Savory Zucchini Bread with Cheddar

This is a fabulous savory zucchini bread that includes extra sharp cheddar cheese for great flavor and zestiness!

It's a moist, yet fluffy quick bread that requires no yeast. It goes great served as a snack or alongside any meal where you would normally serve some type of bread, rolls, or biscuits.

Smells AMAZING when cooking, and you will be rewarded with a warm, cheesy, flavorful, sugar free zucchini bread that will be devoured quickly!

What You'll Need:

2-½ cups all-purpose flour, packed

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

2 cups grated zucchini (1 extra large or 2 medium size)

1-½ cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 Tablespoon dry basil

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup butter, melted

How to Make:

First, you will shred your zucchini and place in a colander to drain, pressing gently.

Next, preheat your oven to 350 and add butter to a 9 x 5 bread pan or baking dish to melt in the oven. I use my largest bread pan for this.

Add your dry ingredients to large bowl and stir.

Press gently (again) on zucchini with paper towels to absorb excess liquid.

Add zucchini, basil, parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese to the flour mixture and stir to incorporate. You will want to reserve ½ cup of the cheddar cheese for the adding to the top before baking.

Next, you will make a well in the center of the ingredients and add the two eggs. Mix eggs with a spoon or fork and then incorporate into a portion of the batter.

Add buttermilk and melted butter from the oven, leaving a bit of residual in the pan. Incorporate into the batter, but don't over mix.

Note: If you don't have buttermilk, simply add your regular milk to a measuring cup and add 1 teaspoon vinegar for 5-10 minutes.

This makes a good buttermilk substitute. A buttermilk zucchini bread will rise better for you than if you simply use plain milk.

Also Note: Melting the butter in the pan serves two purposes. The first is to actually melt the butter. The second is to coat the pan so the bread doesn't stick.

Once you have all the ingredients mixes up in the bowl, you will add the batter to the preheated, buttered baking pan and top with the remaining ½ cup of cheddar cheese and more dry basil if desired.

Cook 50-60 minutes or until toothpick or thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let rest 5-10 minutes before removing from pan and slicing.

More Tips

This zucchini cheddar bread is wonderful sliced with butter melted on top and stores well for a few days. Be sure to wrap in foil or plastic wrap or store in an air-tight container.

Also freezes well. You may want to let it cool completely and slice it up before freezing so you can take out the number of slices you want to serve at a time.

For leftovers, just slice up and eat at room temperature or toast and add butter.

The basil adds a nice flavor kick. However, if you don't care for basil, you could add any other herb of your choice.

I'm thinking oregano, marjoram, dill, thyme, or even rosemary. A nice Italian seasoning blend would work well here as well.

If you like spice, you can even add a bit of jalapeno peppers and/or pepper Jack cheese in place of some of the cheese if you like. I think it would be delicious!

Another great addition I thought of is bacon. You could add 2-3 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon to the batter for extra flavor.

You know me - I love bacon and think it goes great with most anything!

My family loved this savory zucchini bread in all its savory, cheesy, flavorful goodness! I hope you enjoy it too! Let me know in the comments below.

And don't forget to share with your friends and family!

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