This Lemon-Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread is moist, fluffy, and made healthier with applesauce, Greek yogurt, and shredded zucchini. Perfect for breakfast or an easy snack!
Sometimes the best gifts are ones that are inexpensive and made with love.
Anytime I visit a friend’s house or I know I’ll have a lot of gifts to give at one time {such as Christmas} I like to give baked goods…with a little touch of course. Last year I gave my friends and family Yummy Mummy’s cherry oat scones in a jar which turned out to be such a huge hit, so when I saw these mini lemon-poppy seed zucchini breads I just had to make them!Now zucchini is such a fabulous ingredient in breads because it keeps the bread moist and has such a subtle flavor that doesn’t overpower the sweetness we all love so much. It’s also a great way to sneak in veggies without anyone knowing! Chris sure didn’t and he scarfed this right up.
I did make my own substitutions in this recipe to keep it low in calories and fat, but still wanted to maintain the same great taste. I cut out half the butter and used unsweetened applesauce, I used less sugar since the lemon zest already adds to the sweetness and also used fat-free plain yogurt in place of the sour cream. There is also no oil used in this bread which I loved!You could also substitute whole wheat pastry flour for half of the all-purpose flour, but I didn’t have any on hand so I just used what I had. There really is no reason at all why people should use tons of butter and oil in their recipes, you can still have delicious quick-breads for half the calories!
Throw in a little burlap and some twine and your friends will enjoy this too!
Lemon-Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 4 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Beat butter and applesauce at a low speed with your stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at a low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in shredded zucchini, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Spoon batter into 3 greased 5 x 3-inch loaf pans (I used disposable aluminum ones) about 1 1/3 cups batter per pan.
- Bake at 325 for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes and remove bread from pans. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looks amazing as always..can’t wait to try! Yumm! http://theforwardhome.blogspot.com
Made this last night, delicious! I made mine in a 9 x 5 standard loaf pan and baked for 55 minutes at 350, turned out great! Thanks for the delicious suggestion!
I made this bread tonight and it was delicious! The only thing is it was a little dense. Any suggestions? Did I beat it too long or not log enough? More baking powder. Otherwise it was great!
I made this bread tonight and it was delicious! The only thing is it was a little dense. Any suggestions? Did I beat it too long or not log enough? More baking powder. Otherwise it was great!
I JUST made these! As in, they are hot out of the oven! Using the same recipe I made 2 loaves, 3.5 in X 7 in.
DELICIOUS!! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Seriously, you just CANNOT beat SL recipes.
These are adorable. My food gifts rarely look that cute!
yummie.
Great bread! I like to use yogurt in place of milk or other liquids in baking (when possible). So, now I need to let one of the zucchini grow enough to make the bread – getting to the end of them (finally)
Thank you so much Jennifer! You can find burlap at any fabric store and sometimes craft stores 🙂 I’m glad you like the photos, I did take them myself!
What a great idea. I love the way they are wrapped. Where do you buy burlap like that? And the pictures are beautiful. Do you take the pictures yourself?