Lemon Zucchini Bread is the perfect twist on traditional zucchini bread with a light citrus taste throughout and topped with a sweet lemon glaze!
Lemon zucchini bread is a delicious sweet bread you will want to make all summer long! Instead of traditional zucchini bread you’ll love the light and refreshing lemon taste this bread has!
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of the dry ingredients and wet ingredients you’ll need for this Lemon Zucchini Bread recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- large eggs
- canola oil
- white sugar
- buttermilk
- lemon juice
- lemon zest
- grated zucchini
- powdered sugar
- half and half
This is the best lemon zucchini bread because it is so sweet and moist. Zucchini bread is known for being moist, thanks to the zucchini. You do not want to squeeze or dry the shredded zucchini, because you want to keep all that moisture in there to keep the sweet bread moist. Also because we use canola oil instead of butter that keeps the bread moist.
The sweet tangy lemon glaze on top ties it all together. It’s made with powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice and half and half. That makes it lemony, and a little bit creamy and so so good. With under an hour of baking time this bread has a fresh lemon flavor and you can even add poppy seeds for a little pop too.
Gardening Tips for Zucchini
How is your garden growing? My garden is doing alright this year, I have tomatoes, herbs, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant (its my first time — I love the little purple flower), and zucchini. I always plant zucchini, then I feel like my garden is a success because zucchini always grows well, really, really well.
I have to watch the zucchini daily because there will be a little tiny zucchini one day and the next there is this gigantic zucchini – it grows so fast I have no idea how! Zucchini likes to hide too, they hide under the leaves and under the stems; maybe they don’t like to be picked. If you happen to plant zucchini like I do and the plant has gotten a little carried away, making and baking zucchini bread is a prefect use of that over sized zucchini. The other awesome thing about zucchini bread is there are so many options, regular zucchini bread, double chocolate zucchini bread and now lemon zucchini bread. Enjoy your choices. And if you need something savory to make with your zucchini, then you’ll also love this zucchini lasagna or parmesan zucchini spears if you need something savory!
Tips and Tricks
- Try adding fresh lemon zest on top if you really want to have the lemon pop with each bite
- Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and give it your neighbors (or put it in a separate bowl and cover with aluminum foil to keep the glaze from sticking)
- Summer zucchini is usually abundant- find a good deal on bulk fresh zucchini (or ask your neighbors!)
- You can swap out buttermilk for sour cream or greek yogurt
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you squeeze water out of zucchini for bread?
The wet ingredients in this recipe, especially the zucchini, help make the bread moist. If your zucchini is exceptionally wet, it will not hurt to drain it slightly before mixing it in. A great way to dry it is by patting it gently with a paper towel before mixing it in a large bowl with the other ingredients.
Do you peel zucchini before grating for bread?
No, you do not peel the zucchini before grating it for bread. It will cook into the bread when it bakes so there is no need add an extra strep by peeling beforehand. Because it is not needed, this recipe is a great addition for backyard gardener recipes.
Why is my zucchini bread raw in the middle?
High moisture content or undercooking your bread can cause the middle of the bread to be raw. Also, allow the bread to cool down on a wire rack or on a cooling rack in order for it to finish cooking after it is removed from the oven since it will continue to cook the middle afterwards for a bit.
Can I use vegetable oil instead of canola oil?
Yes, vegetable oil can be used instead of canola oil for recipes, including this one. This easy recipe allows you to swap some ingredients with others in order to make best use of your zucchini for a perfect way to take all that quick-growing squash and make a delicious lemon bread with it.
This recipe can be made with green zucchini or yellow squash! You can also swap out the canola oil for vegetable oil if you need to. This quick bread recipe is delicious and can be stored by covering it with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
Looking for more zucchini recipes?
- Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Zucchini Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Zucchini Brownies with Frosting
- Zucchini Bread with Pineapple
- Zucchini Muffins
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Lemon Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- zest 1 lemon
- 1 cup zucchini (grated)
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- juice 1 lemon
- 1 to 2 TBSP half and half (as needed to thin glaze)
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Flour and grease 1 9x5 loaf pan
- In a large bowl, blend together flour, baking powder and salt
- In another bowl, beat 2 eggs well
- Add to the eggs the oil and sugar and blend together well
- Add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and blend together well
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and fold together until everything is well blended, but don't over-mix
- Fold the zucchini into the prepared batter until evenly throughout.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, pat down the pan with a couple of soft thumps to your counter top to evenly distribute the batter.
- Place in your oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (Check at 35 minutes to make sure you don't over bake)
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling
For the Glaze:
- In a bowl, mix the powdered sugar, 1 TBS lemon juice, and 1 TBS half and half.
- Mix together with a fork until all the sugar is thoroughly mixed and glaze is thin enough to spread, but not too runny.
- Add more half and half, or lemon juice as needed to thin the glaze. Or add a little more powdered sugar as needed to thicken.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled loaf. (I like to drizzle with my cake on a cooling rack with foil or a cookie sheet underneath. This way the glaze won't gather on the sides, and will drip off without getting all over the place)
- Let set, then slice and serve
Recipe originally published on August 4, 2014. Photos updated on July 2, 2018.
What is your favorite type of zucchini bread?
GET READY TO MAKE THIS SWEET BREAD WITH THESE KITCHEN TOOLS:
You might also like these other zucchini recipes:
Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Lisa says
Just made this recipe and it turned out great as written. I doubled the recipe and it made 9 small loaves (about the size of two muffins). I like sharing baked goods and the small paper loaf pans are perfect for my single neighbors who don’t want a big loaf of bread. Baking time was 45 minutes even in the small pans. Thanks for sharing this recipe for a refreshing summer treat!
Aimee Berrett says
Awesome Lisa! I am so glad you like it and I’m sure your neighbors love you for sharing with them!
Jo Jefferds says
I made this delicious Lemon Zucchini bread yesterday. It turned out fantastic, however I made 2 small changes; I didn’t have any buttermilk so I used an equal amount of sour cream and I also added 1/4 tsp Fiori di Sicilia, a citrus extract I get from King Arthur Flour. It enhanced the lemon flavor to a new level. It baked in the timeframe the recipe stated and was moist, tender and flavorful in it’s own right that I did not make the glaze or even use powdered sugar. I will be keeping the sour cream exchange in this recipe since it worked out so well. This is a winner!!!
Aimee Berrett says
So glad your easy changes worked for you! I bet it was so moist and good with the sour cream! And I think I need to get my hands on that extract!
Bek says
I’m baking this now. Been in the oven over an hour and still runny in the center? Haha was this supposed to be in two loaf pans?
Aimee Berrett says
Sorry I couldn’t respond earlier, it should just be made in a regular 9×5 loaf pan. It’s possible that your oven temperature varies a little from mine. If its not burning, I’d just keep baking it until the middle is done!
Paulina Zacchia says
I had the same issue. I tried this recipe twice with my usual substitutions (because the first time I’d used thawed, frozen zuccini and I thought that had been the culprit) and both times I ended up with awful, wet, dense loaves. So disappointed. 🙁
Aimee Berrett says
Sorry it didnt work out for you Pauline, since you made substitutions its hard to know where the recipe went wrong!
mkrause says
I think with frozen zucchini you really need to use a strainer to get rid of the excess amounts of water.
Donna says
I was disappointed in this recipe. The bread itself didn’t have much flavor my good thing it had the glaze! Also thought it was dry. Thought if I let it set overnight, it would absorbe some of the glaze flavor and moistness, but it didn’t got heavy and dryer. I love lemon, but this was a disappointment. Taking it out of my favorites.
Aimee Berrett says
So sorry that you didn’t like it Donna! If you see, in the other comments it has turned out for several others, and I have made it several times as well without any issues :/ It’s hard to know for sure what would cause it to be dry, its possible your lemons were smaller, you measured the flour slightly differently than I do, or maybe your oven temperature is different than mine. Sorry it didn’t turn out for you!
Leilani says
try using coconut flour. I heard it’s more moist.
Sheila says
I have made the recipe twice but used 1 1/2 cups of yellow zucchine that I grew and 3/4 cups of sugar in the recipe. It turned out great. But I didn’t put a gaze on it. My kids are slicing it up before I can put it away.
Aimee Berrett says
So glad you and your kids liked it, even without the glaze!!
Judy House says
Can’t wait to try this! I have LOTS of zucchini from the garden that needs to be used up. I was wondering…for the glaze can anything be substituted for the half and half?
Ellen Garrett says
Hi Judy, yes you can substitute the half and half with milk, I recommend whole milk. It was just so the glaze was a little thicker than what you might get with skim or 2% milk. I hope you love it.
Laura says
Wonderful recipe! I added 1 cup of fresh blueberries. I had 1 Tb of freshly squeezed lemon juice left over after adding the 2 Tb to the batter. I needed a little more than 1 Tb lemon juice for my glaze but did not want to squeeze another lemon, so I added 1/4 tsp of lemon extract. 🙂 Turned out great! Great way to use my zucchini. Thank you!
Aimee Berrett says
The addition of blueberry sounds fabulous! I’m glad you made the glaze work for you with the lemon extract as well. Sounds so fabulous, I want a slice now!
Jackie says
Can egg whites be subbed for eggs? And any vegetable oil or must it be canola?
Thanks!
Ellen Garrett says
Egg whites can be subbed for eggs, it just recommends you(Substitute 2 egg whites for each whole egg. This substitution may make baked goods less tender. To compensate, try adding 1 teaspoon of oil per egg called for in recipe.)
And yes you can use vegetable oil instead of canola.
Audrey@That Recipe says
I know Aimee has already seen my new feature Made It Loved It featuring this bread. Before I could even publicize it my son’s aide told me she had seen it and mentioned it to the Vice Principal and Librarian who now want me to e-mail them the link. 🙂 Hope it sends some traffic your way, it was delicious.
Aimee Berrett says
Thanks so much for sharing with others! You’re so kind Audrey!
Ellen Garrett says
That is awesome. I am so glad you liked it and shared it. Thank you!
Cathy Huebner says
I love bundt cakes/bread any thought on baking time to convert to a bundt pan ??
Aimee Berrett says
Hi Cathy, I haven’t made this in a bundt pan, but my guess is you at least need to double the recipe for the right amount of batter to fit a bundt pan. I wouldn’t think it needs to bake for too much longer, I’d just watch it after 45-55 mins and see how long you think it will be after that – check it every few minutes with a toothpick. Sorry I dont know more closely how long it’ll take!
Ildiko says
I’m making this for my coworkers on Monday. Can this be frozen if I make too many loaves?
Ellen Garrett says
I have always frozen sweet breads like zucchini or banana. I have not frozen this particular bread but I would guess you can. Let me know how it turns out.
Lindsey says
I am going to make this tonight! I can’t wait! I am going to add some poppy seeds to it as well!
Denise says
Most amazing recipe I ever made
Ellen Garrett says
It delights me that you feel that way. I am so glad you like it.
Kyla says
Can the recipe be doubled? Have zucchini coming out of me ears!
Ellen Garrett says
Yes, you can most certainly double this and even triple it if you want. Just make sure you double everything. Use 2 or 3 loaf pans and it should work out just fine.
DeAnna says
Really enjoying this recipe! Yesterday I added finely chopped chocolate mint leaves and some white chocolate chips, and skipped the glaze (I love butter). Three loaves gone 🙂
Ellen Garrett says
Whoa, that sounds amazing. I am definitely going to have to try it that way. My husband loves butter too on all breads.
Mary Parker says
A co-worker brought this to work today and it’s so good! I just HAD to make it. We’re waiting for it to cool now……thank you for sharing!
Ellen Garrett says
Awesome, so glad you like it! What a great co-worker to share.
Monica says
I found the glaze very runny, and I didn’t add any half and half! I had a large lemon, but only used half of it (used the other half of the juice in the loaf). Perhaps a measured amount of lemon juice would be helpful for the glaze? Thanks!
Ellen Garrett says
Sorry your glaze was too runny, I guess I am used to a smaller lemon and/or not being so exact. I can suggest using a tablespoon at a time to get the right consistency that you like. Thanks for the heads up.
Ellen Garrett says
So glad you liked it and I am with you there never can be too much frosting.
Christie Cannon says
This was very yummy and delicious! Had a bit left over icing – haha but that was no problem 🙂
CookieLady says
This bread is delicious! Made it last night and the whole family loved it. My 12 year old couldn’t get enough. Said it was his favorite zucchini bread ever! Thank you for the delicious recipe. Definitely a keeper.
Aimee Berrett says
So glad you guys loved it so much! Its one of our favorites too!
AnnG says
I made this with yellow summer squash and it was very moist and tasty. I think I will add some vanilla next time, and or cinnamon & nutmeg like some other recipes I have found, for a more complex flavor.
Ellen Garrett says
I would have never thought of using summer squash instead of zucchini. It looks like you have created a great recipe that sounds yummy.
Stephanie Clark says
Could you make this in a 9×13 pan also? Would you reduce the baking time or would you cook it the normal amount of time?
Ellen Garrett says
Sorry, I didn’t respond to this sooner but I honestly don’t know.
Lisa Jones says
That’s what I meant to say, lol. I glazed again this morning and made it thicker with more sugar and less half and half. My son loved it!
Aimee Berrett says
Haha. Awesome! I’m so glad!!
Lisa Jones says
I made this last night. My son loves the poundcake from Starbucks and I was hoping he might like this. It’s really yummy. The only change I would make is with the glaze. It seemed really runny so I would probably cut back on the sugar next time. Thank you for the recipe!
Aimee Berrett says
I’m glad you liked it! However more sugar in your glaze will make it thicker, so you’ll actually want to cut back on the amount of half and half in your glaze if you want it thicker!
Amber @ Dessert Now, Dinner Later! says
This looks flippin delicious Aimee!
Ellen Garrett says
Thanks, let us know what you think.
Janet says
This looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Ellen Garrett says
You bet. Did you get a chance to make it?