This healthy lemon poppyseed bread features an incredibly moist crumb from using cashew and coconut flours. Topped with a light sweet and sticky lemon glaze, it’s perfect for a an afternoon snack or treat.
I have a pretty serious love affair with chocolate. Right now chocolate zucchini bread has been on rotation in my house almost every week as I work through the abundance in my garden.
However, for as much as I love chocolate, lemon desserts, which are pretty much the polar opposite from a decadent chocolate recipe, are right up there on my love-list. There’s just something about the lip puckering lemon flavor in almost anything, whether it’s a mini lemon cheesecake, lemon macaroons or a classic bread like this lemon poppy seed loaf that’s completely crave-worthy.
This bread is so GOOD. From its light and tender texture thanks to using healthy, gluten-free choices like coconut and cashew flour to the intense lemon flavor that permeates the bread and the sweet glaze, it’s hard to find a better afternoon snack or sweet addition to your brunch spread.
Lemon-flavored baked goods know no season either. This poppy seed bread is just as good in the dead of winter as it is in the height of summer. Enjoy it all year round!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Cashew Meal/Flour: Using a nut flour like this lends a tender, moist crumb to the finished loaf and makes the bread gluten-free.
- Coconut Flour: This flour adds a bit of structure and helps absorb moisture.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These leavening agents help the bread rise and achieve a light texture that’s often hard to find in a healthier gluten-free bake.
- Salt: Brings out all the flavors in the bread and let’s the lemon shine.
- Eggs: You’ll need 3 eggs for this recipe to provide structure.
- Coconut Oil: Melted coconut oil is a healthier fat option.
- Honey: Offers a natural sweetness to offset some of the tartness from the lemon in the recipe.
- Fresh Lemon Juice and Zest: Infuses the bread with a fresh, bright and citrusy flavor.
- Almond Milk: Use this to keep the bread dairy-free or choose regular milk if preferred.
- Poppy seeds: It wouldn’t be a lemon poppy seed bread without poppy seeds! These little gems provide a subtle crunch throughout the bread. You can swap them with chia seeds if you want too like in these lemon chia muffins.
- Lemon Glaze Ingredients: A combination of lemon juice, honey, almond milk, vanilla extract, coconut butter and coconut oil creates a sweet lemon glaze that perfectly complements the bread. It’s not a thick glaze like some poppy seed breads have but just enough to give that sweet icing topper you crave in a dessert loaf like this.
How to Make Homemade Cashew Flour
When I first created this lemon poppy seed bread, Trader Joe’s sold cashew meal in their baking section and I was probably one of their best customers! It’s such a great ingredient for gluten-free baking and I tend to prefer it to almond flour. Sadly, they seem to have discontinued it, but the good news is it’s so easy to make yourself at home.
If you can’t find cashew meal, simply buy some un-roasted, unsalted (aka plain) cashews and process them until finely ground in your food processor or high speed blender. I use my Vitamix for this.
How to Make This Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf
Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, mix your dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted coconut oil, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and almond milk.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the poppy seeds to distribute them evenly. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and pop it in the oven.
Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let the bread cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring it to a cooling wire rack.
For the glaze, mix lemon juice, honey, almond milk, vanilla extract, coconut butter and coconut oil in a small bowl. Warm it slightly in the microwave until smooth, then let it cool and thicken. Once the loaf is completely cooled, drizzle the sweet lemon glaze over the top and let it set. Enjoy your delicious lemon poppy seed loaf!
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- Due to the unique flours and grain-free nature of this lemon poppyseed bread recipe, it’s best to not make any significant ingredient substitutions.
- Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. Rising agents are even more important with gluten-free flours than regular flours.
- For easy removal, line the loaf pan with parchment paper (in addition to greasing it with baking spray) that overhangs the sides so you can easily pick the bread up and out of the pan after it’s been baked.
Recipe Variations
Turn it to muffins — Transform the loaf into muffins for individual servings, adjusting the baking time accordingly. I would start checking the muffins around the 18-20 minute mark. You can also try this gluten free lemon poppyseed muffin recipe.
Leave out the poppy seeds — Poppy seeds are a weird ingredient that you may not have on hand. Leaving them out doesn’t change much in this recipe, the final result will still be a delicious lemon loaf bread.
Leave off the glaze — If you don’t feel like making the glaze, leave it off! The loaf will act more like a bread than a dessert but it’s still a really wonderful snack. You can also top it with fresh berries or sliced strawberries for something a bit healthier.
Jazz it up — Use homemade candied lemon slices to adorn the top of the bread for even more lemon flavor and a pretty presentation.
Storing and Freezing the Bread
Once the bread has cooled completely from baking, keep it tightly wrapped or covered with foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for 2-3 days. After that, I recommend storing it in the refrigerator.
The lemon poppyseed bread freezes really well. It’s best frozen without the glaze but it can be done with it too. Freeze the bread whole or sliced. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then foil on top. Thaw it at room temperature once ready to eat.
More Bread Recipes
We have lots of grain-free, paleo and gluten-free healthier bread recipes, find all our quick breads here! Some favorites include:
- Cranberry orange bread — this is the quintessential recipe with the thick sugar glaze on top you love.
- Gingerbread banana bread with maple tahini glaze — if you don’t give this a try during the holiday season, you’re doing it wrong.
- Paleo almond zucchini bread — another grain-free bread recipe like this lemon poppy seed bread featuring almond flour.
- Pumpkin streusel bread — if you love pumpkin treats come the fall, this bread is a great twist to the classic pumpkin breads, muffins and cookies you typically see.
- Pear bread— with granola mixed in and a sweet glaze on top, this is a fun bread for fall too.
Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cashew meal, *see notes
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
For the glaze:
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon coconut butter
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
For the Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan.
- Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and almond milk in another bowl.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
- Add the poppyseeds and mix again until thoroughly distributed in the batter.
- Pour into the greased loaf pan and bake for about 40 minutes until the middle is set and the top/edges start to turn golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the oven, let cool a few minutes in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Glaze
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Heat just slightly in the microwave so that the coconut oil and coconut butter melt/soften enough to whisk everything together into a smooth mixture.
- Set aside and let cool back to room temperature, as it sits and cools it will thicken a bit. You can also set it in the fridge for a few minutes to speed the process up.
- Once the bread is cooled completely, drizzle the glaze over the top of the bread and let it set.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Like someone else, mine sagged in the middle where it never fully baked. The outside got nice and crispy and that part is tasty. Any tips? I’m at altitude so that might have something to do with it, or maybe I didn’t grind my cashews enough?
Hi Jenny – Sorry you had trouble with it. I’m not at altitude and have no experience with baking at altitude so that *could* be an issue. If it never fully baked in the center I would just try baking a little longer and perhaps covering it with foil if the outside gets to crispy.
Our household is allergic to tree nuts (cashews and almonds). Any idea if flaxseed meal or sunflower seed meal could sub for the cashew flour? Thank you!
I haven’t tried those and unfortunately don’t have much experience baking with either as subs for flours. Typically, I would use flaxseed meal as a replacement for eggs but I’m not so sure of it as a replacement in a “flour” situation. Honestly, I’d just search for another poppyseed lemon bread recipe that might fit your needs better.
Wish someone would what could be sub for coconut butter, I have none. Can I use Reg organic butter
There’s really not a great substitute for it. You can find it on Amazon or try another nut butter. I would not use regular butter.
Where is the nutrition information? I need to know servings, size, net carbs to see if this works for me.
The recipe has been updated to include it.
Could this be used a cake instead? or would require different ingredients?
I haven’t tried baking this as a cake – I’m sure it would be fine with the ingredients listed but baking time would probably vary as a cake pan is thinner.