From the name, you might be wondering several things about this quick bread recipe, but from the photos, most of your questions should be answered!
Yes! This gluten free eggplant bread is delicious! Yes it is moist and flavorful! Yes it is beautiful! Yes, it could just as easily be called zucchini eggplant bread or eggplant quick bread … but whatever you call it, you simply must try it!
I’d like to say I am the first and only person to have dreamed up this delicious sweet-not-savory use for an overabundance of eggplant, but alas, I realized after my successful baking experiment that there are two other recipe authors who have also tried their hands at a creative eggplant quick bread recipe. Neither are gluten free, of course, but hey! The more recipes, the merrier!
I also created my recipe to be as allergen-friendly as possible — not just gluten free — so it’s egg-free/vegan, dairy-free and also nut-free and soy-free. But it lacks nothing in taste or texture, that I assure you!
Plus, since it’s made with my gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, it’s a one-flour solution to baking that makes everything taste great and work! SO, that means this eggplant bread recipe is easy, too! See all the bonuses here?
All About Eggplant
Back to the eggplant concept though … why eggplant bread? Well, you see, I have these amazing neighbors.
We share from time to time, and this time they shared from their bounty of eggplant. I love eggplant as much as the next gal (maybe more) in my cooking — it goes with ANY stir fry and can even be found in my homemade gluten free Pad Thai from time to time.
Because of its neutral, spongy texture, it absorbs flavors from sauces so well and is actually a great meat/tofu/protein replacement in your main dishes. It’s a natural in so many savory recipes. And yes, I have a gluten free Eggplant Parmesan recipe too; it’s in my third book, Free For All Cooking and here on my blog.
Eggplant (also known as aubergine) is super nutritious, adding a rich serving of potassium, fiber and antioxidants to your diet. Interestingly, eggplant also offers iron and copper as well as other essential vitamins and minerals, so there’s hardly any reason not to try adding this fruit — yes fruit! — to your diet!
Eggplant Bread
But Eggplant BREAD? Well, why not? The texture is such that it’s grate-able like a zucchini, so I gave it a go. I squeezed the extra moisture out of the grated fruit before adding to the bread (as you do with most zucchini bread recipes) and I combined it with some grated zucchini as well for flavor, and the resulting bread was not only delightfully colorful, but moist and super tasty as well.
Eggplant has lots of little round seeds which you may see as specs in this bread and I find quite pretty. For the most part, the texture is so soft that you hardly notice them, but if anything, they offer a slight crunch. Feel free to add chopped nuts (as pictured here) or to omit them; the bread has a nice texture on its own.
One more thing: this recipe makes enough for two regular sized loaves or for one loaf and three small loaves or for six small loaves which are perfect for sharing, in case you have generous and friendly neighbors like I do.
Mini loaves only take about 20-25 minutes to bake, while the larger loaves take more like 40-45 minutes, but keep checking with a toothpick until you only get some dry crumbs or a clean, but not wet, toothpick. Then you’ll know the bread is done, no matter the size.
I hope you enjoy this delicious gluten free Eggplant Bread! I can’t wait to see your pictures and hear what you think!
Eggplant Bread
Make use of nutritious eggplant in more than your savory cooking -- tuck it into this delicious quick bread recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup eggplant, grated (~4 small eggplant, as pictured)
- 2 cups zucchini, grated (~1 medium zucchini)
- 3 cups (405 grams) gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice (or ground nutmeg)
- 1 cup coconut oil -- room temperature, or other neutral cooking oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (or pure vanilla extract if avoiding nuts)
- 4 eggs (or aquafaba -- I used VOR Foods 1 1/3 tsp. powder + 12 Tbs. water whisked)
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F or 325F (convection).
Wash eggplant and zucchini, then cut the ends off of each. Grate in a food processor using the fine blade. Measure out grated amounts, then transfer to a colander and press gently to squeeze out excess moisture. Place on a clean towel and press again to dry further.
In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients then set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat oil and sugar until lighter, approximately 3-4 minutes. Add extract and eggs or aquafaba, mixing well. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until incorporated, then fold in grated eggplant and zucchini. Add nuts, if using.
Spoon thick batter into loaf pans lined with parchment or oiled well. Batter is sufficient for two 9x4 or 9x5 loaf pans or 6 mini loaf pans.
Bake small pans for 20-25 minutes, larger pans for 40-45 minutes, testing with a toothpick before removing from the oven. A toothpick inserted into the center of each loaf should come out with dry crumbs or clean, but not wet.
Remove to cool on wire racks. Store in sealed containers at room temperature when fully cooled.
Nutrition Information
Yield 32 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 126Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 23mgSodium 112mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 1gSugar 7gProtein 1g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
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Hello, this is a wonderful recipe and I am going to bake this. Can you tell me if this will work with oats flour or almond flour or a mix? I do not want to use all purpose flour and finding a healthier alternative. Thanks so much!!
Hi Jisha, I’m glad this recipe looks good to you! Check out my article on gluten free flours, as the switch from an all purpose to a single flour is not as simple as a 1:1. Gluten free oat flour would be a better option than almond in this recipe, but the proportions might differ.
~jules
My garden is producing a ton of eggplant but not zucchini so I thought I’d try making this recipe with all eggplant. It totally worked!!! It is a little dry, but that’s probably because I squeezed out too much liquid. However, the flavor from the cinnamon and all spice is delicious. It reminds me of coffee cake. I’ll definitely be making this again!
I love that you made this gluten free Eggplant Bread with ALL eggplant! Thanks so much for taking the time to let everyone know how it turned out, as you had me super curious about how it would turn out! Now I want to try it this way, too!!!!
~jules
I hadn’t seen eggplant in bread before so I had to try this. It’s a really nice, tender, moist bread. I will definitely make it again. It’s quite delicious and I still feel like I’m eating healthy. You haven’t failed me yet. Thanks, Jules.
Hi Cath, I’m so excited you tried this recipe! I hadn’t heard of eggplant bread before either — I woke up one morning and just thought “there must be a way!”. I was so pleased with how this quick bread turned out and I’m glad you loved it too! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know!!!
~jules