This classic, glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Bread is soft and tender and bursting with bright lemon flavor. I add plenty of poppy seeds to this simple recipe for an amazing flavor and texture.
Serve as a sweet breakfast, sliced with jam and fresh fruit. Or, eat a slice as a quick snack or even topped with a scoop of ice cream for dessert. A loaf of lemon poppy seed bread also makes a nice homemade gift for birthdays, holidays, new babies, housewarming or just because.
Lemon Poppy Seed Bread with Glaze
This simple lemon poppy seed bread is a favorite of mine, and I make sure it lives up to its name. It’s absolutely exploding with lemony flavor and packed full of crunchy, nutty poppy seeds.
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I especially like this recipe because you don’t even need a mixer. Since the butter is melted, there’s no need to cream the butter and sugar. Just a couple of bowls, a whisk and a spatula are all you need!
If you’re looking for a fun lemony topping for your lemon bread, be sure to try out my Lemon Curd recipe too. If you love the poppyseed recipes, be sure to try our Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake Recipe too.
And If you’re looking for more lemon recipes, check out our Lemon Meltaway Cookies, Lemon Glazed Cookies, and Lemon Syrup too.
Key Ingredients You Will Need
- Flour – you can use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – these are needed in order for the poppy seed bread to rise in the oven.
- Eggs – any type of large eggs will work.
- Butter – use unsalted, melted butter.
- Greek Yogurt – use your favorite brand of plain Greek Yogurt. You can also substitute sour cream.
- Poppy Seeds – you should be able to find them in the spice section.
- Lemon Paste – it’s super tangy and captures the true flavor of fresh lemon. You can also use lemon extract.
- Lemon Zest – you can use the fresh lemon zest from the same lemons that you use to juice for the lemon glaze.
- Powdered Sugar – we recommend sifting your powdered sugar before making the glaze to get rid of any large clumps.
- Lemon Juice – fresh lemon juice always tastes best.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread from Scratch
- Prepare your loaf pans. Grease two 8”x4” loaf pans, or line with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Mix batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, melted butter, Greek yogurt, poppyseeds, lemon paste and lemon zest. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and stir until smooth. Divide and pour the batter evenly between your prepared loaf pans.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edges of the bread and tease the bread out of the pan. Let cool completely on a wire rack while you make the lemon glaze.
- Make lemon glaze. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice and whisk until combined. Use a piping bag or a spoon to drizzle on top of cooled bread before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- The large crack along the top of the bread is okay. In fact, it actually means you did something right! The crack is a result of the bread rising and air escaping.
- Try not to open the oven door during at least the first 15 minutes of baking. That time is crucial for rising and you want to maintain as much heat as you can.
- Bringing any cold ingredients up to room temperature helps when you mix your ingredients together. Picture adding cold eggs and yogurt to melted butter. It seizes up, making it difficult to get a nice, homogenous mixture. If you forget, don’t worry. You can always run eggs under warm water and heat the yogurt in the microwave for just a few seconds to take the edge off.
Storing and Freezing
- Make-Ahead – you can make the batter a day in advance, divide the batter into the pans, and store it in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to bake, remove the pan from the fridge and let sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Once Baked – your loaves should be covered and stored either at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezer – you can also wrap your loaves individually then place them in a freezer bag and store frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer to the fridge or room temperature overnight.
Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1½ cups Greek yogurt
- 1½ tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon lemon paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease two 8”x4” loaf pans, or line with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, melted butter, Greek yogurt, poppy seeds, lemon paste, and lemon zest. Combine the flour mixture with the egg mixture and stir until smooth, then divide the batter evenly between your prepared pans.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edges of the bread and tease the bread out of the pan. Let cool completely on wire racks while you make the lemon glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice and whisk until combined.
- Use a piping bag or a spoon to drizzle on top of cooled bread before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this?
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More Easy Quick Bread Recipes
- Mini Blueberry Bread
- Homemade Banana Bread
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread
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- Triple Berry Muffins
- Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Bread
- Mini Lemon Blueberry Bread
- Homemade Zucchini Bread
- More Quick Breads
- More Easy Breakfast Recipes
This recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Bread is super simple and bursting with lemon. The result is soft and tender, flavorful and topped with a sweet homemade lemon glaze.
Categories:
Breakfast, Fall Recipes, Nut-Free, Quick Breads, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes, Vegetarian, Winter Recipes,
Not quite sure of the cause, but ours came out overly crusty and not tender at all, and really didn’t taste the lemony side very much. Could be our oven temperature or any number of things. We used unbleached ap flour, lemon extract instead of the paste suggestion, nf Gk yogurt. We threw away our lemon extract assuming it may have been too old. This sounded great, but it was disappointing.
Love the bread and the crisscross glaze is totally cute!
I love lemon anything and this bread is calling my name. it is so pretty and festive looking.
Lemon poppy seed is a great combo to welcome spring!
Lemon poppy seed is such a classic flavor combo! That glaze is screaming my name too!
Lemon poppyseed is one of my favorite flavor profiles. This bread is perfect.
Isn’t that lemon extract paste just the best! I love lemon poppy seed bread and can’t wait to make it using the paste
Yum! I just had lemon poppy seed coffee cake this weekend and now I want to make this bread!