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Cinnamon Swirl Zucchini Bread

Cinnamon swirl zucchini bread with a dramatic cinnamon-sugar ribbon spiraling through a golden, tender quick-bread crumb. Grated zucchini keeps the loaf moist while the figure-eight swirl creates full cinnamon spiral slices from top to bottom.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
cooling 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Bread
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 0.33 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.33 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup zucchini, grated and squeezed dry
Cinnamon Swirl
  • 3 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1.5 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp melted butter

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Prep the oven and loaf pan
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan for easy release.
Make the cinnamon swirl
  1. Mix the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together for a thick cinnamon mixture, then set it aside.
Mix the dry ingredients
  1. Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon for the bread until evenly combined.
Mix the wet ingredients
  1. Beat the granulated sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract until smooth, then stir in the grated squeezed zucchini.
Combine batter
  1. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, stopping as soon as no flour streaks remain.
Layer and swirl
  1. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan, then drizzle half the cinnamon swirl mixture over top and drag a knife through in a figure-eight pattern for the first ribbon.
Finish the layers and swirl again
  1. Add the remaining batter, drizzle the remaining cinnamon swirl mixture, and swirl again with a figure-eight motion so each slice shows the spiral.
Bake
  1. Bake at 350°F for 55–65 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool before slicing
  1. Cool the loaf for 20 minutes before slicing so the crumb sets and the cinnamon spiral stays defined.

Notes

Pro tip: squeeze the grated zucchini very dry so the loaf bakes up with a tender crumb instead of steam-softening. Store covered at room temperature up to 3 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze slices up to 2 months for quick thawing. For a dairy-light option, use plain lactose-free Greek yogurt and keep the rest the same.