Seamlessly Add Zucchini To Baked Goods With This Shredding Hack

Zucchini is not only a delicious veggie to add to, say, a roasted vegetable medley — it can also be used in desserts. Despite sounding a bit strange at first, anyone who has had a slice of zucchini bread knows that this vegetable is an unexpectedly delicious addition to sweet loaves and other baked goods.

If you're going to add zucchini to your baked goods — and we highly recommend that you do — then you need to know this simple hack to make things easier for yourself: instead of trying to chop up the zucchini into small pieces, use a grater to shred the veggie. With this method, the pieces will be ultra thin and small, so they will mix much more easily into your batter. Otherwise, you may end up with pieces of zucchini that are just a little bit too big and noticeable in your baked goods — and while we love adding zucchini to treats, we don't want the pieces to be so big that they're distracting.

Plus, if you use a box grater, specifically, you can choose the exact size of those shredded zucchini pieces. Maybe you do want the zucchini pieces on the bigger side and, with the grater, you can ensure that those pieces will be uniform and thin enough that they'll still blend in well.

If you're new to using zucchini in baked goods, you may be wondering why it's a good idea — after all, veggies don't typically go hand in hand with desserts (besides carrot cake, of course). Well, you can't actually taste the zucchini in most cases because of its very mild flavor profile. But, because of its high moisture content, it can play a big role in ensuring that the baked good has a deliciously moist texture. In fact, zucchini is the secret hack for an ultra-moist cake. Of course, it also doesn't hurt that zucchini has plenty of nutritional benefits, such as being rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, among many others.

For the best zucchini-infused baked goods, buy your zucchini in August, which is when it will be at its freshest. When you're preparing the zucchini, it's best to leave it unpeeled, as all of the nutrients are in that green exterior.

With all of this in mind, all that's left to do is decide which zucchini baked good to start with. Of course, there's always the classic zucchini bread or, for chocolate lovers, the chocolate zucchini loaf. Or, maybe you want to try creamy zucchini skillet corn bread. Whichever you choose, you'll be in for a treat.