Moist, cakey and so quick, this Lemon Zucchini Bread has got a burst of flavor from the lemon + it hides so much zucchini that this can pass as a vegetable!
Those specks of green are real food. Which is why I love this Lemon Zucchini Bread so very much. Because I can now add a ton of vegetable to what is essentially cake!
I had mixed feelings when I heard of carrot cake and zucchini bread first. And now both these top my list of favorites. Adding vegetables to desserts is so incredible because the result is moist and full of flavor. I'm not a big fan of Zucchini and this is one of the few ways that I'll eat it.
I'll admit this wasn't an easy recipe when we first started developing it. The bread would keep collapsing in the middle and we couldn't figure out why. The flavor was still great though but who likes collapsed bread? We finally got it just right after we made some adjustments. In the end, we have a quick lemon zucchini bread that doesn't dome on top, but remains flat which makes for neat slices that can be warmed and are delicious with endless cups of tea.
Shredding Zucchini
To shred zucchini, just use a grater like I do (in the video below), or you could also use the shredder attachment in your food processor.
Prepping Zucchini for Lemon Zucchini Bread
An important step while making this lemon zucchini bread is to squeeze out as much water as possible from the zucchini before adding it to the batter. So once you grate the zucchini, let it sit for a few minutes and then squeeze it till all the water comes out. This ensures that the bread remains moist, but does not feel soggy.
This quick zucchini bread is packed with flavor from zucchini, lemon and poppy seeds which add a nice texture. And it's perfect when you want to wolf down an evening snack, or for a late night dessert with ice cream (no judgement), or for kids lunch boxes, or when you want indulgence at breakfast. So versatile which is why you HAVE to make this recipe!
More Bread Recipes
- Coconut Pistachio Banana Bread
- Brown Butter Banana Bread
- Multigrain Bread
- Cinnamon Bread Pudding
- How To Make Pizza Bread
Watch Lemon Zucchini Bread Recipe Video
Lemon Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup Zucchini grated (2 large zucchinis)
- 1 Egg
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ cup Oil
- 1 ¼ cup All Purpose Flour
- 4 tablespoons Cornflour
- 4 tablespoons Milk Powder
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 ½ tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1 Lemon zested
- 1 ½ tablespoons Black Poppy Seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 180 C/ 350 F. Line, grease and flour a 9"x 5" loaf tin and keep ready.
- Squeeze as much water as possible out of the grated zucchini and set aside.
- Beat together egg, sugar and oil for about 3-4 minutes.
- Sift together flour, cornflour, milk powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt and keep aside.
- Add lemon juice and lemon zest to the egg-sugar mixture and stir to combine.
- Fold dry ingredients in to the wet ingredients, add the grated zucchini and half of the poppy seeds. Fold to combine.
- Pour the ready mixture in to the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle with remaining poppy seeds on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180C/ 350F for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let it cool for 15 minutes before demoulding. Let the bread rest on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Prepping Zucchini: Use a grater to grate zucchini or the shredder attachment of the food processor
- Lime vs Lemon: Lime has a stronger flavor so if using lime juice, reduce the amount to 1 ½ tablespoons
- Avoid sinking middle: While folding the zucchini into the batter, make sure not to mix vigorously which can destroy the air bubbles and deflate the bread while baking
- Storing Lemon Zucchini Bread: Store the bread wrapped in a tea towel in an airtight container for up to 4 days. This bread is a moist bread and can go bad quickly if there's too much moisture or humidity. The tea towel helps absorb some of the moisture as it sits outside. Alternatively, you can also refrigerate the bread and reheat in the microwave before serving.
Shivani says
Tasty and easy to bake! I shall call this as Lemon Zucchini Tea Cake instead bread...
Richa Gupta says
Tea Cake sounds perfect! Glad you enjoyed this, Shivani! 🙂
Zeena Nawas says
I made it for my niece who is vegetarian and l am always looking for recipes that will tickle her tastebuds and this perfect recipe did just that. Thank you dear for this one
Richa says
Thanks for leaving a comment! Soooo glad you liked it Zeena
Dev says
Very easy and delicious , thanks for the recipe, my wife enjoyed it!! 😋 . Can’t wait to try other recipes
Richa says
Thanks for trying out this recipe Dev and leaving a comment. Soooo glad you liked it.
Shayonee says
Hi Richa, I made this bread/cake a few days back. Really enjoying it with my morning tea these days.
Just wanted to let you know that I did a few things differently because I didn't have some things.
For one, I did not have black poppy seeds, so I substituted with white ones. Second, I didn't have a box grater, so used my regular flat grater (with smaller holes) to grate the zucchini. The result was I couldn't squeeze out the moisture since the product was pulpy. But inspite of this, I didn't have any problems with the final product.
Richa says
Thank you for leaving a comment! Sooo glad you liked it Shayonee and thanks for sharing what you changed - it really helps other readers
Ann says
Such an interesting combination for a cake. I had never before encountered unsweetened baking recipes containing poppy seeds (in fact, I wonder what taste will come out, because zucchini is present here). I’ll definitely try to make such a cake in the near future, I hope that I succeed. How long and under what conditions can this dish be stored? Thanks for your creative ideas and your blog, keep it up!
Richa says
So glad this resonated with you. It's a delicious loaf and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. You can store it in an airtight container for 3-4 days or refrigerate it for a few days. This also freezes well. I have specific instructions to store it in the post itself.