Lemon Zucchini Bread (Courgette Loaf Cake)
, Updated Aug 14, 2025
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This Lemon Zucchini Bread recipe is super easy to make and tastes great topped with a zesty cream cheese glaze. A great way to use up your summer zucchini glut!
Zucchini (that’s courgettes to those in the UK) are the only vegetable I have managed to grow successfully at home. A little TOO successfully! They are quite easy to grow even if you aren’t much of a gardener and in most cases you end up with masses of them!
If you also ever felt buried under a bumper crop of zucchini, this easy Zucchini Bread (a.k.a Courgette Loaf) is a fab way to use them up (other than my Spinach Zucchini Soup and Greek Zucchini Pie that is). Bright lemon, velvety olive oil, and shredded zucchini come together in a light, moist bake that gets even better with a drizzle of cream cheese glaze.
Whether you’re craving a slice for brunch or need a carry-on treat, this loaf is unfussy, utterly comforting, and brilliantly adaptable—tuck in extra citrus zest, swap in gluten-free flour, or go dairy-free if you like. And yes, it freezes beautifully, so you can make once and enjoy it all week long.
How To Make My Zucchini Bread Recipe
Most zucchini bread recipes require you to grate the vegetable and then squeeze out the moisture before mixing into the batter. This recipe does the opposite – the zucchini is blitzed into a purée the consistency of applesauce before using. You can easily whip up the batter in a food processor or you can make it by hand.
In a food processor
- Blitz the zucchini (courgettes) and lemon juice in a food processor until you have a fairly smooth purée.
- Add the olive oil, eggs, sugar and lemon zest and pulse again to combine.
- Finally, add the flour and baking powder and pulse until you have an evenly mixed batter.
- Pour batter into a lined loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until risen and spingy to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
By Hand
- Combine the oil, eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest and whisk vigorously using a wire whisk.
- Grate the zucchini or stick them in a mini chopper with the lemon juice and blend them. Stir in the purée into the bowl.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix well to combine and transfer to your loaf pan to bake. Simple!!
Serving Suggestions
This simple zucchini bread is not very sweet and you can certainly leave it plain and eat it for breakfast if you like!
If you prefer a little sweetness then mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and elderflower cordial until you have a pourable glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the bread and decorate with chopped nuts and lemon zest strips.
Leftovers and Storage
Store an airtight container for up to four days at cool room temperature if you haven’t added any glaze or in the fridge. It will keep lovely and moist – such a treat with a cup of coffee!
If you want to freeze it then make sure it is completely cool first (do not add glaze). Wrap well in a layer of plastic wrap and two layers of aluminum foil and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
HAVE YOU MADE MY EASY ZUCCHINI BREAD RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!
Easy Courgette Cake (Zucchini Cake)
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Courgette Cake
- 2 medium zucchini (courgettes) you will need 200g (¾ cup) purée
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ⅓ cup (80ml) light olive oil or melted coconut oil
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- 1 lemon zest only
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp (200g) flour (all-purpose / plain flour)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
Glaze
- 3 ⅓ oz ( 100g) cream cheese full-fat
- ¾ cup (100g) powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 2 tbsp elderflower cordial (optional)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
To Decorate (optional)
- 2 tbsp chopped pistachios
- lemon zest
- edible flowers
Instructions
In a food processor
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 1lb loaf tin with baking paper (or a cake liner).
- Blitz zucchini and lemon juice in a food processor until you have a fairly smooth purée.2 medium zucchini (courgettes), 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Add the olive oil, eggs, sugar and lemon zest and pulse again to combine.⅓ cup (80ml) light olive oil, 2 large eggs, ¾ cup (150g) sugar, 1 lemon
- Finally, add the flour and baking powder and pulse until you have an evenly mixed batter. You can also fold the dry ingredients into the batter.1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp (200g) flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- Pour batter into a lined loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until risen and spingy to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
By Hand
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 1lb loaf tin with baking paper (or a cake liner).
- Combine the oil, eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest and whisk vigorously using a wire whisk.
- Finely grate the zucchini or stick them in a mini chopper (with the lemon juice) and blend them.
- Stir in the courgette purée and then sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix well to combine and transfer to your loaf pan.
- Pour batter into a lined loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until risen and spingy to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
Glaze and Decorate
- Mix all the glaze ingredients together until you have a pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cooled courgette cake. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and zest and enjoy!3 ⅓ oz ( 100g) cream cheese, ¾ cup (100g) powdered sugar, 2 tbsp elderflower cordial, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp chopped pistachios, lemon zest, edible flowers
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
Mine came out not very lemony and quite dry, also the crust of the cake was very brown and crunchy I thought it would have been softer, my courgette was partially frozen not sure if this made a difference. It would be nice sandwiched and covered with some buttercream
Yes the frozen courgette would have made a big difference