Cheesy Zucchini Bread

There are oodles of sweet zucchini bread recipes out there, and that they're pretty much the go-to way to use up garden zucchini (I know, I have two of them on my site - and they're to-die-for). There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I will say that this cheesy zucchini bread with cheddar, onion, garlic and herbs is a welcomed addition to the world of summer quick breads.

About the Recipes

Basically, this recipe is still a quick bread, meaning there is no yeast involved and it doesn't need time to rise or anything crazy like that, which I totally love.

The steps to make it are incredibly easy, too, and it results in a tender, savory and delightful loaf of cheesy zucchini bread with loads of veggies, herbs and spices and CHEESE (I will not stop talking about the cheese).

Step-by-Step Instructions

• Whisk together the wet ingredients. This includes melted butter and olive oil, of which I use both because I like both of their flavors in this recipe. You seriously cannot go wrong with olive oil and butter. Next comes either milk or beer. I haven't tried it with beer, but I imagine like most beer breads, it would add a nice fluffy texture and malty flavor that would be absolutely divine. I use milk because I almost always had it on hand, and it was delish (you could also try buttermilk). Then, mix in the eggs.
• Mix the dry ingredients together. Whenever I'm making a quick bread or muffin recipe (or any baked good, really), I mix together the dry stuff first to be sure it is well-combined before adding any wet ingredients. This assures a perfectly baked loaf rather than one that has pockets of baking soda or something crazy. In this bread, I use whole wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour because I like getting some fiber and hearty texture from the whole wheat (and pastry flour is finer ground than regular, so it's a fave in my pantry), but I also like the texture of all-purpose flour. So it only makes sense to use both. However, you can just use one or the other if you'd like. I whisk in some baking powder, salt, black pepper, thyme, onion powder and garlic powder because it makes the bread taste simply amazing. Think of it like a focaccia as far as seasonings go.
• Finally, you'll fold the dry and wet ingredients together until just combined with the shredded zucchini and cheeses. I cannot express enough how important it is to not overmix a quick bread batter because it'll become tough and chewy. Just fold until everything comes together. I saved a little cheddar to spinkle on top of the bread while baking, but you do you, my friend.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and let it cool! And voila! You have a fabulous loaf of focaccia-ish zucchini quick bread with CHEESE.

If you still have zucchini leftover, these recipes are for you:

• Sweet Corn & Zucchini Gnocchi Skillet
• Ricotta & Beef Zucchini Roll-Ups
• Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Muffins
• Cinnamon Crunch Zucchini Banana Bread
• Crispy Zucchini Fritters

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