Mmm, there is never a bad time for some lemon poppyseed bread. Need a nice warm, comforting and cozy bread in the winter? Make some lemon poppyseed bread. Need something fresh and delightful for summertime? Make some lemon poppyseed bread. Are you sad? Lemon poppyseed bread will make you happy. Need a fun little pick me up to send a friend? I think you know where I’m going here! Lemon poppyseed bread, y’all!! It’s always the answer. Like Windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. (To be honest, that’s the only thing I remember from that movie!)
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This recipe has been with me for quite a while. I’m not sure where it came from originally, but the recipe sheet I had printed in my binder said “from the kitchen of” and had my name and both of my parents names! Let’s just say it was an old family recipe 🙂 We made it all the time. I love how easy it is to take a box cake mix and elevate it to something so perfect!
I have tweaked it an awful lot since I stole the original from my parents though! A little extra flour here, a pinch more sugar there. I’ve been making it with almond milk for a couple years, since I was dairy free before I was vegan. That was a super easy swap and it didn’t affect the texture or taste at all!
To make it vegan was a little more tricky.
When I started testing to make it fully vegan, we had a couple rough batches. I’ve had great success using aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) as an egg replacement in a few other muffin or quick bread recipes, so I tried that. The first one was…moist, but not in a good way. It baked for a really long time, but still came out, well, more soggy than moist. Thankfully, I have a great taste-tester of a best friend who loves it in any form of doneness, so it didn’t go to waste!!
So I tried a couple other things, and after a few more incarnations, I decided to remove the boxed lemon pudding mix from the original recipe and lower the amount of liquid. The results were perfect!! Sweet, delicate, fully cooked, and properly moist!
So what do you need to make these Easy Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Loaves?
Not anything too crazy! Your most important player here is the Lemon cake mix. Not all cake mixes are egg + dairy free, so make sure you read the ingredients. This particular Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme mix is! Click through to see it on amazon. Besides that, I tried to keep it super simple! You’ll need half a cup each of almost everything else: non dairy milk, orange juice, aquafaba, oil, sugar, and flour. Then just a couple dashes vanilla + almond extract, and of course, poppy seeds!
If you need poppy seeds, you can also get them on Amazon, of course, right here!
Now that you have your ingredients, how do you make this magical & perfect concoction? You’ll start by whisking your sugar and aquafaba together until foamy. (To get aquafaba, drain the liquid off a can of chickpeas! And save the beans for use in another recipe.) Then you’ll add in all your other liquids; oil, orange juice, milk, vanilla and almond, and whisk well.
Next, you’ll add in the lemon cake mix and flour and mix until almost all the lumps are gone. We don’t want to over-mix here, because we want the final product to be as soft and delicate as possible. So don’t go stir crazy! Finally, fold in the poppy seeds and it’s ready to bake.
Now, to bake:
You can bake these as two classic sized, large loaves, four mini loaves, or in a cupcake or muffin pan. If you’ve been around here long, you’ll know I love my mini loaves, so that’s always my choice! To give yourself the best results, you’ll want to line your pans with parchment paper. Without eggs, these are considerably more delicate, and I had a hard time handling them. Thankfully, parchment paper makes it super easy to pop them out of the pans and set, right side up, on your cooling racks!
These mini loaves were done in about 30 minutes at 350 F. The large loaf I tested took about 40 minutes. Since every oven varies, aim for being able to pull a toothpick out clean. Cool as long as you can stand, for best results. They will set up a little bit more as they cool, if you tear into them right away you won’t get the cleanest cut.
Easy Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Bread
Ingredients
- 1 box lemon cake mix (check ingredients to be sure it's egg + dairy free)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)
- 1/2 cup oil (vegetable or melted coconut)
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large loaf pans or 4 mini loaf pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk sugar and aquafaba together until foamy. Add milk, orange juice, oil and extracts, whisk to combine.
- Add cake mix and flour, stir until no large clumps remain, but being careful not to overstir. Fold in poppy seeds.
- Divide evenly between prepared pans and bake, 30 minutes for small loaves, 40 for large. Test that a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans, then use parchement paper to remove.
- Store in a sealed container, or wrapped in foil, for 3-4 days. If you can make them last that long!
If you’re interested in trying my classic, non vegan lemon poppy seed recipe, let me know and I’ll share that too sometime!! Drop a comment below or connect with me on Instagram. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
If you’re looking for some other tasty vegan sweets, try my Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Bread or my Ultimate Vegan Banana Bread. Both are really great ways to use up some produce that might be just a little past it’s best life. We’ve all been there!
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