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!
Mary says
I have them in the oven now, but instructions say mix for 3-4 minutes which I did, but I now see in the comments that it says barely mix otherwise or it will fall….. not sure now how these will come out. Which is the correct time to use? It’s too late for me to adjust, so hoping for the best!
Jessica says
Quick Bread tends to be pretty forgiving- I bet it’ll be great Mary!
Gloria says
I have a white cake mix can I use that insteAd of lemon cake?
Nellie says
Absolutely. The lemon flavor won’t be as strong, but should still taste like lemon if you use the lemon pudding. Good luck!
Bridget Barrett says
Hello, would like to use 2 boxes do I need to use 8 eggs and 2 instant pudding 2 cups of water and 1 cup oil? I’m using 9×13 psn since I don’t have a loaf pan. Thank you
Nellie says
The recipe makes 2 loaves, so you probably don’t need to double the recipe in order to make it in a 9X13 pan. I’m just worried that if you double it, it will be too thick and have a hard time baking through to the center. And make sure to reduce the cooking time as well, probably closer to 25-30 minutes.
Judith Lee says
I made this in a Bundt pan and baked it 35 minutes at 350*. Glazed with Realemon and powdered sugar. Absolutely scrumptious!
Jessica says
So glad you enjoyed it Judith!!
Nancy says
do you think you could put this in one bundt pan?
Nellie says
I’ve never made it in a bundt pan, but I imagine it would work well and should fit into one bundt pan. Let me know how it works!
Bridget says
Thank you, I’m sorry I meant to say 13×9 pan
Vicky says
Can you freeze one?? Do you think it will freeze ok?! I don’t think my family will need both loafs now.
Nellie says
Yep, you can freeze it. Just cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Works better if you freeze it without adding the glaze and then you can add that after it thaws. Enjoy!
Theresa Moeggenberg says
It says 2 loaf pans…. Is that 2 9×5 loaf pans? Thank you!
Nellie says
Yep, that’s correct Theresa!
Debbie says
Absolutely wonderful. Thank you for the recipe. Picture perfect
Doug says
We had a lemon cake but only vanilla pudding, so I made it anyway and put in 1/2 C lemon juice and 1/2 C water instead of 1 C water. It’s in the oven now! I’m sure it won’t go to waste at my house, but it will go to our waists!
Nellie says
Great idea to use lemon juice with vanilla pudding – hope you enjoyed it!
Brenda says
I add a small container of poppy seed (4oz) to the mix for a delightful lemon poppy seed bread.
Never any left overs!
Light and delicious!
Nellie says
I love that you added poppy seeds – great idea!
Julie says
No fresh lemons so used a splash of lemon extract and it was perfect! When a recipe makes a lot, I usually share with the neighbors. Not this time! This was too good to share !!! 😉 So good! This is definitely gonna be a go-to recipe ❤️
Confusedgirl says
Do I make the pudding first then add it to the cake mix or add dry pudding mix into the cake mix?!? I’m so confused!
Nellie says
Don’t make the pudding first – just add the dry mix straight into the recipe!
Anita says
I have made this several times now and it is a huge hit with my family!
Question-I had difficulty finding lemon pudding today-now I see it is the cook and serve- will that work in this recipe?
Nellie says
I haven’t tried the cook and serve variety so I’m not sure how that works. Please let us know if you try it!
Anita says
I took a chance after researching the differences between Instant and Cook & Serve puddings. The recipe came out just as wonderful as the last several times I’ve made it. We enjoy this moist flavorful bread sooo much , I try to keep the ingredients in hand.
I have added fresh blueberries on a few occasions, however they always sink to the bottom of the bread during cooking.
Joanne Trepanier says
Ladies…… I have a better approach to your lemon bread recipe…… This is what I do: Instead of 1 cup of water added to the mixture, I first put into the cup the juice of 1 lemon and then add the water to make a cup. The extra lemon juice gives it more flavor and a certain zing to the bread!!!!!!! Bake as usual! This recipe also makes a lovely Bundt cake……. Happy baking!!!!!
Nellie says
Thanks for the tip Joanne – what a great idea!
Malori says
This looks so delicious and I’m wanting to try it. Anybody ever used sugar free pudding mix?
sue vollmar says
If the cake mix recipe only calls for 3 eggs….would you still use 4 ?
Looks amazing and I’m ready to make it. Thanks
Nellie says
Yep, still use 4! Hope you enjoy it!
Judy Rush says
I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE THIS AS IT SOUNDS VERY GOOD. HOWEVER, I DO NOT USE MIXES AS THEY CONTAIN CHECMICALS THAT ONE DOES NOT NEED IN THEIR BODY! I HAVE WRITTEN 2 COOKBOOKS AND THAT IS A STANDING REQUIEMENT: ALL ITEMS MUST BE SCRATCH MADE – NO MIXES. IF YOU EVER CHANGE TO THAT FORMAT (SCRATCH MADE) PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS I WOULD WELCOME TRYING THEM MADE THE OLD FASHIONED WAY.
Teresa says
Not sure why you had to comment in capital letters – definitely sends a wrong message and please don’t tell me what I can and cannot put into my body. I loved the ease of this recipe and it was delicious!!
Lisa says
My grandma used this recipe over 50 years ago. It is a favorite in our family. Has anyone ever tried Sugar Free Instant Pudding. I have a diabetic brother that is craving this but is obviously watching his sugar levels. If you have, let me know how it turned out. THANKS
Dianne Metzar says
I have not made this lemon loaf, but I had to give it a star rating in order to add a comment. I hope when I do make it, I can give it a 5 star. Question: I cannot find a 3.4 oz lemon pudding mix. The only one I can find is M-T-Fine 2.75 oz. boxes. The bigger boxes are over the 3.4 oz. the recipe requires. What do I do ? Has anyone else had this problem? thanks,
D
Jessica says
Strange, Dianne! Are you looking at the sugar free boxes? I’d just use the smaller one. The pudding mix adds cornstarch & lemon flavor that just contributes to the bread. So a 1 oz difference shouldn’t be all that apparent.
MAXINE MOATES says
Can you make these in mini loaf pans? If so, how long to cook?
Jessica says
Yes- you can make mini loaves with this batter. Bake about 25-30 minutes.