Lemon Zucchini Bread Recipe (Super Moist!)
This Lemon Zucchini Bread is so moist, yet the crust is perfectly crunchy! It can be made with fresh or frozen grated zucchini!
During the summer, when the garden is overflowing with zucchini, I grate large batches and freeze them for winter, allowing me to make a few zucchini breads when it’s cold outside. It gives me the perfect excuse to turn the oven on in the winter.
Quick breads are a super way to enjoy the summer’s bounty in the middle of winter. They make a perfect snack when the kids get home from school, a great dessert, or an easy breakfast on the run.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It will help you use up all of the zucchini you froze from your garden this year.
- The crust is crispy, and the interior is sweet with a bright taste of lemon.
- It’s one of the most moist breads you’ll ever try.
- It’s so easy to make. It only takes 15 minutes to get the loaf pans into the oven.
What You Need
Dry Ingredients
- Flour: Flour forms the base of the bread.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is a leavening agent to make the bread rise.
- Baking Powder: Baking Powder is a different leavening agent.
- Salt: Salt is used to enhance the flavors.
Wet Ingredients
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients and add richness to the bread. Use large eggs.
- Oil: Keeps the bread extra moist and tender. Use vegetable oil.
- Sugar: Sweetens the loaf and helps it brown beautifully.
- Lemon Zest: Adds bright, fresh citrus flavor.
- Zucchini: Keeps the bread moist while adding a subtle texture.
- Vanilla: Enhances the sweetness and rounds out the lemon flavor.
For the Sweet Lemon Glaze
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Gives the glaze the tart lemony flavor.
- Powdered Sugar: Adds sweetness to the glaze.
How to Make It
To Prepare Fresh Zucchini
Cut the zucchini to a size that will fit in your food processor feeding tube. Cut out the large seeds with a paring knife.
Grate the zucchini in the food processor or grate it by hand.
How to Prepare the Recipe
Spray bread pans with non-stick spray, or grease and flour.
Measure and mix dry ingredients.
Grate the lemon rind with a microplane or the fine side of a box grater.
Always break the eggs into another container in case you lose any shells.
Grate fresh zucchini or use previously frozen zucchini. If you use frozen zucchini, it loses a lot of volume, so I use double the amount of zucchini.
How to Mix the Batter
Measure the sugar into a bowl.
Add the eggs and oil to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix well.
Add the sugar.
Beat until light and frothy.
Add the lemon zest and the zucchini.
Add the vanilla.
Incorporate the wet ingredients well.
Add the flour in three additions. Mix just until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the greased bread pans. Only fill the pans ⅔ full.
Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Then remove from bread pans.
Can You Freeze Lemon Zucchini Bread?
Yes, you can freeze Lemon Zucchini Bread. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature before serving. It stays moist and flavorful even after freezing, but don’t expect that freshly baked, crunchy crust.
FAQs
Yes. Yellow squash is a perfect substitute for zucchini.
No. There’s no need to peel the zucchini. The skin adds fiber and color to the bread.
Yes! Pour the batter into muffin tins, fill ⅔ full, and bake for about 25 minutes.
If you love this Lemon Zucchini Bread, try these mini lemon loaf cakes next! They are moist and super lemony.
More Quick Breads
- Black Forest – Chocolate Quick Bread
- Orange Cranberry Pumpkin Quick Bread
- Zucchini, Green Onion Cheesy Quick Bread
- Peach Bread with Caramel Glaze
That is how easy it is to make Lemon Zucchini Quick Bread, any time of the year! Thank you so much for stopping by!
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Lemon Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp Salt
Wet ingredients
- 2 cups Sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups frozen grated zucchini, or use only 2 cups fresh grated zucchini
- lemon zest from one lemon, plus more for garnish
For Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3-4 tsp lemon juice, fresh or bottled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two loaf pans.
- Measure and mix dry ingredients.3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp Salt
- Grate lemon zest.lemon zest from one lemon, plus more for garnish
- Break eggs into a bowl.3 eggs
- Drain frozen zucchini, and squeeze out excess liquid. If you use frozen zucchini, use double the amount. See notes below. No need to drain fresh zucchini.4 cups frozen grated zucchini, or use only 2 cups fresh grated zucchini
- Measure sugar.2 cups Sugar
- Beat eggs with oil to incorporate.1 cup oil
- Add sugar, lemon zest and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Next, add the zucchini and mix again.
- Add in flour mixture, in 3 additions, Just mixing to moisten.
- Fill each loaf pan ⅔ full. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pans for about 15 minutes. Then loosen bread from the edges of the pan with a knife, and continue to cool on a wire cooling rack.
- Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth with no remaining lumps. Drizzle the glaze onto the top of the bread once they have fully cooled.1 cup powdered sugar, 3-4 tsp lemon juice, fresh or bottled
- Can be frozen for a few months. Wrap in plastic wrap and then in freezer paper.
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Nutrition
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Originally Published February 1, 2019. Updated October 17, 2025.
- Recipe Name: Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Type: Quick Bread / Dessert
- Main Ingredients: Zucchini, Lemon Zest, Flour, Sugar, Eggs, Oil, Vanilla
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf (8–10 slices)
- Special Equipment: Loaf Pan, Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer, Microplane
- Great For: Summer Baking, Breakfast, Snacks, Using Garden Zucchini
I’d like to try this. I followed the link from your dehydrated lemon page and the suggestion to make this with lemon powder. How would you use lemon powder in this recipe?
I would use a rounded teaspoon of lemon powder to replace the lemon peel in the recipe. Let me know how it comes out.
It’s in the oven. I’m sure it will be delicious. My only “complaint” is that the directions were a bit sketchy. Sugar is a “dry” ingredient, so when I saw it was supposed to go with the wet ingredients–but was already whisked into the dry–I worried a bit. Probably won’t be as “fluffy” but will taste fine. (So, the instructions should be edited.)
I’m terribly sorry for that. It slipped past our editors. It’s changed now. Thanks for letting us know.
I made this recipe as muffins and they are delicious! I got 17 muffins, and they baked for 28 minutes. I’ll definitely make this again!
We love this bread. Muffins sound like a great idea. I may make some today! Thanks Martha.
Do you need to squeeze out the water from the frozen zucchini? Before adding it in.
If it is fresh you shouldn’t have to. If it is frozen you will definitely want to squeeze it out. Thanks for checking out the recipe Cass!
I plan to make this recipe. It sounds and looks delicious. However, whenever I used fresh zucchini, I had to squeeze the excess water out of it. Why not this time?
You can squeeze the moisture out if you’d like. With a quick bread, it isn’t imperative though.