Frosted Apple Zucchini Bread — 🍏😋Super soft, moist, and topped with the BEST frosting ever!! One bowl, no mixer, EASY recipe for the best apple zucchini bread that everyone LOVES!!
Table of Contents
If you know someone who “doesn’t like zucchini,” they’ll still love this bread.
The zucchini does help the bread stay so incredibly moist, tender, and it just melts in your mouth. Between the oil, sour cream, and natural moisture from the zucchini and green apple, it’s impossible to have a dry loaf.
I think the green apple flavor shines through and you really can’t even taste the zucchini, especially because the brown sugar frosting is so scrumptious. That is really for me what dominates the total flavor profile.
Truthfully, the boiled brown sugar frosting is the best part of the recipe in my opinion. And while the bread is still amazing without the frosting, the frosting takes the recipe to the next level and I highly recommend adding it!
Ingredients in This Recipe
This is such a simple recipe and you’ll likely have everything in your pantry and fridge to make this recipe right now!
For the bread:
- Egg
- Vegetable or canola oil
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Vanilla extract
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Granny Smith apple
- Zucchini
For the brown sugar frosting:
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Milk or cream
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Confectioners’ Sugar
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Apple Zucchini Bread
Making zucchini bread with apples is as quick and easy as making classic zucchini bread. The apples add lots of flavor, but not a lot of prep time to the recipe — promise!
- To a large bowl, simply add the egg, sugars, sour cream, vanilla, sugars, and whisk to combine them.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and powder, salt, and stir to combine.
- Add the grated apples, zucchini, stir to combine, and turn the mixture out into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Once the bread comes out of the oven, immediately prepare the brown sugar frosting. (Detailed instructions provided in the recipe card at the end of this post.)
Batter Consistency Tip
The batter is fairly thick and dense, which is a good thing, so that when the apples and zucchini release their own juices as the bread bakes, the dough started out sufficiently thick and can handle absorbing that extra liquid volume.
How to Prepare the Zucchini and Apples for This Recipe
- Grate Using a Box Grater: I use a box grater to grate the apple and zucchini by hand in literally two minutes Use the coarsest blade, and grate away. One large Granny Smith apple and one regular-sized zucchini should be sufficient.
- Wring to Remove Excess Moisture: Place the grated apples and zucchini in doubled up paper towels, separate them, and wring it out. You don’t have to wring like you are trying to wring out a wet swimsuit, but you want to blot up some of the moisture, if I were guessing, I’d say wring out 50% of the moisture.
- Measure: Measure out 3/4 cup of both the apples and zucchini, packed fairly firmly. Don’t hard-pack it into the measuring cup, but use more pressure than if you were just laying it in the cup.
A Note About the Bake Time
Anytime one is baking with apples, zucchini, bananas, berries, or any fruit or vegetable, the natural juices from the vegetable or fruit seep out during the baking process.
It is very important to bake your bread though, and approximately 50 minutes should do the trick, but that is not written in stone. You need to watch your apple zucchini bread and not the clock when evaluating doneness.
Do not be afraid to bake your bread for 70 minutes if that’s what it needs in order to get it cooked through.
Recipe FAQs
It is perfectly fine to use the batter to make muffins. Muffins will probably take about 20 to 25 minutes baked at 350F.
Keep an eye on them and they’re done when they’re cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean from batter.
The batter would be fine for an 8×8-inch cake or a small Bundt cake. It will depend on what you choose to bake it in, but I estimate it taking about 35 minutes for either. I haven’t tested this option personally, so watch your baking times.
If you want to and/or incorporate walnuts or another favorite nut, that is just fine. I would do 1/2 cup and see how the batter looks from there.
I haven’t make this recipe gluten-free but if you want to attempt it, I’d use a gluten-free flour specifically intended for baking.
Storage Instructions
At room temp: Bread will keep airtight for up to 5 days.
In the fridge: Store airtight for up to 8 days.
In the freezer: Store airtight for up to 4 months, noting that if you are planning to freeze this bread, I would frost the bread upon thawing and not before freezing it because the frosting could change textures with the freezing/thawing.
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Apple Zucchini Bread with Brown Sugar Frosting
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ½ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt, I used full fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¾ cup freshly grated Granny Smith apple, peeled first, blotted, and fairly firmly packed in measuring cup (see Notes)
- ¾ cup freshly grated zucchini, blotted, and fairly firmly packed in measuring cup (see Notes)
Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, if your sugar is particularly lumpy, sift before using it
Instructions
Bread:
- Preheat oven to 350F, and spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the egg, oil, sour cream, vanilla, sugars, and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and stir to combine; don’t overmix.
- Add the grated apples and zucchini and fold to combine, don’t overmix.
- Turn batter out into the prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula, and bake the bread for about 50 minutes (start checking earlier) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean from any raw batter. I highly recommend draping a sheet of foil, i.e. tenting the pan, at the 25 to 30-minute mark while baking to reduce excessive browning on the top and sides of your loaf. See Notes for baking tips.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, or until it’s cool enough to remove.
Frosting:
- To a high-sided small saucepan, add the butter and heat over medium-high heat to melt, whisking constantly until it melts.
- Add the brown sugar, milk or cream, and whisk to incorporate. The mixture should be bubbling around the perimeter of the saucepan. Allow the mixture to come to a boil so that in the center of the saucepan it’s boiling. This will only take another 30-60 seconds.
- Once it comes to a boil in the center of the saucepan, turn off the heat, add the vanilla, salt, 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, and whisk vigorously to incorporate the confectioners’ sugar. If you want a slightly thicker frosting, add the additional 1/4 confectioners’ sugar after you check and see how it looks after the initial 1 1/2 cups.
- Immediately pour the frosting over the bread, noting you may not need quite all of it. I discarded about 10-15%. The frosting sets up very quickly so make sure after you whisk in the confectioners’ sugar you move quickly and get it poured over the bread.
- Allow the frosting to set up fully before slicing into the bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally posted August 21, 2020 and reposted August 11, 2023 with updated text.
I made a double batch and substituted 1/2 c of oil for applesauce. I did one batch of frosting for both loaves and there was plenty! It turned out great!
I am glad to hear that subbing applesauce for the oil worked well! That’s nice to know!
High altitude adjustments?
I don’t cook at altitude and live at sea level (San Diego) so I can’t suggest anything. Perhaps make the tweaks you normally make to recipes if you find yourself frequently changing a particular aspect of a recipe but I can’t give any advice.
i made the apple zucchini bread. i feel the frosting listed was a bit heavy. i would suggest a brown sugar seven minute frosting to go with it.
i made the apple zucchini bread. i feel the frosting listed was a bit heavy. i would suggest a brown sugar seven minute frosting to go with it.
I love this type of heavier frosting, it’s just a personal fave of mine. Yes a 7 minute frosting would be much lighter. For me, not my personal go-to but of course always frost something with your favorite frosting! Thanks for trying the recipe.
I made this Apple Zucchini Bread today, but in muffin form. I cut back on the ginger but added cloves and nutmeg. I also added rough, chopped pecans and Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips. They are outstanding! I tasted one without the frosting and it was plenty sweet so I’m not sure I will frost them. The recipe made 17 muffins and I filled the muffin liners 3/4 full. In my oven the muffins only required about 15-17 minutes of baking time.
I made this Apple Zucchini Bread today, but in muffin form. I cut back on the ginger but added cloves and nutmeg. I also added rough, chopped pecans and Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips. They are outstanding! I tasted one without the frosting and it was plenty sweet so I’m not sure I will frost them. The recipe made 17 muffins and I filled the muffin liners 3/4 full. In my oven the muffins only required about 15-17 minutes of baking time.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this turned out great as muffins! Yes the chocolate chips probably sweetened them up for you so no need to frost. Although I love love love brown sugar frosting in case you change you mind for an extra sweet treat!
Made this last night, exactly as written and it came out incredible! I did have too much of the frosting but other than that everything was perfect. Oh, and mine did take quite a bit longer to cook, more like 60 or 65 minutes!
Made this last night, exactly as written and it came out incredible! I did have too much of the frosting but other than that everything was perfect. Oh, and mine did take quite a bit longer to cook, more like 60 or 65 minutes!
Thanks for the 5 star review I am glad this came out incredibly for you! Interesting that you had too much frosting, for me it’s just right, but you could always scale back the frosting portion of the recipe in the future if you make this again.
great
Wow! This was DELICIOUS! The frosting was scrumptious. Thank you for this tasty recipe which I will make again and again. Was fun to make, bake and serve.
Wow! This was DELICIOUS! The frosting was scrumptious. Thank you for this tasty recipe which I will make again and again. Was fun to make, bake and serve.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was delicious and yes, I agree the frosting is scrumptious! Boiled frosting usually is! I am glad you will make this again and again!
Is there a printable version with out all the extra verbage?
Yes you click the PRINT button inside the recipe card. Real simple. The extra verbiage actually helps to educated the average person how to do things like make boiled frosting or how to grate the apples and zucchini, and whether to wring out their moisture or not, etc. so that the average person doesn’t have a baking fail on their hands.
I tripled the recipe and made 3 loaves. They turned out fine but after I made them I realized I never put vanilla in the batter. The ingredients shows it but the directions never call for it. Still taste great though. Can wait to try your other recipes.
I tripled the recipe and made 3 loaves. They turned out fine but after I made them I realized I never put vanilla in the batter. The ingredients shows it but the directions never call for it. Still taste great though. Can wait to try your other recipes.
Good catch and I just updated that. Glad the loaves turned out great for you!
I don’t like substitutions the first time making a recipe, but my zucchini was bad, so I doubled up on the apple instead, and I added walnuts. The result was an absolutely delicious, moist, flavorful bread. The icing was a perfect complement.
High altitude any changes?
I do not know because I live at sea level so can’t give any input here.