Keto Zucchini Bread w/ Lemon Zest
This bright and flavorful lemon keto zucchini bread will leave you wondering if it’s truly low carb.
Miss homemade zucchini bread? Not anymore! 🙌
I’ve got a wonderful keto zucchini bread recipe bursting with citrusy lemon zest you’re gonna wanna try ASAP!
In this recipe, we’re swapping out the flour for grain-free almond flour, and sugar for keto-friendly sweeteners including Swerve granular and Swerve confectioners. They are the closest thing to real sugar I have tasted and work great in this recipe to give you a flavorful keto bread!
Lemon zucchini perfection!
Both the bright flavor of lemon and the added texture and moisture of zucchini are delicious and make a yummy combo! This is a yummy cake-like treat that the entire family will love, and won’t even guess it’s keto-friendly unless you tell them (our lips are sealed)!
I love that the process is very simple: mixing up dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then combining them with the lemon zest and zucchini.
Keto Zucchini Bread
yield: 12 SERVINGS
prep time: 25 MINUTES
cook time: 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES
total time: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES
Bright and flavorful zucchini bread with lemon zest you'd never guess is keto!
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup Swerve granular
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 cup zucchini, shredded and drained (before measuring)
For the Glaze:
- 1/3 cup Swerve confectioners
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions
1
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. This is an important step so that the bread doesn't stick.
2
Spoon and level out your almond flour to ensure the correct amount. Mix the almond flour, salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Set aside.
3
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the Swerve into the coconut oil before adding the other ingredients. Once whisked, add eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix well.
4
Fold in the dry ingredients with the wet, then fold in the drained zucchini (make sure you've squeezed out the extra moisture) into the batter.
It is really important to get most of the moisture out of the zucchini. We have additional tips for how to do this best below the recipe.
5
Transfer to the prepared loaf pan and bake in the oven for 55-65 minutes but check at the hour mark so it doesn't overcook. If it's browning too much toward the end of bake time, cover with foil. (I'd recommend covering it at about 45 minutes). A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out clean when cooked through. Place on a wire rack to cool.
6
Whisk together Swerve confectioners and lemon juice. After the loaf has cooled slightly, drizzle the loaf with glaze. Enjoy!
Additional Notes
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION without sweetened lemon glaze:
Amount Per Serving: 205 Calories | 18.2g Fat | 17.1g Total Carbs | 2.9g Fiber | 0.4g Sugar | 12.1g Sugar Alcohol | 5.7g Protein | 2g Net Carbs
Nutrition Information
Yield: 12 slices, Serving Size: 1/2 inch slice
Amount Per Serving:
206 Calories | 18.2g Fat | 21.4g Total Carbs | 2.9g Fiber | 0.6g Sugar | 16.1g Sugar Alcohol | 5.7g Protein | 2.3g Net Carbs
Don’t be alarmed by the high total carb count!
Fiber and erythritol (the main ingredient in Swerve) do not affect blood sugar in the same way that regular carbs do, so we subtracted them from the total carb count. You’ll see that the net carbs are much lower once you remove the sugar alcohol and fiber.
Here are a few recipe tips to keep in mind when making lemon keto zucchini bread:
- Grate the zucchini and then press it against the strainer to get some of the water out.
- Put grated zucchini in a kitchen towel or cheesecloth, squeeze gently over a sink to release the extra moisture, and pat dry. This is an important step that can’t be missed!
- Keto bread can sometimes stick badly in pans, so I first covered my loaf pan with parchment paper. It worked perfectly, and I definitely recommend it.
- When baking, cover the loaf with foil about 45 minutes in to prevent the top from burning. Monitor this and add more time if necessary.
- Be sure to let cool slightly before pouring the glaze over the top. You can also freeze this loaf.
- If you’re in need of some substitutions, you can swap xantham gum with arrowroot powder. You can also use avocado oil instead of coconut oil and lemon extract in place of real lemons.
Slice it up and ENJOY!
This keto lemon zucchini bread ROCKS and the lemon glaze throws it over the top! You won’t regret taking the time to bake this keto family-friendly treat.
What a great way to use fresh zucchini, especially this time of year if you happen to have any in your garden.
My Hip Sidekick Jenna tried this keto lemon zucchini bread, and here’s what she had to say about it:
“I could tell this was going to be so good just because of how delicious the batter smelled while being mixed up and then baking. This recipe was easy to follow. I highly recommend trying it warm with a bit of butter – so good! I had some zucchini left from the garden and this was the most perfect way to use it up. Everyone enjoyed this!”
Can’t get enough lemon? Try our keto lemon pound cake next!
Awesome! Made 2 loaves. Baked mine a little longer. Left in oven to cool. Parchment paper was oily when I took bread out. Left out overnight. Really moist. Put on paper towels. Hubby usually doesn’t like baked goods with almond flour, but loves this! Used a THM sweetener mix of erythritol, xylitol and stevia. Mmmm! I love the glaze! Put some in my organic whole milk plain yogurt this morning. Oh my! Perfect! Thank you!
Oh yay we love hearing this and thanks for all of your helpful suggestions 💕👏
This lemon zucchini bread is absolutely delicious. The best Keto/gluten free dessert bread I have tasted. Thanks so much.
You are welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Lynette!
Yum!
Made this today. I thought 4 Tablespoons of lemon for the glaze was too much. It was runny and the bread drank it up. So I put it in the fridge to help it set up. I slice it thin and it’s delicious cold with a cup of coffee. Next time I think I’ll make the glaze thicker.
Thanks for sharing Barbara!
Same here; glaze was way too thin. I made a note on my recipe sheet to reduce lemon juice to 2 Tbsp. If it needs more, I can add it.
Thanks for the feedback, Carol! Let us know how it turns out for you next time with those changes! 🤗
Says total carbs 21.3- that seems wrong since I thought I saw these were 1 net carbs somewhere
Those are carbs before deducting fiber and sugar alcohols. This is 3.1 net carbs per slice. Look at the end of the nutritional values on the chart listed above.
I love this keto lemon zucchini loaf! Such a treat and so flavourful and moist. Ive already made 3 loaves and it will be my go to recipe for sure. Freezes great – I just individually wrap slices and take them out of the freezer for a nice snack. Thks!
Oh wow! That’s a great tip. Thanks Jennifer!
Can you substitute almond flour for coconut flour?
You can for part of it, but it can be tricky. Read this post on how to do it.
I have made this a few times and it is wonderful. I do a simple sweetener glaze that is thinner and use a fork to pierce the top of the loaf to make it extra moist and yummy.
Great tip! Thanks so much Gene 🙂
Made this yesterday. I didn’t make the icing, didn’t need to because this is so delicious, doesn’t need anything more! Brilliant recipe!!!! I used Lakanto as the sweetener. Thank you!
Oh awesome! You’re welcome, Cindy! Super happy you are loving it! Thanks for commenting!
love to have zuchini recipe
Hi Jack! Be sure to follow the recipe steps listed in the post above. You can print when clicking on “Print Recipe”. Enjoy!
This looks awesome! Perfect use of both our zucchini and lemons growing in our backyard 😀 I want to try this this weekend, but can I sub avocado oil for the coconut oil? (I don’t have any coconut oil on hand at the moment, but I could pick some up if this needs it.) Thanks!
Yes, you can use avocado oil instead of coconut oil!
I don’t do gums, will it work if I omit the xantham gum or would you have a substitute suggestion?
Yes! You can use arrowroot powder. If you want to omit it altogether, you can also try that, although we have not personally tried it. Let us know what you end up doing, Sandra!
Can I use liquid coconut oil or do I have to buy solid and then melt it?
You can use liquid if it’s the cooking oil. Some liquid coconut oils are not for cooking.
I want to make this but don’t want to drive 30 min to town to get a lemon. Can I make it with lemon extract? Has anyone tried this and been successful?
Yes! It looks like that is a great substitute! Let us know how it turns out for you!
Hello
Can I use stevia by itself? Or agave
Hi Michelle! That may work too. Be sure to check out our sweetener guide for more tips on how to use each keto sweetener – https://hip2keto.com/tips/low-carb-keto-sweetener-conversion-chart-recipes/
I have adapted this recipe for Chocolate Loaf. I leave out the lemon ingredients. To the dry ingredients, I add 2-3 tablespoons of cocoa (preferably DARK cocoa.) I also add approx the same amount of sweetener to adjust for the cocoa’s lack of sweetness.
I use a simple frosting made of equal parts cream cheese and butter (both softened and whipped first) with powdered erythritol and some more cocoa.
Those are some great modifications! Thanks so much! I’ll try that myself.
What is the carb content without the glaze? The bread is so delicious by itself, I do not use the glaze! Thank you!
Hi Heather! Thanks so much for asking! 🤗 We did work up those values and have added them above! 🙌💖