Best Homemade Lemon Bread, a delicious moist, Lemon Loaf Recipe. Made with fresh lemons and a simple lemon glaze. The perfect snack, dessert or even Breakfast Bread.
Now that I cookie baked myself out, I thought there’s more to Christmas than just cookies and bars. So I want to share one of the most delicious and requested quick breads I have ever eaten or made.
Lemon Bread. I love lemons. I love the smell of lemons, I love the taste of lemons, anything lemon is fine by me.
When I was a kid there was a lemon cologne we used to wear, I loved it, just wish I could find it again. This Easy Lemon Bread Recipe is a simple, easy and really good loaf that tastes so yummy.
It doesn’t even need a heavy icing because the light lemon syrup is the perfect finish. I can say I have been making this bread for over 20 years. In my opinion it is the Best Lemon Bread Recipe Ever. Every time I make this recipe I get asked for it, Lemon Loaf is one of my sister-in-law’s favourites.
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I usually make two and take one to her, she tells me it sure doesn’t last long in their house. I can assure you it doesn’t last long in mine either.
Best Homemade Lemon Bread is perfect as a breakfast bread or even with afternoon tea. It is so easy to make, no need for beaters, it is very much like making muffins. All you need is a pastry blender (I usually use a fork) and a fork or wooden spoon for mixing.
That delicious lemony glaze is the perfect addition to this loaf, no need for any kind of icing and the tangy sweet taste is just what you need. You know it and I know it. Just remember it’s Christmas, so eat now and worry about it later.
Best Homemade Lemon Bread
I think that is why I always adored Scarlet O’Hara, she had the right attitude, “Tomorrow is another day”. Enjoy!
More Lemon Recipes you may like.
Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake
Toasted Coconut Lemon Ice Cream
A delicious Lemony Sweet bread with a simple glaze.
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel zest from 1 lemon
- 4 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (I used 1 medium lemon) 22 ml
- 2 1/4 cups flour 270 grams
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 7 1/2 grams
- 3/4 teaspoon salt 4 grams
- 1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons sugar 276 grams
- 3/4 cup butter softened 170 grams
- 3 eggs (large)
- 3/4 cup milk I used 2%) 177 ml
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Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius), grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
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In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and 1 1/4 cups sugar, add the softened butter and with a pastry blender blend until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the lemon peel.
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In a small bowl add eggs and beat lightly with a fork add milk and mix until combined, then pour this mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until flour is moistened.
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In prepared loaf pan add the batter and bake for 1 - 1 1/4 hours (or until tooth pick comes out clean). Cool then move to a wire rack.
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In a small pot add 4 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar, over medium heat stirring constantly bring to a boil until thickened. With a pastry brush, brush syrup over the top of the bread. Enjoy!
The lemon bread turned out delicious! I wanted to surprise my husband this morning with a special treat and he agreed I made the right decision with your recipe.
Hi Katie, thanks so much, so glad you both enjoyed it. Have a great day.
Can Almond Milk or any other kind of vegan option be used for this recipe?
Hi Janell, unfortunately I have only made this Lemon Bread with regular milk so I can’t say that it would work with almond milk, but you could try and then let me know. 🙂
Love this bread!! My kids ask me to make it all the time for their breakfast. The only thing I changed was the glaze. Attempted recipe, but didn’t care for it. Instead I used 1/2 c powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice and 1 tsp lemon zest. I thought that was perfect. Great recipe.
Hi Laura, so glad you and the your kids like it, and I like your idea for the glaze.
I made this for the first time last night and I absolutely love it!! I followed the recipe to the tee, baked for 65 minutes and it turned out beautifully! It’s moist and lemony and glaze is perfect. I was wondering if I could just add poppy seeds to it the next time to make a lemon-poppy seed loaf?? Thanks so much for sharing!
Cheers,
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, so glad you enjoyed it. I’m sure you could add poppy seeds, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
This sounds AMAZING! I’m following a ketosis diet,I wonder if I substitute flour with almond flour
Hi Betsy, to tell the truth I have no idea, because I have only made the recipe with all purpose, I really don’t know almond flour. If you want to try it let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Made this yesterday and had to hide it because I kept snagging a slice every time I passed by the kitchen! Will be making again in a week or so for my mom’s visit – it’s the perfect morning coffee treat!
Hi April, haha happens to me all the time. So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
I made this last night and it came out amazing. Everyone in my family loved it and devoured it.
Hi Andrea, thanks so glad everyone liked it. 🙂
Should I use the eggs and milk at room temperature?
I read that when you use softed butter all your ingredients should be at the same temperature. Thanks!
I can’t wait to try it
Hi Adriana, oh that is interesting, but I just used the milk and eggs from the fridge and it works every time. But you could if you wanted to. Let me know how it turns out. Have a great weekend.
Omg!! Thank you sooooo much for this recipe and for your reply about the milk and eggs temperature. I did it your way. Milk and eggs from refrigerator. I just got a slice and it is soooo yummy. My new favorite lemon bread recipe. My son love it too!! Another question, for how many days can I leave the bread at room temperature?
Thank you sooo much
Hi Adriana, I would say covered about 3 days, I usually keep it wrapped in the fridge for up to a week. Hope that helps.
I’m trying your Lemon bread. I love making different breads. My question is, can i freeze this bread with the lemon sauce on it or should i wait to i take it out of the freezer ,before i put the Lemon Glaze on it?
Hi Stephanie, when I freeze it I do it without the glaze.
Hi one of my nephews has recently fallen for anything lemon, so I’m trying your recipe this week.
Was the cologne Love’s Fresh Lemon? lol, I loved it, too!
Hi Tina, I hope your nephew enjoys it and yes that was it! Have a wonderful Sunday.
Hi–I’m new here. I’m not home so I can’t try out your delicious sounding lemon loaf but I too loved that cologne. In fact, I still have some left. It prob doesn’t have much smell now after all these years but I’ll try it when I get home – lol.
Hi Carolyn, haha let me know I am always looking for new lemon colognes. 🙂
Any idea how many mini loaves this recipe would make?
Hi Sarah, depending on how small the mini loaves are, maybe 2 or 3?
I have a mini loaf pan that has 8 slots, this recipe filled them 3/4 full, and the loaves were perfect miniatures of 4.80 oz each. Took about 23 minutes til clean toothpick test, though they didn’t brown on top. I doubled the glaze, as there was more surface area, and I brushed each loaf 3 times, while hot in the pan, then removed them, so they wouldn’t stick with glaze on them, to cool completely. This helped the glaze dry nicely without being sticky, when the loaves were completely cool. The lemon in the bread isn’t strong, though it is in the glaze, making a nice contrast in flavors.
Hi Paula, so glad you enjoyed the recipe, and small loaves are a great idea. Have a great weekend.
I like quick and simple recipe, so I try this and turn out sooo good and tangy!
I used only 200 gr of sugar for double recipe and still taste sweet to me!
I definitely will make this super simple bread again!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Mbak thanks so much, no problem if you find it too sweet just as you say cut back on the sugar. Have a great weekend.
I just received a whole box of Meyer Lemons as a gift, do you think the flavor will be as good?
Hi Elizabeth, lucky you! Unfortunately I have never had a Meyer Lemon, but I just read about them, and apparently they are sweeter than regular lemons, I think they would work fine although I might cut back a bit on the sugar depending on how sweet you find them. Let me know.
This really is the best lemon bread <3 I love practically everything that has lemon in it and this perfect bread met all my expectations, the only thing I changed was the amount of sugar because I'm not a fan of food that is too sweet and 250 grams seemed like an overkill for me 🙂 I can't wait to try more of your recipes! Have a lovely day! (and thank you for using both grams and cups, very usefull!)
Hi Monika, thanks so much, and sure less sugar won’t hurt :). Let me know what else you try. Have a great Sunday.
Hi Rose, I’m in Sydney – Australia and you’ve got me salivating as I love anything and everything “LEMON”. This is on my “to do list” for this coming week also I’ve pinned it not only to my Recipes and Cake Baking boards, but I also have a “Lemon Lovelies” boards as lemons are my all-time favourite everything.
Hi Josephine thanks, I have to agree I love anything Lemon too. And thanks so much for pinning, hope you enjoy it. Have a great weekend.
This looks so delish!! Can’t wait to try Rosemary. thanks for the recipe
Thanks Veena let me know how you like it.
Thank you for the recipe. i made the cake yesterday and it came out super yummy. my family loved it.
Hi Malini, So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks. Have a great weekend.
Made this today. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out exactly as in the picture. It is a wonderful bread and everybody loves the flavor. My dad doesn’t like eggy flavor so he avoids most cake/breads…he ate like half of it. My colleagues asked for the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Hi Maya, thanks, so glad everyone liked it. I agree with your Dad, I’m not crazy about an egg flavour either. Have a great weekend.
oh my gosh it was lovley,took it in work and it was all gone well before lunch,making one again tomorrow.Thankyou for sharing
Hi Nikki, so happy to hear that. It’s one of our favourites! Have a great week. 🙂
Your lemon bread really does look good. It’s the perfect color, and the texture looks amazing.
Hi Jeff, thanks so much, it really is a good loaf.
Hi Rosemary, do you think the loaf would be as good if I used dark brown sugar instead of white, thats all I have unfortunately! Can’t wait to try this recipe 🙂
Thanks
Hi Beth, isn’t that strange I was just thinking the same thing myself today. I really don’t know but why not give it a try. But don’t pack the sugar down. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
I NEED something lemony in my life today and this looks like the perfect recipe….especially from someone who makes gone with the wind references 😛 I’m heading upstairs to make this right now! Thanks for sharing 😀
Hi Zoom, haha thanks I hope you enjoyed it!
Hi can you tell me does the glaze go on when the loaf is cool or still warm ?
Hi Anne, best to glaze it when cool. Hope you enjoy it.
Being a picky eater growing up I have never eaten a lemon dessert. I guess I just had it in my mind that lemon wouldn’t taste good. So this was the first time I’ve ever made ANYTHING lemon and OMG it was fantastic!!! I added 1 teas. of lemon juice to the milk and egg only after reading the review that it wasn’t as lemony as they thought it would be but everything else I followed to a T! I loved how I didn’t need lemon extract, This was fantastic! The Syrup over the top was delish! Thank you! It was an easy recipe to follow and we all devoured this loaf in a day!
Hi Ginger, so glad you all enjoyed it. Nothing like a lemon loaf. Have a wonderful week. 🙂
Aloha from Hawaiʻi!!!! I just made this and poured some of the better into a mini muffin pan for my daughters classmates….. OH MY GOODNESS, these are DELICIOUS!!! SO ONO! (what we say here)
Hi Ashley, thank you, what a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
This looks delish! Can’t wait to try it…..I love anything lemon.
Question – if I were to divide the batter into 2 portions, how long should mini loaves be baked? Thanks!
Hi Be, thanks, I would say start checking for doneness at around the 30-35 minute mark. Hope you enjoy it.
This is in the oven now and smells amazing! Does this bread freeze well? If I were to freeze it, would I have to wait and put the glaze on it when I serve it? Thanks!
HI Kayla, I freeze it without the glaze. I think it is best to glaze it before serving. I hope you enjoy it.
Hi Rosemary, it turned out perfectly and we love it! Thanks again for sharing. Tastes really good. Couldn’t wait for breakfast so we had it for dessert. 😉
Hi Yvette, haha so glad you enjoyed it, really good anytime.
Looks amazing, thanks for sharing, Rosemary!
In the recipe, is it plain flour or bread flour? And is it unsalted or salted butter?
Looking forward to making it soon 🙂
Cheers from New Zealand.
Hi Yvette, plain flour and salted butter, can’t find unsalted butter in Italy, at least my part of Italy :), hope you enjoy it. Let me know.
What if you don’t have a pastry blender?
Hi Gloria, no problem, you could use a fork or even clean hands. Works great. 🙂
Your recipe is so delicious. Easy and yet so tasty. I love it.????
Hi Maryam, so glad you like it. Have a great week.
I made this bread for Easter. Unfortunately, the bread was only about 2 inches thick. Tasted good but very dense. More like a scone than a bread. What may have happened?
Hi Donna, I really don’t know what went wrong, I make this quite often and I have never had that problem, maybe your loaf pan was too large or your baking powder expired. Let me know. Happy Easter.
Looks so good! I’ve never tried lemon bread–obviously I need to get on it!!
Hi Eden, it is really good, let me know if you make it. Happy Easter.
This is seriously good, and very easy. My husband loves it! For those of you who think it looks good (and it does!) well, start cooking, cause it tastes as good as it looks.
Hi Donna, thanks so much. I have to admit it is one of our favourites, everyone loves it.
Looks delicious! Lemon bread is always a favorite in our house!
Hi Renee, my house too. Have a great day.
I love lemons too! This bread is gorgeous!! Was that cologne Jean Nate? Lol
Hi Karen, haha I think it was Jean Nate, and there was another one too, but I can’t remember. I loved smelling like a lemon. 🙂
I’m a lemon lover too Rosemary! I bet this bread is so tasty! I love all of the fresh lemon zest you add, I think that brightens up a recipe so much. Looks amazing!!
Hi Whitney thanks, can’t go wrong with lemons.
This looks Heavenly! I LOVE lemon! I’ll be making this soon!
Thanks Megan hope you enjoy it.
Has anyone made these into muffins? Curious because I like to make as a muffing and freeze them so that my husband can grab them on his way to work, Let me know, I am going to try them that way, but would love to know if anyone has had any success baking them that way.
By the way LOVE Italy! My family is from Gaeta and we visit often. Lucky you to be living there.
Hi Joanne, I have never heard anyone make these into muffins, let me know how they turn out. I hear it is beautiful in Gaeta. Have a great weekend.
Made this today and it is delicious. In my oven, an hour pushes it, but I will adjust that next time… and there will definitely be a next time. I was looking for a little more pronounced lemon flavor, but again, I can make that suit our taste. Loved the glaze. Overall, I’d highly recommend this recipe to all of you who thought it looked good because it really is good. Thank you, Rosemary, for a wonderful addition to my recipe box.
Hi Donna, thanks, so glad you like it, and yes that is the good part, want it more lemony, add more lemon. Have a good week.
Loves baby soft was the perfume.Bought at a drugstore and it came in LEMON SCENT:)
Was my favorite as well.This bread is outstanding and is going into the NEVER LOOSE FILE
Hi Kristin thanks, so glad you like it. One day I will have to look for that scent. Happy New Year.
Lemon is my fave! Definitely putting this on my Christmas baking list! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks JC hope you enjoy it! Have a great week.
This is in my oven as we speak! Looks and smells delicious so far, and I cannot wait to put the glaze on!
Hi Courtney, hope you enjoyed it! One of our favourites. Have a great weekend.
Hi! I am brand new to your site. Oh, how happy I am! I can taste this lemon bread now. This is an “immediate make” for me. I cannot tell you how I envy you. I know that isn’t right but it is the truth. Oh my, to live in Italy……………I can only dream. I’ll be watching for your blog posts!
Hi Linda, thanks, hope you enjoyed the Lemon Bread. Happy Easter!
This looks delicious, I love anything lemon! Thanks for sharing with Tasty Tuesdays.
Thanks for coming and linking up at The Weekend Social. Please be sure to come back next week starting Thursdays at 9PM EST The Midnight Baker! I hope to see you there!
Judy
I LOVE lemon bread and this one looks amazing!!! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
This looks and sound amazing! I love lemon but have never made a lemon quick bread, I need to try this! Visiting from The Weekend Social 🙂
Hi Joy, Thanks for visiting and I hope you try this lemon bread. Let me know.
This looks so moist and delicious! Pinning to try, as we adore lemon. I love that you live in Italy and look forward to reading your posts!
Hi Andrea, thanks, yes living in Italy is certainly an experience! Have a great weekend.
You had me at LEMON! This will be in my Christmas baskets!