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Say hello to our boys’ favorite spinach banana muffins — or as Teo proudly calls them, green monster muffins. ♡

This recipe is a fun, “greenified” twist on my go-to healthy banana muffins recipe, which we’ve made at least a million times since having kids. (Truly, it’s the rare baking recipe I have memorized since we make it so often!) I decided to try something fun this St. Patrick’s Day and added in a ton of fresh spinach to surprise the boys with green muffins for breakfast. And sure enough, they were a hit! Also a tiny parenting win getting in some extra greens!

We all love this recipe because it’s super banana-forward, with just the right hint of vanilla and warming spices. It’s naturally sweetened with ripe bananas and maple syrup, made with wholesome oat flour (or you can blend up old-fashioned oats), and the batter comes together effortlessly in the blender — no extra mixing bowls or whisks needed! These banana muffins also freeze beautifully, making them perfect for quick breakfasts or grab-and-go snacks.

So whether you’re making these banana muffins for a festive breakfast, meal prep, or an easy snack, these muffins are as fun as they are nourishing. Everyone in our house loves them!

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So many of you have made and loved my homemade pretzel recipe over the years. But as much as I love traditionally-shaped pretzels, I have to say that these cute little pretzel bites are what I tend to make most often in my kitchen! ♡

This bite-sized version of the recipe is even quicker and easier to make, with all of the same, buttery, crispy goodness in each bite. They have the perfect ratio of crispy golden exterior to soft and chewy center. They’re perfect for sharing and snacking. And best of all, this recipe comes together easily in about an hour with basic pantry staples — no stand mixer required!

Here in our house, we’re partial to traditional buttery pretzels sprinkled with chunky pretzel salt and paired with my favorite beer cheese dip, but feel free to customize your batch however you’d like! You could top the pretzels with everything from cinnamon sugar to everything bagel seasoning, asiago cheese or herbs. You could dip them in everything from ranch dip to honey mustard, white queso, marinara or garlic butter. There are endless ways to enjoy these pretzel bites, so have fun experimenting with your favorite combinations!

So whether you’re planning a game day spread, need an easy party appetizer, or you’re just craving a fun homemade snack, these buttery soft pretzel bites are guaranteed to hit the spot. Let’s start baking!

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Now that we’re living in the Land of Canned Biscuits again (a.k.a. the United States), I have happily resumed one of my favorite holiday baking traditions — weekend monkey bread! ♡

We always had to put in the extra time to make homemade biscuits from scratch for monkey bread while we were living in Barcelona. It was, of course, delicious, but not quite the simple and nostalgic version I grew up with. On a lazy December morning, I much prefer to hit the ‘easy button’ and let Pillsbury do most of the work for me.

So for anyone else who also craves this throwback sweet treat this time of year, I thought I’d repost the tried-and-true monkey bread recipe that I’ve been making for the past two decades. It’s made with just 5 simple ingredients — canned buttermilk biscuits, melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon — and it’s always so fun and easy to assemble. (Even more special for us right now with cute little toddler hands to help!)

I’ve included some extra options below for various ways to customize the recipe by adding in nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit. Or you can also never go wrong with an extra cream cheese drizzle on top. However you make it, I promise this gooey sweet treat is always a winner. So grab some biscuits and let’s make some monkey bread together!

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Honestly, life is just better with buttery garlic knots fresh out of the oven. ♡

I’ve always used my trusty 1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls recipe to make garlic knots, brushing them with an extra round of garlic butter just before serving and finishing each knots with a sprinkle of Parmesan and flaky sea salt. And when I say that friends always love these rolls, I mean people truly LOVE THESE ROLLS. They always have a way of stealing the show, whether you serve them up for a Thanksgiving feast, alongside soup or salad for a simple weeknight dinner, or with marinara for dipping on game day — you name it. These rolls are perfect for just about any occasion and are pretty much guaranteed to disappear before you know it.

That said, my favorite thing about this recipe in particular is that it’s easy to make with no hours-long rise times required. All you need are a few basic ingredients and you’ll be ready to go. So the next time you’re craving a fluffy, buttery batch of homemade garlic knots, give this recipe a try!

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Easy high protein breakfast recipe for the win! ♡

Like probably many of you, I’ve been working lately on trying to start my mornings with a strong boost of protein. And these cute egg bites have become one of my favorite ways to make it happen! They pack 14 grams of protein per serving and are super-easy to customize with your preferred flavor add-ins. We’re partial to this vegetarian mix of sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, basil and feta here in our home lately. But you could easily increase the protein content even more by mixing in some bacon, sausage, smoked salmon, extra cheese, etc.

The great thing about making homemade egg bites (or egg cups, whatever you prefer to call them) is that it’s easy to prep a batch with just 10 minutes of hands-on prep time. They’re considerably more affordable than Starbucks egg bites or many other store-bought versions. They keep well in the fridge or freezer if you’d like to have a grab-and-go option ready for busy mornings ahead. And most importantly, they are just really, really good. Like, considerably more flavorful than any coffee shop or store-bought version I’ve tried.

Let’s make some egg bites!

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Everyone needs a truly excellent zucchini bread recipe in their repertoire…and this one is my personal favorite! ♡

I’ve come to love this recipe over the years because it’s mercifully low-fuss. There’s zero zucchini-wringing required — just add the grated zucchini straight into the batter, which yields a perfectly light and moist loaf of bread. Then all of the remaining ingredients you’ll need are pantry staples that you likely already have on hand. I love using lots of vanilla and warming spices in my zucchini bread as well as a hint of lemon zest, which magically makes all of the flavors here “pop.” And then a generous sprinkle of coarse sugar on top of the bread bakes up to form a crunchy sugar topping that is downright irresistible.

I tend to be a zucchini bread purist and love mine without any add-ins. But I’ve included options below if you’d like to add in some chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, coconut, or anything else that sounds good. This recipe is wonderfully flexible and foolproof. So the next time you have a zucchini surplus, grab your bread pan and let’s bake up a quick loaf of homemade zucchini bread together!

Zucchini Bread Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Zucchini Bread Ingredients

Here are a few quick notes about the zucchini bread ingredients you will need to make this recipe:

• Zucchini: No need to wring out and drain the zucchini for this recipe! Simply grate the fresh zucchini on the coarse side of a box grater and add it directly to the batter, which will make the bread perfectly moist. I recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh the grated zucchini to ensure that you’re using the correct amount.
• Flour: We will use basic all-purpose flour to provide structure for the bread.
• Oil: I typically use vegetable oil to make zucchini bread, but any neutral-flavored oil that you love best (i.e. avocado oil, canola oil, melted coconut oil) will work.
• Eggs: Eggs will serve as the binding agent for the batter and also help give the bread a lovely soft texture.
• Leavening agents: We’ll use a combination of baking powder and baking soda as leavening agents for the bread to make it perfectly fluffy.
• Sugars: We will use a combination of light brown sugar and white granulated sugar to sweeten the batter. Plus I also highly recommend a generous sprinkle of coarse turbinado sugar on top of the bread to give the top a crunchy sweet crust. (If you don’t have turbinado sugar, you can just use white granulated sugar instead.)
• Pumpkin pie spice: Classic zucchini bread is usually seasoned with warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or ginger, but I went ahead and used pumpkin pie spice to (1) save time, since the blend already includes those three spices and (2) add a teeny hint of cloves and allspice to the mix as well. Trust me, it works perfectly in zucchini bread, and people always comment how they love the flavors in this recipe!
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds the perfect touch of warmth to the bread and brings out the best of the pumpkin pie spices.
• Lemon zest: The “secret” ingredient I’ve always added to zucchini bread that adds the perfect hint of citrusy brightness and makes all of the other flavors pop!
• Sea salt: Finally, we’ll add fine sea salt to bring out the best of all these delicious flavors.

Zucchini Bread Tips

Detailed instructions are included in the recipe card below, but here are a few extra tips to keep in mind:

• Coarsely grate the zucchini. For zucchini bread that has a satisfying bit of texture with visible strands of green zucchini throughout, I highly recommend using the coarse side of a box grater (or the coarse grating attachment on a food processor) to grate the zucchini.
• Don’t overmix the batter. It’s best to mix the wet and dry ingredients together until they are *just* combined (not overmixing) to ensure that the bread is light and moist, not tough and dense.
• Cool completely before slicing. Let the bread cool for at least 15 minutes on a wire rack after baking, which will make it easier to slice without crumbling.
• Store properly. The best way to store zucchini bread is wrapping it tightly in foil and then store it in an airtight container for a few days. To freeze the bread, wrap it tightly in foil and then freeze in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months.

Zucchini Bread Variations

Here are a few add-ins that you’re welcome to try with this zucchini bread recipe. (I recommend no more than 1.5 cups of add-ins total.)

• Make chocolate zucchini bread: Swap 1/3 cup of the flour for unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Add chocolate chips: Add up to 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or rough-chopped dark chocolate bars
• Add nuts: Add up to 1 cup chopped toasted nuts, such as walnuts or pecans.
• Add shredded coconut: Add up to 1/2 cup shredded coconut, ideally toasted before adding for extra flavor.
• Add fresh berries: Add up to 1 cup fresh berries, such as blueberries or blackberries.
• Use orange zest: Swap lemon zest for orange zest to give the bread a more orangey flavor.

More Quick Bread Recipes

Here are a few more of our favorite quick bread recipes to try!

• Perfect Pumpkin Bread
• Classic Banana Bread
• Healthy Banana Bread
• Honey Beer Bread

Zucchini Bread

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Ali
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
• Yield: 8-10 servings 1x

Print Recipe

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Description

This classic zucchini bread recipe is easy to make, perfectly moist, and topped with an irresistible crunchy sugar topping.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups (370 grams) grated packed zucchini, not wrung out and grated on the large holes of a box grater
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• zest of 1 small lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

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Instructions

1. Prep oven and loaf pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment or mist with cooking spray. 
2. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a small mixing bowl until combined.
3. Incorporate the wet ingredients. In a separate large mixing bowl, gently stir together the grated zucchini, oil, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, eggs and lemon zest until evenly combined. Add the dry ingredients and gently stir the batter together until *just* combined and no dry streaks remain. Avoid overmixing.
4. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar evenly on top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the bread cool to room temperature.
5. Serve. Slice, serve and enjoy!

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Equipment

Box Grater

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Bread Pan

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Vanilla Extract

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Notes

Recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen.