Coconut Lime Zucchini Bread

Thanks to shredded coconut and lime zest, this Coconut Lime Zucchini Bread recipe brings tropical flavor to the green garden veggie.

Don't Leave Without a Bag of Zucchini

Zucchini season continues. Gardeners, grocery stores, and grandmas are peddling the green squash right now in an attempt to get someone, anyone, to take it. Everyone, please take a bag home with you.

Now when zucchini is cooked right, it’s sublime. But when it’s not, it’s pretty terrible.

At some point in history, someone clever started cutting zucchini into tiny pieces and adding it to sauces, soups, and even bread. Zucchini in bread can be fantastic. It just needs a good squeeze.

Squeeze

If you think this section is going to be about the 80s UK band, I’m sorry it’s not. However, I did listen to a lot of Squeeze's music and am pretty sure Black Coffee in Bed was on several mix tapes that I made for friends. Yes, I was that friend.

Squeezing here refers to what needs to happen to the zucchini once it is shredded. It has a high water content and all that moisture will weigh down your batter if you don’t press it out. Shred, squeeze, then add to the recipe.

By the way, if you are wondering if the band is still touring, they are.

Best Zucchini Desserts

Listen, I know you are thinking that these three words don’t really go together. Nothing like a chopped-up green vegetable hidden in something sweet. Is deception really delicious?

Because we’ve all had our share of soggy zucchini bread and chocolate zucchini bundt cake gone wrong, I can understand the wariness surrounding green flecks in baked goods. But! This really is a yummy bread that doubles as a dessert.

Unadorned, the bread is moist, but not overly so, and sweet, but not overly so. Add the sweet-tart lime juice glaze, toasted coconut flakes, and lime zest and now you’ve got yourself something special. Proof that those three words do go together after all.

Lessons Learned

• Squeeze the shredded zucchini in batches. I found that doing it in small handfuls allowed me to really wring out the excess water.
• Take the extra step to toast the coconut before using it as a topping. It adds aroma, flavor, and crunch. It’s worth the 2 minutes it takes in the toaster oven.
• Garnish with the lime zest just before serving. It will start to discolor and go slightly brown after the first day.

Hat Tips

Thanks to Diane Morrissey for the coconut lime zucchini bread inspiration and Bruno Guerrero on Unsplash for the retro cassette photo.

Coconut Lime Zucchini Bread

• Author: Betty
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 10 slices 1x

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Bread

• ⅓ cup neutral flavored oil
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ⅛ tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp lime zest
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• ¾ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Topping

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• ¼ cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 Tbsp lime zest

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/176 C. Place parchment paper into loaf pan (either 8 ½ x 4 ½ or 9 x 5 is fine). 
2. Combine the oil, yogurt, juice, vanilla, and sugar in a mixer and stir to combine. Crack and add one egg and mix to combine, allowing the batter to emulsify. Repeat with the other egg and mix well. 
3. Stir together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, lime zest, and salt. Add it to the wet mixture and gently mix together. 
4. Squeeze the shredded zucchini to get rid of excess moisture then add it to the batter along with the coconut flakes. Stir everything together.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350 F/176 C for 50 minutes. The top should be golden brown and a tester inserted in the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Gently lift the bread by the parchment paper overhang out of the pan and continue to cool on the rack.
6. Make the glaze while the bread is cooling by whisking together the powdered sugar and lime juice. Adjust the amount of juice to get the glaze consistency you like. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and lime zest before serving. 

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