Agave is not as popular as it was 10 years ago, but it’s still a great baking ingredient and worth buying just to make Agave Zucchini Walnut Bread. I just love this recipe. Sweetened only with agave syrup, this loaf is moist, extremely flavorful and bakes up with a nicely shaped top. The bread is so good it deserves better than the crappy old photos I gave it back in 2009, so here are a few new photos. Here's the latest.
When I first made this, I was gunning for a loaf as moist and walnut packed as the zucchini bread I’d recently tasted at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. This one hits the spot in that department, though Tartine’s had some kind of citrus flavor. The flavors in the Agave Zucchini Bread are mainly cinnamon, walnuts and vanilla, though it might be fun to try a citrus twist.
Agave Zucchini Walnut Bread -- 8 ½ by 4 ½ Inch
I mostly use my trusty 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pan these days, so for that reason I've I've modified the recipe to fit. This version is slightly less sweet than the larger version below it. The zucchini bread bakes up very brown (like Tartine's) and would be wonderful with a little orange and lemon zest mixed in. I might even increase the walnuts a bit.
2 large eggs, well beaten (95 grams)
⅓ cup vegetable oil or olive oil
¾ cup agave (240 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ⅔ cups raw zucchini, peeled and grated (240 grams)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (240 grams), weigh or be sure to aerate well and spoon into cups
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt, scant
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pan and line with a strip of parchment paper.
Beat together the eggs, oil, agave and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini.
Mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a second bowl. Add flour mixture to zucchini mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the nuts.
Pour batter into pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and let cool completely.
Note: I baked the 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch version at 350 rather than 325 and it worked fine. For the recipe below, I divided the recipe into two smaller 8x4 inch pans and baked at 325.
Zucchini Walnut Bread With Agave -- Large Batch
3 large eggs, well beaten (145 grams)
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ⅓ cups agave (416 grams)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups raw zucchini, peeled and grated (280 grams)
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (380 grams)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans or use one large 9x5 inch (or slightly larger) pan.
Beat together the eggs, oil, agave and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini.
Mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a second bowl. Add flour mixture to zucchini mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the nuts.
Pour batter into pans and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before slicing. If you are using the large loaf pan rather than the two smaller ones, the bread may take up to 70 minutes.
Note: For even more flavor, toast the walnuts. To toast walnuts, stir them around in a dry skillet over medium heat until they begin to release their oils. Alternatively, bake them at 350 for about 5 to 8 minutes.
Also, the baking time will vary with the size loaf pan you use. I like using two 8x4 inch pans or halving the recipe and using one 8x4 inch pan. This makes a small but tall loaf.
Rachel Barnes
I have made this twice now, but both times added 2 ripe bananas, 1 cup blueberries, and decreased the oil and agave, and increased the baking time. It turns out very moist! thank you for showing me a healthy way to make some bread. My family loves it!
Karen
This looks yummy! I'll try making it tonight....I fortunately have all the ingredients!! 🙂 You could maybe substitute pmupkin for the oil, too.
Diane
I just got the word on Agave too and will try this recipe but I'm going to experiment and use applesauce instead of the oil.
Gloria
Just made a no processed sugar banana walnut bread with whole wheat pastry flour, agave, and splenda for my diabetic family and friends. I can barely taste the splenda-a good thing!! If not for this recipe I would not be aware of WW pastry flour OR agave. Thanks again for the post.
Anna
Wow, that sounds good! Thanks for the improvisations.
Gloria
Made these in a 9x13 pan and served them like cake. (They would be good in a jelly roll pan as bars too I think-frosted with a sugar free cream cheese frosting.) I only had one cup of zucchini so I used another cup of shredded carrots and they were pretty with the orange carrots and green zucchini (I didn't peel before shredding.) These were excellent! So moist and tender. Thanks for the recipe!
gloria
Do you think this would work as bars in a 9 x 13 pan? I think I will frost it with this sugarfree frosting found on allrecipes.com
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sugar-Free-Frosting/Detail.aspx
Gloria
I now have 3 bottles of Agave! I found my own at Trader Joe's ($3.99 for 11 oz) and then one of my friends surprised me at work with (2) 21 oz bottles for $7.70 purchased at Cosco! Excellent price..Will try this again this weekend.
Gloria
Thanks for the positive innovative!! The recipe must be a good one because I totally screwed it up and it still came out edible. First, no agave and I didn't really think out the substitutions well, second when I incorporated the dry into the wet, I realized I hadn't preheated the oven, then I tasted the batter and realized my subs didn't give it enough sweeteness so I started mixing more stuff in. The batter was bubbling at me and I said what I usually say when I totally flub something.....
!*%@
and then said Oh Well, my mom can always slap some butter on it. Butter or frosting fixes a lot around here!
Anna
Hi Gloria, I hope you can find agave. Your subsitution sounds innovative, but agave would probably be better. Why don't you order the Xagave? It's good stuff.
Gloria
I couldn't find agave nectar at the grocery store so I tried this recipe using a 12 oz jar of sugar free apricot jam, 1/2 cup of apple juice concentrate, and another almost 1/2 cup of splenda. It worked, but it could have used more sweetness. I'm guessing agave is fairly sweet..When I find agave, I'll give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
Gloria
If I used regular unbleached flour, do you know how that would change the recipe? I don't usually have whole wheat pastry flour around.
Christie
Oh, I love zucchini bread, and the addition of agave nectar makes it even better.
LilSis
I've still never made anything with Agave nectar, so now might be the time to try it! I love Zucchini bread and this recipe sounds really good! I especially like that you said it is cinnamony!
gloria
I will try this because it looks good and you have given it a thumbs up. I've never looked for Agave at the grocery store. I wonder if it will be difficult to find..What section would it be in? Juices? My mom is diabetic so she should be able to eat this.
Dena Pickle
I nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger award. Check here for rules and instructions.
http://sweetpicklesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-nomination-me-there-must-be.html
Lu
Yummy! I love zucchini bread.
Susie
I am all about the agave nectar right now! I love that it does not really affect the taste like other sweeteners. How was the taste of the bread?
sherri
I've never tried agave, but this looks wonderful.
Katrina
That was good zucchini bread in SF! This looks like a good one, too. I've been liking the results with my baking almost every time I use agave!
Rina
This looks great! I might try it and add chopped dried apricots (I think the Tartine version had these, but I can't remember :)). I scored a big bottle of Agave at Costco and was scanning the link you sent out a while back with related recipes - I will let you know if I find a winner!
Fat Fudge
Here's a really great zuchinni bread recipe that uses agave nectar. Because I am a vegan, I used oil instead of butter and a flaxseed slurry instead of the egg.
http://cook-aunaturel.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-have-to-stress-that-this-bread-is.html
Kelly
Yum. That looks tremendously moist.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
I love the healthy twist. It looks delish.