Lemon Bread

4.97 from 165 votes

Easy to make and delicious to eat, this simple lemon bread loaf is wonderfully tangy and sweet. Made w/ Greek yogurt, olive oil & honey, it's light & fresh!

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Bursting with flavor, this delicious lemon bread loaf is perfect to serve as a dessert or enjoy as an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee. Glazed with a lemon and honey syrup, it’s a wonderful blend of sweet and tart.

Lemon bread recipe sliced on a cooling rack with lemon wedges near by
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Freshly baked lemon bread is guaranteed to satisfy that sweet craving. Bursting with lemon flavor all throughout with the help of lemon juice and zest, this bread is a perfect balance of sweetness and zing. A must-try for home bakers. Try using mini loaves for gifting!

Excellent, made Limoncello and then used the zest and fresh lemons to make the bread. Made double batch using plain Greek yogurt.. Made 1 Loaf and one Bundt, perfect!!!” – Melissa

Table of Contents

  1. Recipe at a glance
  2. Ingredients to make lemon bread
  3. Popular substitutions & additions
  4. How to make an easy lemon bread
  5. Tips for making the best lemon bread
  6. WHAT TO SERVE WITH LEMON BREAD
  7. How to store & reheat this lemon bread
  8. Frequently asked questions
  9. More quick bread recipes:
  10. Lemon Bread Recipe

Recipe at a glance

Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Lemon
Skill Level: Easy

Summary

  • Simple Ingredients: With basic pantry staples like flour, sugar, and eggs, plus the zest and juice of lemons, this recipe is straightforward and easy to assemble.
  • No Butter Needed: Olive oil replaces the need for butter, creating a moist texture and adding an earthy flavor.
  • Versatile Serving Options: Enjoy lemon bread as a dessert, breakfast, or a snack. It’s perfect for any occasion or time of day!
  • Healthier Alternative: Made with Greek yogurt and olive oil, it’s a healthier choice without compromising on taste. 

Ingredients to make lemon bread

  • Lemons: I use the juice and the zest for a wonderfully strong and fresh lemon flavor in each bite. Pick lemons that have a good squeeze to them.
  • Greek yogurt: The yogurt adds a wonderful tang of flavor and helps to make it nice and creamy as well as fluffy and light.
  • Olive oil: Olive oil creates a wonderfully moist cake and adds a really nice flavor without needing to use butter.
  • Eggs: Use fresh eggs, and organic if you can.
  • Dry ingredients: Sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt.
  • Yogurt Options: Replace plain Greek yogurt with a lemon flavor yogurt for a more lemony flavor. Swapping it out entirely for sour cream will work too.
  • Use Oranges: One reader was successful in swapping out lemon juice and zest for orange juice and zest for a whole new flavor profile.
  • Top with turbinado or demerara sugar before baking for some crunch and a shiny top. Most ideal if you don’t plan on adding an icing drizzle.
  • Eggs: You can help to make this recipe vegan by using a flax egg.
Ingredients to make the recipe

How to make an easy lemon bread

  • Mix together the wet ingredients with the sugar.
  • Whisk until smooth; although some lumps are fine.
  • Whisk together the dry ingredients separately in a small bowl and add them to the bowl of wet ingredients.
  • Whisk until just combined.
Step by step shots of mixing the recipe together in one bowl

Pour the batter into a standard loaf tin that’s greased and lined with parchment parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven

The batter poured into a loaf pan before baking

You’ll know it’s ready when it looks golden and the sides start to pull away from the loaf pan. You can also test that a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

If you’d like, you can make the honey lemon glaze, but the lemon loaf is delicious on its own! Just combine the ingredients for the syrup on the stovetop. Use a toothpick to make holes in the top of the loaf and pour over the warm syrup.

The loaf after baking and before adding the syrup

“Beautiful! Needed to use up leftover buttermilk, so swapped it for yoghurt, turned out beautifully moist and tasty!” – Caitlin

Tips for making the best lemon bread

  1. Grease the loaf pan and use parchment paper for easy removal. When it comes to making quick breads, I love this double greasing method because nothing sticks to the bottom and the overhanging parchment paper makes it so easy to lift from the pan.
  2. Don’t over mix the batter. The dry ingredients should be just combined, if you over mix it the bread won’t be light and fluffy.
  3. Place batter in the oven quickly after adding mixing the dry ingredients. You don’t need to rush, but make sure the oven is ready before you begin this final mixing. Baking soda will react immediately with lemon juice, and you want that reaction to happen in the oven.
  4. Cover the bread with aluminum foil if necessary. If you notice after 30-40 minutes of baking that the top of the bread is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with aluminum foil to help it bake evenly on all sides.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH LEMON BREAD

How to store & reheat this lemon bread

Once the bread has cooled, place it in an airtight container. It will keep at room temperature for 2 days. Cover it with foil or a plastic bag to prevent it from drying out.

How long will lemon bread last in the fridge?
When wrapped and stored properly, lemon bread will last up to one week in the fridge.

Can I freeze lemon bread?
Yes, this bread will freeze well for up to 3 months. Wrap the cooled bread tightly in foil and place in a freezer bag. You can thaw it at room temperature.

Reheating lemon bread: Reheat a slice of lemon bread in the microwave heating for 10-15 second increments until warmed through.

Frequently asked questions

The top of my lemon bread is browning too quickly, what can I do?

To avoid excess browning, place a foil tent gently over the top of your loaf pan to protect the top. This will greatly reduce the browning that will happen and still allow the loaf to bake.

My lemon bread didn’t rise properly, what went wrong?

Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. Also, ensure the oven is preheated before baking, as that immediate heat helps the bread rise.

Should the ingredients be at room temperature?

Yes, if you can, take out the ingredients 30 minutes before you start making this lemon loaf. Warm ingredients will combine more easily and trap air to create a fluffy bread.

FInal lemon bread out of the oven and sliced

A delicious homemade lemon bread loaf that’s so bright with flavor! Soft and moist, enjoy a slice with a glass of raspberry tea in the summer, or drizzle it with a sweet icing. I love this during springtime, lemon bread makes a great gift as well!

More quick bread recipes:

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Lemon Bread recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

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Lemon Bread

Easy to make and delicious to eat, this simple lemon bread loaf is wonderfully tangy and sweet. Made w/ Greek yogurt, olive oil & honey, it's light & fresh!
5 from 165 votes
Servings 12 slices
Calories 251
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Video

Ingredients
  

Bread

Syrup

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ¼ cup honey
  • Zest of two lemons

Instructions

Make the Bread

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper for easier removal.
  • In a large bowl, combine yogurt, olive oil, cane sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until completely smooth.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until just combined, but a few lumps are fine.
  • Transfer the batter into the loaf pan and place in the oven immediately. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • Cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

Make the Syrup

  • Combine the honey and lemon juice in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until honey is dissolved.
  • Add lemon zest and bring to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and allow the bubbles to settle.
  • Prick the top of the loaf in several places with a toothpick. Pour the hot syrup over the loaf evenly.
  • Allow to cool for at least another 20 minutes before serving.

Notes

Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can freeze the bread for up to 3 months. Just thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.
  • Instead of greek yogurt, you can use sour cream or milk.
  • I tested this recipe with a whole wheat white flour, but it will work with any other all purpose flours.
  • To make this gluten-free, use an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix. Do not substitute only almond flour or only coconut flour.
  • Replace honey with other types of granulated sugar or maple syrup.

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 94mg, Potassium: 115mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 59IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

Cuisine American
Course: Breakfast, Snacks

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Recipe Rating




Comments

    1. Hi Andrea, you can, but I am not sure what the exact baking time would be – probably around 20-30 minutes, so just make sure you are keeping an eye on them. If you do make them in the muffin pan, let me know how they turned out and the bake time!

  1. I had an abundance of oranges from my tree and wanted to make an orange cake to take to a friend’s brunch. I was looking for a recipe that didn’t ask for extract that I’d probably only use once. I just replace the lemon juice and zest with orange 1 for 1 and it was the perfect amount of orange taste. The orange bread wonderful and moist and a big hit with my friends!

  2. Hello. Question : why did my batter overflow in the Pan. We followed the directions precisely and the batter overflowed the 1st 10 minutes of cooking. Help! Thank you

    1. Did you use a loaf pan? If anything smaller was used, the batter could’ve overflowed when rising. Or was too much baking powder used? Too much baking powder can cause the batter to rise rapidly.

  3. Made this lemon bread for some friends and we all loved it. So flavorful! Super simple and easy to make.

  4. Love how simple this recipe is! Super easy and it turned out very moist, but definitely think it could use less oil. Personally I’m going to use 1/4 cup of oil next time I try this and maybe a little bit of another fat instead

  5. Excellent, made Limoncello and then used the zest and fresh lemons to make the bread. Made double batch using plain Greek yogurt.. Made 1 Loaf and one Bundt, perfect!!!

  6. I made this today and used almond milk in place of yogurt. It was absolutely delicious! Perfect amount of sweetness.

    1. Thank you for posting this comment. I was hoping someone would say something about almond milk instead of yogurt. I appreciate it! 😀

  7. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. First time I tried it last year and loved it! And now it’s my favorite lemon loaf recipe! It’s super moist and delicious 😋♥️♥️♥️

  8. Whoah, I think it’s enough for iftar food tomorrow. I will buy the ingredients and cook this tomorrow after work.

    Thanks for sharing this inspiration 🙂

  9. I made this for my Dad and Stepmom for Easter and it came out wonderful; the texture and flavor were so nice and just felt like spring. It was so good I had to make more for myself the next weekend. I’d never made anything with fresh lemons before but feel inspired to try some of your other lemon recipes now.

  10. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, which to me means standard white flour, but you said you tested it with whole wheat white flour. I use white whole wheat flour (not whole wheat white flour – are they the same thing?) to make whole-wheat bread, which is quite heavy and requires plenty of gluten, yeast and diastatic malt to lighten it up. Since I’m going to make it right now because I want some right now, I’ll use white all-purpose flour.

    1. Turned out great! I use lime instead of lemon, and more than the recipe calls for because we love lime, and used grapeseed because I wasn’t sure about using our strong olive oil, but otherwise I actually followed the recipe! Wonders will never cease. I kept it refrigerated, but it never got dried out over about 3-4 days. I’m glad it was with oil instead of butter – not quite as rich and a different texture, but still excellent, especially with lime glaze, and no saturated fat. So I could eat more. (A reward for myself for making such a great dessert – I was having dessert for lunch AND dinner ;-}

      1. Thank you! I’m glad it still worked out with the substitutions you made. I can’t blame you for that!!

  11. Wow!!!!! That’s my number one favorite now!!!! I am lemon cake lover but never tried to make it myself. Thank you very much for the recipe! Will recommend to my friends)))
    P.S. I used limes instead of lemons and baked it in the muffin pan. Took 35 mins. Came out perfect!

  12. I made this today. It was easy to prepare and super moist. I look forward to making versions with other types of citrus. Thanks for an awesome, healthyish dessert!

  13. Delicious moist, lemony flavor not too sweet and not too tart! It lasted 5 days sealed on the countertop…( even though I wanted to eat it all in 1 day;)

  14. I’ve made this soo many times and everyone loves it. I dont add the lemon zest and skip the syrup too. And its still lovely.

    Thank you

  15. My parents and I loved it. We’ll be eating it with tea everyday. It was first time baking a lemon bread. (I substituted greek yogurt with half cup milk and half cup plain yogurt). It turned out really soft, light and yummy. My mother wants me to bake 2 loaves tomorrow for our relatives. 😂♥️

    1. Almond flour is gluten free and reacts differently in baking recipes. This recipe was not made for almond flour unfortunately. You’ll have to adjust the liquid if you do that but I haven’t tested it before.

  16. This is by far one of the best recipes. It’s really simple and easy to follow and tastes AMAZING! Everyone couldn’t believe that I baked it because it’s so moist. Definitely making it again.

  17. Worked great with Bob’s Red Mill GF flour & Kite Hill plain unsweetened almond yogurt to make DF & GF! Just needed to cook a tad longer.

  18. Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great! My daughter and I cant stop eating it!

    Can I also add blueberries and nuts to this?

  19. I did the lemon 🍋 cake again except with oranges 🍊 and yummy yummy 🤤 I can’t stop cooking with you thank you for your great recipes

  20. I absolutely love this recipe well all of them I cook with you often lol my family went crazy. I used half sour cream half Greek yogurt yummy. Question I wonder if I can swap the lemon for oranges and make it a orange cake any feedback wish I could show pictures of my cake

    1. So glad you loved the recipe Monica! And yes, I think it would definitely work with orange instead of lemon! Let me know if you try it!

  21. Hi! I love your recipes 🙂
    I think the olive oil is missing from the method when you hit “jump to recipe”. Any way to salvage this if it went into the oven without olive oil?
    Asking for a friend! 😀

    1. Oh no, I’m so sorry I made a typo but fixed it last week after a couple people mentioned it. How did you come out?

      1. It was actually pretty good! Just a little drier I guess. I can’t wait to try again with the oil this time. Thanks for asking!

  22. This lemon bread is delicious! The recipe was easy and the instructions were clear and thorough. The extra information and pictures were also so helpful! Thank you!

  23. Made this incredible lemon bread 2 days ago! Healthy and super tasty! I used oat milk rather than Greek yogurt and came out perfect 😋 If you love lemon, you have to make this loaf guys. Thank you Yumna! Always great recipes

  24. I made the recipe and it was perfect. My husband and I ate half the loaf before I had a chance to make the glaze. I will next time. The recipe was easy to follow

    1. So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much!! I think you don’t even need the glaze honestly, but it’s a nice touch if you have time!

  25. Made this yesterday and it is AMAZING! I did make it with the glaze on top but I don’t think it needs it. Planning to make it again this week and trial it without the glaze. Can’t get enough! Thank you so much Yumna…your recipes are amazing!

    1. Yay, I’m so glad you loved it!! I agree, I prefer it without the glaze but it does add a nice sweetness on top!

  26. This lemon bread was soooo yummy! So light, fluffy, and lemony. Fantastic recipe, I love Yumna’s recipes and this was one of my absolute favorites! Actually the same morning she posted it I went straight to the kitchen and made it haha. And most of the ingredients can be found easily in your home.

  27. I made this recipe and it came out so good it looks exactly like the picture very moist and delicious thanks for sharing

  28. can we talk about how easy and how insanely good this recipe is???
    Thank you Yumna for another recipe I didn’t need to know how to make because I am now addicted to how good it is… 💖💖💖

  29. Oh my goodness I can’t wait to try this recipe, we love anything LEMON, so I’m very excited to make this bread. I will let you know how mine turns I out. 😊

  30. My new go to lemon bread recipe!!! Made it with gluten free flour for my gluten free kid & you can’t tell. It’s so good!!

    1. Yay! I’m so glad it worked out so well even with the gluten free flour! Thanks so much for sharing!!