Breakfast Bread Archives · Jess in the Kitchen

Spiced Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

“Mama! Will you make more chocolate zucchini bread?” That’s what I heard a few weekends back, and while I really love my chocolate zucchini bread recipe (Find it here!) I wanted to skip the chocolate and go for a new recipe; A spiced zucchini oatmeal bread.

The goal? Make a zucchini bread my kids would gobble up while making some healthy swaps. If you’ve been here a while, you know my MO is maple syrup (or honey!) instead of sugar, whole wheat flour rather than white, and oatmeal is so heart-healthy I have to throw it in there!

And while lots of my recipes are gluten-free (because darn it, I care about you, gluten-free friends!), this recipe uses some Sunrise Flour Mill Heritage Wheat Flour. If you are gluten-free, I highly recommend checking out their flour. They are well known in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area for creating heritage wheat that is more digestible. Freaking dang cool, right?

This recipe was a great breakfast for my mini me and mid morning snack for myself. I eat breakfast at 6 am and lunch at 12:20 pm. I don’t know about you, but this girl can not last that long. There is definitely a second breakfast around 9:30 with some form of granola, graham cracker, or bread and a piece of fruit. It’s how this active teacher rolls. But enough about my eating habits, let’s get baking!

Your Ingredients for Spiced Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

¾ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs
⅓ cup oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts
2 ½ – 3 cups shredded zucchini

Your Steps

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9×5 inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. Mix maple syrup, vanilla, eggs, and oil in a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and shredded zucchini.

Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, without raw batter.

Spiced Zucchini Oatmeal Bread

Cinnamon, maple syrup, and some oatmeal make this heart healthy zucchini bread a delight while still being kid friendly!

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings slices

Ingredients

¾ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs
⅓ cup oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts
2 ½ – 3 cups shredded zucchini

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9×5 inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine maple syrup, vanilla, eggs, and oil. Whisk until well combined.
Add whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and shredded zucchini.
Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans.
Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, without raw batter.

Keyword Breakfast Bread, chocolate zucchini bread, oatmeal, Quick Bread, whole wheat flour, zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini recipe

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Looking for more zucchini recipes?

Check out any of the ideas below!

September 18, 2022October 9, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Coconut and Raisin Spiced Muffins

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may know that I have a couple of fun foodie groups that I get to be a part of: Around the World in 80 Dishes where we pick a different country every month to cook from and One Book, Three Recipes where we pick a different cookbook off our shelves each month and we cook three recipes from it. This fun coconut and raisin spiced muffins recipe was a child that came from the later challenge.

I had been debating on a few different recipes from one particular book and then turned to a page that had a recipe for coconut bread. I set out to make the recipe, and I found myself saying, “huh…there’s none of this ingredient? Or that one? And yet another? This seems strange.” What I had was some sand-textured ingredients in a bowl. There was no way it was going to create a loaf of bread. A few typos that missed the editor’s desk, I presume.

And so I played with it and was instantly in love with the results. Now, if you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I usually sub maple syrup for sugar and try to give a healthy twist. These coconut and raisin spiced muffins are not that. They are dense, warming, and delicious; totally different from my average fruit muffin. Give them a try!

Your Ingredients

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup milk
2 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, etc)
½ cup chopped nuts

Your Steps to Coconut and Raisin Spiced Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 18 muffin vessels with liners or by greasing them. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Add to wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in coconut, dried fruit, and nuts. Place the mixture into the prepared tin, filling ¾ of the full.

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Coconut and Raisin Spiced Muffins

These coconut and raisin spiced muffins are full of texture and flavor, creating a delicious and dense muffin full of warming spices.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings muffins

Equipment

Muffin tin

Ingredients

½ cup butter softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup milk
2 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit cranberries, cherries, etc
½ cup chopped nuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 18 muffin vessels with liners or by greasing them.
Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Stir until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
Add to wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in coconut, dried fruit, and nuts.
Place the mixture into the prepared tin, filling ¾ of the full.
Bake for 20-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Keyword Breakfast, coconut, coconut muffins, muffins, Quick Bread, raisins, spiced bread

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for more breakfast Inspiration?

Check out any of the recipes below or just head to my breakfast page for more ideas!

September 10, 2022September 11, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Applesauce and Cinnamon Bread

I love an apple bread (or really, any apple baked good, let’s be honest), but peeling and coring apples is a tedious process I don’t love. Enter an applesauce and cinnamon bread. When I saw a version of this recipe on the back of a bran flakes box, I had to give it a try. I have modified it quite a lot to add more wholesome ingredients and cut down on some sugar. Believe me, the final result is equally delicious. The husband even gave it two thumbs up and was excited to eat it for breakfast this week. I always call that a big win!

As an aside, I love adding oats to all of my recipes, but I know that some don’t love them. I even have a friend who is allergic, which I didn’t even know was possible until recently. If you don’t want to add oats, you can certainly modify this simple applesauce and cinnamon bread to have 1 ½ cups of flour and 1 ½ cups bran flakes.

Your Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup bran flakes cereal
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup maple syrup or honey
½ cup milk
¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)

Your Steps

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine egg, applesauce, maple syrup, and milk. Whisk until well combined. Add flour, oats, bran flakes, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until just moistened throughout. Fold in chopped nuts if adding.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from the pan. Enjoy!

Interested in other baked goods? Go ahead, check out my baking page!

Baking

Applesauce and Cinnamon Bread

The classic combination of apple and cinnamon combine with bran flake cereal and oatmeal in this quick bread.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 55

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup bran flakes cereal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup maple syrup or honey
½ cup milk
¼ cup chopped nuts optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine egg, applesauce, maple syrup, and milk.
Whisk until well combined.
Add flour, oats, bran flakes, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Stir until just moistened throughout. Fold in chopped nuts if adding.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool before removing from the pan. Enjoy!

Notes

If you don’t want to add oats, you can modify to have 1 ½ cups of flour and 1 ½ cups bran flakes.

Keyword apple and cinnamon, applesauce, Breakfast Bread, cinnamon, Quick Bread

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

August 6, 2020March 21, 2021

JessLeave a comment

Quick Strawberry Bread

I never knew I needed strawberry bread in my life until I tried this recipe. A number of years ago, I was minding my own business at my end of the hallway while at school when three students ran over to me and HAD to share what they had just created in their Family and Consumer Science class. It was this bread. Let me tell you, it was delicious. If three teenage boys could create such a delicious treat, I knew I needed to give it a try on my own.

I immediately went to the teacher and asked if I could have the recipe. She shared a folded up copy students had left in her classroom, and it went straight into my files. Now it’s a sheet of paper I hold dear because not only is it full of stains from repeated use (aren’t those THE best recipes?!), but it also reminds me of those awesome students I got to teach so early on in my career.

Wondering what makes this strawberry bread so good? I believe it’s the Greek yogurt (or sour cream, if that’s what you have on hand). It makes for this moist, delightful summer bread. In fact, when I want an indulgent quick bread, I look for Greek yogurt in the recipe. It’s a secret, take this recipe to the next level, kind of ingredient.

Now, I know most recipes I share have had a “let’s make it healthier” make over. This strawberry bread will not be one of those recipes. Sometimes you just need to follow your taste buds and enjoy a little sugar and sweetness, right?

Your ingredients

1 ¾ cup flour (I used whole wheat)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
½ cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cup finely chopped strawberries

Your Steps

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugars and beat until light and airy. Beat in eggs, ideally one at a time. But let’s be real, who remembers to do that? I mean, I don’t ⅔ of the time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until well combined.

Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Avoid over mixing. Fold in strawberries. Be gentle with them or you will end up with a pink bread. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 60-65 minutes in the center of the oven.

A few notes:

I know I said mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl. But for real, I hate extra dishes. I am the kind of cook that will intentionally use a smaller measuring cup to measure out 1 cup measurements if it means using one less dish. That being said, I have often made this recipe by adding the dry ingredients to the top of the wet, mixing slightly to blend the spices, and then stirring it all together. But you do you 🙂
I ADORE my flexible cutting boards for all sorts of cooking. They are actually the only kind of cutting boards I use (if I can help it). If you haven’t used them before, check out the link below. They are color coded for different types of food and make scraping into a bowl or pan easy as can be.
I used fresh strawberries from our garden, which are generally smaller than store bought. Because of this, I simply sliced them rather than chopping them small. Again, do what you prefer.

Looking for other sweet treats to bake? Check out my baking page here!

Quick Strawberry Bread

Greek yogurt and strawberries combine to make a perfect addition to your breakfast table.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup butter softened
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs room temperature
½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cup finely chopped strawberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, beat butter until creamy.
Gradually add sugars and beat until light and airy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Avoid over mixing.
Gently fold in strawberries.
Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 60-65 minutes in the center of the oven.

Keyword Breakfast Bread, Quick Bread, Strawberries

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

June 27, 2020June 16, 2022

JessLeave a comment

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

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As spring makes way to summer, gardeners all around Wisconsin watch for the rhubarb to break through the ground and produce stems of tart goodness. Then you can pair that with the strawberries that are turning red right now, and you have some tasty baking and cooking that happens. Rhubarb pie. Jams and jellies. However, my favorite is probably strawberry rhubarb bread.

Springtime on a cutting board: strawberries and rhubarb

Here, the sweetness from the berries and the tart from the rhubarb mix perfectly. And the color! It brings me so much joy. My mother-in-law has a fantastic recipe for strawberry rhubarb bread; however, I try to be mindful of the amount of sugar I serve my family and friends so I began to play with a few recipes to make my own, healthier version.

A few weeks ago, I tried to tweak this great banana bread recipe to work as a strawberry rhubarb bread. Let me tell you, it was a fail. Maybe not an EPIC fail. But I will say, I don’t waste much food, and it went in the garbage after a few days.

Determined not to fail, I wrote in my planner, “FIX THE STRAWBERRY RHUBARB BREAD,” everyday. I found the time, sat down with the banana bread recipe and my mother in law’s recipe and boom…this recipe was born as a hybrid of them both. A cleaner, healthier Strawberry Rhubarb Bread.

As an aside, my husband is my go to recipe tester when I try to make it healthier. He isn’t quiet about when I “ruin” things by cutting too much sugar or replacing pasta with vegetables. He hated the first “banana bread” try. However, he gave glowing reviews to the one you’re about to bake. It’s tasty, just the right amount of sweetness, and perfectly moist. Yum. I can’t wait for you to try it and let me know what you think! Let’s get baking 🙂

Your Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats (I get these fantastic thick oats from the natural food store in town)
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup chopped nuts (I did walnuts)
1 cup peeled and chopped rhubarb
1 cup chopped strawberries
½ cup honey or maple syrup (I did honey)
¼ cup coconut oil, melted (but any oil will do)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten
6 tablespoons milk (I did almond)

Your Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare one loaf pan (or three miniature pans) by spraying with cooking spray. Combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and nuts in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine honey, vanilla, egg, and milk.

Add the honey mixture to dry mixture along with rhubarb and strawberries. Stir until just combined. (Be sure to mix all the way to the bottom. I can’t tell you how often I pour my batter into a pan and find dry ingredients I missed while mixing to “just combined.” Alas, I will learn someday.)

Quickly pour in oil and stir. Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake for 40-55 minutes, depending on the depth of your batter. Finally, use a toothpick or knife to check if it is cooked all the way to through. Enjoy!

A few notes

The batter will seem dry. That’s okay. It will moisten up at it bakes.
You should be able to switch up the ratios of strawberries and rhubarb. Just shoot for about 2 cups of cut up fruits/vegetables. (Did you know rhubarb is technically a vegetable?!
I add the oil last and stir fast so that it doesn’t have the time to begin to turn solid. This was a recent “ah ha” moment I had while making my own waffles with friends. Get that recipe here!

Looking for more baking recipes? Click here!

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

Sweet Strawberries and Tart Rhubarb join together in this cleaner version of a classic combination.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 50

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped rhubarb peeled
1 cup chopped strawberries
½ cup honey (or maple syrup)
¼ cup coconut oil melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg beaten
6 tablespoons milk your choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease bread pan.
Combine oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and chopped nuts in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, combine honey, vanilla, egg, and milk.
Stir wet ingredients, strawberries, and rhubarb into dry ingredients until just combined.
Stir in melted coconut oil.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-55 minutes, until cooked all the way through. Test using a toothpick or knife. If it comes out clean, it is done.

Notes

The batter will seem dry. That’s okay. It will moisten up at it bakes.
You should be able to switch up the ratios of strawberries and rhubarb. Just shoot for about 2 cups of cut up fruits/vegetables. (Did you know rhubarb is technically a vegetable?!)
I used almond milk in this recipe, but I am certain any milk will be fine.

Keyword Bread, Breakfast, Rhubarb, Strawberries

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

June 14, 2020May 16, 2021

Jess2 Comments

THE Banana Bread.

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I wanted to name this post, “The banana bread to make you forget all other banana breads.” Or maybe, “The banana bread you never new you were missing.” Or my favorite, “THE banana bread. Mic drop.” But those seemed a little long, and perhaps like they wouldn’t survive well as a link, so we will just stick with THE banana bread.

Honestly. This banana bread is dense. It’s so flavorful. It’s got great texture. And the best part? It’s made of good for you ingredients so when you go for your third slice, you know you’re putting good fuel into your body. Did I mention it’s gluten free too?! (I’m not gluten free, but I have a good friend who is so I am always on the look out for good recipes for her) Don’t get me wrong, I love my old school quick breakfast breads that my mother-in-law makes and what sits in my freezer for when guests show up, but I know that I will be hungry in an hour and the sugar will make my belly feel icky if I eat too much. It’s just the way it is for me.

So back to the bread, because seriously, you need to make it yesterday.

YOUR INGREDIENTS FOR THE BANANA BREAD

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (My go to tool for this? A pastry cutter. It works great AND young kids can easily get involved and do this step for you)
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey or real maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1/4-1/2 cups chocolate chips

Your Steps to the banana bread

First, measure out and combine:

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Pulse these three ingredients in a food processor until they are a coarse flour texture.

In an additional bowl, combine:

3 very ripe bananas, mashed (My go to tool for this? A pastry cutter. It works great AND young kids can easily get involved and do this step for you)
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey or real maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Stir in the oat mixture and 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips (dark chips are our new go to at our house…not to mention they fill the chocolate fix you may need after dinner!). Pour into a well greased bread pan and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top, because, well, it’s pretty. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until baked through.

I love that I can enjoy a good breakfast bread that is filling and the perfect amount of sweetness without overdoing it on the added sugar. It is also a perfect mid morning snack to get you to lunch! Give it a try! You may just toss out your old banana recipe and have a new favorite 🙂 —Jess

A few Notes…

I always thought that a small, 2 cup food processor was good enough. It’s what my mom used growing up, and if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me. However, a few holidays ago, I asked for a 7 cup Kitchen Aid Mixer. It’s AMAZING and I can’t tell you how often I use it. Highly recommend the investment. It’s great for chopping veggies for salsa, making oat flour, or even mixing banana ice cream. Click the image below to check out a similar model!

THE Banana Bread

Gluten Free, Clean Eating Banana Bread

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas very ripe
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey (maple syrup)
2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
1/4-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Combine oats, salt, and baking soda in a food processor. Pulse until a coarse flour texture is obtained.
In a large bowl, mash bananas. Add honey and eggs. Mix well.
Stir oat mixture into mashed bananas. Add chocolate chips and coconut oil. Mix until just combined.
Pour into well greased bread pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until baked through.