Easy Lemon Bread is moist, full of lemon flavor and made with only five ingredients! This lemon bread recipe has bright lemon flavor & a sweet-tart lemon glaze that everyone loves!
How to make the easiest lemon bread ever!
Lemon Bread is made with lemon pudding, a lemon cake mix, oil, water and eggs. That’s it! All of the ingredients are mixed together and then divided in half to make two delicious loaves of bread perfect for lemon lovers. The bread has a lovely tender crumb that’s even better the next day.
I know some of you are going to look at the ingredients and realized that there is a cake mix listed. Wait a second, is this lemon dessert a cake or bread? Yes, there is cake mix and pudding in the recipe, so the bread ends up being pretty sweet and a little bit cake-like. But let’s be honest. Aren’t most quick breads pretty much like cake anyways?
Banana bread, zucchini bread….all of these recipes are a little bit more like dessert than bread, but hey, if you put it in a loaf pan, you can call it bread. And doesn’t it just make you feel better to say that you ate 5 slices of bread than half of a cake? If it’s bread, you can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner and not feel bad about it. Sounds good to me!
Lemon Bread tips
There are a couple of tips that will help you to get the perfect lemon quick bread every time!
- Make sure to use the right bread pans! The recipe for this quick bread is written for two regular sized bread pans which are 9.5″X5″. You can use three smaller pans if you’d like, just adjust the cooking time to about 45 minutes.
- I don’t like to use glass pans. For some reason, my bread never cooks very well. If you use non-stick pans, you won’t want to use any cooking spray, but if you are not using non-stick pans, make sure to use a baking spray like this one or line the pans with parchment paper so your bread doesn’t get stuck to the pan! There is nothing worse than making a beautiful loaf of bread and having the whole thing fall apart when you try to get it neatly out of the pan!
- Make sure to test the middle of the bread at the end of the cooking time – I like to use one of these for that! If your bread is still gooey in the middle, bake for a few more minutes. If the edges and the top are starting to look too brown and the middle isn’t done yet, go ahead and put some foil over the bread for the last few minutes of baking until the bread is done in the center. This will prevent the outside from burning, but still allow the middle to cook all the way through.
What is the Best Bread Pan?
I bake a lot of bread and the pans I prefer are either ceramic, glass or cast iron. These pans will bake bread more evenly and release the bread more easily after baking. I don’t like using dark or nonstick pans because the bread cooks unevenly. It darkens on the outside before the bread is cooked on the inside, so the coloring is uneven. Read more about which bread pan is the best here!
Ingredients in Lemon Loaf recipe
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy recipe:
- lemon cake mix- the mix contains most of the dry ingredients you’ll need for the bread like all purpose flour or cake flour, a teaspoon salt, and some type of leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder
- instant lemon pudding – adds great lemony flavor and a soft texture to the bread
- vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- cold water
- 4 large eggs- room temperature eggs preferably (you can cheat a bit and set the whole eggs in warm water for a few minutes to bring them up to room temp!)
Step-by Step Instructions for making Sunshiny-Sweet Lemon Bread
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes.
Pour into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and floured, or you can do what I do and use a baking spray like this one.
Bake at 350° for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Leave in pans for a few minutes before removing the loaves and placing on a wire rack to cool. Slice and serve – enjoy!
Is there a glaze on lemon bread?
You can make a powdered sugar glaze if you want, but I actually prefer this bread without it. The bread is sweet enough without it and I like not having sticky fingers – it makes it easier to sneak bites without any evidence! My kids devour this every time I make it and it’s the perfect treat for lunches or after school.
How to make a sweet lemon glaze
Mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with about 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice (fresh or bottled) in a small bowl. Drizzle over the top of the bread after you have removed it from the bread pan. The drizzle can be added while the bread is warm or after it has cooled. You can top the bread with fresh grated lemon zest too, for a stronger lemon flavor if you’d like! I also love adding in 1/4 tsp vanilla extract to the glaze. Lemon zest is just grated lemon peel, for anyone wondering!
Can I use Lemon Oil?
Yes, you can also add some lemon essential oil to this bread and/or the lemon glaze if you’d like. Lemon essential oil gives the bread a fresh lemon flavor without actually using fresh lemons! Just add 2-3 drops to the batter and 1-2 drops to the glaze.
AVOID SUNKEN BREAD
The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!
EASY LEMON BREAD
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. lemon cake mix 16.5 oz
- 1 pkg. instant lemon pudding mix 3.4 oz
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 cup cold water
- 4 eggs
Lemon Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes.
- Pour into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and floured, or you can do what I do and use a baking spray like this one.
- Bake at 350° for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Leave in pans for a few minutes before removing the loaves and placing on a wire rack to cool. Slice and serve – enjoy!
Simple Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, use a fork to mix the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Drizzle on top of the bread once it has cooled for at least 15-20 minutes, or even after it is completely cooled so that the glaze doesn't completely melt on the hot bread!
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Like Lemon Recipes? Try some of these fresh lemon recipes!
- Lemon Cake Mix Cookies Recipe
- Lemon Ice Box Pie Recipe
- Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Easy Lemon Raspberry Truffles
- Lemon Butter Bars Recipe
- Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake
- Lemon Poke Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Quick Bread Recipe
- Lemon Raspberry Fruit Pizza
- Lemon Drop Glazed Mini Cupcakes
- Lemon Butter Cookies
What kind of oil is best in lemon bread?
The recipe also calls for vegetable oil, but I actually usually use coconut oil (melted of course!) because it adds a lighter taste to the bread, plus as you can see, I’m all about making my “bread” as healthy as possible. Cue the cake mix and the lemon pudding. Both of these ingredients add the perfect amount of lemon flavor and they just make this recipe so easy to make!
You can also use a light olive oil. I find that EVOO adds a strange tangy flavor, so aim for light instead.
More amazing sweet breads recipes that we love:
- Sweet Coconut Quick Bread
- Pineapple Quick Bread recipe
- Best Zucchini Bread recipe
- Yogurt Banana Bread recipe
- Dutch Apple Quick Bread
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Quick Bread
- Caramel Banana Nut Bread
- Best Ever Pumpkin Bread
- Lemon Buttermilk Quick Bread
- Caramel Apple Quick Bread
- Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread
- Peppermint Chocolate Quick Bread
- Cranberry Orange Quick Bread
- Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread
Easy Lemon Bread is moist, full of lemon flavor and made with only five ingredients! This lemon bread recipe has bright lemon flavor & a sweet tart lemon glaze that everyone loves!
Kristin's Peppermints and Cherries says
Oh yum! This bread looks so moist, and I love anything lemon! Pinned!
Nancy says
You can no longer get Duncan Heinz Lemon Supreme 16.5oz. They have lessened it to 15.25oz. I make this particular recipe very often and was concerned about the amount of ingredients being Duncan Heinz reduced the volume of cake mix but I still get an awesome cake using the same ingredients.
Nellie says
Good to know- thanks for the information!
Jessica says
Glad it all worked out Nancy!
Kim Straus says
Try putting the mix in a Bundt Pan and drizzle a powdered sugar mix on top. Delicious….
Nellie says
What a great idea! That sounds delicious!
Shiho says
Yum! we just made this and my family loved it.
Samantha says
I frequently get a slice of Lemon Bread when I drive through Starbucks, but never again…this one is even better!
Janice says
I made it it was delicious both loves were gone before they even got cool
Nellie says
So glad you enjoyed it Janice!
Nancy K January says
This bread is awesome!! Everyone that I’ve shared it with has raved.. The glaze really complements the bread!!
Joan says
I live in the United Kingdom and am unsure what lemon pudding is. Is it jelly crystals? If not what can I substitute?
Nellie says
Joan – lemon pudding is a mix that you use to make pudding – all you have to do is add milk. I’m not sure what a good substitute would be! I did a quick google search for “instant pudding substitute” and there are a quite a few recipes where you can make your own mix. Most were for vanilla pudding, but you could just add some lemon extract/lemon zest to add the lemon flavor.
Laura says
The first time making this I didn’t have ingredients for the glaze so I melted a bar of white chocolate and brushed it over the top and sides. It was fantastic but I’ll be trying the glaze next. I think it’s more of a cake than a typical sweet bread but it’s tasty either way!
Linda says
Question, what size loaf pan(s).
Jessica says
I’ve used both 8″ and 9″ standard loaf pans with success!
JoAnn says
It was so easy to make and delicious, I added about a teaspoon of lemon juice also to the oil. I will be making this again. Thanks
Trish says
Have you ever added blueberries to the recipe if so how did it come out
Nellie says
I’ve never tried it, but I’m sure that would be absolutely delicious!
Anna M Miller says
This cake/bread was so easy and absolutely delicious. I made it for a family lunch and all ages devoured it. The only change I would make next time is to use a single loaf pan, there wasn’t much batter in the two and it came out a little flat (no change to texture of flavor, just wasn’t as pretty). I also saw another commentor suggested adding blueberries – I will have to try that!
Doreen says
These breads do not come out looking like what you see in this picture. I made 2 at first and when they ca.e out half the size if my pan I thought I did something wrong so I made them again double checking the recipe. Same thing happened. When they are done and removed from the oven they are nice and high. The minute they hit the air they are half the size they should be. Very disappointed. Not going to waste my time and money again.
Nellie says
I’m so sorry that your bread sank! That’s happened to me before too! This bread recipe will sink a little bit, but shouldn’t be that extreme. I promise the loaves in the pictures are ones that I made! The main thing that helps any quick bread not to sink as much is to avoid overmixing. You should barely mix all of the ingredients together before pouring into the pans. Sometimes it’s because the pans are overfilled, so maybe try larger pans if you were using anything smaller than a full sized bread pan. Or maybe fill 2 loaf pans and then make one tiny loaf with the rest of the batter just to make sure there isn’t too much batter in your pans. Sometimes in regular quick breads, the sinking happens because the baking soda is old, so in this recipe, make sure that the cake mix isn’t old or expired as that might have an effect on this too.
Doreen Hogan says
I wish I could send a picture of the bread I made. I followed the recipe to the letter. I happen to be an excellent cook. This loaf cake did not come out at all looking like the picture this person posted. I was making these for Christmas gifts. Not anymore. I would be ashamed to give them away as a gift.
Jessica says
Sounds like something didn’t go quite right Doreen! I’m sorry- that’s so frustrating! Not sure what to tell you. What kind of pan are you using? Was your cake mix expired?
Christie says
I made this using the coconut oil and instant cheesecake pudding. It was Fantastic! My hubby ate half a loaf before I could even get the dishes done! I did have a problem with mixing the ingredients for a full 3 – 4 minutes as called for in the recipe. It got very thick at about 2 1/2 minutes, so I mixed a few seconds more and then stopped. The notes say don’t overmix, but then the recipe card calls for 3 – 4 minutes. Maybe this needs to be adjusted.
Jessica says
Thanks Christie!
Sherri Zeliadt says
This is very good, moist and easy to make. Some folks were saying they had trouble with the cake falling after cooked, I did not. I mixed my liquids together with the mixer then added the cake mix and incorporated together then added the pudding and mixed just long enough to mix in.
Alison says
So glad it worked for you and that you enjoyed it!
Traci says
What if you accidentally got cook and serve pudding instead of Instant? Will it work or should I just go back to the store? Thanks!
Jessica says
I’ve used it on accident and it worked great!!