Join the club! Subscribe Here

  • About
  • Collaborate
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Fresh Cooky new logo.

The Fresh Cooky

Real Food with a Healthy Twist

  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • By Course
      • Apps & Snacks
      • Breads
      • Drinks
      • Main Dishes
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Sandwiches
      • Sauces & Condiments
      • Side Dishes
      • Soups & Stews
      • Sweets
    • By Cuisine
      • Asian
      • German
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
    • By Diet
      • Egg-Free
      • Gluten-Free
      • Low Carb
      • Vegetarian
    • By Meal Type
      • 30 Minute Meals
      • Breakfast
      • Brunch
      • Lunch
      • Dinner
      • Easy Weeknight
      • Freezer Friendly
      • Kid-Friendly
      • Make Ahead
      • Copycat
    • By Method
      • Air Fryer
      • Crockpot
      • Grilled
      • Instant Pot
      • One Pot
      • Sheet Pan
      • Stovetop
  • Holidays
    • Patriotic Recipes
  • Most Popular
  • For Subscribers
Recipes โ€บ Courses โ€บ Breads โ€บ Quick Breads
5 Comments

Zucchini Lemon Bread with Lemon Glaze

Kathleen

by Kathleen Pope Jun 2, 2023

Jump to Recipe

This bright and lively, citrus-y, but not too sweet Zucchini Lemon Bread is a great way to use some of your garden zucchini harvest. Whole grains, lower sugar and a sweet-tart lemon glaze.

Mini loaves of lemon zucchini bread dripping with lemon glaze atop a cooling rack.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure & privacy policy.

So my friend Kathleen, yes, my friend, I’m not talking about myself…it’s always a bit strange isn’t it when you have a friend with the same name.

Anyhoo, several weeks ago at my Book Club, my friend Kathleen challenged me to find new ways to use zucchini. Her garden was bursting (as many gardens seem to this time of year) with oodles of zucchini.

Oh, I rattled off the typical items like zucchini bread or tossing the shredded stuff into brownies, but she doesn’t like to bake…then I suggested, “Well, you can make zoodles (zucchini noodles) out of them, replacing spaghetti with the zoodles?”

Mini Loaves of Lemon Zucchini Quickbread sitting on a cooling rack with drizzle of glaze over the tops | www.thefreshcooky.com

She kind of wrinkled her nose at me while holding a zucchini the size of Rhode Island, but as I was prattling on about various ways I’ve used zucchini, she finally stopped me and said, “BUT, what do you do with them when you really don’t like zucchini?”

Oh, now that might be a bit more of a challenge! While you can put zucchini in just about anything and not really taste it, that’s a pretty boring post to write…but I did find something a bit different than just regular ol’ zucchini bread, not that there is anything wrong with zucchini bread mind you. This bright and lively, citrus-y but not too sweet Zucchini Lemon Bread, it’s a great way to use some of your garden zucchini.

Kathleen brought up a great question; after cooking it in soups, stews, sauces, does it still have any nutritional value leftover? That’s a great question and I’m not positive this is the be all end all of nutritional values and scientific data, but thought it was a good place to start and well, it made me feel better because I do this myself.

Does Zucchini Have Nutritional Value after Cooking

After reading a few online articles I found this tidbit of information at Livestrong.com

“Over 90 percent of a zucchini squash consists of water. Cooking releases some of the water and leaches or vaporizes some nutrients. Boiling zucchini in salted water removes more protein than carbohydrate and reduces the total energy content to 10 calories. Zucchini loses more than one-half of its potassium and one-third of its phosphorus through boiling. Magnesium content drops to 3 mg, and calcium remains stable at 3 mg. Boiling reduces vitamin C in zucchini by more than 50 percent, but increases vitamin A.”

Slices of lemon zucchini bread with butter on a serving plate | www.thefreshcooky.com

So I guess the answer is yes, reduced in value, but yes, it still has nutritional value! I guess the way I look at it is, it’s better than throwing it away, better than letting it turn into a slimy, moldy mess in your crisper drawer, better than not having the pleasure of growing it.

Best Way to Freeze Zucchini

Grab a grater and shred that zucchini; freeze it by the cup in freezer bags to use in all sorts of dishes throughout the year. Once thawed it will be very watery, so toss in a colander and strain, pressing lightly with paper towels, or throw it frozen into just about anything! Once shredded it kind of disappears as it cooks, like in this chili or spaghetti sauce. My kids eat it because it’s so innocuous and they don’t even really know it’s there!

TRY IT IN THESE DISHES

  • Spaghetti Sauce
  • Chili & Soups
  • Brownies & Cakes
  • Stews
  • Stir Fry & Pasta Dishes, like this delicious Roasted Veggie Pasta
A close-up picture of Lemon Zucchini Loaf, sliced  | www.thefreshcooky.com

GIFT GIVING ZUCCHINI BREAD AND GARDEN ZUCCHINI 

Make up several batches of mini loaves of this Zucchini Lemon Bread and give a loaf to each your neighbors and friends, along with your gift, give them 2-3 zucchini’s from your garden, attaching a copy of the recipe to make their own Zucchini Lemon Bread! The bonus; your neighbors will love you AND you responsibly get rid of your ample zucchini crop!

How to Make Zucchini Bread

Let’s get baking! Preheat your oven to 350° (325° for dark or glass pans) and spray your loaf pan(s) with oil.

Start by grating your zucchini(s) to yield about 1 ½ cups (I used both fresh and frozen), be sure to drain and squeeze out any water, frozen (thawed) below…

Bag of shredded zucchini | www.thefreshcooky.com

…freshly grated.

Squeezing water from zucchini using mesh strainer | www.thefreshcooky.com

Toss your grated, drained zucchini into the base of a mixing bowl (hand or stand mixer) and add your all-natural cane sugar (for a quick bread these are pretty low in sugar) and oil (I used Avocado oil)

adding oil to bread batter | www.thefreshcooky.com

Then add your yogurt, I used Fage greek yogurt, a nice thick and mild yogurt.

adding yogurt to zucchini bread | www.thefreshcooky.com

Add your egg and then the lemon zest (about 2 small lemons, I used 3 large lemons for the double batch), love using this zester or microplane!!

zested lemon | www.thefreshcooky.com

Juice lemons and reserve juice*, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to batter, and mix on low until mixture is combined well.

adding lemon juice to zucchini bread batter | www.thefreshcooky.com

Save reserved lemon juice, you’ll use a couple of tablespoons in your glaze and any left over, measure and freeze for use in another recipe.

While mixing your wet ingredients, whisk together your flours and leavening (baking powder, baking soda and salt). I like that this recipe calls for some whole wheat flour, makes it a bit heartier and healthier. With your mixer on lowest speed, carefully mix in dry ingredients

whole wheat flour in bowl | www.thefreshcooky.com

Mix until incorporated, scraping down sides. Remove beater from mixer, using a spatula to remove all collected zucchini and stir into batter by hand.

Scoop into prepared loaf pans, again I doubled the recipe, so made one large loaf…

zucchini bread batter in loaf pan | www.thefreshcooky.com

…and 4 mini loaves, make sure your portions are fairly even.

zucchini bread batter in mini loaf pans | www.thefreshcooky.com

Place in oven on a cookie sheet for easy removal, they will need to come out before the large loaf.

Bake large loaf for 50-60 minutes and mini loaves for 25-35 minutes…until toothpick comes out clean. They should be nicely browned on the top.

Cool on cooling rack for 10 minutes, then gently remove from loaf pan(s), you may have to encourage them out, but running a knife around the edges, turning them upside down and they should fall out, if not, put your knife between the pan and the bread and press very gently with the flat side of the knife to “pull” away from sides and bottom, give a little “knock” to the bottom and they should fall right out.

Turn right side up and allow to cool completely before drizzling on the glaze.

How to Make Lemon Glaze

Using reserved lemon juice, add 1 cup powdered sugar and just enough juice to make a glaze, you don’t want it too thin and runny, so whisk it around until smooth and “pourable”, a little goes a long way.

lemon juice in powdered sugar | www.thefreshcooky.com

Once cooled, place sheet of wax paper or parchment paper under the cooling rack to catch the drips from the frosting.

Drizzle onto loaf(s), evenly, using back of spoon to encourage a little over the edges and covering the top.

lemon glaze poured on loaf | www.thefreshcooky.com

Isn’t it purty!?

glaze dripping of lemon zucchini bread | www.thefreshcooky.com

GET FREE RECIPES FROM THE FRESH COOKY DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

Lemon Zucchini Bread slices on plate with lemon and green ribbon in background. | www.thefreshcooky.com

We have new neighbors who just moved in this week, as well as another neighbor who had surgery, and while I’m at it, our other neighbors are getting ready for their daughters wedding in a few weeks, so I thought it would be nice to give them each a loaf of this quickbread.

How to Wrap Bread for Gifting

For pretty wrapping, using parchment paper, start by tearing off a large sheet of parchment paper (big enough so that you have room to fold it down in the center and on the sides.) Or get yourself a package of these precut, unbleached parchment sheets — game changers for me! 

Center your loaf on the sheet of parchment or wax paper.

lemon zucchini bread on parchment sheet | www.thefreshcooky.com

Draw up both sides evenly and fold over about ½-1 inch at top…

folding parchment onto quickbread | www.thefreshcooky.com

Continue folding until you are snug against the loaf of bread, then fold in the corners, like you are wrapping a package.

Folded parchment on Zucchini loaf | www.thefreshcooky.com

It doesn’t have to be perfect, tuck them under the loaf or up and then using bakers twine wrap around loaf and tie a simple bow.

 A loaf of lemon zucchini bread wrapped in natural parchment paper tied with red and white bakers twine.

Simple, practical and presentable! Grab a loaf and walk over to your neighbor, I will be doing that very thing today.

Excited to share on Weekend Potluck and Meal Plan Monday!

Recipe for Lemon Zucchini Bread adapted from Closet Cooking.

Like this recipe?

Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and leave a comment below the recipe!

Recipe Card

Zucchini Lemon Bread with Lemon Glaze

5 from 2 readers
Author: Kathleen | The Fresh Cooky
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour
Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 1 loaf or 4 mini loaves
Print Pin SaveSaved!
A delightful citrus twist on the traditional zucchini bread. Not too sweet, loaded with zucchini, whole wheat flour and brightened with zesty lemons.

Equipment

  • Ultra Cuisine 100% Stainless Steel Wire Cooling Rack 
  • Spring Chef Stainless Steel Box Grater (Large)
  • IPOW Set of 3 Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainer, Colander Sieve 

Ingredients 

Lemon Zucchini Bread

  • 1 ½ cups zucchini; grated drained and squeezed to get extra water out
  • 1 cup sugar I like all natural cane sugar
  • ½ cup oil I used Avocado oil
  • ½ cup plain yogurt I used plain, Fage Greek yogurt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 lemons small zested
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Lemon Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° (325° for dark pans) and generously spray loaf pan(s) with oil. Toss the grated zucchini into the bowl of a mixer, pouring the following ingredients on top. Sugar, oil, yogurt, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
  • Will be "soupy" so mix on low until all ingredients are mixed in. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, add flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, whisk gently to combine.
  • Add to liquid ingredients while mixer is on stir or lowest setting, careful to not floof flour all over. Scrape down sides, mix one more time.
  • Using a spatula, scrape the collected zucchini off the beater and mix into batter by hand. If making one large loaf, scoop batter into prepared loaf pan. If making mini loaves, evenly distribute batter between prepared pans.
  • Bake large loaf 50-60 minutes; mini loaves 25-35 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack in pans for 10 minutes.
  • Remove from pans (slide a knife around edges if needed to encourage loaf(s) onto cooling rack, turn upside down and tap gently on bottom to release from pan)
  • Finish cooling entirely on wire rack, you may turn the bread right side up after removing from pans if you don’t want the pattern of the rack on the top of the loaf. Once cooled, prepare glaze.
  • Mix powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice together until spreadable but not too thin, if needed to thin out a bit, add a little lemon juice at a time until desired consistency.
  • Place a sheet of wax paper under the cooling rack prior to pouring glaze, this will catch all of your drips. Drizzle glaze all over bread loaf, mostly centered, using back of spoon gently move some glaze to the edges so that some drizzles down the sides of the loaf.
  • If desired, wrap in parchment paper, plastic wrap or place in zip lock bag. Enjoy!
Last step! Leave a RatingRate this recipe here. This helps other readers and helps support this website.

Notes

© 2017 | This recipe for Lemon Zucchini Bread was first featured on The Fresh Cooky.

Nutrition

Serving: 11 serving | Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 147mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g
Did you make my Zucchini Lemon Bread with Lemon Glaze?Show it off! Share on Instagram, tag @thefreshcooky, and use the hashtag #thefreshcooky!
Tag on Insta Leave a Rating

Quickbreads for You

Maple Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin Bread with Browned Butter Maple Frosting

Banana Nutella Swirl Bread

A mouth-watering, moist banana bread with a hidden surprise; a lovely swirl of chocolate-y Nutella in the middle.

Easy Beer Bread

Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread

Moist Banana Graham Oat Bread

A moist banana bread recipe with whole grain flours, ripe bananas and low sugar. Perfect before or after school snack

Lemon Poppyseed Bread with Lemon Glaze

Photo Credit: juliassimplysouthern.com

Banana Nut Bread with Pecans

Photo Credit: www.backtomysouthernroots.com

Share This!

1.3K shares
  • Share
  • X
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • SMS

Lemon Glaze neighbor gifts quick bread Zucchini Bread Zucchini Lemon Bread Zucchini uses

Kathleen Pope

Meet Kathleen

Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer

Hi, Iโ€™m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen.

Read More

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter / X
  • Mastadon

Join the Recipe Club!

Get my free eBook, Fresh Fridays emails, and never miss a recipe.

Unsubscribe anytime (privacy policy).

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Rate & Comment Cancel reply

    Have a question, comment, or suggestions about this recipe? If you had any trouble, I would love a chance to help you troubleshoot before you rate. Constructive criticism is welcome, but please be respectful. Rude or inappropriate comments will not be approved. Your email address will not be published.

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Miz Helen

    Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 10:46 am

    A great recipe to try for the garden Zucchini we have on hand right now! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday,444 and hope you have a great week!
    Miz Helen

    Reply
    • KathleenKathleen

      Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 7:10 pm

      Absolutely!! Bright and citrusy too!!

      Reply
  2. Kathleen Bigler

    Tue, Sep 12, 2017 at 5:00 pm

    5 stars
    You’re so awesome to do this Kathleen! I will definitely have the girls try it. It looks amazing. Thanks for taking the challenge.
    Love you,
    TOK (the other Kathleen)

    Reply
    • Kathleen[email protected]

      Wed, Sep 13, 2017 at 11:44 am

      Well, I wish I had come up with something that wasn’t sweet, but other than in sauces and stuff, sorry…though this Friday’s post will be Spaghetti sauce which I also put zucchini in! Let me know what you think!?

      Reply
  3. Kathleen Bigler

    Tue, Sep 12, 2017 at 5:00 pm

    5 stars
    You’re so awesome to do this Kathleen! I will definitely have the girls try it. It looks amazing. Thanks for taking the challenge.
    Love you,
    TOK (the other Kathleen)

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Kathleen Pope

Meet Kathleen

Hey there! I'm Kathleen Pope, a proud wife, mom of two awesome college boys, and recipe nerd. Welcome to my world of easy recipes with a healthy twist! Join thousands who trust The Fresh Cooky as their go-to recipe source. Let's cook up some magic!

Read More

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter / X
  • Mastadon

Join the Recipe Club!

Get my free eBook, Fresh Fridays emails, and never miss a recipe.

Unsubscribe anytime (privacy policy).

Trending Now

  • Crumbl cookie with milk chocolate chips.Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookie
  • Easy and Quick Pizza Dough Recipe with dough on floured surface square.Easy No Rise Pizza Dough Recipe
  • Spiral sliced ham with honey baked ham glaze in roasting pan.How to Cook Spiral Ham
  • Best shaved steak recipes, round up picture with Philly cheesesteak, steak bomb, steak fajitas and stuffed peppers.39 Best Shaved Steak Recipes (Easy Steak Meals)
  • Square image of whole easy key lime pie with dollops of whipped cream and decorated with wedges of key limes.Award Winning Recipe for Key Lime Pie
  • Philly cheese steak sandwich on a tray with french fries surrounding it.Best Philly Cheesesteak Recipe
The Fresh Cooky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter / X
  • Mastadon

Subscribe Now

by Course

  • Appetizers & Snacks
  • Breads
  • Drinks
  • Main Dishes
  • Salads & Dressings
  • Sauces & Condiments
  • Side Dishes
  • Sweets

Holidays

  • Thanksgiving
  • Holiday Appetizers
  • Holiday Breakfast
  • Holiday Drinks
  • Holiday Main Dish
  • Holiday Side Dish
  • Holiday Sweets
  • Game Day Recipes

By Cuisine

  • Asian
  • German
  • Italian
  • Mexican

By Diet

  • Gluten-Free
  • Low Carb
  • Vegetarian

By Meal Type

  • 30 Minute Meals
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Easy Weeknight Meals
  • Freezer Meals
  • Kid-Friendly
  • Make Ahead

By Method

  • Air Fryer
  • Crockpot
  • Grilled
  • Instant Pot
  • One Pot
  • Sheet Pan
  • Stovetop
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Subscribe

Copyright © 2025 ยท The Fresh Cooky ยท Privacy & Disclosure Policy

1.3K shares
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Flipboard
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Save
  • Reddit

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




Let us know what you thought of this recipe:

This worked exactly as written, thanks!
My family loved this!
Thank you for sharing this recipe.

Or write in your own words:

A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required