This lemon zucchini bread is moist, tender and deliciously lemon-y. With a sweet lemon glaze and extra soft crumb – it’s seriously addictive and perfect for spring and summer baking.
Lemon bread just might be the perfect recipe to make in a loaf pan, and the addition of grated zucchini in the batter produces the best lemon loaf recipe I’ve ever tried. Lemon zucchini bread is tender, soft, perfectly dense and slightly springy in texture with a delicious lemon flavor and sweet and tangy lemon glaze.
Lemon Zucchini Bread
This lemon zucchini bread recipe has the absolute perfect texture – moist, tender, soft, golden on top. Delicious. Here’s what makes makes the texture so perfect:
- Oil. It keeps the loaf moist and tender for longer so it doesn’t dry out. Don’t worry – you won’t taste it.
- Eggs add tenderness and moisture. Always when baking with eggs its best if they’re room temperature before getting started.
- Grated zucchini. The zucchini is the queen here. It adds moisture, and breaks down as it bakes. So you don’t taste the zucchini at all – but instead it makes your lemon loaf be moist, tender and delicious.
Then the fresh lemon flavor comes from lemon zest and lemon juice in the batter, and lemon juice in the glaze. Use freshly squeezed, lemon juice and not the stuff from the bottle. Bottled lemon juice is too tart and can make your loaf taste sour and definitely not delicious.
Tips for Making Lemon Zucchini Bread
- You’ll need 2-3 medium-large lemons.
- Zest the lemons first, then squeeze out the juice. It’s much easier this way.
- Grate the zucchini, then gently dab it with a paper towel to remove excess water. When zucchini is fresh in season or straight from your garden, there will likely be more excess water.
- You don’t need to pack down the zucchini when measuring it.
- The bake time will be about 60 minutes – but oven times can definitely vary. When it’s done, an inserted toothpick should come out clean or with a few damp crumbs.
- After baking for about 30 minutes, tent a piece of aluminum foil overtop of the pan. This prevents over browning on the top.
- Let the loaf cool 100% before adding the glaze on top. Otherwise it’ll melt through the loaf. (Still tasty – but you won’t be able to actually see the glaze).
Got leftover zucchini? Try these other favorites:
Lemon Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
Lemon Zucchini Bread
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup oil , vegetable or canola works
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup lemon juice , freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 cup grated zucchini
Lemon Glaze
- 1-1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice , freshly squeezed
Instructions
Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line the bottom of an 8x4 inch loaf pan with parchment paper 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, eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients using a large rubber spatula or spoon.
- Stir in the grated zucchini.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few damp crumbs. After about 30 minutes, check the loaf. If the top is already golden brown, tent a piece of aluminum foil overtop and continue baking to prevent over browning on the top.
- Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert the pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.
Lemon Glaze
- In a medium bowl whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar with the lemon juice.
- Whisk in a little more powdered sugar as needed - it should be white in colour but thin enough to drizzle.
- Drizzle over the cooled loaf.
Leave a Reply