This vegan lemon loaf cake is soft, light and full of fresh lemon flavour without being overly sharp or soaked. It’s a simple, one-bowl bake with a tender crumb, perfect for slicing and serving with tea. I sometimes add a little thyme for a subtle herbal note, but the base recipe is a classic lemon loaf you can return to again and again.

Why You’ll Love This Vegan Lemon Loaf Cake

This is one of those reliable, go-to bakes. It keeps well for several days, travels easily for picnics or packed lunches, and always goes down well.

It’s simple to make, uses everyday ingredients, and delivers a soft, flavourful cake every time.

Ingredients You’ll Need 

You’ll find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below, but here are a few helpful notes. 

• You can swap the thyme for rosemary for a slightly stronger herbal flavour, or leave it out entirely for a classic lemon loaf.
• Lavender can also work well, but use it sparingly.
• If you have leftover fresh herbs, they freeze well and can be used later in baking or savoury dishes.
• The lemon icing is optional, but it adds a lovely finish and enhances the citrus flavour. 

Tips for the Best Lemon Loaf

This is a very uncomplicated cake but these tips will make it even more straightforward to bake.

• Grease and line your loaf tin well for easy removal. I had run out of baking parchment but had some cake liners in the back of my baking cupboard – oh my word! Game changer! 
• Let the plant milk and lemon juice sit for 5–10 minutes to create a vegan buttermilk before using.
• Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the icing. For less mess, place it on a rack with a plate underneath to catch drips.

Lemon Loaf vs Lemon Drizzle Cake

This lemon loaf cake has a soft, light crumb and is finished with a simple icing. Unlike a lemon drizzle cake, it isn’t soaked with syrup, so the flavour is fresh and balanced rather than sharp and sticky.

How to Store Lemon Loaf Cake

• Store in an airtight tin for 3–4 days.
• You can also freeze the un-iced cake for up to a month in a suitable container. Slice it before freezing and you can help yourself to a piece whenever the mood strikes.

Baking With Herbs

I love having herbs planted right outside my kitchen window, ready to be snipped, chopped and thrown into whatever I have cooking, they add instant flavour and depth and the smell of them is guaranteed to draw my family to my side.

Some of them, like mint, basil, lavender, rosemary and thyme, are just as happy in a sweet dish or aromatic cake as they are in a savoury. 

For this lemon loaf cake, I used Common English Garden Thyme which is the one most readily available in supermarkets but any culinary thyme will do: lemon thyme would obviously be very pleasing!

You could also use lemon balm or lemon verbena if you have those to hand.

More Vegan Bakes For You

If you like this recipe you might also like to have a go at:

• Coffee and Walnut Loaf Cake
• Vegan Carrot Cake
• Easy Vegan Sponge Cake
• Vegan Whole Orange Cake

Vegan Lemon Loaf Cake

A soft and light vegan lemon loaf cake with a tender crumb and a bright citrus flavour, finished with a simple lemon icing. Easy to make with no eggs or dairy, with an optional hint of thyme.

5 from 6 votes

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Course: Baked Goods, Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: English

Diet: Vegan

Keyword: easy vegan loaf cake, vegan lemon cake, vegan lemon loaf cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 10 slices

Calories: 207kcal

Author: Chris Mosler | Thinly Spread

Ingredients

For the Loaf Cake

• 250 ml plant-based milk soy, oat or almond
• 25 ml lemon juice
• 250 g self raising flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 125 g caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 100 ml vegetable oil
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (optional) chopped
• 1 lemon zest only

For the Icing

• 125 g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (optional) chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice You might not need all of it

UK Measurements - US Measurements

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
• Add the lemon juice to the milk.
For the best texture, allow the lemon juice and plant-based milk to sit for a few minutes before mixing to create a vegan buttermilk.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together into a large bowl.
• Add the caster sugar, lemon zest, chopped thyme and salt and stir to combine.
• Add the oil and vanilla to the milk mixture and pour into the flour mixture. Fold in with a metal spoon until combined.
• Spoon the mixture into your prepared loaf tin, gently level the surface and bake for 30 – 40 minutes until golden brown. Test if it’s cooked by pushing a skewer into the centre, if it comes out clean it is ready.
• Leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cake is cool make the icing. Sift the icing sugar into a small bowl and add the lemon juice a little at a time until you have a spooning consistency. Stir in the chopped thyme.
• Place the cake on a wire rack over a tray. Spoon the icing over the cake and allow to drip down the sides. Leave to set for about an hour - if you can wait that long!

Notes

This lemon loaf cake is not soaked like a drizzle cake, giving it a lighter, more balanced flavour.

Nutritional information is only an approximate guideline. Calculations will vary according to the ingredients you use and your cooking methods.

Nutrition

Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg

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I love the light in this picture, the shadows cast by my kitchen blind, the little hint of my spring apron hanging on the back of the door, my lovely cake tins waiting patiently for their occupants – hoorah for spring baking!