Why does zucchini get all the glory in baked goods? Have we forgotten about its cousin, the humble yellow squash? Why should yellow squash be relegated to sautés or kebabs when zucchinis (courgettes, for my friends across the pond) are baked up in all manner of breads, muffins, cakes, and the like? Armed with an ample harvest of yellow squash, I set out to find a bread recipe that specifically called for it and kept coming up empty. But luckily, young yellow squash and zucchini can be used interchangeably! The sweet, nutty flavor profile is similar and the skins on both are nice and thin. So if you, too, have been on the prowl for a yellow squash bread recipe, then read on, my squash-loving friend.
Recipe here, and more information after the jump. I’ve been on the internet long enough to know that the most common gripe with food blogs and online recipes is that the blogger rambles on for too long before sharing the recipe. But if you happen to enjoy rambles, there will be some below!
📖 Recipe
Yellow Squash Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated yellow squash large seeds removed
- ¼ cup canola oil could sub avocado, or refined coconut oil
- ¼ cup apple sauce
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Grate summer squash, place in fine mesh colander, sprinkle with a dash of salt and toss to coat. Let this sit and strain for 5 minutes while you do the following steps.
- Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix oil, applesauce, honey, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract.
- Either press yellow squash into colander or transfer to cheesecloth and wring out moisture. I got close to ½ cup of liquid while doing this! You don’t have to squeeze it bone dry, just enough that it isn’t sopping wet. Add yellow squash to oil mixture and combine thoroughly.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, being careful to not overmix. Mix until no trace of flour remains.
- Pour batter into 8x4 or 9x5 loaf pan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, depending on oven strength. Check with a toothpick or knife at 50 minute mark, adding 5 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. For me it was 55 minutes exactly.
Tired: zucchini bread
Wired: yellow squash bread
And if you’re sitting there scratching your noggin wondering, “What's the difference between zucchini/yellow squash/summer squash”...fear not. We gardeners bandy about the term summer squash -- think of it like an umbrella, and yellow squash and zucchini both fall underneath it. From The Kitchn:
“Besides the color, the main difference between the two vegetables is the shape. Zucchini is straight, while yellow squash has a fat bottom (editor’s note: same!) and tapers towards the neck. Yellow squash can also have more seeds in its flesh. Flavor-wise, both are mild-tasting with a hint of vegetable sweetness.”
From The Kitchn: "Are Zucchini and Summer Squash Actually the Same Thing?" Article
As yellow squash matures, it develops larger seeds and the flesh becomes more watery, so pick them on the earlier side if you want to swap one in for a recipe that calls for zucchini. And just to be safe, I always like to strain some excess moisture from grated summer squash (yellow and zucchini alike)-- shred it up, sprinkle with a dash of salt and let sit for a bit. Then, strain through a cheesecloth, squeezing to remove most of the liquid. This part is key if you’re baking any sort of bread! (Note: this tip also works well with tomatoes, minus the squeezing.) I’ve encountered recipes that swear you don’t need to do this step but I’ve gotten burned too many times with an underbaked middle to trust anyone anymore. So here, we drain the excess liquid! That sounds creepy and scientific and kind of morgue-like, but I digress.
I found this recipe from The Seasoned Mom and zhuzhed it up a bit -- cutting the sugar and oil, swapping in some ingredients, and adjusting spices. Since I like our daughter to be able to have whatever I make, I knew I needed to cut the called for 1 cup of sugar. Wowza! No one wants a wired, sugar high toddler. I also didn't want ½ cup of oil in the bread, so I halved that and subbed in unsweetened applesauce for the other ¼ cup, to keep the moisture balance similar.
This bread came out so well, and I just rediscovered it in the basement freezer, so if you'll excuse me...I'm going to go put a slice in the toaster oven and slather some butter on it. I like to flash freeze most baked goods so A) we don't have to eat a ton in a few days and B) for delightful freezer surprises like this. If you try this recipe, please do let me know!
Tammy says
Well, I honestly have to say this was the worst tasting bread I’ve ever made. The only change I made was using agave sweetener instead of honey since I didn’t have honey.
Besides that, followed the recipe to a tee, using less oil and sugar as suggested.
Dense, absolutely no flavor at all. You can’t even tell it has squash in it. Honestly you can’t taste anything really… I should have simply stuck to the full oil and sugar and maybe that would have helped. And you definitely need more than an cup of grated squash IF you want to know or even see it in the bread.
Sorry Amy, but this didn’t cut it for me, I actually threw it out….
What a waste of my ingredients… ☹️
Amy Bauer says
Hi Tammy, I'm terribly sorry you didn't have success with this recipe! I know how much of a bummer that can be, and I feel bad that you had this experience. I made it a few times last summer and we devoured it each time. I find that summer squash barely has a flavor, so that is one of the reasons I like making it for my toddler. Nice way to sneak in some veg! Again, I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience — next time I make this recipe (once my squash starts producing this summer!) I'll take your feedback into account and see if there's anything I would like to update here.
Best,
Amy
Debbie says
Love it!
I doubled the recipe. The yellow squash I used was small so did not have any liquid to squeeze out.
Instead of applesauce, I used pumpkin purée. And I also threw in some extra spices – ground ginger and clove.
I love that this recipe is reduced in sugar and oil!
Thank you!
Amy Bauer says
I'm so glad you enjoyed, Debbie! Pumpkin sounds like a delicious addition 🙂 -Amy
Malinda says
Is there any nutrition information for these?
Amy Bauer says
Hi Malinda! This is an older recipe and I'm in the process of updating it to have nutrition information. It doesn't currently, my apologies!
Elizabeth Finch says
This is absolutely delicious! Used avocado oil, added half an tsp nutmeg, and it’s delicious! Surprisingly buttery tasting! It just came out of the oven and my family has devoured half the loaf already. Tammy must have made an error somewhere, so don’t feel bad! I’m saving this recipe in my favorites. Thanks so much!
Tracy says
I just made this recipe because I have a surplus of summer squash. I thought it was pretty good tasting. I do want to try the pumpkin puree idea mentioned in one of the comments.
Rita says
Moist and oh so delicious!!!
Cheryl G says
This bread was awesome! I subbed Almond flour mixed with Oat flour, Monkfruit sweetener, Coconut oil & instead of Honey, I used Sugar Free Cinnamon Maple Syrup! It didn’t last 24 hours!!! 😁