This Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Bread is made with yogurt which makes it seriously moist and perfectly tangy. It's also sweet and citrusy, and a little nutty from the poppy seeds! It's easy to make, comes together in one bowl and is refined sugar free too. Great for dessert or an indulgent breakfast or brunch.
Why does this bread contain yogurt?
This bread is made using plant-based yogurt in place of plant-based milk. Not only does the yogurt keep the bread super moist whilst creating a beautifully dense crumb, but it also adds extra tangy flavour that compliments the lemon juice, so tastes a bit like cheesecake!
How sweet is this bread?
This is definitely a sweet bread recipe - it's similar to a Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. To make it less sweet, you can halve the amount of maple syrup.
Tips for baking with lemons
- For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
- You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
- I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
- For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.
How to make this recipe
Scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together the ingredients for the bread in a glass mixing bowl.
Tip: Use a measuring jug to measure out the plant-based yogurt.
- Transfer the bread batter into a one-pound loaf tin.
Tip: Make sure to line the loaf tin with greased baking paper - this will make removing the bread from the tin so much easier!
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Transfer to a cooling rack to cool down.
- For even more lemon flavour, you can make a lemon syrup to pour over the bread.
Tips for the lemon syrup
- Mix it together while you're waiting for the bread to bake in the oven.
- I recommend pouring the syrup over the bread straight out the oven while it's still hot, so that it gets properly absorbed.
- It's optional so you can leave it out if you want.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, vegetable oil, olive oil etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can use any type of plant-based yogurt: almond, soy, cashew or coconut yogurt all work well.
- If you can't find plant-based yogurt, you can replace it with any type of plant-based milk, or use an equivalent amount of blended up silken tofu.
- If you don't need the bread to be gluten-free, you can replace the gluten-free flour with plain flour.
- The ground almonds can be replaced with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds, use a nut-free plant-based yogurt.
Different flavour alternatives
You can easily make this recipe your own by adding ingredients that suit your taste preferences. Here are some ideas:
- Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries - use my Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Cake recipe as a guide for how much fruit to add.
- Dried cranberries.
How long does this keep for?
This Lemon Poppy Seed Bread tastes best eaten on the day it was made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days. It's best reheated in the toaster!
More vegan lemon recipes
- White Chocolate Lemon Cake
- Lemon Layer Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Lemon Curd
- Lemon Pie
- Lemon Muffins
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Bread
Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 250 ml (1 cup) unsweetened plant-based yogurt * (I used coconut yogurt but you can use any other plant-based milk)
- 8 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (use unwaxed lemons)
- 12 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
For the syrup (optional):
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
Instructions
For the bread:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil)
- Once melted, add the yogurt to the same bowl along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, poppy seeds and ground almonds
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
- Mix well, adding a splash of any plant-based milk if it’s looking too dry
- Transfer mixture into a loaf tin lined with greased baking paper (I used a one-pound loaf tin)
- Bake in oven for 45 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Once out the oven, transfer the bread from the baking tin onto a wire rack to leave it to cool completely before applying the frosting
For the syrup:
- Whilst the bread is baking, mix together the lemon juice and maple syrup
- Drizzle it over the bread as soon as you’ve transferred it to the wire rack – it will soak into the bread better when it’s hot
- Tastes best eaten on the day it’s made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days. Reheat in the toaster if you like!
Notes
- For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
- You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
- I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
- For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.
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hadeel
looks good
Rhian Williams
thank you!
Eline De Neubourg
Hi Rhian, I try to not use oil in my diet, u think I can replace the oil here with applesauce? btw, all your stuff looks amazing, going to try some today 🙂 have a wonderful day. kind regards, eline
Rhian Williams
Yes, you can use a few tablespoons of apple sauce instead of oil. Thank you so much!
Kathy
I made this and it is great! It has a lot of lemon flavor, and the texture is very good! This is one of the best gluten free breads I've made.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Noelle
This recipe sounds amazing, but despite following the recipe to the exact grams it was inedible. After baking it for almost 2 1/2 hours I took it out and it was still really wet so I had to toss it. Not sure what went wrong.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for your feedback, and I'm so sorry to hear that. What type of gluten-free flour did you use? Did you make any substitutions?
Liisa Honga
The same thing happened to me as Noelle. I’ve been trying to figure out what I did wrong but I can’t figure it out. I used almond flour, and I made no substitutions.
Rhian Williams
Sorry to hear that. Did you use almond flour for the gluten-free flour? If so, I think that was the issue! You need to use a shop-bought gluten-free flour blend, or alternatively you could use 140g white rice flour and 10g tapioca flour. I hope that helps!