Dense, moist, and sticky-sweet, bursting with vibrant citrus, decked out with crunchy, buttery crumbs, and smothered in tangy, sweet-tart glaze, this Lemon Zucchini Bread will be an instant classic. This Lemon Zucchini Bread with Crumb Topping borders on “dessert” or “pound cake,” but we can eat this for breakfast or a snack, and claim we’re having veggies!
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Hello, August! WOW. On the one hand, time is flying by faster than ever before and the whole summer feels like a blur. Other days, it feels like time is dragging by, with most days having a Groundhog Day-effect, and my head is stuck in March.
I’m pretty thrilled that it’s almost fall though. Favorite season rapidly approaching… yay! Even though fall will be pretty different this year. For two weekends in a row, I’ve talked myself out of decorating the house for autumn with all things leaves and pumpkins. Guess it’s a smidge soon.
While it’s still summer, we’ll focus on a different gourd: zucchini. Pumpkin can wait til September.
I post so many recipes that come from my Gma on my Mom’s side, but our family Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread recipe actually comes from my Dad’s mother, my Grandma Bessie. We’ve used her recipe for decades.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread is certainly a classic, but I have found that zucchini bread is a treasure even without chocolate. Who’d have thought?
It’s actually highly versatile, which may sound surprising. Zucchini bread, at its core, is just an insanely moist, soft bread, with subtle flavor. So what you do with it is up to you! Nuts, spices, pumpkin, apple, citrus. Streusel or nah? Glaze or icing… ALWAYS. Many options.
That’s the beauty of zucchini… you don’t really know it’s there, but it makes for spectacularly moist, wonderful baked goods.
A top pick for me is citrus + zucchini. Citrus enhances the summery vibe of zucchini, and citrus always gives a bright perk-up. A few years ago, I made this Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze. It is such a hit — I get a lot of positive comments and reviews on that recipe!
For today, we’re dropping the blueberries, but adding a crumb topping. Keep the blueberries if you’d like though. But here’s the deal: I wanted to do a Lemon Crumb Bread recipe either way. It was on my baking to-do list. Due to the popularity of this Lemon Zucchini Bread, I decided to just make it a Lemon Zucchini Crumb Bread and call it a day. It’s a mash-up.
Why create a whole new lemon bread recipe when this Lemon Zucchini Bread is a lovely place to start. It’s crazy moist and super soft. It’s dense and hearty, but not a brick! One of my favorite things about citrus in breads and cakes is that it makes them kinda sticky…. citrus lends a sticky sweetness, and I LOVE it.
The lemon is nice and strong. I’ve punched it up with a little lemon extract on top of fresh lemon zest. This power combo provides some serious lemon tang.
It really needs no glaze, and it needs no crumbs. But we can all agree that recipes are made the better with glazes and crumbs. 🙂 Sweet, crunchy, buttery crumbs, and they’re piled high. And a drenching of sweet-tart, tangy lemon glaze.
If you’re looking to jazz up a standard loaf of zucchini bread, this Lemon Zucchini Bread with Crumb Topping is an excellent next step.
Don’t forget about this Orange Zucchini Bread or these Lemon Zucchini Muffins (yes, they’re VERY different than a loaf of quick bread. Those muffins are soooooooo fluffy!).
And don’t stop at citrus. This Streusel Apple Zucchini Bread is divine. I don’t even like apples in baked things (besides pie), but it is FABULOUS in zucchini bread, and y’all love that recipe too. Plus streusel, for the win. My Zucchini Banana Bread also has streusel.
We must combine zucchini w/ pumpkin, of course. Pumpkin Zucchini Bread is a must for fall, plus it includes Brown Butter Icing. I’ll stop… rest of my zucchini recipes listed below. 🙂
- Chocolate Zucchini Coffee Cake
- Death by Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bars
- Blueberry Zucchini Bread Pancakes
- Oatmeal Raisin Zucchini Cookies
- Almond Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
- Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Icing
Lemon Zucchini Bread with Crumb Topping
Ingredients
For Lemon Zucchini 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
- 1 tsp. lemon extract
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
For Crumb Topping:
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp. butter melted
For Lemon Glaze:
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 tbsp. melted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
- 3 - 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For Lemon Zucchini Bread:
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini, vanilla, lemon extract, 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.
- Line two loaf pans with parchment paper or foil, allowing the ends to hang over the edges of the pan. Spray with non-stick spray.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
- Prepare crumb topping.
For Crumb Topping:
- In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, sugar, and flour.
- Drizzle butter gradually over the flour mixture, stirring and tossing, until pea-sized crumbs form.
- If mixture is too wet, allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes as the butter firms back up. Stir and toss again, and if it's still a bit wet, add a tablespoon or two of flour, and toss til coarse crumbs form.
- Scatter crumbs evenly over top of the batter in the prepared pans, working from the edges toward the center -- work from the edges inward.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until edges are golden, and a toothpick inserted near the center of each loaf comes out clean. I recommend rotating the pans halfway through baking time.
- Remove pans to wire racks to cool for 15-20 minutes (no longer -- bread will want to stick to the pans!).
- Run a knife around any exposed edges to loosen, and remove bread loaves from pans using foil or parchment paper to lift them out. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Prepare glaze.
For Lemon Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, vanilla, and lemon extract.
- Add three cups powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar, as needed, to achieve desired consistency. I like a thick glaze, not a thin, drippy one, so I typically add the full amount of powdered sugar.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled loaves. Allow to set slightly, about 20 minutes, before cutting and serving.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
The best I read till date!!
Lovely !
Very flavorful. Everyone loved it. Will make this again, but with half the crumb topping. Which fell off during slicing.