The heat of summer makes zucchini grow larger as you watch. The question comes of what to do with an abundance of vegetables. I recommend making this delicious lemon zucchini bread. It is super moist and pleasantly tart when topped with a luscious lemon glaze.
A beautifully pale yellow loaf speckled with flecks of green from the zucchini skin looks sunny as the lemon flavors the bread brightly.
Zucchini Information
Whether you call it zucchini or courgettes, (like the French or British do), this versatile vegetable is a great base for both savory and sweet foods. It has a high water ratio so pay attention to whether you need to drain off the excess liquid. This lemon zucchini bread calls for all the liquid that may leech out of the grated vegetable.
The zucchini adds moisture to the quick bread as does the greek yogurt. While it makes delicious bread, it can also cause the loaf to stick to the pan which makes it difficult to remove. The simple solution is to line the pan with a parchment paper sling. I prefer this method to just lining the bottom of the pan. A U-shaped length of parchment that covers the bottom and both long sides and sticks up about an inch above the sides provides a handy handle to remove the bread easily and cleanly from the pan.
Zucchini Yields
Since this summer squash can balloon to gargantuan size overnight. More guidance than large or medium is necessary. Look for zucchini that are small to medium with dark green skin for more flavor. Larger zucchini become stringy and the seeds are bitter and hard to eat.
A medium-sized vegetable measures about 7-8” long and is between 2-3” in diameter. It will yield 1 cup of grated zucchini. Plan on 3 of this sized zucchini in a pound.
For more information about zucchini, check out this post for a zucchini frittata.
Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50-60 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 32 slices 1x
- Category: dessert, quick bread
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American, Southern
Description
Lemon zucchini bread is moist and pleasantly tart topped with a luscious lemon glaze.
Ingredients
- 3 lemons (remove the zest, then cut in half and juice each lemon) divided
- 2 cups grated zucchini, about 1–1-1/2 medium zucchini
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 (5.2 ounce) vanilla greek yogurt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (even better use vanilla bean paste)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from the lemons above)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from the lemons above)
- 1–1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Lemon Glaze
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from the lemons above)
- 1–1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from the lemons above)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Grease 2 loaf pans ( 8-1/2” x 4-1/2”). Cut a sling of parchment paper to span the bottom of the loaf pan and extend past the top edge of the long sides of the pans. /Arrange the parchment in a U-shape in each loaf pan. Spray the parchment with cooking spray and set aside.
- Using box grater or food processor, grate the zucchini (skin and flesh).
- Using a microplane, zest all 3 lemons. Then cut each in half and juice the lemons. Set both the zest and lemon juice aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the eggs, vegetable oil, greek yogurt and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the lemon extract, vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, lemon juice to the sugar mixture and stir well to combine.
- Gently stir in the kosher salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour until just combined. (There may still be a few streaks of flour showing, but the majority of the flour should have been incorporated.
- Using a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the grated zucchini and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest until incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the loaf pans to fill the pans 3/4 full (don’t overfill the loaf pans).
- Bake the lemon zucchini bread in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until the top of the loaves are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.
- When the loaves have slightly cooled, run a knife around the edge of the bread and using the parchment paper lift the loaves cleanly out of the pan.
- Let cool for 30 minutes more on a wire rack. Remove the parchment paper once the bread is completely cool to the touch.
- In a small bowl, stir the lemon juice and powdered sugar together until no lumps remain.
- Using a spoon, drizzle the lemon glaze artistically over the lemon zucchini bread loaves.
- Sprinkle the reserved lemon zest over the loaves.
- Slice the loaf into slices and enjoy.
Notes
This bread keeps at room temperature for 1-2 days, or for 2-3 months in the freezer.
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