Lemon Zucchini Bread
Updated April 09, 2020
Lemon Zucchini Bread-this is the BEST zucchini bread recipe! The bread is super moist and the burst of lemon is amazing!
Our friend brought us a huge bag of zucchini from her garden and I have been making zucchini everything. Tis the season!
I’ve made:
I’ve also been stirring extra shredded zucchini into my favorite marinara sauce. The boys don’t even know it’s there. And of course I’ve been making loaves of Classic Zucchini Bread and Chocolate Zucchini Bread. I guess I am going a little zucchini crazy.
I think you will appreciate my zucchini madness because I also created a new zucchini recipe that is going to knock your socks off. This Lemon Zucchini Bread is the BEST! You HAVE to make it.
The bread is super moist thanks to the zucchini and olive oil. I use light olive oil in this recipe instead of extra-virgin olive oil because it is lighter in flavor. Some extra-virgin olive oils can be strong. If you don’t want to use olive oil, you can use canola oil or vegetable oil.
This bread is also bursting with lemon flavor thanks to the lemon zest, lemon juice, and sweet lemon glaze. Don’t skip the glaze because it really is the icing on the bread…or cake.
I call this recipe zucchini bread so I can eat it for breakfast and not feel guilty, but it could easily pass as a zucchini loaf cake. I would eat it for dessert any day. Heck, I would eat it anytime of the day. Call it bread or call it cake, either way it is delicious!
I also love this recipe because it makes two loaves. We enjoyed a loaf and shared one with our friends. The boys were sad to see the second loaf to go out the door, but I promised them I would make more soon. Good thing there isn’t a zucchini shortage this time of year. I can bake zucchini bread all day, every day!
If you are looking for a recipe to use up your zucchini, make this Lemon Zucchini Bread. It is our new favorite zucchini bread and I think you will love it too! And if you are a chocolate fan, you also need to make our chocolate zucchini bread. It is another winner! Gather up your garden zucchini and get baking!
Looking for more zucchini recipes, check out our favorite zucchini recipes here!
Lemon Zucchini Bread
Equipment
- 8 x 4 Loaf Pans (these ones from GoodCook are great)
- Box Grater (makes shredding Zucchini SO easy)
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- Zest of 2 large lemons
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup light olive oil, not extra-virgin
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini
For the lemon glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant.
- Add the eggs, olive oil, lemon juice, vanilla to the lemon sugar mixture and stir until smooth. Add in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, the batter will be thick. Stir in the zucchini and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
- Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Place the loaves on a cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes in the pans. Loosen the sides of the bread with a knife. Carefully remove the loaves from the pans. Let cool completely on rack.
- While the bread is cooling, make the lemon glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the loaves. Slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Made as written, amazing bread! I would use parchment paper instead of using nonstick spray. Will absolutely make this again!!!!
Glad you loved it!
I made HALF the recipe and have TWO loaves in the oven. I measured everything correctly. I hope it tastes as good as it smells!
YAY!
This is my new favorite!!
YAY!
Second time I’ve made this bread. My family loves it and it doesn’t last long. So good.
I am glad your family loves the bread. Thanks for letting me know.
Olive oil is super expensive these days and i’m out of other oils. Can butter be used?
I like to use avocado oil too. I haven’t tried butter, but it might be ok. Or do have butter and half oil?
Absolutely the best recipe for lemon zucchini bread!!
Thank you!
The chocolate zucchini bread has been a favorite for years. I decided to try the lemon this year because I had so much zucchini. I’m glad I did! It was delicious. I substituted gluten free flour since I was making it for a friend with a gluten intolerance. I made one loaf and used the remaining batter for muffins. Thanks for your delicious recipes.
You are welcome. I am glad you like both recipes.
Every time I make this recipe it turns out different! This time it almost puffed way you, and over the loaf pans and was wet in the middle after over an hour. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. I do substitute the like with either vegetable oil or coconut oil, and I don’t wring out the zucchini. Could this be the reason?
BEST zucchini bread recipe I have ever tried.
Every one loved it!
Yahoo!
Wonderful recipe! I only tweaked it by adding a teaspoon of lemon oil. I did not frost it because I have a family member cannot have powdered sugar, so I poked holes in it and made a glaze of lemon juice and beet sugar. Also, I use gluten-free flour and it still came out delicious
Great!
I make this recipe again and again and again. Thank you so much. It’s so delicious. I use coconut oil and Einkorn flour to make it a tad bit healthier. It turns out like a soft lemon fudge. I love it. Truly the best!
It is one of my favorite ways to use up zucchini!
Love this recipe!! Delicious and lemony!!! Can I freeze this cake? And thaw and consume later?
Yes, it freezes well!
Delicious recipe with just enough lemon kick! Followed according to instructions and it did make two loaves.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I added lemon oil and poppy seeds to make more lemon/zucchini poppy seed bread. I tried it without the glaze, and it is excellent. I’m going to add glaze to the rest. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
I love the addition of poppy seeds!
I love the recipe so much that I doubled it for Christmas giveaways and it was a bit of a disaster: filled three pans and boiled over, then sank in the middle. Oy! I should have know better than to try to cut corners. Still delicious but not nice enough for a hostess gift, that’s for sure.
So I have made this recipe many times since I came across it years back …. I am craving lemon dessert of some kind …. So I decided to make your recipe with sweet potatoes instead of zucchini..I usually make this recipe with equal amounts of zucchini and sweet potatoes instead and it is so freaking good I was wondering if I could use a bunt cake pan for this recipe instead of bread pans
Thanks for sharing! I need to try this!
Thank you! Found this while looking for my normal lemon zucchini bread recipe and I think this one is even better :). For one thing more lemon, which makes sense. I subbed half the oil with apple sauce and this worked great. I did not have 2 same size loaf pans so made one larger and one much smaller. The smaller I took out 20 minutes earlier (Yay, cake sooner!) and kept it for us. The big one was a huge hit at a potluck, at the end of which people were taking extra slices for breakfast. Many were really surprised that there was zucchini!
Thank you for sharing. I am so glad you loved the recipe!
excellent, moist and delicious!! Everyone that I shared a piece to requested the recipe. I will certainly be making this again.
I am so glad you loved the bread!
Made this for a church breakfast hour and it was a hit. Folks wanted the recipe so I shared it. Making it again to send to my sister for her birthday as it’s a favorite of hers.
I am glad it was a hit!
Every zucchini season I’m using this recipe. I’ve added in different mixes 1 1/2 ripened bananas or 3/4 cup cranraisins but kept the lemon in all mixes. I love the recipe! Thanks for posting it ❤️
Love this! Thanks for sharing!
This bread is amazing!! can you freeze it?
Yes, it freezes well!
I made pancakes with half of the batter for the weekend. They are the bomb! Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I made this recipe. It was good but not very lemony. I think it needed a lot more lemon juice. Maybe 1/4 cup.
Love this recipe makes the best lemon zucchini bread ever !!I have been making this since 2019
I did tweak this recipe a bit ….i add sweet potato with the zucchini and add lemon zest to the glaze …
This recipe is full proof and it is mine and my mothers favorite ‼️‼️‼️
It’s so good!! I am glad you you love it!
The best recipe! It’s my spring/summer go-to for an easy, thoughtful gift.
Does it freeze well?
Yes, you can freeze the loaves!
Absolutely delicious. I subbed the oil and instead used 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 cup canola oil since I didn’t have light olive oil. Moist and perfectly balanced.
Nice! Thanks for sharing!
Delicious! But the cake wasn’t as lemony as I had hoped. Could I substitute lemon oil flavor for the vanilla or should I use it in place of the fresh lemon juice or just add some to the batter?
You can add some lemon extract!
This is delicious! Didn’t have AP Flour so used 2c bread flour and 1 c cake flour. Also used all the juice in the lemons. This recipe is a KEEPER! I’ve made it 3 times already.
Great! Thanks for sharing!
The bread alone is so good, but the icing takes it to the next level! I only have one and a half loaves to ice, since my husband ate half a loaf while they were cooling!
The perfect finishing touch!
Does it freeze well?
Yes!
This is yummy but I will add more lemon the next time I make it. I love that it makes two loaves, one to eat immediately and a second one for the freezer to share.
Yes! I love having 2 loaves too!
What if all I have is 100% virgin olive oil! Can I use half olive oil and half applesauce?
If you like the flavor of your olive oil, it should be just fine. If you are worried, you can try half oil and half applesauce, but I haven’t tried it. I know others have with success!