This Lemon Poppy Seed Bread will satisfy your most intense lemon cravings. Greek yogurt adds richness and fabulous texture and it’s finished with a tart-sweet lemon glaze.
For more lemony treats, try my Easy Lemon Bars and Lemon Zucchini Coffee Cake.
I’ve been craving citrus like nobody’s business. It’s light, bright, and a wonderful way to perk up a cold, dreary day. That was the motivation behind this recipe and the result was spot-on perfection. This Lemon Poppy Seed Bread has been on my list of baking favorites for years.
It’s a tender, moist loaf full of bright lemon flavor and draped in a sweet-tart icing. Poppy seeds add just a tiny bit of texture. It contains no butter but gets plenty of richness from 2% plain Greek yogurt.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds.
- Wet ingredients: 2% plain Greek yogurt, granulated sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, the juice and zest from a lemon, and pure vanilla extract. I always use Meyer lemons for baking when they’re available. They are super juicy and slightly sweeter than regular lemons.
- Glaze: Powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the wet ingredients until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, all at once, and use a wooden spoon to mix just until combined.
- Finish the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds The batter will be silky but quite thin.
- Bake. Pour the battr into a greased 9-inch loaf pan and bake it in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then, remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool completely before icing.
- Ice. Using a whisk, combine the powered sugar with enough lemon juice so that the icing pours off the tip of a spoon. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cooled bread.
Valerie’s Quick Bread Tips
Measuring Flour: It’s important to use proper measuring techniques, because too much flour can result in a dense, dry quick bread. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it’s heaping full, then run a butter knife across the top to level it off, allowing the excess flour to fall back into the container.
Don’t Overmix: Overmixing can lead to a tough texture in your quick bread. Mix the batter until the ingredients are just combined.
Add Moisture: Adding ingredients like yogurt and sour cream ensure your Lemon Poppy Seed Bread will be moist. You can substitute sour cream for all or part of the yogurt in this recipe and still have a wonderful result.
Test for Doneness: Use a toothpick or cake tester to check for doneness. Insert it into the center of the bread and if it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it, your quick bread is done.
Cool Properly: Allowing the Lemon Poppy Seed Bread to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes will make it sturdier and easier to remove from the pan. Cool the bread completely before icing, otherwise the icing will just roll off the warm bread.
Storage Tips
- Room Temperature: Enclose the bread in foil or place it in an airtight container and store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
- Refrigerate: For longer storage, I recommend transferring the container to the refrigerator. If wrapped and chilled, it will stay fresh and tasty for up to a week.
- Freeze: Wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag. Press out as much air as possible, seal the bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the bread at room temperature.
More Quick Bread Recipes You’ll Love
- Carrot Zucchini Bread
- Apple Fritter Bread
- Strawberry Banana Bread
- Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Browse my collection of muffin and quick bread recipes for more ideas!
Sign up for my free newsletter for all the latest recipes and join me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for more cooking inspiration!
Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large lemon, zested and cut in half
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 9-inch loaf pan generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl use an electric mixer to combine the granulated sugar, yogurt, oil, eggs, the juice from half of the lemon (reserve remaining half for later), all of the lemon zest and the vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Use a wooden spoon to stir in dry mixture, just until combined. Stir in the poppy seeds last and mix until incorporated throughout the batter.
- Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of bread comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Use a knife to around the edges of the loaf pan to loosen the bread and then turn out the loaf onto a plate. Allow to cool completely before drizzling with the lemon glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- Combine the powdered sugar and juice from as much of the remaining half of lemon (2 to 3 tablespoons) to reach the desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the completely cooled bread.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Lemon Recipes
This post was originally published on January 16, 2016. It has been updated with new text and images.
This is one of my go to breads to bring places. Since I seem to have an abundance of blueberries this year, instead of using poppyseeds, I folded in a cup of blueberries this time. It came out great! Thanks for a delicious and versatile recipe!
You’re welcome! So happy you’re enjoying the recipe. 🙂
This was very good, my only alterations were (because I love lemon) added about 1/4-1/2 tsp lemon paste, used full fat lemon yogurt (Noose) and a tad less poppy seeds. Delicious!