This lemon zucchini bread is moist, tender and delightfully lemony. Topped with a sweet lemon glaze and boasting an extra-soft crumb, it’s addictive and perfect for spring and summer baking.
Lemon bread may be the ideal loaf-pan bake, and adding grated zucchini to the batter creates one of the best lemon loaves you can make. This lemon zucchini bread is tender, soft, appropriately dense with a slight spring, and bright with lemon flavor finished by a sweet-tart glaze.
Lemon Zucchini Bread
The texture of this loaf is what makes it stand out: moist, tender, soft, and golden on top. A few key elements contribute to that perfect crumb:
- Oil keeps the loaf moist and tender longer so it doesn’t dry out, and you won’t taste it once baked.
- Eggs add structure and tenderness; use room-temperature eggs for best results.
- Grated zucchini is the secret: it adds moisture and breaks down during baking so you won’t taste it, only enjoy a perfectly soft loaf.
Fresh lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice provide the bright lemon flavor in the batter and the glaze. Use fresh lemons rather than bottled juice for the cleanest, most balanced flavor; bottled juice can be overly sharp and may make the loaf taste sour.
Tips for Making Lemon Zucchini Bread
- You’ll need 2–3 medium-large lemons to yield both zest and juice.
- Zest the lemons before juicing them — it’s cleaner and easier.
- Grate the zucchini and gently blot it with a paper towel to remove excess surface water. Zucchini in peak season or straight from a garden can be quite watery.
- When measuring the grated zucchini, don’t pack it down; loose measurement is fine.
- Bake time is about 55–65 minutes, but ovens vary. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs when done.
- After roughly 30 minutes of baking, tent foil over the pan if the top is browning too quickly to prevent over-browning.
- Wait until the loaf is completely cooled before glazing so the glaze stays on the surface instead of melting into the bread.
Lemon Zucchini Bread
20 mins
1 hr
1 hr 20 mins
10 Pieces
Ingredients
Lemon Zucchini Bread
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 cup grated zucchini
Lemon Glaze
- 1–1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed (add more powdered sugar as needed for consistency)
Instructions
Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of an 8×4-inch loaf pan with parchment and grease and flour the sides.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients with a spatula until just combined.
- Stir in the grated zucchini.
- Spoon batter into the prepared pan and bake 55–65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. After about 30 minutes, if the top is browning too quickly, tent with foil and continue baking.
- Cool the loaf in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Lemon Glaze
- In a medium bowl whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
- Add more powdered sugar a little at a time until the glaze is white and thin enough to drizzle.
- Drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled loaf.