Dense, moist, sticky-sweet, and bursting with citrus and juicy blueberries, this Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread is the bread recipe of summer! Using lots of in-season ingredients, and it’s very simple to make!
After almost 5 years of sharing recipes (side note: time flies!), I’ve noticed a few themes that are popular around here this time of year. Lemon blueberry recipes and zucchini recipes.
Today, we mash them together to make this Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread. While Chocolate Zucchini Bread is certainly a classic, and we grew up with an amazing family recipe that I still use to this day, I have also found that zucchini bread is a treasure even without chocolate. Who’d have thought?
UPDATED: Recipe is best made as two loaves of bread.
In fact, it’s a treasure with LOTS of things. That’s the beauty of zucchini, I suppose… you really don’t know it’s there. It makes for spectacularly moist baked goods, without turning them mushy, and you don’t even realize there’s a veggie hiding in your sweets.
In addition to adding moisture, I’ve noticed that zucchini adds a teeny tiny touch of sweetness too. Besides chocolate, one of my favorite pairings with zucchini is citrus. It enhances the summery vibe of zucchini.
Citrus in bread is a general favorite too…. I find that citrus seems to make all my breads and cakes sticky, and I love it. I love the sticky sweetness + tangy & tart.
Plump blueberries, also in season, round out this Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread making it a summer MUST. Blueberries and lemon are a dream team.
Drenched in lemon glaze – is there a better glaze in all the world? Well, almond glaze is pretty damn divine, but I mean: lemon glaze. The best.
Besides this new Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread, I have a BUNCH of lemon blueberry recipes, including Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake, Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze, Lemon Blueberry Pull-Apart Bread, Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars, and even a few more. I’m just listing the highlights.
I once made a round-up of some of the best lemon blueberry recipes on the internet at large too, this collection of 23 Heavenly Lemon Blueberry recipes.
As for zucchini recipes, well those are in abundance too, much like zucchini in your garden right now… this Chocolate Zucchini Coffee Cake, Blueberry Zucchini Bread Pancakes, Death by Chocolate Zucchini Brownies, Orange Zucchini Bread with Orange Glaze, Lemon Zucchini Muffins with Lemon Glaze, Zucchini Banana Bread with Streusel Topping, and Goat Cheese Zucchini Scones. Um, is that enough ideas?
Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
For bread:
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 cups grated zucchini about 2 medium
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
For glaze:
- zest and juice of 1 large lemon
- 2 tbsp. melted butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar more as needed
Instructions
For bread:
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini, vanilla, and lemon zest.
- In another large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in blueberries.
- Divide batter between two well-greased 9x5-inch loaf pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until edges are golden, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. I find it helpful to rotate pans halfway through baking too.
- Remove pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to loosen, and remove bread loaves from pans to cool completely. Do not cool entirely in pan - bread will stick as it cools!
- Prepare glaze.
For glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all glaze ingredients. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to achieve desired consistency - it should be thick enough that it doesn't run off the bread.
- Pour over loaves. Cut and serve.
Hello Sarah…! such a most creative and fabulous dessert in hot summer, this looks sooo yummy & more beautiful, i can’t wait making this….Thank for sharing….!
Yay! So glad you like it!
Samantha Paul, I made this bread today! Delicious .
Great recipe, my only critique … Divide batter into two 9×5 pans . I made one Huge loaf and it took almost two hours to bake.
I was looking for a great zucchini bread recipe that included blueberry and lemon. Sarah, you nailed it with this one! Thanks!
Great idea – my brother and sister-in-law had a ton of batter too. I find that to be the case when I make this from my Gramma Bessie’s original Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe, so I’ll make that note in the recipe. I appreciate the feedback!
Yes! I also ended up dividing into two full size loaf pans because there was so much batter. Even then it took way longer to bake through than the recipe said.
Couk you substitute a healthy fat/oil instead of vegetable or canola oil? My mother in law made this and it tasted AMAZING, but would like to make it with a healthier fat if possible for the kiddos!
Yes! A mild olive oil would work. Liquid coconut oil would probably work, but I’m just not positive. I think it probably would though. I’ve not really played with avocado oil in baking, so I can’t comment there.
Hi Sarah,
I am making my second batch today and am using 2 loaf pans this time. I only used one loaf pan yesterday and it took almost appr. 1 and 45 minutes to bake. It was a huge loaf, and I prefer the smaller loaves! It’s easier to share at work with smaller slices. With that said, your recipe is AMAZING! It is so southern, and I am super proud to share this recipe!! Thank you!!
Yeah, my brother said the same thing! This is based on an old family recipe, and the original takes a while and makes a really big loaf, but he found that this took a lot longer too. I think I may update the notes to split this into two 8x4s instead of one large 9×5. Would you let me know how long you end up baking those for? I’m so glad you like it!!! Thank you so much for letting me know, and for your feedback!!! 🙂
The two 9×5 loaves just came out of my oven and they took 55 minutes. SWEET!!!!!!!
AWESOME! Thank you so much for the update!! Enjoy. 🙂
Is 1/4 tsp baking soda really enough?
Yes!
Made this today – overall a good recipe and will use again with a few tweaks. Today I double it (due to having an abundance of zucchini) and only used half the sugar. It turned out good – sweet enough. It made two loaf pans and about a dozen muffins (I’m hoping it freezes well). I do find them a bit greasy. I’m thinking next time I’ll sub out half the oil for Greek yogurt as that’s worked well for me in other recipes. Will make again for sure as it’s great how it ties blueberries and zucchini together in their peak season! Thanks.
I do these same tweaks sometimes actually! I totally agree with you that these are some good ways to adjust the recipe to preference. This recipe is based on my Grandma Bessie’s Chocolate Zucchini Bread, and I’ve easily halved the sugar in that recipe without anyone noticing – it’s plenty sweet with much less, and I’ve also done the same thing with substituting Greek yogurt for some of the oil. You can actually find where I did that with the Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins on the blog. You are right on the money that you can do BOTH those tweaks and the bread still turns out just fine. I kept it true to her recipe with this one, but I’ve done that before too. You’ll have no problems! I’m so glad you liked it overall!! Thank you so much for letting me know your thoughts! 🙂
I also subbed out the the vanilla for lemon extract as I love stuff super lemony ?
Does this need to be refrigerated?
It does not *need* to be, but I usually keep it refrigerated so that we can enjoy it longer! I recommend it. Thanks for checking!
This bread is absolutely delicious! I will definitely make it again. I did use a large loaf pan and reduced the cooking temperature to 325 and it required a longer baking time. I used parchment paper to line my pan and the bread came out perfectly!
I just made it again recently, and it did take longer baking time. I’m going to make some notes in there. I also reduced to 325 because it would otherwise be too brown on top. You’re totally spot-on with those adjustments. I’m so glad you loved it though! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback!!! 🙂
Super yummy! I’m hanging on to this recipe for sure.
Yay! So glad you liked it! Thanks for your comment. 🙂
I recently had this recipe or actually close to it but it was a 9×13 cake ,was wondering if your recipe can be made into a cake ?
I do think it probably could, but I haven’t done it! I would try a 9×9 square pan… 9×13 may be too large. And obviously baking time adjusted, but I have just not done this myself!
Loved it! I substituted applesauce for half the oil and used 2 cups of blueberries instead of 1. Also used lemon extract instead of vanilla in the bread itself. Perfect!
Love that!! I often find that I can’t tell a difference either if I use yogurt or applesauce in place of some oil. And more blueberries is never a bad idea. Haha! Thanks for your tips!
Very good, but I should have read the comments before baking. One loaf took almost 2 hours to cook, I should have divided the batter into smaller loaf pans. I will next time. Otherwise it’s a great recipe.
Agree with above comments. Definitely 2 loaves worth. Had hard time getting it done in the middle and frosting was enough for two loaves
Can you bake this recipe as muffins?
Yes, definitely! Adjusting baking time, of course. I would line regular-sized muffin cups with liners, fill them 2/3-full, and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. I’d check them at 20, but I suspect they’ll take closer to 25-30 minutes!
Thank you! Can’t wait to try these today!
Delicious! I added a few shakes of cinnamon & ginger (because I always do) and used yellow summer squash. The peel was very thick so I peeled it before shredding. I also subbed 1/3 C Greek yogurt for 1/3C of the oil and decreased the sugar to 1.5C. Then I baked in a 9×13 glass baking dish at 350F for 30min. The texture is definitely more bread-y than cake-y, but not dry at all. Will certainly make again!
Could I use frozen shredded zucchini ?
Hi Clara: I have never worked much with frozen shredded zucchini. I think if you add it frozen (if it can be broken up easily), then it will be fine. Much like baking with frozen blueberries — they do great in baked goods. If it would have to thaw first, I’m concerned that it will really bleed a lot of water and liquid as it thaws, and will throw off the texture. I would say it’s a “go” if you can add the zucchini frozen!
I made it into a cake instead, as there was a lot of batter😊
Two loaves are in my oven as I type. As someone else mentioned, I wish I had read to comments before making the bread according to the recipe. I figured that some adaptations were needed when my batter came to the top of my bread pan. I put half in a second pan and read the comments…I made it as a sample to use up tons of zucchini that are coming on. I look forward to trying the other ingredient ideas, especially using the frozen zucchini. I think if the zucchini is strained and squeezed “dry” before it is frozen, then drained in a mesh strainer before mixing in the batter, all will be fine. Thanks for all the recipes!
So I made it, the batter smells and tastes great! When I baked it it didn’t rise as much as I would want it to and it was a bit gummy, I measured ingredients accurately… wondering if subbing some of the oil for yogurt would help? Thanks
This bread is seriously delicious. I made a few small changes based on the previous comments, and plan on making it in the future the same way! Instead of one cup of oil, I did 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup applesauce. I also split the batter into two loaf pans–one 8×4 and one 9×5 since I don’t have duplicates of either size–and it worked perfectly. Additionally, I only had one lemon, so I used the zest of half of a lemon in the batter and the zest of the other half in the glaze. I was worried that this would cause the lemon to be muted, but the juice of the whole lemon in the glaze gives it plenty of zingy lemon flavor. Thanks so much for this stellar recipe–it’s definitely a keeper!
Thank you so much for your feedback, Katie!
Gave this recipe a try and it was a major it. WE LOVED THEM.
We don’t have a loaf pan so I opted to make these as muffins and they turned out great! Baked them for about 26 minutes at 350.
I also used two lemons worth of zest instead of one because we love a super strong lemon flavor.
And we opted to do without the glaze because we wanted to cut back on sugar.
We loved it and will definitely make them again.
That sounds fantastic — I have a separate recipe that I use for Lemon Zucchini muffins that makes a super fluffy muffin, but for a more bread-like one, this recipe would be awesome. I’ve had a lot of people have issues with making one loaf, so making a slew of muffins is an excellent tip. Thank you for sharing your baking temp/time! So glad you enjoyed them!!
This is our new comfort food. I read the very helpful comments and made 2 loaves, intending to give one away but after the first bite, I got greedy and kept both loaves for us! We’ve been enjoying this as both breakfast and dessert – it’s so delicious! I skipped the glaze out of laziness but I’m sure it would be amazing! I used yellow zucchini so it just looks like flecks of lemon. I blended your lemon zucchini muffin recipe (we also love!!) with this one and did 1/2 cup Greek yogurt with 2/3 cup oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda plus I added extra blueberries as someone mentioned in their comments … I also baked it at 325F for about 65 minutes so it wouldn’t get too dark. It reminds me of a pound cake, really moist and dense. The flavors are perfectly satisfying! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Pam, thank you so much for sharing that! I’m thrilled to hear how much y’all like this recipe. It makes me so happy. Yes… I’ve always made this zucchini bread (whether chocolate, orange, and or this one) in one large loaf pan, but it does make a gigantic loaf, and many people have preferred two medium loaves. Someone yesterday made it into 2 dozen muffins too. Those tips are so helpful, and I thank you for sharing yours too! I agree — it’s a lot like a pound cake! It really could be made into a cake with frosting or something! Thank you again for your feedback and comments. 🙂 Take care!
Can you freeze this with the glaze on it?
You could do that, but I would make sure the glaze has set and dry, maybe fridge for a while, before wrapping it to freeze. I recommend parchment paper, then foil. When you thaw, I would thaw in the fridge, and store in the fridge. Thawing at room temperature may result in the glaze running off… I think the best scenario is to make the bread and glaze and freeze both separate, and assemble when thawed, but you could freeze with glaze on, if necessary.
This turned out great. I greased and floured my pans and had no problems getting the bread out. I did not put the glaze on, but added white chocolate chips!! Yummy! Grandkids loved it!
Awesome! Did you make two loaves? Were they 8×4 or 9×5? Just checking reader feedback because I’ve had a lot of helpful comments lately about loaf size and baking time! I’m SO SO happy to hear that you liked this recipe, thank you for sharing your feedback and thoughts? 🙂
Can this bread be frozen?
Yes! Sure can. You can freeze it glazed, but make sure to refrigerate or freeze it unwrapped until firm, THEN wrap it, and freeze. Otherwise, it’s messy to freeze with the glaze. Best results are to freeze bread without the glaze, and glaze it when thawed!
Making it now as we write!
Yay!!
Huge hit at our home! I did just use 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup coconut and 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt! So moist and delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback and substitutions!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Michelle. 🙂
I tried this recipe yesterday and split two batches. Was really excited about it! When it was finished there was a weird aftertaste. I woke up obsessed with wondering what went wrong so I tried to make another batch today. Same weird aftertaste. Only thing I can think is that I used sea salt. Do you think that’s what it was? I’m not a baker so I was trying something new.
Hi Candice: Ugh, I’m so sorry to hear this. I use a lot of sea salt too, and I wouldn’t expect that result from substituting it. I wonder — were your lemons fresh? I’m sure. Hmm… maybe too much rind came off when zesting the lemons? Rind can be bitter. Was the aftertaste bitter? Was your canola/vegetable oil fresh? Oils can go rancid if they’re on the shelf for a long time. Those are the only things that come to mind as troubleshooting. I love this recipe and readers have success with it. I’m sorry you experienced this!
My new favorite summer dessert recipe!!! I actually pour it in a 9 x13 dish and serve it like cake!!!
Yay!! That’s a GREAT idea. I bet it does well as a 9×13. Awesome — thank you so much for sharing your feedback!
Could you possibly use cucumber instead of zucchini
I think that could be done if you peeled the cucumber. Definitely not cucumber with the skin. But possibly peeled. I don’t know that their composition would be terribly different, but I’ve never tried it…. certainly can’t guarantee. If you try it, do let me know how it goes!
Could i make this with almond or coconut flour?
I haven’t done much baking with either of those flours, so unfortunately, I can’t properly advise. I’m sorry I’m no help! My friend Taylor at Food Faith Fitness does tons of baking with those flours though, so she may have a similar recipe you could try!
Hello Sarah!
Made this a couple times last year & it was a hit for our house! Going to make again, do you think if I mix everything & pour batter into pans & refrigerate until I bake in the morning it would be ok? (my air conditioner went out & don’t want to turn on the oven right now)
Hmmmm, I think that would work. It may affect baking times to have a cooled batter versus a room temp batter, so you may have some slight texture differences, but it should be okay!
Oh my goodness this is good I cut the recipe in half to make only one loaf. The funny thing is I forgot the sugar, but with the glaze it is fantastic. Sugar was not necessary!
I just made this using your recipe and it was both easy and delicious! No joke! I’m 65 and love to bake always starting the bake season off with zucchini something as start coming out of my garden. I did add baking powder also as was afraid not to and used buttery flav Cr-sc- shortening with half cup water in lieu of oil as never had luck with oil. Delicious!!! Thank you as I’ll be using your recipe again…
Wonder if this can be baked in a Bundt pan 🤔 – since I read comments saying it’s a lot of batter.
This lemon blueberry zucchini bread was AMAZING!! I followed the recipe and it was perfect! I brought a loaf to work and everyone loved it!!
First time to make this. I used juice of one lemon them added oil to make one cup. Adds extra lemon flavor besides the zest.
Do you need to thaw frozen blueberries before adding to the mixture?
Nope! Add frozen.
I don’t typically write reviews, especially not if I tweak a recipe because then I’m not actually reviewing the recipe as written. I had to make an exception this time because I think you need to try this. I had some zucchini I had to use up so I was going to bake something today with that. I also had a couple grapefruits I had for some guests that stayed but have since left so I had to find another use for them. After browsing grapefruit recipes and not finding something I really loved, I thought it go back through my existing pins for lemon recipes. Well, this recipe used both things I was trying to use up today and the result was AMAZING! I know ruby reds aren’t as tart as lemons so I used the zest of a whole grapefruit for the loaves. I used the zest of about half a grapefruit for the glaze. I don’t care for grapefruits on their own, much the same as I wouldn’t eat a lemon, but the grapefruit flavour in this loaf is SO good! I highly recommend you give it a try. Oh, and just because, I added a drop of watermelon food colouring to the glaze.
Made this twice. The 1st time followed the recipe exactly and it turned out delicious. The 2nd time I drained the zucchini, added the juice of the lemon and 1 tsp lemon extract oh and I increased the blueberries by a cup,( I also coated the blueberries in flour before adding so they didn’t sink to the bottom). I really liked the extra lemon flavor but both ways this recipe is a keeper. Sad I’m out of zucchini till next summer.
Good recipe. Two pans worked well. I do not advise you accept the reviewer’s suggestions to reduce the oven temp; 325deg is too low. Caused a long bake time with little to no browning and an odd texture. Bread is supposed to be browned. Follow the recipe instruction now that she’s added the 2-pan instruction.
So easy to make! Delicious and it smells amazing!
Very good recipe!
I used zuchinni out of my garden. I would suggest squeezing water out of the zuchinni.
Maybe next time I will try half oil, half applesauce to cut down on fat.
Thank you for the recipe!
As I’m pulling zucchini from the garden I came across this recipe while trying to figure out what to do with it all! I currently have it cooling on the counter and can’t wait to try it!
I did make a few tweaks (I’m positive the original recipe is amazing, but I am one of those that has to put a spin on everything). I noticed my zucchini was very wet as I was shredding it so I put it in a strainer and got as much water out as I could. It was on the larger size and warm so that’s likely why there was so much juice. I ended up putting the zucchini in last, right before combining the wet and dry ingredients. I also added the juice of 1/2 a lemon and some lemon essential oil as we like the tart taste of lemon at our house. I used 1.5 cups of blueberries as one cup didn’t seem like quite enough.
There was enough batter for 3 loaf pans that came about 3/4 full. Baked at 350° for 55 minutes. Perfect rise and the color looks phenomenal.
I’lm so excited to get the glaze on and try it. My mouth is watering just writing this.
Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe. I honestly was getting a little worried wondering what to do with the abundance of zucchini we have and my family is sick of plain old zucchini bread!! My next adventure is to experiment with Strawberry Lemonade Zucchini Bread and Lasagna Rollups with zucchini and prosciutto instead of noodles and beef.
We love this recipe!! I added 1 teaspoon of baking powder since it’s what my regular zucchini recipe calls for. I substituted yellow squash since my garden is producing so much. I also used coconut oil instead. I didn’t even try the glaze. My boys couldn’t wait to try it. 🙂
Thank you for sharing that alteration and thank you so much for such a nice comment! 🙂
Love it I like making things in a one or two bite serving.i made these in mini muffins they were amazing I like using a pan spray with flour it works wonders and my question is Why do you but butter in your glaze? I skipped it to keep it dairy free and never have I used butter in a powder sugar glaze but thank you for the recipe
I love that the butter adds flavor, and it also gives another way for the glaze to “set” and firm up. It definitely helps it set. I never used to use it in powdered sugar glaze either, but since giving it a try a few years ago, I *always* add a few tablespoons of butter to glazes!
I just made this today to use some of my zuchinni that is plentiful and some fresh blueberries. It is absolutely delicious. The juicy blueberries and the tartness of the lemon glaze is a perfect match.
So happy you enjoyed this!
The most delicious zucchini bread I have ever eaten.
This is seriously the best zuchinni bread recipe ever. Definitely my favorite summer recipe when zuchinni is plentiful. I have made it every week for the last several months. My dad has said that it is the best bread that he has ever had. I actually only use 1 1/2 cup sugar and I add a few drops of lemon essential oil to the batter and glaze for an extra kick!
Omg, this is so delicious! I didn’t have 2 loaf pans so used a square cake pan, turned out great.
Yay!! So happy you liked it!
Has anyone made this as muffins instead of a loaf?
You can definitely do that!!
Really good!
I made more of a drizzle versus a thick frosting on top, but it was still delicious. Otherwise followed recipe. If you’re using frozen blueberries, will probably need to bake 60 minutes and maybe a couple minutes extra..
Thank you for sharing some adjustments that you found came up when you made this! Appreciate your feedback!
Hi Sarah! Just used your recipe, and two 8×4 loaf pans are in the oven. I used one tsp of vanilla and one of lemon extract. Can’t wait to taste the finished product. Do you think 1/2 of the oil could be exchanged for butter?
Thanks!
Yes, I think it could! I think you’ll get a little bit different texture, maybe more crisp overall and slightly drier crumb, but it’ll also add more flavor! It is worth a try — I definitely don’t think they’ll be ruined in anyway, just a little bit of texture difference, and I’d watch baking time for earlier browning. I hope you enjoy!
I am going to try this Lemon Zucchini Bread. Sounds delicious
Yay!
This recipe is very easy to make. The glaze puts this bread over the top. Very tasty! I highly recommend this recipe.
So glad you liked it! One of my favorites. 🙂
Can I make muffins instead of bread
Yep! I would bake for 20-25 minutes, and see how they are.
So easy and delicious. I doubled the recipe to make whole loaf and mini loaves.