Light, soft, and irresistibly moist, this super easy vegan lemon bread is sure to be a hit with friends and family!
Frosted Vegan Lemon Loaf
This delicious recipe is perfect for breakfast or brunch.
If you are a fan of the popular classic lemon cake from Starbucks, hopefully you will love this one too!
It calls for only basic ingredients, comes together without much fuss, and can be enjoyed all week long. Leftovers can also be frozen for later.
Also be sure to try these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
This iced lemon bread recipe has been a long time in the making.
It was inspired by reader feedback I received on a Healthy Lemon Cake I posted a few years ago. People loved the subtly tart and sweet flavor of that cake, but many of you were saying the same thing: that you wanted a lemon cake that was taller, with a much lighter and fluffier texture.
So here it finally is – a bigger, fatter, bolder vegan lemon loaf!
I thought about simply doubling the ingredients of the original to make a larger loaf. But with half a cup of lemon juice already in the recipe, I feared this might make things way too acidic.
So I played around and was even able to cut down the oil in the process.
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I made the recipe for a brunch last Sunday, because of course I did.
You know how much I love brunch!
(For the record, brunch is always lunch for me. No way I can go until after noon before eating any food.)
Our potluck brunch also included english muffins, frosted donuts, roasted potatoes, Vegan Mac And Cheese, and vegan lasagna soup… so, um, lots of carbs.
While I do love all of the Keto Dessert Recipes on the blog, we also really love carbs over here.
This secretly vegan lemon bread recipe can be soy free, gluten free, and oil free (although I personally prefer the version with oil).
Because so many readers ask about using almond flour in my recipes, I did go ahead and test it here. The results were delicious but not very attractive.
The recipe will also work as Vegan Lemon Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 F, and bake 17 minutes or until the cupcakes have risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out mostly clean.
If you make the lemon bread, please feel free to leave a comment or share photos and let me know your thoughts.
When you guys make my recipes, it is my favorite part of what I do.
Watch the vegan lemon bread recipe video above
Vegan Lemon Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (For flourless, make this Keto Lemon Bread)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup sugar, or xylitol for sugar free
- 3/4 cup milk of choice
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt, such as almondmilk yogurt
- 1/4 cup oil, or sub applesauce for fat free
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons (1 tbsp total – don’t omit)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- The recipe works with spelt, white, or oat flour. It technically works with almond flour (and tastes delicious) but won’t rise or look pretty. Gluten free all purpose flour can work but will be much denser. I prefer the oil version’s flavor and texture, but if you’re used to the texture of oil free baked goods it’s fine to sub applesauce.Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Whisk liquid ingredients in a separate bowl, combine wet and dry, then stir until just evenly mixed. Spread into the pan. Bake 50-55 minutes, or until loaf has risen and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If desired, frost with either melted Coconut Butter or 1/2 cup powdered sugar combined with 1 tbsp milk of choice.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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Hi, this recipe looks super easy and delish! I’m curious to know which milk you prefer using/used in this recipe?
Thanks!
Katie’s go-to milk for all baking (except for recipes that specifically say to use coconut milk) is Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk. 🙂
Can you sub maole syrup or other liquid sweetener?
Sorry we have never tried it
This was so yummy and such an easy vegan recipe to follow! I used coconut yoghurt and coconut sugar and it came out great! Was wondering how long can this freeze for?
Thank you for making it! You can freeze it just like most other quick bread recipes – so it should stay good for at least two or three months.
I made this last night and it was perfect. I used whole wheat flour and still worked.
That is so pretty!
I used Lactaid 2% milk. It’s just what I typically use to bake with. I also used a cup of almond flour, and a cup and a quarter regular white flour. Deeelish.
hey! has anyone made this loaf, then froze, and defrosted and ate a few days later? If so, how long did it last at room temp after defrosting?
thanks!
I used hemp milk and it was perfect!
Hi! Do you think I could try making this with orange juice and orange zest instead of lemon? Just curious, because I have an orange tree that’s producing right now. 🙂
I don’t see why that wouldn’t work, and it sounds like a really delicious idea. If you try it before we do, definitely be sure to report back with results!
I love your lemon cake recipe! It looks and sounds so refreshing. Perfect for this time of the year 🙂
Sounds wonderful. I’d prefer grain and nut free, do you know if cassava flour would work? Thanks!
Sorry we have not tried! Be sure to report back if you experiment.
I’ve been loving lemon lately…perfect for spring!! YUM 🙂
Sunday brunch…. here we come!! Thoughts on using coconut sugar with this recipe?
That would be fine!
I used almond flour and coconut sugar and it came out like a pie filling after 1hour and 30 min in a 8×8 pan, it was tasty but not loaf like at all and the color brown because of the coconut sugar I think
I would think that almond flour wouldn’t work because it wouldn’t absorb enough. That’s why it came out pudding-like.
When you took it out of the oven was it still liquidity?
Can you use plain Greek yogurt?
You can!
I just took this out of the oven. It is so delicious. I had to have a taste, even though it is still hot. Just wanted to let you know.
How does the yogurt/almond milk yogurt affect the cake? Is there something else that could be substituted instead of them?
I didn’t have any yoghurt on hand and just added more soy milk. It was still moist and soft. Not sure if would be even better with yoghurt
Can we use coconut yogurt instead of almond milk yogurt? Would there be an overpowering coconut flavour?
That works!
Do you think that I could use Erythritol instead of Xylitol ? Is there a reason that it won’t work as well ?
We haven’t tried, but I think it would work. Katie just doesn’t like to list anything that she or one of her testers hasn’t tried because they don’t know the results. If you experiment, be sure to report back!
Hi! I’m just wondering about the taste of this recipe…is it very lemony/tart? I would prefer it if it was so! I like tart lemon flavor and don’t like lemon recipes that just have zest. Can you really taste the lemon in these?
Thanks!
Personally I think you can definitely taste the lemon, but you could always add more zest if you want it even stronger. Taste the batter to decide. If you try it, be sure to report back!
Jason
It is actually a very mild lemon flavor
I am making this right now. I calculated the WW points for 13 servings using oil and sugar and it came to 7 sp not 6. I used WW recipe builder. How did you get 6? It looks delicious ?
Hi! Points and calories are always going to just be an estimate because they’ll differ depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used. For example, unsweetened cashewmilk (what Katie uses) vs cows milk, coconut yogurt vs soy yogurt vs almond yogurt, etc. Hope that helps!
Any substitutes for Vegan yogurt? Its super expensive where I live.
We haven’t tried anything else, but be sure to report back if you do experiment with something such as coconut cream, silken tofu, applesauce, or another ingredient.
Jason
@LG, you can make vegan yoghurt at home using non-dairy milk and Probiotics or Vegan Yogurt Starter. Nearly any non-dairy milk, including legume, nut, seed, grain, or coconut milk, can be cultured into yoghurt, with some care. * use good quality ingredients
there are videos on youtube or Google: how to make non-dairy yogurt.
What could you substitute for the yogurt. I am allergic.
Thanks!
We haven’t tried anything else, but do be sure to report back if you do experiment with something such as coconut cream, silken tofu, applesauce, or another ingredient.
Jason
I’m thinking about trying cashew cream as a substitute for the yogurt.. will let you know how it goes. I love lemon baked goods?
I didn’t have yogurt when I made this yesterday, so I substituted the 1/2 cup yogurt with a blend of cashew cream and a small ripe mashed banana. Couldn’t taste the banana at all – the lemon flavour was still the star. It turned out fabulous! I think you could easily sub with 1/2 cup ripe mashed banana or 1/2 cup cashew cream.
What type of oil did you use?
It works with vegetable oil, melted coconut oil, or even sunflower oil.
I think I will add some culinary lavender to this for Easter brunch! Looks delicious. Thanks for sharing!
That sounds amazing!
Are there other refined sugar free options? Would some agave work?
We haven’t tried using a liquid sweetener an doing so would of course change the liquid/solid ingredient ratio, but be sure to report back if you experiment!
Jason
Monk fruit
Hi, I am trying to eat low-carb and no sugar, just to clean my body at least for a while.
If I substitute the flour with almond and coconut flour, would you tell me a good proportions of the two even with a small amount of oat or spelt flour? And if I don’t add any sweetener would it be too bitter?
Thanks a lot
I love you recipes ♥️
Unfortunately there’s just no possible way to know how such substitutions would turn out without trying. If you experiment (and edible experiments are the best kind), be sure to report back!
Jason
Benni, did you try the coconut flour? I am considering but wanted to check with you first.
Thanks!
Did you find a good substitute with the mixture of coconut and almond flour? I’m also on the keto diet and this used to be my favourite treat! Trying to tweak it so I’m still able to enjoy it! Thanks