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Pecan Praline Zucchini Bread

Pecan praline zucchini bread with a golden loaf and a sticky caramelized topping that hardens into a glassy, crunchy crown. Moist Southern zucchini bread is baked until nearly done, then finished with praline pecans for a set, bubbling topping.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
cooling 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Southern American
Calories: 420
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 brown sugar, packed
  • 2 eggs
  • 0.33 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.25 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup zucchini, grated and squeezed dry
  • 0.5 cup pecans, chopped
Praline Topping
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 0.33 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 0.75 cup pecan halves

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 saucepan

Method
 

Bake the zucchini bread
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
  2. Whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together.
  3. Beat brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract until smooth, then stir in grated squeezed zucchini.
  4. Fold the dry mixture and chopped pecans into the wet batter just until combined.
  5. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 50–55 minutes until nearly done.
Make and set the praline topping
  1. Melt butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat for 2–3 minutes until syrupy, stirring.
  2. Stir in pecan halves until coated.
  3. Pour praline topping over the partially baked loaf and return to the oven for 10–12 minutes until topping is set and bubbling.
  4. Cool the loaf 15 minutes before carefully removing to prevent the topping from sticking.

Notes

Pro tip: squeeze the grated zucchini very dry so the loaf bakes up tender instead of gummy. Store covered at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze slices for up to 2 months. For a lighter option, use 1:1 all-purpose flour and replace half the oil with unsweetened applesauce (texture will be slightly softer).