This Lemon Zucchini Bread is a moist, tender loaf bursting with bright citrus flavor and subtle hints of fresh zucchini.

When summer squash season rolls around, it can be hard to come up with ways to use that garden abundance.
This particular recipe is a twist on traditional zucchini bread as it has an addition of bright, citrusy lemon flavor, as well as a simple lemon glaze.
The perfect balance of sweet and tangy, this bread combines the zesty freshness of lemon with the gentle, earthy moisture of shredded zucchini, creating a treat that’s both refreshing and comforting.
Topped with a luscious lemon glaze that adds a beautiful finish and an extra punch of tart sweetness, each slice is a little ray of sunshine.
Ideal for breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack, or even a light dessert, this bread is as easy to make as it is to enjoy.
With its vibrant flavor and soft crumb, it’s a seasonal twist on classic quick bread that you’ll want to bake again and again.
To Make This Recipe You Will Need:
- zucchini
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- baking soda
- baking powder
- sugar
- lemon
- eggs
- extra virgin olive oil
- apple sauce
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
- milk
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- loaf pan
- microplaner (to zest the lemon)
- juicer
Watch Me Make this Recipe:
How to Make Lemon Zucchini Bread
To begin, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour a standard 8×5″ loaf pan. Or you can coat it with my handy Baking Spray Replacement. Set it aside for now.
Combine all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl. Give those a stir and set it aside.
Put sugar in a mixing bowl.
Using your microplaner or other utensil, zest a lemon into the mixing bowl. You’ll zest the whole lemon.
Juice your lemon and add 2 teaspoons of the juice to the mixing bowl. Reserve the remaining juice for later.
Add apple sauce, extra virgin olive oil, vanilla extract, and eggs to the mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth.
Add in your dry ingredients and whisk smooth.
Stir in shredded zucchini.
Spread the batter into your loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the loaf tests done when tested with a wooden pick.
Place the pan on a cooling rack and let the loaf cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
Remove the loaf to the cooling rack and cool completely.
For the glaze (optional) combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and milk. Whisk smooth. Drizzle over the lemon zucchini bread.
Enjoy!
Would you like more ideas for your abundant zucchini from the garden?
Click Here for More Zucchini Recipes
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Lemon Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ c all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 1 lemon, you will need the zest and juice – see instructions
- ¼ c extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ c plain, unsweetened apple sauce
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 c grated zucchini, about 1 medium zucchini (peeling optional)
For the Glaze
- 1 c powdered sugar
- 1 Tb milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice, from the lemon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- To begin, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
- Grease and flour a standard 8×5" loaf pan. You can also coat it with my handy baking spray replacement. (See the link in the blog post) Set it aside for now.
- Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl. Give those a stir and set it aside.
- Put the sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Using your microplaner or other utensil, zest the lemon into the mixing bowl. You’ll zest the whole lemon.
- Juice your lemon and add 2 teaspoons of the juice to the mixing bowl. Reserve the remaining juice for later.
- Add the apple sauce, extra virgin olive oil, vanilla extract, and eggs to the mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- Add in your dry ingredients and whisk smooth.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Spread the batter into your loaf pan.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until the loaf tests done when tested with a wooden pick.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and let the loaf cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
- Remove the loaf to the cooling rack and cool completely.
For the Glaze
- Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and milk. Whisk smooth.
- Drizzle over the lemon zucchini bread.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Unit Conversions:
Unit Conversion for measurements (if displayed), going from US to Metric is an auto-generated conversion. If you are using the metric measurements, please double-check to confirm that these are accurate with your favorite preferred conversion tool.
This recipe is is one of my favorite ways to use my zucchini from my garden!!
This looks really good. Do I need to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini and put in only a cup of the dryer zucchini or use as is?
In this recipe I just shred it and measure it out, filling the cup. I don’t squeeze it for this one.