This lemon poppy seed cake comes together with cake mix and pudding for a moist, easy treat that’s bursting with bright citrus flavor. Bake the iced loaf cake for a special breakfast, for snack with a cup of tea, or for a crowd-pleasing dessert!
Table of Contents
If you love lemon recipes, be sure to try this lemon cream cheese pound cake, these old-fashioned lemon squares, and a lemon bundt cake (with cake mix), too!
We loved this and so did our friends that we shared it with!
– Shawna
An Easy Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf is Perfect for Any Occasion
Kids and adults go crazy for this iced lemon poppy seed loaf cake. While it’s simple to make with pantry shortcuts like lemon cake mix and lemon pudding mix, each slice is light, tender, fluffy, and drizzled with a sweet lemon glaze. Grab a cup of coffee and sink your teeth into this bakery-style treat!
I first baked these loaves for a last-minute coffee at my oldest son’s preschool…over a decade ago! Everyone loved the cake, and we’ve been enjoying the quick recipe ever since. You can certainly serve these loaves for dessert, but we also treat the slices like coffee cake and enjoy them for breakfast or a grab-and-go after-school snack.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- I like Duncan Hines lemon cake mix, but any similar variety will work.
- You’ll need the small (3.4 ounce) box of instant lemon pudding mix. The dry mix goes directly into the cake batter. You do not need to prepare the pudding.
- The gelatin component in the pudding mix makes the cake super moist. It’s the secret ingredient to make your cake more fluffy, too! When baking a cake (or quick bread) in loaf pans, a very moist batter is necessary so that the bread doesn’t dry out. Don’t omit the pudding, which is a key ingredient.
- Poppy seeds add a little bit of flavor and crunch. If you don’t have them, that’s fine — just leave them out. You’ll still have a delicious iced lemon loaf!
- Fresh lemon juice is best in the glaze if it’s available, but you can use bottled lemon juice, too.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Bread with Cake Mix
This easy lemon loaf cake strikes a perfect balance with rich, moist flavor and a light, tender crumb. It’s not as dense as classic lemon pound cake, and it’s finished with a delicious lemon glaze for maximum citrus flavor. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Mix together the batter ingredients in a large bowl on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes.
- Pour the batter to two greased loaf pans. Grease the loaf pans really well by coating with butter and then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can use a nonstick baking spray. These options will ensure that your bread pops right out of the pans when it’s done! Tap on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. The total baking time will vary depending on the type of pan that you use (and on your individual oven). I prefer light-colored pans (or gold pans), which cook the bread more evenly. Dark metal pans tend to cause the outside to burn before the inside cooks through.
- Cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, and then turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing. Don’t leave the bread in the pan for too long after baking. Condensation will start to form and the moisture will negatively impact the crust.
- Whisk together the lemon glaze, drizzle over the tops of the cooled cakes, and let it set before slicing and serving.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: this lemon poppy seed cake just gets better as it sits, making it a nice breakfast or dessert option to prepare the day before.
- How to Store: Covered loosely (like on a cake stand with a dome), this bread will keep at room temperature for about 2-3 days. To extend the life of your lemon poppy seed bread, store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- How to Freeze: this lemon poppy seed loaf freezes beautifully, so you can enjoy one now and save the second for later. Allow the cake to cool completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. If possible, wait to glaze the bread until it’s thawed, just before serving.
I made this lemon poppyseed bread for my family a while ago, it was loved so much, I am sending it to friends and family for the holidays this year to bring a little sunshine in these cold days!
– Kristin
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box lemon cake mix
- 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix (just the dry mix — do not prepare the pudding)
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Bake the Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two (8.5 x 4.5-inch) loaf pans or spray with nonstick baking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat together the cake mix, dry pudding mix, poppy seeds, water, oil, and eggs for about 2 minutes.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pans, then turn the loaves onto wire racks to cool completely before glazing.
Make the Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, and the vanilla extract until a thick, pourable glaze comes together. If it seems too thick, gradually add more lemon juice one teaspoon at a time. If the glaze is too thin, whisk in additional powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cakes. Once the glaze sets, slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Variations
- Gently stir 2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries into the batter. If using frozen berries, do not thaw. Omit the poppy seeds.
- Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake: bake the batter in a Bundt pan at 350°F for about 40 minutes.
- Dust with powdered sugar instead of drizzling with the lemon glaze.
- Add lemon zest to the batter for an even more prominent lemon flavor.
- Turn this recipe into lemon poppy seed muffins by baking the batter in muffin tins at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You might like these lemon poppy seed muffins from scratch, too.
More Cake Mix Recipes to Try
Chocolate Bundt Cake {Using Cake Mix!}
3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Pumpkin Cake with Yellow Cake Mix
2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Coconut Cream Poke Cake
3 hours hrs 40 minutes mins
Originally published in April, 2014, this post was updated in April, 2025.
I love lemon cakes and breads this sounds so delicious!
Thanks, Emily!
I made this lemon poppyseed bread for my family a while ago, it was loved so much, I am sending it to friends and family for the holidays this year to bring a little sunshine in these cold days! Thank you for sharing! Thank you Ellie for your inspiration!
Kristin
That’s wonderful! Thank you, Kristin!
Hello, Blair,
I have been unable to find lemon cake mix that doesn’t have pudding in the mix. How do I adjust the recipe for this? May I substitute vanilla cake mix without pudding in the mix and use the lemon pudding?
Thanks!
Hi, Pat! I would just go ahead and use the cake mix with pudding in the mix and not adjust the recipe at all. You’ll have a really moist bread — but that’s not a bad thing. 🙂 If you prefer, you could certainly do what you suggested and use vanilla cake mix with the instant lemon pudding (you could also add extra lemon zest to the batter for more lemon flavor). Either way, it should work fine. Enjoy!
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, Blair! I’m excited to try your recipe, and will make it with the pudding in the mix lemon cake mix to get the full lemon flavor! I’ll let you know how it comes out!
Warm regards, Pat
Sounds great, Pat. Definitely keep me posted! 🙂
Made it with the pudding in the mix lemon cake mix….deliciously moist! Pat
That’s awesome, Pat! Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
Hi Blair
My mom made this recipe when I was a kid and we all love it! Now my grandkids love it! The only difference between my Mom’s recipe and yours is adding more poppyseeds.
I have a question for you, I made 4 batches today for our belated Christmas. They taste good but for some reason they either sunk in the middle or are more flat on top. This has not happened to me before. They have always been “tall” in the middle when I made it before. What did I do wrong?
Hi, Marsha! I’m so glad that you like the bread! I honestly don’t know why the 4 batches that you made today didn’t rise like usual. I’ve never run into that issue — in fact, quite the opposite. As you said, these normally rise VERY high. I wonder if maybe you accidentally mis-measured the ingredients since you were quadrupling the recipe. For instance, if you’re making 4 batches, you would have needed 16 eggs instead of 4 eggs. Is it possible that you didn’t use all 16?
Excellent !!
Thanks, Jenn!
Can I use unsweetened applesauce instead of the oil?
Hi, Jodi! You can, but the texture of the bread will be very different since it’s lacking the fat from the oil. Baked goods that are made with applesauce tend to have a more gummy texture, or may be more dense and chewy than those made with oil or butter. Feel free to experiment, though, and let me know if you give it a try!
Can I use vanilla pudding mix instead of Lemon? It seems some of the breads are over powered by lemon flavor. Starbucks for example is way to much lemon in there bread.
Thanks
Gian
Absolutely! If you prefer a more subtle lemon flavor, you can definitely use the vanilla flavored pudding instead. Enjoy!
Can I also make this in a bundt pan? How would I have to change the cooking time/ temperature?
Hi! Yes — here is my lemon bundt cake recipe with cake mix!
Can easily make this into a bundt. But suggest google nothing but bundt lemon cake… it’s similar recipe and it’s the bomb!!
We loved this and so did our friends that we shared it with! Thank you so much.
That’s great, Shawna! Thank you!
would using milk instead of water make this better?
Hi, Sandra! You can certainly do that. I don’t know if you’ll taste the difference or not, but it won’t hurt.
I made this and it fell. I followed the directions to the letter and even baked it alittle longer than you said just make sure.
I’m sorry to hear that, Lill. We’ve never had that experience. It’s hard to know what went wrong without being there, but it sounds like it just wasn’t baked through completely. Oven temperatures can vary, and required cooking times can vary based on the type of pan that you’re using. Maybe it just needed more time? Otherwise, I’m not sure what could have happened.