Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Moist and flavorful, enjoy a scrumptious slice of this quick and easy 5-ingredient lemon poppy seed bread for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

I have a dear reader to thank for sharing this lemon poppy seed bread recipe with me. It’s one of her mother’s best-loved recipes and it’s becoming one of mine. We all know how much I love using cake mixes in many of my baking recipes. They just make life so much easier, what can I say!

For this lemon poppy seed loaf, we’re using a lemon cake mix along with a lemon instant pudding mix for all the zesty lemon flavor you could possibly want. Other than that, you just need some eggs, oil, water, and the all-important poppy seeds. Now, the instructions for this one are really hard (just kidding!). All you have to do is combine all of the ingredients, spread the batter into two pans, and your lemon bread will be ready in a flash. 

Who can say no to a five-ingredient quick bread recipe that’s this easy? Not me! I highly recommend serving a warm slice of lemon poppy seed bread with butter alongside your morning cup of coffee. It’s soft, moist, and has the perfect amount of lemon flavor. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as me. If you’re on the lookout for more lemon recipes, check out this blog post for 10 lemon recipes to brighten your day.

Recipe Ingredients

• Lemon cake mix
• Lemon instant pudding mix
• Vegetable oil (I personally use coconut oil)
• Eggs
• Poppy seeds

How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Grease 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. Instead of adding flour, use sugar.

Mix both the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients together until well combined.

Note: I like to add 1 teaspoon of lemon oil (you can also use lemon extract or fresh lemon juice) for an extra lemon “kick”.

Pour batter evenly into the loaf pans.

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350° F.

Test with a toothpick for doneness. Transfer lemon poppy seed bread from the prepared pan to a wire rack to cool. 

Serve your lemon loaf slices warm or cold. Enjoy!

Storage

• Cover and store your lemon bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. 
• Freeze leftover slices for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before enjoying.

Recipe Notes

• To enhance the lemon flavor in this quick bread recipe, while the bread is still warm drizzle it with a lemon glaze that will soak into the bread. All you need to do is combine 1/2-cup of confectioner’s sugar with 1 tablespoon of bottled or fresh lemon juice. You can also drizzle over some lemon syrup.
• Another way to add more lemon flavor is to add some grated lemon rind (lemon zest) to the lemon bread batter or grate some on top of the glaze.
• If you want to get fancy, add some candied lemon slices to the top of your lemon poppyseed bread.
• You can swap the poppy seeds for black sesame seeds or chia seeds if you like. Otherwise, omit them completely.
• Serve a slice of the lemon poppy seed loaf with lemon curd for a delicious treat.
• You can definitely use this recipe to make lemon poppy seed muffins too. You’ll just need to adjust the cooking time by about half.
• Add Mama’s Custard Sauce or Cream Cheese and you have yourself some heaven on a plate.

Check out these other lovely lemon-flavored recipes:

Lemon Bars Recipe

Impossible Lemon Pie Recipe

Lemon Blossom Cookies

Lemon Chess Pie: A Southern Family Tradition

Recipe from Betty Barnes, given by her loving daughter, Pat.

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