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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Can you sub the white sugar for maple syrup or coconut sugar?
Coconut sugar works. Just be sure to pack it in (so, not loosely packed).
I’ve made this recipe 3 times now! The first time I used coconut yogurt, Swerve sugar alternative, and the 1/4 cup of oil. It turned out incredible. My family (non-vegans) loved it and said it was better than a non-vegan recipe they had tried. The consistency is very similar to that of Starbucks lemon loaf.
The second time I tried it I opted to try 1/8 cup oil and 1/8 cup apple sauce, Swerve, and coconut yogurt and it turned out excellent as well with hardly a discernible between the original. So if you’re looking to cut some fat and calories, this is a super awesome option. You don’t compromise the texture for lower oil.
The third time I tried 1/4 cup oil, coconut yogurt and 1/2 cup stevia – this one was purely a trial because I had extra lemon zest and juice that I wanted to use. It rose but then fell as it cooled, and seems to be more dense. I haven’t tasted it yet but will report back when I do. I expect it to be a bit more chewy and gummy.
Hi! My momma made lemon pound cake when I was growing up and I love it. Well, this took me right back. I use oat flour and added an extra tsp of baking powder to help it rise a bit more. Coconut oil produced a better texture than the applesauce. I also used lemon juice instead of milk for the icing. This recipe is so so good. I love that you give alternate ingredients for so many of your recipes. And I love this lemon cake. Yum yum yum
Thank you so much for making it!
hello! i’ve made this recipe a couple of times and it’s delish! thanks so much for posting it. i did have a bit of an issue with it being slightly gummy though. my oven is calibrated. i have a tendency to put in less sugar than a recipe calls for. i put in 3/4 cup of sugar instead of a full cup. do you think that could be the problem? any advice you could give me would be super appreciated! thanks so much
Yes, decreasing the sugar will change the texture of a baked good and make it less tender and more gummy.
thanks so much for the speedy reply. i’ll leave the recipe as is then. thanks again! have a great day!
No problem!
Would Greek yogurt work instead of regular yogurt or would it be too thick?
That works!
Absolutely delicious! First vegan cake I have made that rose well. Other vegan cakes have been flat and weigh like a brick. 😁 Definitely will make again, went down well with rest of family.
I’ve tried this as a loaf and it is fantastic!!!!! A staple recipe!
Can these be made into cupcakes?? And can this mix also be used in a 6 inch round tin? Thank you!
We haven’t tried cupcakes yet but it’s actually on Katie’s list to try soon. There’s no reason it shouldn’t work – just a question of baking time we need to figure out. If you experiment, be sure to report back!
Hi, my name is Bash and I’m in Kuwait for work, USA born. But we have been locked down for months now and I have been using this recipe maybe once a week! Love it!!! Still trying to perfect it but tasty for sure. Thank you
This was excellent. So moist. I’m not vegan, so I added Liberte Lemon flavoured yogurt and it was so so so good.
Had to make this as soon as I got off work! I used whole wheat flour, as out of other options. Baked up beautifully, not too sweet with perfect lemony tartness! A perfect Monday afternoon treat. Thank you!
Thank you so much for trying it!
This is delicious! Just the right amount of sweet and tang. I didn’t have yogurt so I subbed applesauce and the texture was perfect.
I would love to try this recipe but I do not have any kind of yogurt, nor cashew cream at home. I live in a country with very basic vegan products available (no xylitol, no agar-agar, no cashew/nut cream, no vegan yogurt).
How can I replace the yogurt in this recipe, with SIMPLE ingredients?
What happen if I skip it?
Thank you!!!
You can sub banana! 🙂 Coconut cream would also work if you have it (not sure about coconut milk though).
Hi, this was a great recipe and I would definitely rate it five stars and make it again! However, after 55 minutes of baking, the bottoms still didn’t come out clean. I had to still bake it for ten more minutes. Do you think it’s because I live in Texas and it’s currently hot and humid? Thanks so much.
Thank you so much for making it! And yes definitely, humidity can definitely affect baking time quite a bit!
If i use vanilla yogurt, how much sugar should I use??
I made the keto version of this, I used almond flour and swerve confectioners sugar (I did cut that to 3/4 of a cup), plus I used heavy cream instead of milk and I didn’t have yogurt so I used sour cream in place of that. When I went to take it out of the oven after 50 minutes I thought it was a flop because it was literally bubbling (didn’t look at all like bread!) so I just left it on top of the stove to cool down figuring I would throw it away, but after it cooled down it looked pretty edible so I took a bite just to try it and I have to say it was delicious! I scooped some out into a dish and put some whip cream on it and really enjoyed it. Thank you Katie for another delicious recipe!
I have made this 4 times already! Everyone i serve it to loves it! EVEN non vegan family and friends! Slowly i am winning them over, one great recipe at a time! Thank you for this amazing and easy recipe!
I had just one question, how many calories is it approximately per serving?
Hi! Nutrition facts are linked right under the ingredients/instructions 🙂