Keto Lemon Zucchini Bread – You’ve Got to Try This (Low Net Carb & Made w/ Almond Flour)
This bright and flavorful keto lemon zucchini bread will leave you wondering if it’s truly low carb.
Eating low carb and 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!
Here’s how to make keto zucchini bread (FYI – It’s easy peasy!)
Both the bright flavor of lemon and the added texture and moisture of zucchini are delicious and make a yummy combo! This is a tasty 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. The result is a low net carb zucchini bread that tastes amazing!
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 keto zucchini bread that you'd never guess has low net carbs!
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 (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (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 (I used a 1.5 quart Pyrex loaf pan) with parchment paper. This is an important step so that the almond flour zucchini bread doesn't stick.
2
To make this keto zucchini bread, 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 into the batter (make sure you've squeezed out the extra moisture).
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 the almond flour zucchini bread is 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!
While we may refer to this loaf as “low carb” zucchini bread, what we actually mean is it contains low net carbs which is what makes it keto-friendly.
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 keto lemon 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 your almond flour zucchini bread cool slightly before pouring the glaze over the top. You can also freeze this loaf.
- If you’re in need of some substitutions for your low net carb zucchini bread, 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 low carb zucchini bread was the most perfect way to use it up. Everyone enjoyed this!”
Can’t get enough lemon? Try our keto lemon pound cake next!
OMG, this was the best!!!!I made them into 12 muffins and used olive oil since I’m not found of coconut oil. My family enjoyed them so much. Thank you!
That’s such great news! Thanks for sharing Rhoda!
Did you change time or temp?
This bread was so good. Followed the recipe exact but had to bake a little longer about 55 min. In convection oven. It’s company worthy!
I’m so glad Brenda! Thanks for sharing!
I have a question…I tried this, but it still seems liquidy after 50 minutes. I pulled it out and the batter was moving around a lot. (I just started keto and this is my first foray into baking this kind of stuff.) What am I doing wrong? Should I cook it longer or will it set up as it cools? Smells delicious though!) Thank you for your recipe and advice:)
Oh darn, ya I’d try baking a little more, but be careful as mine actually burnt a tad on the top, Can you do a toothpick test to see if it comes out clean?
It comes out mostly clean, but it’s rolling like an ocean wave when I pull out the pan…kind of freaking me out:)
Zucchini releases a lot of water. I would grate it, let it sit a bit in a sieve over a bowl and then squeeze excess “water” by pressing it down with the back of a spoon! 🙂 Enjoy!
I’ve made zucchini bread a lot and I will take the shredded zucchini and roll it up in paper towels and squeeze the water out. I do this at least 3 times with new paper towels to make sure all the liquid is out.
Oh nice tip! Thanks!
My almond flour (kirklands) has 20g carbs in it, but 12 grams of dietary fiber per cup so that drops the net carbs. I also decreased the amount of swerve to 1/2 cup vs. 3/4. That stuff is a a little pricey ($7.87 up for small bag). But so you know when I went to Whole foods on Sunday had the confectioners on sale (I didn’t see that they had the granular) for $6. 49 and then if you are prime member you get an additional 10% off….. so under $6 for the bag…..might be worth purchasing in multiple.
You can purchase granular erythritol and run it in small batches through a coffee mill, a food processor would work well too. The result will be powdered erythritol, same as confectioners Swerve…and a lot less expensive
I increased the temperature to 350 degrees and cooked 60 minutes, it was still raw at the lower temp and 50 minutes. Cover the top with foil to keep from getting overly brown. I also would reduce the swerve to 1/4 cup with the glaze otherwise too sweet. I would also use avocado or olive oil, as the coconut oil started to re solidify while mixing. Great dessert.
Thanks for your feedback – we appreciate it!
This is my favorite “go to” recipe for a sweet treat! I’ve added cinnamon and 1/4 cup poppy seeds…delicious! Is it possible for you to enter this recipe into My Fitness Pal so that we can select it and log it in? Thanks again!!
Thanks Colleen! I’m so happy you love it and will share suggestion with the team – thanks
Can I bake it without the xanthan gum? It’s unavailable in my area
Yes I’m sure you can however texture may be a little diff. In my grocery store it’s located with the specialty flour. Hope that helps!
I googled substitutes, lots of items work 🙂
Walmart carries it by the almond flour and chia seeds
Excellent! Very refreshing! The grated zucchini makes it feel like coconut when you are eating it. Lovely, little more dense. I made it in10″ round pan and did not ice as thought it would too sweet for our taste. Only other change was that I added a bit more lemon juice.
Highly recommend!! 🙂
PS Pls see my comment above about squeezing all excess water after you let greated zucchini rest for a bit
This cake turned out great! I will do this again and again!
Yay! SO happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback, Brenda!
I do have a question. There are different types of almond flour so I’ll need to know if I need to buy the fine blanched Almond flour or not?
I would say just use your favorite almond flour 👍
But the texture is very different. Which one do you use?
use the superfine almond blanched flour
I would encourage people to double check the nutritional information with the products you use. My bag of Honeyville almond flour has 24 total carbs per cup. There are 2 cups of almond flour in this recipe. Plus the carbs in zucchini and lemon juice add up. It still looks like a very good recipe and I plan on making it, but I know the carbs will unfortunately be higher than listed in the nutritional information with the recipe.
Don’t forget that you subtract the fiber. Like my almond flour there are 3g carbs, 2g are fiber so that means only 1g carbs for 2 tablespoons. (there are 16 Tablespoons in a cup) So that is only 8 carbs a cup meaning only 16 carbs for 2 cups. A lemon only has about 5 carbs and we are not eating the whole lemon and its peel. Same as the zucchini, 1 medium zucchini is only 6 carbs for the whole thing and 2 of those carbs are fiber, we are only using 1 cup of zucchini. Keeping in mind that the bread is being divided up into 18 servings. So, yeah!! The math is about right.
Hi, Thanks for sharing this recipe. Is it possible to change the almond flour into coconut flour in this recipe? Or does anyone tried it using coconut flour? Thank you
Hi There, I haven’t tried it however I do know you may have to adjust to using less flour. Here’s a helpful keto flour guide.
Hi There, I haven’t tried it however I do know you may have to adjust to using less coconut flour. Here’s a helpful keto flour guide https://hip2keto.com/tips/gluten-free-keto-flours-recipes/
This is amazing! Definitely satisfied the craving. Used 1/2 stevia (I will be using 1/4 cup next time!) and baked in cake pan for 45 mins. I also shredded zucchini before hand then drained very well with some paper towel before folding in to batter, came out perfectly moist! Thank you so much for sharing
Oh I’m so glad it turned out for ya! Thanks for coming back to share ❤️
The number 3 directions for putting this bread together calls for putting together oil, “sugar”, Swerve granular, eggs, vanilla and lemon juice. Where in the actual recipe is the “sugar”?? How much was to be added. I am in the middle of making this and don’t know how to finish. With or without the sugar? Can you respond ASAP???
whoops sorry – no sugar- just swerve sugar substitute – will fix! thanks!
This came out perfect !! I cut the swerve in 1/2 but was still delicious – tasted more like lemon pound cake !!
That’s such great news! Thanks for sharing Vickie!
This was a flavorful treat! After 4 minutes in the oven I realized I forgot to add the coconut oil! I thought I can’t let these expensive ingredients go to waste so I pulled it out and poured it back in the bowl, mixed in the oil and put it back it to cook. It turned out perfect anyway! **My hip tip is to shred the zucchini right onto a kitchen towel and twist the towel over the sink to squeeze all the liquid out it.
Oh good! Thanks a bunch for the helpful tip! SO glad to hear how yummy it turned out!
I am so tired of trying Pinterest recipes that FAIL. But this one??? OMG ⚡️🌈💥Absolutely PERFECT!! Didn’t change a thing and rave reviews from the whole family. Thank you for sharing a 5 ⭐️ recipe!!
Oh my goodness yes!! I’m so happy you shared that with me Caroline!! Yay!
How do you get the glaze so thick? Mine is liquid.
Hi Rebecca! The glaze should be liquid at first so that you can pour it over the zucchini bread but it should set up after a little while. Hope that helps!
I forgot to squeeze my zucchini shreds and had to bake for about 15 more minutes. I haven’t had a chance to glaze or eat it yet but I’m excited. My house smells amazing!
Hooray! Thanks for sharing Stephanie 👍
Can you use canola or vegatable oil instead? I don’t have coconut oil.
If you’re trying to keep this recipe Keto maybe try butter as a fat.
Guys I don’t know what I did wrong my turned out dry I did use the MCT oil in place of coconut oil. Also I use the Walmart equate stevia sugar replacement also a 9-inch loaf pan mine’s dry and has a bitter after taste I am so disappointed I saw all the great responses that everyone else and put out
Hi Betty! It sounds like that may have been caused by the MCT oil. Hope that helps!
Ooh, this looks amazing! I am wondering if the cup of zucchini is after it’s been drained or before? Thanks
It would be after, Angela! Enjoy!
Thank you!
This was absolutely delicious!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I have tried so many Pinterest recipes that are major fails and so disappointing. This lemon zucchini bread will definitely be made over and over! It satisfies sweet cravings, It’s really refreshing with that lemony flavor, and it’s oh so easy. Kudos to you!!!
Yay! You’re most welcome, Angela! Super glad you have enjoyed this one! Thanks a ton for the kind words!
I used 50 grams (about half of what the recipe calls for) of coconut oil and made it into 12 muffins.. baked at 325 for about 40 mins.. they came out awesome!!
Oh awesome! SO glad to hear how yummy they turned out! Thanks for sharing with us!
I just made it , it’s so good!! I I Love it . I did I added a couple things . 1/4 cup of chia seed, 1/2 cup of pecans and 1 tsp of cinnamon.
Great news and love your version. Thanks for sharing!
Hi. Will this cake freeze well? before or after icing? How long would it keep in the fridge?
Could you show how you got your carb count for this recipe? I am no mathematician, but if there are 4 carbs per teaspoon of Swerve (as per the packaging) and you used 36 t (3/4 cup) that would be 144 carbs divided by 18 servings would give 8 carbs per serving just from the Swerve not counting the almond flour. I would love to know that I am doing this wrong and your carb count is accurate, but by the same token, I don’t want people who are seriously on keto to think that this recipe has so few carbs. All of that said, this is one of my favorite low carb foods!
Hi Pat! That may be because the ingredients in Swerve do not affect blood sugar, so the carbohydrates it contains are considered non-impact. Hope that helps!
Super moist. I used almond and coconut flour, the juice from 2 lemons and a little heavy cream. Cooked about 55 minutes. Thanks for the recipe! May use limes, coconut and coconut milk next time.
YUM! You’re welcome, Debbie! Let us know how it turns out!
Hi and thank you so much for this amazing recipe!! Could you possibly tell me the protein count, I need for my macros count.
You’re welcome, Wendy! This has 2g of protein per serving. That detail has been added to the post!
I’ve made this recipe twice and just love it, and it’s my husbands favorite. Thank you.
Oh hooray! Thanks for sharing Joan ❤️
Just made my 3rd loaf of this delicious lemon zucchini bread!! So easy and packed with flavor. I doubled the lemon juice to 4 tablespoons in the batter and added 1 teaspoon lemon extract to the batter. Yummy.
yay!! I’m so glad! Thanks Cindy!
Can you freeze after baking it?
Yes, you can!
The recipe states that a loaf has 18 servings. I’m hoping you meant 8 servings 🤞🏻🤞🏻
The loaf is cooling at this very moment…house smells great 💕
Hi Kat- I just looked it up and it’s 12 – which is the avg for a loaf pan – I fixed it- thanks!
Have you ever added poppy seed? Would that change it much?
You could try that! It may change your carb count. 1 tablespoon equals about 2.5 g of carbs. Hope this helps!
The was the very First Keto sweet thing I’ve made that actually tastes good! LOVE it!!!!! Yummy! Thank you for the recipe! Any amazing chocolate recipes you can recommend?
Great – I’m so glad! Thanks for sharing! You should try this cake ! https://hip2keto.com/recipes/rich-keto-chocolate-cake-low-carb-dessert/
Im looking forward to trying this and wondering about trying keylime in place of lemon. Lol. Wish me luck
Just made this and it was FANTASTIC. I followed the direction precisely but omitted the glaze. It’s super moist and not too sweet. Delicious!
Yay! SO glad to hear how yummy it turned out for you, Sheri! Thanks a bunch for the feedback!
I just made into muffins and added blueberries to half of them. Both were moist and delicious! Printing this one off to save.
YUM! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing with us, Gail!
I just made this and it is very good! I used 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice for the glaze and it was way too thin. I got more of a lemon syrup that made for soggy bread. Maybe it should be listed as 4 teaspoons of lemon juice?
Glad to hear you liked it! You could cut down on the lemon juice in the glaze if you prefer, Melissa Roberts!
I just made this recipe again but this time as 12 muffins. They are AMAZING!! Quick question though, my glaze always comes out more runny than yours looks in the photo. Any thoughts?
Oh maybe try a little less lemon or more sweetener to thicken.
I just made this and OMG!!!! I cut the sweetener by half and didn’t glaze it. TOO YUMMY!!
Oh good – I’m glad you liked it!
Made this today. The only substitute made was chia seed for xanthan gum (as I didn’t have gum) and 1/3 less sugar as I find stevia very sweet but this turned out very oily (moist but oily). Not sure if it’s supposed to be that way.
Hi, Lina! I’ve made this a lot and it hasn’t turned out oily for me. Xanthan gum is a thickener so I’m wondering if omitting that made it more oily.
Hello! Can I use lakanto monk fruit instead of swerve? If so, will the amount that I use stay the same as the amount of swerve that you used? Thanks!
Hi Dana! Here is a guide to all of the best Keto Sweeteners and how to use them! https://hip2keto.com/tips/best-sweeteners-diets-conversion-recipe/
Hope this helps!
This bread is delicious. It was for breakfast tomorrow but my husband snuck a piece early and he raved about it. So then I tasted it and it is great.
Yay! Awesome to hear how yummy it turned out for you, Linda! Glad you both are enjoying it!
I have made this twice. It is absolutely delicious. My husband says it should be called cake, not bread. Big hit!
Oh thanks Cheryl for your sweet review! ❤️
I’ve made this twice. The flavor is delicious, but I had to make some tweaks the second time. As written the loaf turned out too wet in the middle and just fell apart. 325 degrees is not hot enough, every other quick bread I have made calls for 350. I added 1/4 cup of coconut flour to give it a little more holding together power, and increased the heat to 350, baked for 55 minutes. This time, perfect!
I’m glad you found conversions that work for you, Shea Drury! Altitude can be a reason to make those changes.
Okay, I tried this yesterday evening and mine came out too oily! I did have to turn up the oven to 350 because 325 was too low. I used Monk fruit sweetener, but made the mistake and mixed the coconut oil with the dry ingredients instead of the wet ingredients like the instructions. I was adding the ingredients in the order listed ( *head smack*), but I don’t think that should have made a difference of why it was too oily. I have another zucchini and was going to try again this evening. Any suggestions?
Darn! Sorry to hear that. Did you drain the Zucchini? Also, maybe try adding the ingredients as noted above. Hoping that might help it turn out better for you!
Yup! I did drain it. I may try again. On another note, any suggestions on a different confectioners brand? I didn’t have any on hand, so I used the granular for the icing. I just put a little more lemon juice in it to thin it out.
Yes! We have also liked the Lakanto brand.
Can you use half coconut flour and half almond flour? We don’t usually like pancakes, etc that are almond flour because of the texture (a little too grainy)
I make this all the time. This doesn’t have the grainy texture you are speaking of – it’s very very moist. Coconut flour can’t be fully swapped with almond flour. You can read about the different flour and alternations here.
That looks delicious!
I assure you it is! And moist!
I made two mini loafs today with your recipe because I live in SD, it’s summer and the weather is hot so I wanted to reduce the baking time. Your recipe is AMAZING!!! Thanks so much for sharing. Since I have a garden loaded with squash, I would like to make several batches and freeze them but I couldn’t find any comments regarding freezing the loaves. Does this loaf freeze well?
Awesome Lynn! I do believe this would freeze well! Thanks 😊
This came out horribly! Dry and crumbly, not like batter at all, even after adding another egg, and more oil. I’ve reread the recipe at least 5 times. I do not understand!
Hi Lisa! Darn so sorry to hear. Was there any chance you accidentally used too much almond flour? This usually yeilds a very moist bread with a delicate crumb. It can be crumbly if its not all the way cooled down but should not be prior. So sorry💔
I made the recipe today. It was delicious . I missed that cakey, bready texture but the xanthan gum brought it back.
Hi Mary! This one is a staple in our house. The texture and moistness are spot on, so I couldn’t agree more. So glad that you enjoyed it!