Zucchini season is upon us! Whether you grow it in your own garden or its growing in one of your neighbors’ gardens, you are bound to end up with some (or too much) zucchini at some point this summer. That is the exact predicament that we are in right now, we have SO much zucchini! Which is actually a good thing for us, because we eat it non-stop in the summer. The other day I found myself daydreaming about zucchini bread & embarked on a Google search of zucchini bread recipes to discover that there is an endless amount of recipes for zucchini bread on the Internet. This searching led me to contemplate how I could develop a zucchini bread recipe that is actually unique & then after some recipe testing, it finally came to me: lemon basil zucchini bread.
It all started with the idea of making a lemon zucchini bread, which has already been done like a gazillion times. I made a test loaf of zucchini bread with lemon and it was tasty but was missing something to give it an edge, to make it really stand out. As I searched my mind for the flavor my zucchini bread was missing, it finally came to me! BASIL! Lemon & basil are such a complementary pairing & it is summer, after all, so fresh basil would be the perfect in-season ingredient to join my lemon zucchini bread situation.
I immediately knew that I would introduce the basil to my bread as BASIL SUGAR! Yes, you read that right! Basil sugar is a thing – a most glorious thing that is the perfect way to infuse the basil flavor into the zucchini bread! Making basil sugar is super easy with a food processor, just DO NOT skip the step of blanching the basil, it is paramount to your basil sugar having that deep green color & retaining it.
Once you have made the basil sugar you are ready to whip up your lemon basil zucchini bread! I purposefully developed this recipe to use ground flax seeds in place of eggs & olive oil in place of butter so that it would be friendly to those who avoid eggs & dairy. The recipe also calls for some Greek yogurt, which can be easily substituted with a plant-based Greek style yogurt to keep the whole thing dairy-free if that is your thing :)
This is truly everything I could have dreamed of in a loaf of zucchini bread. It is gently sweet, with a brightness from the lemon that is perfectly balanced by the herbal notes of the basil sugar. Now, you can definitely just simply slice this loaf & eat it with softened butter. BUT, if you want to experience a next level slice of zucchini bread then you do the following: fry a slice in a bit of butter until golden, top with a dollop of creme fraiche & sprinkle with some basil sugar. You’re welcome in advance ;)
LEMON BASIL ZUCCHINI BREAD
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 slices 1x
Ingredients
FOR THE BASIL SUGAR:
- 1/4 cup basil (packed)
- 1/2 cup sugar (I used organic cane sugar)
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
FOR THE ZUCCHINI BREAD
- 2 tablespoons ground flax meal soaked in 5 tbsp water
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup basil sugar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Zest from 1 large lemon or 2 small lemons (about 1 tbsp)
- 1 3/4 cup flour (we like a combination of 1 cup spelt + 3/4 cup all purpose flour)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp turbinado sugar for topping
- 1 tsp basil sugar for topping
Instructions
FOR THE BASIL SUGAR:
- Bring some water to boil in a saucepan & prepare an ice bath in a small bowl.
- Blanch the basil leaves by placing the leaves in the boiling water for 10 seconds, then plunge them into the ice bath until the leaves are cool.
- Remove the leaves from the ice bath & thoroughly, but gently, dry the leaves (I gently squeeze them & then spread them out & press them between 2 paper towels to dry them as mush as possible.
- Process the sugar, basil, and lemon zest in a food processor until the basil is fully incorporated into the sugar, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Store basil sugar in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use (will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks)
FOR THE ZUCCHINI BREAD:
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Coat an 8×4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or butter, set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the sugars, lemon zest, soaked flax meal, olive oil, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract & lemon juice. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the grated zucchini to the wet ingredients and stir until zucchini is incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder & baking soda. Add in salt & whisk to combine.
- Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in three additions, gently folding with a spatula to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan & bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. The finished loaf will have a golden-brown crust. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
TO SERVE:
- Best eaten the next day (if you can handle waiting). Serve simply at room temperature, slathered with softened butter.
- For an elevated serving option, fry slices of zucchini bread in a bit of butter until golden & crisp. Top each slice with a dollop of creme fraiche & sprinkle with basil sugar.
Notes
Loaf will keep in an airtight container for several days. You can also wrap in foil & store frozen for up to 3 months – thaw in the fridge overnight or in a warm oven for 20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
Hey Bella, on the video you posted on IG you add “flax eggs”. Don´t see them here…
Oh shoot! Thank you for catching that Monica! I will update the recipe now!
Could I use eggs instead of flax egg?
I have not tested the recipe with regular eggs, but if you want to substitute with eggs, I would say its totally fine, just dial bake the baking powder & soda a bit (maybe 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp soda instead). And please let me know how it works if you try it!
Do you do anything with the grated zucchini before mixing it through? Other zucchini bread recipes I make variously call for squeezing out as much moisture as possible between paper towels, or microwaving and then squeezing the moisture out.
Nope! I wanted this recipe to be super straightforward, so I just add the grated zucchini as is – if your zucchini seems extra juicy you can add a 1/4 cup of flour to compensate – but the loaf relies on the moisture of the zucchini :)
Amazing, thank you!
Thank you!
Oh Bella this just looks so devine-I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you so much Carolyn! I am SO excited to hear what you think!
you HAD me at the cover photo Bella!!!
ALL your Styling and Photography is Absolutely Stunning, but, i think that might just be my favorite photo of ALL-TIME!!
GOD, i don’t know though, all these shots are just AMAZING, so hard to choose just ONE to be my fave, this whole shoot is just drop dead GORGEOUS!!!
and…….i absolutely LOVE the backdrop you selected for this shoot, it went SSOOO PERFECT with the zucchinis and the loaf!!!!
speaking of the zucchinis and the loaf, my family has already made and eaten SEVERAL loaves over the last couple of days, my personal favorite is to toast it until it’s warm on the inside and just a little crisp on the outside with a thick generous slather of grass-fed and pasteur-raised butter, and without naming names, i KNOW that you KNOW which brand i’m referring to!!
My family loves this recipe! I’ve been looking for a good zucchini bread recipe for all the zucchini we have in our garden and this recipe is perfect. I substituted the flax seed “egg” for two eggs, and I also cute back on the baking soda to 3/4 of a tsp and used 2 tsp of baking powder. I also realized I didn’t have yogurt so I used sour cream instead. The recipe came out perfect still and I can’t wait to make more!
AMAZING! Reading your comment makes me SO happy! Thank you for sharing your adaptations as well! I will be sure to add it to the notes of the recipe!
Just baked the bread. It turned out awesome. A unique combination of ingredients and the baking method, gave a fabulous result. Keep posting such innovative ideas Bella!!
Oh amazing! I am so happy you liked it! Thank you for sharing with me <3
So delicious Bella! Yay! I subbed in alternative flours to come up with a gluten free version and it’s so easily adaptable. Also, I can’t forget to mention that your post came just in time – whew! – since the summer garden is exploding with zucchini and basil at the moment! :-)
That makes me so happy Annette! Yes, the timing was precise on purpose, LOL! SO happy your gluten-free adaptations worked out! Thank you for sharing! :D