The best Zucchini Cake recipe is made from scratch with so much flavor and a smooth cream cheese frosting spread on top. This is one of my favorite summer cakes!
Find me making Zucchini Cake all summer long.
Find me making Zucchini Cake all summer long.I love zucchini baked goods in summer time with the same passion as pumpkin desserts in fall. This zucchini cake gives similar vibes to my favorite carrot cake, with crushed pineapple in the batter to make it EXTRA moist, and two full cups of grated zucchini. It's an old-fashioned style zucchini cake baked in a 9×13″ pan so it couldn't be simpler. And, we add cream cheese frosting because…YUM! This is just all around a better from scratch cake.
Don't miss my other easy cake recipes like Grandma's Oatmeal Cake, Fresh Apple Cake, or Easy Carrot Cake!
How to make Zucchini Cake:
Make Cake Batter: Combine oil and sugars in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until well combined. Stir in pineapple, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Stir in grated zucchini. Stir dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix to combine.
Bake: Pour batter into a 9×13″ baking pan then bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted into the center. Let cake cool completely before frosting.
More Zucchini Recipes:
- Zucchini Brownies
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- Zucchini Bread
- Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Lemon Chicken Pasta
Follow me for more great recipes
Recipe
Zucchini Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oil (113g), vegetable, canola or melted coconut oil or melted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150g)
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (165g)
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple (120g) (about half of an 8oz can)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup sour cream (80g), or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 cups grated zucchini (260g), about 1 medium zucchini, peel on, loosely measured and then gently squeezed to remove some of the liquid
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 6 Tablespoons butter , softened
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (300g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cinnamon sugar for sprinkling on top, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13" baking pan.
- Wet ingredients: Add oil, granulated and brown sugars to a mixing bowl and beat well to combine. Add pineapple, eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Stir in grated zucchini.½ cup oil, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup packed light brown sugar, ½ cup crushed pineapple, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅓ cup sour cream, 2 cups grated zucchini
- Dry ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Add the cream cheese and butter to a mixing bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip until fluffy, about 3-4 more minutes. Spread frosting over cooled cake. Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon sugar on top, if desired.8 ounces cream cheese, 6 Tablespoons butter, 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Notes
Nutrition
Create a FREE Account to save your favorite recipes and create meal plans
Follow Me
I originally shared this recipe May 2016. Updated May 2020 and June 2025.
This post contains affiliate links.
I love this recipe! Cake is super moist and delicious!
I subbed banana for pineapple, and did add walnuts and raisins. Yummy. Thanks.
Excellent recipe! Kids absolutely loved it!
You squeeze extra moisture out of zucchini. Any reason you don’t do it to pineapple
What a fabulous recipe! I made a few changes based on what I had on hand – no pineapple so subbed in grated apple. I also added 1/3 cup of finely shredded coconut cause our fam loves coconut. I was out of cinnamon so decided to simply sub the different spices with pumpkin pie spice. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe Lauren! Will definately make this on repeat..
Oh my greek goodness YUM! Always (and stays) moist, not too sweet. This cake recipe is AWESOME!
My kids thinks this taste like a cinnamon roll. They love it.
Made this with my 5 year old. We both loved it! YUMMY!!!! I added just a bit of milk to the frosting and skipped the cinnamon/sugar topping cuz it was plenty sweet. Thank you!
This cake is a new family favorite! Made it for a going away party and it was hobbled up. We didn’t have pineapple so I substituted a large peeled honey crisp apple. Excellent recipe.
Seriously incredible cake. So moist and delicious. I added maple extract to my frosting for a seasonal kick. Rave reviews:)