to use up? Then you’ll LOVE this Ultimate Zucchini Guide with it’s list of zucchini recipes for baking, cooking, and preserving in addition to growing and harvesting tips!

Recipe Ingredients, Substitutions & Variations

The ingredients are typical pantry staples – here are some notes on a few with substitutions and variations if needed:

• Whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour: For 100% whole wheat, it must be one of these flours – all regular whole wheat will produce a dry, denser loaf. You can use all purpose if you don’t have either of these or try half all-purpose and half regular whole wheat.
• Oil: I prefer a light oil like avocado oil or expeller pressed sunflower oil. Olive oil could also be used if you’re okay with the stronger flavor.
• Buttermilk or regular milk: If it’s not pure buttermilk, I make butter milk with milk and vinegar (for this recipe, 1 teaspoon vinegar – or lemon juice – to 1/3 cup milk) because store “buttermilk” is full of fillers and junk.
• Cheese: I’ve made this bread with only parmesan cheese, with only cheddar cheese, and finally with a mixture of parmesan and cheddar and the combo was the winner. Combining the two cheeses just provides more depth of flavor than only one did, but of course if you’re out of one or the other, do still make it – it’s only a slight difference, and this bread is too good to forgo! You can also experiment with other types of cheeses.
• Seasonings: Garlic, black pepper, and herbs provide a nice flavor alongside the cheese. I like using an Italian seasoning mix, but you can use one type (I suggest basil in the recipe card) or experiment with your own herb mixtures.

Refreshingly, a zucchini bread with no sugar in sight!

Simple Steps to Savory Zucchini Bread with Cheese

Step 3: Bake. Bake for about an hour at 375 degrees. Let the loaf sit in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

And look at that cheesy, crispy crust. Mmmm. Timing the loaf to serve for dinner is the best so you can enjoy that crust right from the oven. But this bread is also amazing toasted which brings all the crusty goodness back again.

What size loaf pan?

In the recipe you can choose between two typical sizes of loaf pans – a 9×5 and an 8.5×4.5. From the dimensions, it doesn’t seem like it would make that much of a difference, but it does. Here’s an illustration:

So while you can use either, if you would like a taller loaf with thicker pieces use the smaller 8.5×4.5 pan. This pan is sometimes called a standard loaf pan or a 1-pound loaf pan, and is often shortened to 8×4 inch. It holds about 6 cups of batter.

The larger 9×5-inch pan is for recipes that have up to 8 cups of batter and if baking this bread in a pan this size it will take a little less time to cook because it’s thinner.

Can you make muffins with this recipe?

Yes. If you’re unsure a full loaf of bread is for you, or you simply don’t want to wait an hour to bake a loaf, you can make this recipe into muffins easily. Grease or line 12 muffin cups and fill evenly before baking for just 20-25 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

As I’ve made this bread over the years, I’ve found it goes with so many things, making it a star player in our freezer. Here are just a few serving suggestions:

• A side dish for grilled meat and salads, as well as soups.
• Toasted and with sliced garden tomatoes and a sprinkle of salt on top as an appetizer or snack (simple and SO good).
• Toasted and served with either fresh tomato bruschetta or the canned bruschetta version.
• Toasted and spread with butter and served with scrambled eggs.
• Toasted and spread with pesto.
• As a sandwich spread with mayo and filled with ham or turkey and spinach leaves (or whatever you like) – so many sandwich options!

They’re all so yummy and show how having a savory zucchini bread recipe can make your food like better. Hopefully I’ve sold my case and all that’s left to do is make this recipe!

I hope you love this zucchini bread with cheese like we do – if you make it, be sure to leave a recipe rating to let me know! You can also save the recipe for later by pinning it or clicking on the heart in the lower right hand corner.

More Quick Breads To Try

• Whole Wheat Honey Sweetened Orange Zucchini Bread
• Honey Sweetened Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread
• Maple Sweetened, Whole Wheat Coconut Bread

 

 This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2018.