Author: I love loaf.
Drizzled with lemon icing - pretend it's part of a complete breakfast because it goes so damn well with coffee - Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf, I love you.
This is a glorious morning treat. If you want to feel like your house has been magically turned into that really cute little coffee shop down the street, this is the recipe you need to make. (Indie music not included). I love this soft, buttery, fluffy, lemony, poppy seedy loaf. It makes a mornings go from cold cereal boring, to a special spring way to start the day.
This breakfast cake is tasty all on its own, but drizzling the lemon icing, just kicks it up seven notches. I mean look at that drizzle! I dare you to whip out this bad boy and not wow someone, even if it is yourself, who is still in pjs way too late in the day. Not that I would have any experience with that. ~Looks to ceiling and whistling a tune~
My recipe isn't quite as yellow as some of the lemon loaves you see out there, but that's because I didn't use any food colouring, and I opted to use whole wheat flour to get a little nutrition squished in there. Personally, I think it looks gorgeous and I tell it that all the time. I don't judge by the colour of your loaf.
So here we go, mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. You can opt for less poppy seeds if you like, but I LOVE the flavour of poppy seeds, so I wasn't shy.
Mix the wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Don't forget to zest your lemons before juicing them, because then you may run into some serious zesting issues.
Mix wet into dry until just combined. No need to beat this to death, and kill all those lovely rising bubbles.
Pour into a lightly greased loaf pan. A metal one will work fine too, and bake.
Let your loaf cool completely before icing. Then just drizzle the icing all over, in any zig-zagy way you like. It always seems to look pretty no matter how messy you are. Let the icing set, stand back, cross your arms, nod, and be impressed at your gorgeous baked treat.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Lemon Poppy Loaf
Servings: loaf (about 12 slices)
PRINT
PIN
COMMENT
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups plant-based milk, (such as soy or almond)
- ½ cup light oil, (such as canola or vegetable)
- ⅓ cup lemon juice, (2-3 lemons)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the lemon icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F (190 C). Lightly grease an 8" x 4" loaf pan.
- In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix together. Don't over mix, lumps are totally fine.
- Pout the batter into at the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 - 55 mins, rotating once midway through. The loaf is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before icing. When cool, mix the lemon icing ingredients together in a bowl. Set the loaf on a cooling rack over a baking sheet to catch all the excess icing. Drizzle the icing over the loaf. Let the icing set for about 30 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Featured Ingredient: Poppy Seeds. 76 Days, 45 Recipes to go!
Bon Appetegan
Sam.
Don Walker says
I promised my wife that next time I make this I will make the icing too. I just couldnt wait for it to cool. It smelled so good. Thanks again for another quick and easy recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
My pleasure
Dan-o says
I wondered why the mixture was so runny and I needed to add more flour. It wasn’t! I had forgotten the sugar... still delicious with just a little honey drizzled on it.
The lemon smell is great but I’m doubling the amount next time.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha oh no! Yes, important to add all the ingredients! 🙂
Celine says
The cake is cooking ! Thank you for your recipe !
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful, you're welcome and enjoy!
Josefina says
Not able to go out and buy stuff so trying to make substitutions with what I have.
If I use earth balance soy free buttery sticks how many sticks should I use.
If I use almond yogurt I steadof almond milk how many tablespoons.
Appreciate any help.
Sam Turnbull says
I wouldn't use vegan butter sticks or yogurt as it will change the consistency of the batter quite a bit. If possible, stick to oil and non-dairy milk.
Karl says
Can you melt the sticks?
I haven't worked with this product but just looking at the ingredients list you should be able to.
Melt and use the same amount as listed for oil. Should be a little more than a 1 stick
You should be able to just use water. If you want to use that almond yogurt you could always try 1/3 yogurt and 2/3 water.
Sarah says
Well, when life gives you lemons, make this delicious lemon poppy seed loaf! I made this for breakfast this morning....So worth the wait!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it, Sarah 🙂
Sada says
I haven't made this recipe yet but would like to. Can I substitute coconut oil for the canola or vegetable oil? And if so, the same measurement?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Sada, yes you can, but coconut oil is solid at room temperature so it would make for a heavier cake. Enjoy!
Jaime says
Easy recipe and delicious! It was a hit!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! 😀
Brigitte says
Hi Sam ,
I made your bread I was hungry for lemony flavor and I had a ton of lemons . It’s so good but I didn’t bake it for 40 minutes for 35 my oven is very hot and convection but I see that your bread looks crispier than me . I did the tooth pick test and it came out clean so I took it out . I think the texture is so awsome moist but should it be overly moist ? I always over bake bread because of my oven being very hot so I didn’t want to over bake it and I wasn’t sure if it was going to me a dry bread . But I think next time I will bake it longer . So my question is your bread very moist ? I love lemon so much next time I wil do 1cup almond milk and 1/4 plus the 1/3 lemon juice and I will buy lemon extract. Sam thanks for your website and your very bubbly fun to watch personality .
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Brigitte, so happy you enjoyed it! This is not really a bread, more of a cake, so yes, it should be nice and moist. Hope that helps! So happy you are loving my site so much 🙂
The Student-turned-Doctor @ Food for Dissertating says
I was so glad to find lemons on sale so I could try this recipe! I never seem to get as much lemon zest off my lemons as other people seem to, so I didn't end up with any in my icing, but it was still amazing. I split the batter up into mini loaves and they were adorable--not just a great breakfast but also a great snack. Thanks for sharing! Here's the result: http://foodfordissertating.blogspot.com/2018/03/pack-snack-93.html
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much 🙂
Mackenzie says
Going to try doubling it, adding some berries, and cooking in a bundt pan! We’ll see how it goes...
Sam Turnbull says
Enjoy! Hopefully it turns out.
Srivani says
How have I not made this before?? No matter, I’ve made it now... we were all craving lemon loaf in the house. So, where to find a vegan lemon loaf recipe? Well, here, obviously! And Sam, you don’t ever disappoint me. I did skip the poppy seeds (they don’t work well with my teeth), and I did actually use WW pastry flour which I is what I always use in place of regular all purpose flour. My daughter wanted to make mini loaves, so this recipe made 4 mini loaves (30 min bake was perfect). The verdict... simple and soooo tasty! Can’t wait for the kids to go to bed so I can eat more! 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! SO happy you enjoyed yet another recipe, Srivani 🙂
Elvira says
Just made your lemon poppy seed loaf and it is so delicious! Also, it came out looking very good, just like in your pictures, Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Beth says
Love ❤️ this recipe !!! I make it for my daughter and must say it is the easiest recipe I've ever made !!!! Thank you so very much !!!!
♥️&✌️
Sam Turnbull says
Aww yay!! How lovely 🙂
Delila Harding says
I made this with unbleached white flower and it was perfect. I used vanilla soy yogurt in place of the soy milk. I added 3/4 cup butter to the drizzle in order to make it a buttercream frosting. Absolutely delicious. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Marjolein Nieuwenhuis says
Hi!
I am planning to make this recipe soon and I was wondering whether you think it's possible to substitute the white sugar for maple syrup. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Marjolein, I've never tried it myself so I can't be sure, but you can try following the directions in this article. Enjoy!
Bethany says
I did that, it's currently in the oven! I will let you know 🙂
Marjolein says
How was it??
Susana says
Hi Sam,
I am new to your blog and very excited to see all the recipes you have posted, and the hard work you put into testing every recipe.
I wanted to bake this cake for Easter. Can I bake the cake the night before, and then add the icing the next day, or does the cake need to be slightly warm to have the icing adhere properly to the cake?
thank you for your help!
Susana
Sam Turnbull says
Welcome, Susana, and thank you so much! Absolutely, you can totally bake the cake the day before. The cake should be completely cooled before icing so it will work just perfectly. Enjoy!
Ruth-Ann says
This looks delish; I came across it during my search for vegan lemon poppy seed loaf (to make as mini loaves). Hopefully it works out for me!
A few questions for you: 1) Would whole wheat pastry flour work or did you design this recipe using regular WW? 2) Also, does it matter whether I use the boxed milk (sold on shelves) or the carton ones (sold from a refrigerated cooler)? 2b) Is there a general "rule" to help decide which to use for cooking or baking? I'm unfamiliar with non-dairy milk; I'm making this for a group that includes one vegan and I hope that the non-vegans enjoy it too.
3) I don't use canola oil; would grapeseed or vegetable (e.g. Mazola) oil work?
4) I'd like to use this recipe for mini loaves - any guesses on how many this would yield? 4b) How much should I fill the pans?
Thanks for this recipe - it's a perfect spring and Easter-time flavor!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Ruth-Ann,
Whole wheat pastry flour might be a little too soft and might not hold up properly. I would stick to regular whole wheat flour.
The boxed milks or the ones in the fridge section are all great. Generally, any non-dairy milk works well, but the standard go-to's are soy milk or almond milk (I generally prefer unsweetened soy).
Vegetable or other light oil will work just fine.
Here are some tips for baking mini loaves. The pans should be about 2/3 full. Enjoy!
Ruth-Ann says
Thank you Sam! I've discovered that my mini pans are quite mini so I may try them as muffins instead. We'll see 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
I hope it turns out perfectly!
Ruth-Ann says
Success! I did them as muffins for the 16-17 mins as suggested by another commenter. They looked fabulous too. I got 13 perfect sized ones and one smaller one. I used parchment cupcake liners which came right off. I made them twice and plan to make again. Second time I used 1/2 c white sugar and 1/4 c coconut sugar. Next time I'll reduce the sugar more. Lovely texture and flavour. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! So happy they worked out for you 😀
Citrus Freak says
I just tried this recipe as muffins (sans icing) and they turned out great! Absolutely delicious. They made about 14 muffins, filled with 1/4 cup of batter each. I baked at 375 and had them in the oven for 16 minutes. The only issue I had was that they really liked to stick to to the cupcake liners that I used, resulting in some of the muffin being tragically lost. I'll try greasing up the muffin pan with non-stick spray and flour next time--and there will definitely be a next time!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh those sound fabulous! I always find silicon muffin liners or parchment paper muffin liners are the best when it comes to non-stick. Sometimes the cheap ones in the grocery store are just paper and are doomed for sticking!
PollyS says
I just made this. Wonderful!
i love that you used whole wheat. We grind our own.
I did however, substitute apple sauce for the oil. My kids didn't even notice.
Thanks for another great recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! So very happy you and your kids loved it 🙂
Jocelyne says
This recipe is amazing! I didn't have poppy seeds and used chia seeds and it turned out perfectly! This loaf is so delicious - the fact that it's whole wheat flour is unrecognizable!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you loved it so much Jocelyne 🙂