Lemon Zucchini Bread is a moist, flavorful quick bread topped with a sweet lemon glaze. It’s a summertime favorite that’s delicious for breakfast, snack time, or even dessert!
I have to say… I’m a huge fan of quick breads. From Strawberry Bread to Zucchini Bread and everything in between, I’ve never met a quick bread I didn’t adore. And really, what’s not to love!? It’s as easy as measuring, mixing, and baking, and the end result is always perfection.
This Lemon Zucchini Loaf is one of the BEST… and not just because it’s so incredibly easy. It’s also absolutely delicious! Between the fresh zucchini, the fresh lemon, and the sweet lemon glaze, it really is the best of both worlds.
We especially enjoy this bread in summer, but truth be told, we make it all year round. And once you try it… I have a feeling you will, too!
what you’ll need for this recipe
Flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt – This recipe starts with all the usual suspects: 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Granulated sugar – I added 3/4 cup granulated sugar for sweetness. For a sweeter bread, add more.
Zucchini – I added 1 cup of finely grated zucchini. I left it unpeeled for color and texture, but you can peel it if you prefer. *Do not squeeze excess water from zucchini.
Oil & egg – I added 1/4 cup canola oil and 1 large egg for moisture. Substitute vegetable oil or any other mild cooking oil.
Lemon – I added 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest to the bread batter for delicious lemon flavor. *For more intense lemon flavor, add 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract.
Powdered sugar – I used 1/2 cup powdered sugar in the lemon glaze. For the lemon flavor, I added 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest.
how to make lemon zucchini bread
Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Combine the wet ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl combine sugar, shredded zucchini, cooking oil, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir to combine.
Combine them together. Add dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture; stir just until combined.
Bake. Spray an 8×4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan; bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool. Remove from oven. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 min, then remove from pan and cool completely.
Glaze. Once cool, whisk together the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the bread.
Recipe Variations
- Add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon lemon extract for more intense lemon flavor
- Add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add ground cinnamon or nutmeg
- Add 1 cup granulated sugar for a sweeter bread
- Double the glaze for more sweetness OR omit the glaze for less sweetness
- Use a muffin pan and make lemon zucchini muffins
storing & freezing tips
Zucchini Lemon Bread can be stored at room temperature, wrapped in aluminum foil. It will last up to 1 week at room temperature or longer in the fridge. To freeze this bread, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Lemon Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchini (do not squeeze or dry shredded zucchini)
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine sugar, zucchini, cooking oil, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to zucchini mixture; stir just until combined.
- Spoon batter into greased 8×4 inch loaf pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 min, then remove from pan and cool completely.
- Once cool, combine ingredients for glaze and drizzle over bread.
Love the idea of lemon! I also love that it is in the bread and in the glaze!
The video clip says baking powder to use for ICING – think it should be Icing sugar. tks
yes you need to change the icing from baking powder to powered sugar
p
owder sugar
it is a very good bread i give a 5 stars
I read powdered sugar!
On the video it says baking powder for the glaze, but on the recipe ingredient lust, it said powdered sugar.
I just made this bread. Allowed it to slightly cool then iced it. It is so good!!! The lemon taste is not overpowering as some recipes are. I’m trying to restrain myself from eating another slice.
I seen that too im thinking eww. This says powered sugar
It did say baking powder instead of powdered sugar in the video. The printout was correct though. I added 1 tsp. Of poppy seeds to the recipe. It was awesome and I’ll use this recipe again.
The recipe says powder sugar in icing and baking powder for cake.
I caught that also. Should be Powdered Sugar
So you gave it 3 stars for a typo?? smh
I thought reviews were for what someone thought of the FINISHED product and not 1 simple mistake.
(I actually made the bread and thought it was delicious)
I think it was fair to mark it 3 due to a typo! If I didn’t catch it and made it, I’d be unhappy.
Should be POWDERED SUGAR not baking powder…
Yes, it should be powdered sugar.
Hi, well I don’t know what everyone else is reading, but I do
read Powdered sugar, this recipe sounds fantastic, I am going to
make it this week for sure,
And I will be using Powdered sugar, just like it says.
Have a great day
The video that advertises this (shared on Facebook, etc) has “BAKING POWDER” in the caption for the icing. Thankfully the recipe is correct! 🙂
It did have baking powder in the first one!
Silly billy! ????
It’s the video that lists baking powder not the actual recipe.
It was in video
i saw that and thought oh no!! but figured it was a mistake. ha!!!
But in the video says baking powder. If you are not an experience baker you would not know that.
You can’t make a recipe based on a video….sorry for the video typo, but the typed recipe on the blog is correct.
what kind of cooking oil. I am not used to baking with oil.
When you watch the video it says baking soda. I feel for the non-baking person. It will be a hot mess.
I have made this recipe several times and LOVE it. Bakes well and is easily doubled. One of my husband’s favorites! I don’t glaze it and will try orange juice and zest soon and see how that goes. THANKS for a terrific recipe????????
This is pretty much excellent! Made a loaf, had a few slices, shared with family and friends, and now sorry I shared! Super easy, delicious and love the moistness, tartness and the zucchini punch to get our green vegetables in at breakfast! Am making again tomorrow!
Recipe calls for baking powder in the icing. I’m sure you meant powdered sugar?
Your photos are gorgeous! And so is your bread 🙂 I love the combination of lemon and zucchini–reminds me so much of summer! Can’t wait to try.
– Kaitlin, findingbeautyinbalance.com
This bread is so bright and sunny — would be perfect for a Spring brunch!
AND IT EVEN BETTER WITH BLUEBERRIES I ADD I CUP SO GOOD GREAT RECIPE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GREAT RECIPE IM A COOK AND BAKER
Oooh. I am sooooo trying that next time. Thanks for sharing!
You know I LOVE lemon and this looks great – pinning!
Wow, that looks absolutely perfect!
YUM! I love this bread…I know my family will love it! I’m lucky, my kids love veggies, but I tend to add them to things anyway…nothing wrong with getting an extra serving!
I love everything about this! I have just enough extra zucchini to make this happen!
It looks like perfection. I’d eat it ALL!
The flecks of green, while nutritious, add such a pretty contrast to the loaf. Love it.
How finely do I grate the peel and do I use the white too in the peel portion?
Use a zester, only the yellow
whats the difference? in the bread it calls for lemon peel and in the glaze it calls for lemon zest?
Grate the zucchini like you would cheese. Use the whole zucchini. The Lemon would be only the yellow of the peel, not the white pith, that would make it bitter. I have baked this for my husband and also for my co-workers. BIG HIT! LOVE IT!
Just made this today- can’t wait to eat it for dessert tonight!
Great recipe..didn’t change a thing..perfect!
Did you use baking power for the glaze? The video shows to use baking powder? This blogger needs to proof read her recipes!
Recipe is correct.
Recipe is correct not video
The typo was only in the video…sorry for the confusion.
Looks yummy and have a bunch of zucchini from a co-workers garden. Question – any recommendations on cooking time / temp if make smaller loaves or make muffins instead of one large bread?
In my experience, mini loaves take 25-30 min and muffins 18-22 min. I would start at the lowest time and check with a toothpick. Good luck!
Thank you! Wanted to make muffins instead of a loaf!
I just made double chocolate zucchini bread and poured the batter into my eight-pan mini loaf pan. They cooked for 30 min at 350 and turned out perfect
Love this recipe, thanks for posting it 🙂 You might want to edit your video though, I saw it on facebook, and the glaze calls for baking powder instead of powdered sugar. I back tracked twice to make sure I was not reading it wrong.
I also noticed that the instructions did not mention heating the ingredients for the glaze in a saucepan…….just a given, though. 😉
You just stir the glaze ingredients together, no heating needed.
Hi Kathy – how much is a cup? In terms of mug/teacup or better still; grams
You need to purchase measuring cups and measuring spoons.
No heating necessary!
How is the grated peel different from zest?
It’s not, use the fine grade
It is different in that the larger pieces of peel will have more lemon oil for flavor unless when you zest you do a good job of not losing the oil.
Has anyone used almond flour instead of regular flour?
I haven’t but will be trying it w/ an all purpose GLUTEN FREE BLEND..( NAMASTE ) here shortly..
how did it turn out with gluten free flour ? 🙂
I threw this together while making dinner last night. Glazed it this morning. It’s amazingly good! So good that I shared your link on my blog this morning! Thank you!
Have 2 Loaves in the Oven Now, Can’t wait, easy to make!!
Would love to try but swap out something for the white flour and sugar, any suggestions?
Try a mix of equal parts almond flour, coconut flour and golden flaxmeal for the flour. Use xylitol or erythritol for the sugar (see Internet for substitution amounts) remember xylitol is lethal for dogs. You could also try ground up oatmeal for the flour
I am vegan so looking for alternative ingredients for the flour and sugar. Could Agave be substituted for the sugar?
Wasn’t aware vegans can’t eat flour or sugar? Eggs, sure. Flour seems odd. Can you explain this to me?
Can you give me the right mats of the almond flower and coconut flower
I am gionna use 1 cup of almond flour and 1/2 cup of coconut flour, I believe that us the substitute ratio. (2 parts akmibd dmiur to 1 part coconut flour. I will try it and report back.
Hi there? Did you try the switch out? How did it turn out? I would think you would have to add additional liquid also since the almond and coconut flours are liquid hogs.
Thanks
The video I saw on FB showed the ingredients, egg, sugar, etc. Then when it showed you making the glaze rather than powdered sugar it said Baking Powder, lemon juice and zest.
Yes, that was a typo in the video. The glaze is made with powdered sugar, NOT baking powder. Sorry for the confusion!
Can I also use white whole wheat flour?
Yes but it will be more dense. Try half whole wheat and half white
You could also try whole wheat pastry flour.
MISTAKE ON VIDEO
Glaze does not contain baking powder, it should be CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR.
does zucchini have to be dry or put in wet
I did not dry the zucchini….just use as is!
Do you wring out the zucchini to have dry?
Zucchini juice is what helps make the bread moist. Always include it! Same with frozen shredded zucchini.
Do not wring out the zucchini…the moisture is necessary!
My only comment about these recipes is that it would be SO nice to be able to read only those who actually MADE the recipe instead of all who are hopeful to do so in the future. How am I able to “rate” it below before trying it out? Just on its looks? Oh well.
I agree. You can’t rate a recipe on pictures only. I prefer reading ratings after recipe is tried, baked and eaten.
Me too! I do like to read if someone altered the recipe and how it turned out. I wonder how many people read the comments before, as so many keep talking about the baking powder mistake instead of powdered sugar. Enough about that already!
I AGREE!!!! This should be true for all recipes. It’s so annoying to see, ‘that looks great!’ or ‘I’m going to make this next week”, etc. etc. etc.
I also agree emphatically, always very frustrating. We can all see most of the recipes look amazing. There can be 20 comments declaring this and such a waste of time reading through these. What is the point? Make it!!! Then comment. Plus there are those who cannot seem to bear to follow the recipe without changing and substituting ingredients etc never having used the original first.
My dad is a huge fan of the zucchini bread that you can purchase at Sams Clubs, but it’s seasonal. However, he’s not a big fan of lemon. What do you think of the idea of replacing the lemon with cinnamon? Any feedback?
maybe try blueberries or blackberries?
I make it with cinnamon all the time and I also include cinnamon chips. Very good.
Cinnamon chips.. I hadn’t thought of that. Sounds like a perfect addition to “regular” cinnamon bread! Thanks!!
how much cinnamon do you add and does it replace any of the original ingredients? How much Cinnamon Chips do you add, and does that replace anything else? Thanks!
I use grated orange peel in mine, so if he likes orange, it’s delicious! I don’t normally make a glaze for it, but the recipe I have says to use the orange juice concentrate mixed with powdered sugar.
I make a zucchini bread with mini chocolate chips and one with carrots, apples and zucchini. I found the recipes on Pinterest!
You can absolutely use cinnamon in place of lemon, but will need to add some moisture (even water) in place of the lemon juice.
I Can’t Wait To Try This.. It Looks Delis his….. <3
the video has a mistake the icing ingredient baking powder should be confectioner sugar
I made this today and it turned out very dense. Why?
If the zucchini was very wet it will be more dense. I always put my grated zucchini in a towel and squeeze out as much water as possible.
Ok I will try that next time. Thank you
I squeezed out the zucchini and it was very dry. Ended up having to add an additional egg still not “batterlike”. Came out okay.
The zucchini does not need to be squeezed.
I didn’t squeeze the zucchini but it was definitely not pourable. Very heavy and thick. Doesn’t look yellow either. What did I do wrong?
I make zucchini bread all the time, i never never squeeze water out of it…there’s hardly any water to begin with but what little water there is leave it in…never squeeze it out!!!!
Can you make this with yellow zucchini?
I made it with my golden Zucchini …I pressed out some of the juice …And it turned out beautiful and very delicious .
I baked this yesterday and it was lovely. The actual bread isn’t overly sweet but the glaze balances everything out so nicely and shouldn’t be skipped. I was a little worried that it ,Ishtar be a very dense bread but it was lovely. Will definitely make it again. Thanks for sharing!
Can’t wait to make this. By the way, for the icing, the video says baking powder instead of powdered sugar. Just thought you might want too know. 🙂
Easy recipe, too sweet for my taste, maybe 1/2 cup less sugar to start….
Thank you for the recipe, now time to tweak it!
I read a comment that we should use the liquid from the zucchini and then I read you should wring it out before adding to the the batter.
Could someone clarify that please?
Thanks
I did not remove the moisture from the zucchini. Some people prefer to do so; it makes the bread a little less dense. I prefer the moisture 🙂
I made this today after drooling over it on pinterest. Love it and so easy. Thanks for sharing!
hi has anyone tried making into muffins ???
Yes, I did. Baked them for about 27-28 mins at 350 F. Came out delicious!
Is there a way to reduce oil? Zuke is so moist it seems redundant. I often use ground flax seed to replace eggs, it’s actually better in brownies IMHO so I think it would work well here too. I’ve also read that flax can mimic the qualities of oil. Wondering if I can use flax to replace both egg AND oil? I have 3 colors of zuke in my garden, including yellow. Should be pretty with my last home-grown lemon (hope it’s not too soft to zest).
I doubled the recipe and added a few blueberries. It is an excellent recipe.
This was fantastic!! Followed the recipe as written.
Could I use lines in place of lemons??
I think limes or oranges would be just as good as the lemon. If ou try it with the lime, let us know how you like it.
I would suggest orange instead of lime.
Do you have the macros broken out on this?
So delicious!!! and very easy!
The only change I made it I reduced sugar to 1/2 cup only. And used Orange peel (because i had no lemons)… but did use lemon juice from a bottle. And added a heaping teaspoon of poppyseeds. Baked it as muffins… perfect texture inside.. and light crust on outside… love them! thank you for the recipe
Thank you for a great recipe, I had to try it before it even cooled (calling it lunch lol). Wonderful lemon flavour and moist, baked up lovely. Doubled the recipe with no problem. I’m thinking it would be better to bake in a smaller loaf pan, 4 x 8 rather than regular 5 x 9 size loaf pan. I had already prepared the pans before realizing this lol so used them anyway, so my loaves look a little ‘flat’! I will know better next time, and there WILL be a next time! Thanks again.
Followed exactly except used a heaping cup of zucchini. Was not too moist. I did use 4 x 8 pans. Doubled and made 2 loaves. Nice texture. Could use a little more flavor in my opinion, but solved that with a little lemon butter!(zest with a little salt stirred into softened unsalted butter)
Mine was so thick it would,t pour. Is it just 1/4 C oil?
Did you miss an ingredient?
You want it to be thick when you first stir it together because of the way the moisture releases from the zucchini. If the batter was thinner it would come out flat and not set as well.
Mine was thick and still had dry flour in the bottom of the bowl. I had to add a tiny bit of water. Hope I didn’t ruin it.
Me too
Mine was so thick it wouldn’t pour. Had to spoon out. Just 1/4 C of oil. However, It was delicious
It is a thicker batter 🙂
I made this two days ago and it’s delicious. I will make it again!
Hi there! This looks fabulous. As a type 1 diabetic I need to watch my carbs. Have you ever made this with almond flour? Or an almond flour/coconut flour combo? I’ve used Swerve in a 1:1 ratio to replace the sugar in other recipes ( with a lot of success). Thanks for your feedback!
8/11/2017 Reading Baking Powder for the main ingredient of the glaze
Delicious!!! Mine didn’t bake as “yellow” in color, but the flavor and texture was perfect! Loved the glaze as well.