Lemon Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze

This Lemon Zucchini Bread is moist, tender, and bursting with bright citrus flavor. With layers of lemon zest, syrup, and glaze, it’s a sunny quick bread that feels like summer in every bite — fresh, tangy, and absolutely irresistible.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword lemon bread recipes, Lemon Zucchini Bread, no yeast bread, zucchini bread recipes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 5

Servings Slices

Calories 532kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

Bread:

1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Lemon Syrup:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Lemon Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar sifted
2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons lemon zest, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make The Bread

Preheat to 325°F (163°C). Spray an 8×4-inch loaf pan with baking spray with flour (like Pam Baking Spray) or grease and flour the pan.
Prepare the Zucchini: Grate zucchini using the large holes of a box grater. Place it in a clean kitchen towel or several paper towels and gently wring or press out excess moisture — you should remove some liquid, but not all, so the zucchini still feels damp. Measure 1 cup after squeezing and set aside.
Mix the Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar (1 cup), vegetable oil (1/2 cup), egg (1), lemon extract (1 tablespoon), and lemon zest (2 tablespoons). Fold in the shredded zucchini gently until evenly distributed.
Combine the Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together flour (1 1/2 cups), salt (1/2 teaspoon), baking soda (1/2 teaspoon), and baking powder (1/4 teaspoon).
Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients in two additions, folding by hand just until no streaks of flour remain.✨ Do not overmix — overworking the batter makes tough bread!
Bake: Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top evenly. Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Make Lemon Syrup:

Make the Lemon Syrup while the bread is baking. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar (1/4 cup) and lemon juice (1/4 cup)over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
When the cake comes out of the oven, generously brush the top with the lemon syrup. Allow the cake to cool in its pans for 10 minutes, brushing the the top a few more times with the syrup while it cools in the pan.
Remove the cake from the loaf pan and set it on a wire rack. Set the wire rack over a baking tray or a piece of aluminum foil, to catch drips. Brush the sides and top of the cake with the remaining syrup, allowing a couple of minutes between brushings, to allow the syrup absorb into the cake until the syrup is gone.
Cool the bread completely.

Make Lemon Glaze:

Make the Lemon Glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice until smooth. Add more juice, a teaspoon at a time, as needed, to reach a thick but pourable consistency (Optional: Stir in lemon zest for extra tang and texture.)Pour glaze evenly over the cooled bread and let it set at room temperature until firm.

Notes

Mixing~ The key to making a tender quick bread is all in how you mix the batter. The wet ingredients need to be thoroughly mixed together in one bowl and the dry ingredients need to mixed well in another bowl. Then, when the two are combined, it’s best to fold the wet and dry ingredients together, by hand, just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Do not overmix! Do not use an electric mixer! Do not stir vigorously! If the batter gets overmixed the finished bread will be tough.
Top Cracking~If the top of your bread cracks, don’t panic. It’s not a mistake. It’s just a characteristic of quick bread! I call it charm 🙂
Avoid a sticky mess! When glazing the bread, set a baking rack over a baking sheet. It makes cleaning up much easier. The baking sheet catches any of the syrup that would otherwise end up on your counters when you’re brushing the loaf.
Pan Release: I use Pam Baking Spray to coat my baking pans. It’s different than the regular baking spray because it contains flour. It works like a wonder for me with this recipe.

Nutrition