This Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread recipe is the most refreshing zucchini bread ever! Lemon juice and zest make it wonderfully lemony. Plus, kefir in the batter makes it super moist.
I love the lemony flavor in baking since it both makes me feel refreshed and reminds me of good summer days. This Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread is inspired by our kefir lemon bread, which is one of the ultimate bread recipes in my kitchen.
To make this bread even more summery and to use up the zucchinis in the fridge, I added zucchini in its batter. Having made several zucchini bread recipes for years, I knew nobody would notice it. So I ended up with this amazing lemon zucchini bread recipe.
I know, our readers' all time favorite bread among our zucchini bread recipes is chocolate yogurt zucchini bread, which is beyond delicious. However, I’m quite sure that you will equally love this lemony version unless you are extremely obsessed with chocolate and underrate any other flavors.
To boost up the citrusy flavor, I add both lemon juice and zest. It becomes like lemon ice cream in the bread form. Besides the lemon zest in the batter, lemon zest topping on the glaze is a must in this recipe. You will think summer never ends even before tasting this amazing lemony bread because it smells so good!
How To Make
The recipe has two main folds: The lemon zucchini cake batter and the lemon glaze.
First, make the batter. Prepare the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Just like you normally do for a regular cake recipe, whisk together the eggs and sugar until creamy. Then add in lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil and kefir. Fold in shredded zucchini. In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and pour it in the wet mixture gradually. And bake in a loaf pan or in a bundt cake pan.
Second, make the lemon glaze. It is a simple combination of powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk them together and pour it over the completely cooled lemon zucchini cake, bread or loaf; whatever you call it.
If you feel that the lemon flavor in the bread is already enough, you can make a vanilla glaze instead and pour it over your bread.
Alternative Add-Ins
If you love lemon cake with poppy seeds, go ahead and add some poppy seeds in the batter. They will definitely add a nice crunchiness in the texture. Other seeds like flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds would be great too.
Use a Cake Mix For a Shortcut
You can use a homemade cake mix for the dry ingredients and whisk it together with the wet mixture.
For me, zucchini is the vegetable that represents the season summer and I try to use it in my kitchen as much as I can. It is such a versatile vegetable that you can create thousands of recipes from savory to sweet. We have 30+ zucchini recipes on the blog and you can easily reach of them by writing zucchini in the search box.
FAQs
I use kefir in the batter and it makes the bread super moist. I love this super healthy food so much that I try to include it in our daily diet in several ways. Whenever a recipe calls for milk or buttermilk, I replace them with kefir. It is healthier and makes the baked goody moister. On the other hand, if you can’t find kefir, you can still use buttermilk or yogurt to have a similar result.
Although I don’t peel zucchini before shredding, nobody thinks there is zucchini in this bread. They think it is either lime zest or pistachio. No problem for me! On the contrary, I love to see those green pieces on my zucchini lemon bread slices.
No. Don’t try to remove all the juice of grated zucchini otherwise your bread won’t be moist. Just grate the zucchini on a paper towel, nothing else is needed.
I mostly use olive oil in my baking. It is another significant ingredient that helps this glazed lemon zucchini bread turn out moist. I don’t advice extra virgin olive oil though as it tastes much stronger than the regular one. Other than olive oil, which is also a way of cooking light, I think coconut oil, sunflower oil or canola oil would work fine too. As for butter, yes you can use it too but your bread won't be that moist and fluffy with it although the taste will be good.
The amount of sugar in the batter is less than regular bread recipes without glaze. The simple glaze, which is a combination of powdered sugar and lemon juice perfectly completes the missing sweetness. So no, this is not an overly sweet bread recipe. You can even adjust the amount of the glaze on your slice according to your taste.
Other Lemon Dessert Recipes
- Chewy Lemon Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies With Lemon Jam
- Carrot Lemon Cake
More Loaf Cakes
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📖 Recipe
Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread
INGREDIENTS
Lemon Zucchini Bread:
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest grated
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup kefir
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons zucchini grated
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- A pinch of salt
Lemon Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping:
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest grated
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Spray a loaf pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add in lemon zest and lemon juice and whisk well.
- Add in olive oil and kefir. Whisk together.
- Add grated zucchini and stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour it in the wet mixture and stir just until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Place it on a cooling rack and let it cool down completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth.
- Drizzle the lemon glaze over the top of the bread. Top with lemon zest.
- Serve when the glaze sets.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Adina says
Perfect looking cake. I love zucchini bread, so I will keep your version in mind.
Ushmana Rai says
This is the prefect epitome to end the summer and welcome fall with a zesty flavor. I love the clever idea of sneaking in the zucchini. Keep on sharing more amazing recipes! xx
Zerrin says
Thank you Ushmana! They combine really great! Hope you have a chance to try this recipe! Best!