This easy and Healthy Zucchini Cake Recipe is the cross between a moist and delicious cake and a tasty zucchini bread. It's vegan and gluten-free friendly, deceptively healthy, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
Healthy Zucchini Cake Ingredients
- Zucchini: No zucchini cake would be complete without grated zucchini. The zucchini is a healthy way to sneak in veggies and makes this cake super moist.
- Milk: To keep this recipe vegan, we use non-dairy milk such as almond milk or oat milk. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, feel free to use regular 1% milk, 2% milk, or whole milk.
- Butter: To keep this healthy zucchini cake vegan, we use melted vegan butter. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, feel free to use regular melted butter.
- Sugar: We recommend using organic cane sugar or purecane sugar substitute to sweeten this healthy zucchini cake. Thank you purecane for sponsoring this recipe with sugar-free goodness!
- Flax Eggs: Using flax eggs instead of regular eggs in this recipe helps make it super moist, dense, and filling. To make flax eggs, simply mix flax seed meal and warm water together until a thick gel forms.
- Spices: We use spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, to flavor this delicious healthy vegan zucchini cake.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: To give our vegan zucchini cake a little lift!
- Flour: Regular or gluten-free all purpose flour will work in this zucchini cake.
- Oats: To make our zucchini cake super filling and healthy, we use quick oats!
How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting
This iced zucchini cake is frosted with homemade vegan cream cheese frosting. The frosting is optional but definitely makes this cake more special! To make the cream cheese frosting, simply use a whisk or electric hand mixer to mix the powdered sugar, softened vegan butter, and vegan cream cheese together.
How To Make Zucchini Cake
Step 1: Preheat the oven and grease a 9x5 inch metal loaf pan with baking spray or vegan butter. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix the grated zucchini, oat or almond milk, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, melted vegan butter, and spices together.
Step 2: Add the flour and oats and mix until a thick batter forms.
Step 3: Transfer the batter into a greased metal loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes.
Step 4: Once the cake is done baking, allow it to cool before drizzling with vegan cream cheese frosting. Enjoy warm with frosting. Or for a more savory version, spread it with melted vegan butter and drizzle it with agave or maple syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! If using a round or square pan instead of a loaf pan, I recommend trimming off about 10 minutes from the baking time. you will know it's done when the edges are browned and it is completely risen in the center.
I recommend storing this in an airtight container for 2-3 days on the counter. You can also freeze the cake for up to 30 days and microwave your slice to reheat.
Nope! It's delicious without frosting and tastes like a rich and tender zucchini bread. You can also try serving your warm slice spread with vegan butter and/or drizzled with maple syrup.
Healthy Zucchini Cake
Equipment
- medium mixing bowl
- rectangular metal loaf pan, round cake pan, or 8x8 square pan
- small mixing bowl
- fork or whisk for mixing
Ingredients
Zucchini Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond or oat milk
- ½ cup melted vegan butter or coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon flax seed meal
- 4 tablespoon warm water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup grated zucchini
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup organic cane sugar or ⅓ cup purecane sugar substitute
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 cup regular or gluten free all purpose flour
Vegan Cream Cheese Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar or purecane powdered sugar substitute
- 2 tablespoon softened vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon vegan cream cheese
Instructions
Zucchini Cake Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Prepare the flax eggs by mixing the flax seed meal and warm water together in a small bowl. Set aside for 2 minutes or until a thick gel forms.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the almond or oat milk, melted vegan butter, flax eggs, vanilla, grated zucchini, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar together. Add the oats and flour and mix until a thick batter forms. Transfer the batter into a greased metal loaf or cake pan and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes for a loaf or 30 for a round or square pan.
- While the zucchini cake is baking, prepare the icing by using an electric hand mixer to mix the powdered sugar, softened vegan butter, and vegan cream cheese together. To make the icing thinner, add 1 tablespoon of almond or oat milk.
- Once the zucchini cake is done baking, let it cool. Carefully remove it from the loaf pan or cake pan and set it onto a platter. Alternatively, you can leave the zucchini cake in the pan. Drizzle or spread the icing over the top of the loaf once it's cooled for a few minutes. Slice and serve.
Nutrition
The recipes on Peanut Butter and Jilly can easily be adapted to fit a vegan lifestyle, a gluten-free lifestyle, or both depending on the ingredients you use. Please review the ingredients lists carefully and refer to our recommendations in the Notes of the recipe card to make this recipe compatible with your needs. Nutrition information provided is an estimate, and will vary based on specific brands of ingredients used and cooking methods.
Kim says
Holy cow this is DELICIOUS. I would give this 100 stars if I could. I tweaked it just a little, cut the sugar in half and it was still deliciously sweet. This was my first recipe of yours I tried and I can’t wait to try another!