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Instant Pot Healthy Zucchini Banana Bread

round zucchini bread on a cutting board

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5 from 4 reviews

Healthy, whole grain zucchini bread made in the Instant Pot so it stays soft and moist without all the fat and sugar.

Ingredients

Scale
  • ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 ripe medium bananas, mashed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups shredded zucchini, drained and squeezed dry by hand or in a towel or reusable produce bag
  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon (preferably Vietnamese cinnamon)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • â…“ cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Cream Cheese Yogurt Sauce (Double if desired)

  • ¼ cup whipped cream cheese
  • ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
  • 12 tablespoons milk
  • 34 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Generously grease a 6 cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.
  2. In a medium size bowl, whisk to combine applesauce, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract.  Stir in shredded zucchini.
  3. In a small bowl, combine whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; whisk to combine.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir 2-3 times. You will still see dry flour.
  4. Add walnuts (and/or chocolate chips, if desired) and stir just until flour is incorporated.  Pour into the prepared bundt pan.
  5. Make a tinfoil sling and place pan on top of foil.
  6. Add  1 ½ cups of water to the pressure cooker pot and place a trivet inside.  Carefully place the bundt pan on the trivet.
  7. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 35 minutes.
  8. When pressure cooking is complete, use a natural release for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
  9. Remove pan from pressure cooker.  Cool slightly. Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and gently turn over onto a plate.
  10. Can be served hot or at room temperature with a shmear of Cream Cheese Yogurt Sauce
  11. Once cooled, store leftover in a sealed container or ziplock bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese Yogurt Sauce

  1. Whisk together the whipped cream cheese, yogurt, milk,  powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.  Add more powdered sugar if a sweeter sauce is desired.

Notes

  • The Instant Pot keeps the bread nice and moist, but it can also be baked in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes
  • Use White Whole Wheat Flour or Whole Wheat Pastry Flour in this recipe.  Red Wheat can also be used but will be denser