Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread with Hatch Chiles is a fantastic quick bread recipe. Sweet, smoky and subtly spiced, it's lovely for breakfast, an afternoon snack or dessert.
Roasted chiles add a wonderful smoky, subtly spicy flavor to this zucchini bread, making it both unique and delicious!
And if you don't want to add the peppers (which is perfectly okay), it becomes a very easy gluten-free zucchini bread recipe.
With a light and moist interior, and slightly crisp crust, this quick bread is lovely with coffee or tea and makes a great start for the day.
About the Key Ingredients
- zucchini - Choose firm zucchini with blemish-free, vibrant green skin.
- roasted Hatch chiles - Hot, medium or mild, depending on preference. Hatch chiles are almost always marked with their heat level where they're sold.
- neutral oil - Vegetable, Canola or Avocado.
- baking soda - If you don’t bake regularly, it’s a good idea to check to be sure your baking soda is still good. To do so, pour a couple of tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice over about ¼ teaspoon of the baking soda. If it starts to fizz, it’s still good.
- Cup4Cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour - This is my favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour. It always yields great results.
Substitutions and Variations
- Hatch Chiles. In this recipe, Poblano chiles are a good substitute, and you can also omit the chiles all together for a more traditional (gluten-free) zucchini bread.
- I make this using the gluten-free flour, but you can certainly use regular flour if you'd like. The measurements will be the same. (The baking times may vary slightly depending on which one you use.)
- Feel free to add chocolate, coconut or nuts. I suggest mini chocolate chips, shredded sweetened coconut and finely chopped pecans or walnuts. Use about 1½ cups total of whatever you add, or any combination thereof.
Recipe Tips
- Hatch chiles are one of the few chiles where hot and mild can be determined, even though they all look the same. They are typically sold labeled as to which they are -- so this is your call. I usually use a mix of hot and mild for this recipe, about 25% to 75%, respectively.
How to Make Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread with Hatch Chiles
(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)
- Roast and peel the peppers. (Here's an easy step-by-step guide for How to Roast and Peel Peppers.)
- Cut the stem end off of each one and use a small paring knife to make a slit in each of the peppers to open them. Remove all of the seeds and set one aside. Then finely chop the others.
- Grate the zucchini.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two loaf pans with parchment paper -- on the bottom and sides.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Whisk until it's very smooth. Wring out the zucchini gently with your hands to remove excess moisture. Then fold it into the mixture, along with the finely chopped roasted peppers. Add the flour and baking soda, and mix just until everything is evenly blended.
- Divide the batter between the pans. Slice the stem off of the roasted pepper and cut it in half, lengthwise. Carefully, keeping the pieces intact, remove the seeds with the back of a knife. Then place one piece, smooth side up, on top of the batter in each pan. (This is optional.)
- Bake in the preheated 350°F oven until the top is golden brown, and beginning to crack, about 1 hour.
Making it Ahead and Storage
While there's nothing quite like a bread right out of the oven, this quick bread will still be delicious if made ahead.
Room temperature. It will keep well for a couple of days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.
Refrigerator. It will keep well for about a week in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
Freezer. It will keep well for about two months wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in a heavy-duty zip-lock bag with all of the air removed in the freezer.
Other Must-Try Sweet Hatch Chile and Zucchini Recipes
I have Melissa's Produce to thank for introducing me to Hatch Chiles a handful of years ago, and I’ve been cooking and baking with them ever since. Here's more information about Hatch chiles, and my top recipes I’ve created with them.
They are a prized New Mexican chile and are available only in August and September.
I hope you enjoy this gluten-free Zucchini Bread with Hatch Chiles as much as my family and I do.
This is not a sponsored post.
Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread with Hatch Chiles Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ to 1 pound (about 7 to 8 peppers) Hatch Chile peppers, roasted and peeled
- about ⅔ pound zucchini
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup neutral oil (avocado, vegetable, canola)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 cups Gluten-Free Cup4Cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Prepare the peppers and zucchini. Roast and peel the peppers. (Here's How to Roast and Peel Peppers). Set one aside for later. Then, cut the stem end off of each one and carefully use a small paring knife or your fingers to make a slit in each of the peppers to open them. Gently remove all of the seeds, and finely chop the chiles. You will need 1 cup of the finely chopped chiles. Set aside. Grate the zucchini. You will need 2 cups of the grated zucchini.
- Preheat the oven and prepare the pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line 2 (approximately 8-inch) loaf pans with parchment paper -- on the bottom and sides. Set aside.
- Make the batter. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Use a whisk or a fork to mix it until it's very smooth. Wring out the zucchini gently with your hands to remove excess moisture.Then fold it into the mixture, along with the finely chopped roasted peppers. Add the flour and baking soda, and mix just until everything is evenly blended. (Do not over mix!)
- Fill the pans and bake. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Slice the stem off of the one remaining roasted pepper and then cut it in half, evenly and lengthwise. Very carefully, keeping the pieces intact, remove the seeds with the back of a knife. Place one piece, smooth side up, on top of the batter in each pan. (This is decorative and optional.) Bake in the preheated 350°F oven until the top is golden brown, and beginning to crack, about 1 hour.
- Cool. Let the bread cool in the pans for about 5 minutes. Use a dull knife to go around the edges of the bread to ensure it's loose, and then cool the bread for at least another 20 minutes in the pans on a cooling rack. Lift the bread out with the edges of the parchment paper, slice and serve.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Cooking On The Weekends is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
SueB
Made this - Delicious! And, I got a hot one in the bunch - hooray! It added a wonderful lingering sensation and gave my zucchini bread that extra tasty zip I didn't know it needed! From here on out, don't see myself making it any other way....Thank you, Valentina!
valentina
Sue, that's awesome! Thank you! xo
rosalia levy
Thank you Valentina,
I was looking for a recipe like that.
That looks great!
valentina
Thanks, Rosalia! 🙂
Sue B
Valentina,
This is by far my FAVORITE zucchini bread recipe! I make small loaves and give (some of) them to friends - promoting hatch chiles and your blog at the same time! I use coconut oil and add walnuts and don't test my chiles - I love the surprise of the heat!
Thanks for all the deliciousness you share!
xosueb
valentina
Sue, you're the best! So happy you like this recipe. Thank YOU for sharing in the deliciousness. 😉 xo
Susan Biesack
Well, it's that time of year again, Valentina! Love this recipe - making a few loaves today. I have taken to replacing the grapeseed oil with coconut oil. It adds a lovely mellow complexity to the bread. Such a great gift for friends and family - and I ALWAYS give you credit and point them to your blog!!! Happy end of summer....xx
valentina
Hi Sue, What a fantastic note! Thank you so much. You are so kind to steer friends to my site, and I'm so happy you like this recipe. (Me too!) Happy summer to you too. XOXO ~V
angiesrecipes
I will have to try this zucchini recipe with chile too. The loaves have such a tender moist texture...absolutely beautiful!
valentina
Thank you, Angie! Hope you love it. 🙂 ~Valentina
Eha Carr
Mainly because of lack of time and need, living alone, I have never learnt to make bread. At the moment I am tempted altho' I do not think hatch chillies are available in Australia. If I did some homework I am certain Mr Google could find me a reasonable substitute to try and I love anything zucchini ! No - I would not add anything sweet but, yes, it might join me and a big mug of black coffee quite companionably for breakfast in bed . . . one of the few benefits of having my abode to myself . . . 🙂 !
valentina
Ooooh, I love that, Eha. A big cup of coffee with a delicious breakfast in bed. Sounds dreamy to me. Hope you had a lovely weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
David Scott Allen
What a fun combination of heat and sweet! I just got some Hatch chiles from the farmers market and roasting them is today's business at hand. Thanks again for the intro to them!
valentina
Awesome, David. My local Farmers Market just today re-opened for the first time since March. It was so great to have our local growers back (and my favorite Hummus, too. 😉 ) I grabbed a bunch of Hatch chiles also. Hope you had fun roasting them over the weekend. 🙂 ~Valentina
2pots2cook
Silly me ! I shared it on FB but did not comment : this is definitely perfect time of the year with all the fruits and vegetables available and this bread makes this season even better 1! Thank you and take care 🙂
valentina
Thanks so much for sharing, my friend! Hope you love it and that all is well! 🙂 ~Valentina
Marissa
I'm so intrigued by this flavor combination, Valentina. A bit of sweetness and a bit of spice (like the best people 😉 ). Such a perfect texture too!
valentina
Thanks, Marissa, I love the connection of sweet and spice to people. So true! 🙂 ~Valentina
Ron
Oh how I miss the smell of fresh Hatch chiles roasting. But, when we lived in the US and did get them I never thought of putting in a quick bread. Brilliant!! We do have a fresh Hungarian green pepper in our markets now that are very close to a Hatch and is more or less mild. I'll be giving those a try and make a loaf for us and my gluten-free neighbor...
valentina
Hi Ron! Thanks for checking this out. The Hungarian peppers sound like they'd work really well. Lucky neighbors to have you cooking for them! Hope all is well! 🙂 ~Valentina