This Orange Lemon Poppy Seed Bread / Loaf – however you want to slice it– is so DELICIOUS. Made with almond flour, gluten free, dairy free and paleo friendly. This recipe is perfect for the citrus lovers!
I can never get enough citrus flavored baked goods and desserts. Hopefully we’re on the same page because I think you guys are really going to enjoy this one.
One of my most loved recipes is this Almond Flour Lemon Blueberry Bread and I just *had* to make another version for you.
Why Both Orange & Lemon Poppy Seed Bread?
I thought it was too basic to do a regular ole lemon poppy seed. Re: not different enough from my original paleo bread recipe. It’s funny how the mind works, eh? I don’t think you would have cared much… Especially if you are here for the first time and didn’t even know about my Lemon Blueberry Bread.
This is my over-analytical food blogger brain talking. I digress.
I first tested this recipe with just orange and I didn’t feel like the flavor was quite there. So I combined orange WITH lemon and voilà! This citrus, tangy, lightly sweet paleo bread was born.
We’re using almond flour as the main ingredient here, with no coconut flour needed. You will need some kind of flour binder though – I used tapioca but I’ve had others say they use arrowroot starch in place of tapioca flour and it works the same.
Ingredients You Need
- blanched almond flour (not meal) – make sure it’s “super fine” and made from blanched almonds!
- tapioca flour – again, some have used arrowroot with the same results. Others have used 2 tablespoons of coconut flour with similar results. But if you can, use the tapioca. It’s a great staple to have on hand, especially when making homemade sauces. Or all of my other paleo breads 😀
- baking soda – the leavener
- orange and lemon – the citrus! The combination of the two offers a sweet but tart combo that is the most delightful.
- poppy seeds – love the texture of poppy seeds. But if you’re in a pinch you could always omit
- vanilla or almond extract – vanilla is always a good idea for baking. Almond extract adds a little extra special flavor. You don’t need a ton though. Just a 1/4 tsp.
- eggs – the eggs are necessary for texture and holding the bread together. I have not tested this recipe without them.
- honey and maple syrup – liquid sweeteners. There are no additional granulated sugars in this recipe. Honey will add more brown to the bread but just watch so it doesn’t get too dark.
- oil – necessary to keep things moist!
How to make Paleo Orange Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
You probably won’t believe how simple this bread is. I mean, sure there is a little bit of work in the zest and juicing the citrus. But other than that? Super simple.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: Mix together the wet and dry ingredients separately – this will make sure everything is evenly combined.
NOW FOR THE WET INGREDIENTS: When whisking together the eggs with the honey, maple syrup and oil you may notice the honey wants to stick to the bottom of the bowl. Just make sure you use a deep and large enough bowl so you can whisk quickly without it splashing outside of the bowl. Or use a hand mixer to help speed things up.
Then the bowl of dry ingredients get added to the wet mixture and the batter transferred to a medium loaf pan.
Baking tip
When baking this bread, you’ll want to cover the pan with foil after about 12-15 minutes. This will prevent the top from darkening too much. Bake for another 15-25 minutes, or until inserted toothpick in center comes out with no wet batter. I kept checking mine every 10 minutes just to be sure.
Notes about this paleo bread recipe
Almond flour: Be sure to use a super fine, blanched almond flour here. The super fine texture will keep the texture lighter. Whereas almond meal won’t hold together as well.
Tapioca flour: I used tapioca flour here to avoid having to use coconut flour. Other readers have used arrowroot starch in place of tapioca flour in the Lemon Blueberry Bread with success, so you should be fine to sub here too.
Sweeteners: It’s best to stick with a liquid sweetener here, as it affects the ratio of the wet-to-dry ingredients. You can *probably* use all maple syrup here but I did not test it that way. The bread also bakes slightly brown on top because honey “burns” quicker. I did about half honey and half maple syrup. You can also use all honey but the bread won’t be as sweet.
Citrus: If you’d like you can also just make this into a regular lemon poppy seed bread and use all lemons instead of adding orange in there. Grapefruit could also be a nice add-in!
Glaze: I used coconut butter for a paleo-friendly glaze but if you can’t do coconut, you can just omit. I don’t think the bread truly needs a glaze, but the tangy and sweet topping does add a little extra goodness to each bite.
If you’re looking for more almond flour recipes…
- Simple Paleo Banana Muffins
- Spiced Blueberry Crumb Bars
- Grain Free Crinkle Molasses Cookies
- Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins
- Paleo Cinnamon Zucchini Bread
If you make this Orange Lemon Poppy Seed Bread, leave a comment and review below! I love hearing from you and it helps others find the recipe too! Xx Ashley
How to Make…
Almond Flour Orange Lemon Poppy Seed Bread {paleo}
Paleo Orange Lemon Poppy Seed Bread made with almond flour, sweetened with honey and topped with a coconut butter glaze. The perfect paleo friendly treat! Grain free, gluten free, dairy free.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices 1x
- Scale:
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour, weighed 180g (not meal)
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 TBSP poppy seeds
- zest of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 orange
- 3 TBSP oil (such as olive or avocado)
- 2 TBSP freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 3 TBSP honey
- 2 TBSP maple syrup* (see notes)
optional glaze
- warm coconut butter**, about 2-3 TBSP
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- lemon and orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a 8×4 medium loaf pan with parchment paper; set aside.
- In medium bowl add almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt, poppy seeds, zest from lemon and orange; set aside.
- In large bowl whisk together eggs, oil, honey, maple syrup, lemon juice, orange juice and extracts. Pour dry ingredients into large bowl of wet ingredients, using spatula to stir. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake orange lemon poppy seed bread for 15 minutes uncovered, then add foil and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes. Be sure to check the bread after baking for 35 minutes total – the edges will get brown but the bread will be ready when inserted toothpick comes out with no wet batter. The middle may fall slightly, this is okay! The bread still tastes delicious.
- Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes before lifting from the parchment paper to remove bread. Slice into 10 good-sized slices and ENJOY! You could totally get 12 pieces but they’ll be skinny and you’ll for sure want more than one.
Recipes Notes:
*I used a mix of honey and maple syrup to add the right amount of sweetness and to prevent the loaf from browning too much. You can use all honey with similar results. I did not test using all maple syrup but I assume it would work. **You can omit the glaze or also use a regular powdered sugar glaze. Simply mix 1/4 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 tsp lemon juice for a light coconut-free glaze. Recipe adapted from my Paleo Lemon Blueberry Bread Nutrition info approximate based on ingredients listed.
Nutrition Information:
- Serving Size: 1/10
- Calories: 243
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 270
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 9g
- Cholesterol: 56
Products used in this recipe
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Nathalie says
Hello! This looks so yummy. How would this do with flax eggs or other egg replacements? Can’t have eggs! But would LOVE to have that bread! :)) Thanks
Ashley says
Unfortunately I haven’t tested without eggs! It *may* work but texture could be different.
Nisa says
This loaf was moist and flavourful!
★★★★★
Ashley says
So glad you liked it Nisa! Thanks for taking the time to comment and review!
Julia says
What could you substitute for almond flour? Could I use coconut flour?
Ashley says
Unfortunately there isn’t a great sub here without changing the recipe entirely. Because I haven’t done any testing using all coconut flour, I am not sure how much you’d need (it’s a lot more absorbent than almond flour.) Sorry that doesn’t help!
Carlina Chung says
I love your recipes. Very easy to make. I couldn’t make the glaze because of the lack of coconut butter. Is there a way to make it with coconut oil?
★★★★★
Ashley says
Thanks so much for your comment, Carlina! Unfortunately coconut oil is not the same as coconut butter, so you won’t be able to make glaze with the oil, that I know of at least! If you have regular powdered sugar, (or grind up granulated until powdered) that would be your best bet.
Kelsey Burnell says
I made this for my GF FIL and it was AWESOME! The texture is perfect, and the flavor is delicious. Now I just need some ways to use up my Tapioca Flour!
★★★★★
Shanda says
This turned out great! Next time I will add a little stevia to sweeten it some more though ?
★★★★★
CJ says
What did I do wrong?! It looks tasty, smells amazing, but it sunk and creates a crater instead of a loaf. Any guesses what I need to do differently?
Ashley says
Hi CJ – the loaf will naturally settle a little bit (as it shows in the photos) but if your baking soda wasn’t fresh that could be part of the problem. I will double check this recipe though. Thanks for your comment.