You won’t want to miss this Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Bread. It’s light and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness paired with tangy lemon flavor. This bread is eggless, dairy-free and easily made gluten-free, making it a great option for everyone!
Coming together in only one hour, you can make this bread with easy pantry staples and no crazy ingredients!
For more delicious vegan bread recipes, check out this Vegan Rye Bread or Cinnamon Raisin Bread.
More recipes for lemon lovers:
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Light & Fluffy – This bread has the perfect texture. It is light and fluffy and perfectly moist.
- Delicious – This bread is borderline lemon poppy seed cake – it has the perfect amount of sweet combined with tangy lemon goodness!
- Versatile – You can use this recipe to make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins too!
Ingredients for Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you can certainly swap for a 1:1 gluten-free flour.
- Lemon Juice – Fresh squeezed or refrigerated lemon juice is fine.
- Oil – Canola oil or any neutral flavored vegetable oil will work. For oil-free swap with equal parts applesauce.
- Sugar – White granulated sugar, cane sugar, or light brown sugar will work here. If you are looking for a refined-sugar-free option, replace with 1/3 cup maple syrup. You may need to adjust the flour for the right consistency.
- Plant Milk – I prefer oat or coconut milk for baking, and I’ve used oat milk here, but any plant milk will work. Water will also work in a pinch.
- Applesauce – Unsweetened applesauce replaces the egg in this recipe as well as adds some sweetness without the extra sugar.
- Poppyseeds – You can’t have poppy seed bread without poppy seeds!
- Lemon extract – If you don’t have lemon extract, replace with zest from one lemon.
- Leavening – Baking powder and baking soda give this bread it’s perfect fluffy texture.
- Salt – Just a pinch helps round out the flavors in this bread.
Helpful Equipment
In addition to measuring cups and spoons, the following equipment is helpful for this recipe:
- Large bowl
- Loaf pan
- Parchment paper (optional)
How to Make
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9 x 5″ loaf pan with parchment paper. You can also brush a bit of oil inside the loaf pan.
In a large bowl, add the oil, lemon extract, applesauce, plant milk of choice, and sugar. Mix until the sugar begins to dissolve. This usually takes less than 30 seconds.
In the same bowl, add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix only until combined and the poppy seeds are evenly distributed.
For best results, do not overmix. This will cause your bread to be dense and chewy.
Once the batter is ready, pour it into an oiled or lined 9 x 5 inch loaf pan as shown below.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the bread is a nice golden-brown color (shown below).
Let the bread cool slightly before removing it from the loaf pan. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
How to Store
- Room Temp: This bread will last at room temp for 5-7 days when covered tightly. I like to return the bread to the loaf pan and cover with silicone bowl covers. You can also use plastic wrap or transfer the bread to another air-tight container.
- Freezer: Freeze whole loaves or individual slices for up to 3 months.
More Tips
- Not vegan? Replace the plant milk with dairy milk. Replace the applesauce with one egg. Replace the oil with melted butter.
- Gluten-Free? Swap the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free flour replacement.
- Oil-free? Replace the oil with an additional 1/3 cup of applesauce.
- Refined-sugar-free? Replace the granulated sugar with 1/3 cup maple syrup. You may need to adjust the flour slightly for the right consistency.
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Equipment
- Parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup canola oil (or any neutral-flavored oil)
- ⅓ cup white granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup oat milk
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar, lemon juice, oil, oat milk, and lemon extract. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds into the mixing bowl. Stir only until combined and no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
- Transfer dough into a parchment-lined (or oiled) 9 x 5" loaf pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool slightly, slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Not vegan? Replace the plant milk with dairy milk. Replace the applesauce with one egg. Replace the oil with melted butter.
- Gluten-Free? Swap the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free flour replacement.
- Oil-free? Replace the oil with an additional 1/3 cup of applesauce.
- Refined-sugar-free? Replace the granulated sugar with 1/3 cup maple syrup. You may need to adjust the flour slightly for the right consistency.
Nutrition
Please note, while all ingredients used in this recipe have been verified to be vegan and free of applicable allergens at the time of recipe creation, different brands may differ in their ingredients or processing procedures and may change their ingredients at any time. For some recipes, I do include ingredients that are processed in a facility that processes other allergens. Please make sure to check the ingredients and processing procedures for your specific purchases to ensure they meet your dietary needs.
Last Updated on April 11, 2025
This bread is so delicious, light, and fresh! The perfect flavors!
I love this cake flavour, infact I have it quite often..
Time to start baking!!
Looks yummy- I’m going to give it a try! Thanks so much for this recipe.
I’ve pinned this recipe to try later. I love lemon poppy seed bread!! I’m glad you included an option to make this gluten-free for those of us who can’t eat gluten but still enjoy a delicious sweet treat.
Thank you! I hope you love it!
Great instructions to make this yummy looking Lemon Poppy Seed Bread. It’s a huge bonus that it’s vegan – my sister will love it!
This looks so good! Lemon poppy seed cake is something I buy for the family at the store occasionally. I’m going to give this recipe a try instead!
This bread looks super fluffy. Love it and the fact that it’s vegan friendly is pretty amazing.
Looks so delicious, thanks for sharing! I love lemon flavor on anything, lol.
This bread looks so beautiful! I can’t wait to make it myself. You explain everything so well and the beautiful pictures give me the confidence to make this vegan lemon poppyseed bread!
It look so good and fluffy perfect for breakfast.