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Close-up of sliced lemon poppy seed bread on a wooden board with lemon slices, showing moist tender crumb, visible poppy seeds, and a thick lemon glaze, perfect for a homemade lemon poppy seed bread recipe card.
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Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

It's so easy to make this lemon poppy seed bread from scratch, and the result is a moist, light, and tender loaf bursting with bright lemon flavor and topped with a simple lemon glaze.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Calories: 436kcal
Author: Shauna

Ingredients

Bread

  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup oil
  • ⅓ cup sour cream
  • ⅔ cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1¾ cups flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp poppy seeds

Glaze

  • 2 tbsp melted butter
  • zest of ½ lemon
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1¼ cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper or coat it with cooking spray.
  • Add the eggs to a large bowl and beat on high speed for 60 to 90 seconds until pale and foamy.
    Eggs beaten until pale and foamy in a glass mixing bowl with a hand mixer
  • Add the oil, sour cream, milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix until smooth.
  • In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
  • Fold in the poppy seeds.
    Finished lemon poppy seed bread batter in a glass mixing bowl with a wooden spoon
  • Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Start checking at 40 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with just a few moist crumbs.
    Freshly baked lemon poppy seed bread in a loaf pan cooling on a wire rack
  • Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
  • Whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, melted butter, and lemon zest until smooth, then drizzle over the cooled loaf and let it set before slicing.
    Lemon poppy seed bread loaf topped with thick white lemon glaze on a wood cutting board

Notes

  • This recipe doubles easily. I highly recommend making two loaves because the first one disappears fast.
  • Oven temperatures vary, so start checking at 40 minutes rather than waiting for the full 50.

Nutrition

Calories: 436kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 235mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 142mg | Iron: 2mg