This easy lemon bread is perfect for brunch or dessert. It doesn’t need any butter or oil but you won’t be able to tell. The bread is sweet, fragrant and a little tart from the citrus. It’s an easy one-bowl recipe that doesn’t even require a mixer.
Spring is here, which means warmer weather and more opportunities for weekend brunch. This bright lemon bread is the perfect way to welcome in the new season and to serve at brunch. I love that this bread only takes a few minutes to prepare and then it’s ready to be baked. It has a lovely fragrant lemon scent from the lemon zest, and a touch of tartness from the lemon juice. You can enjoy it as is or add a lemon drizzle over the bread.
Ingredients
- Lemon
- Eggs
- Condensed Milk
- Self-Rising Flour
Lemon: You will need fresh lemons to make this bread. The bread uses fresh squeezed lemon juice and zest from approximately 1 medium lemon. If you want to make the glaze you will need an additional lemon.
Condensed Milk: This recipe uses full fat sweetened condensed milk. The milk provides sweetness for the bread, helps bind the bread together and replaces the need for butter or oil.
Self-Rising Flour: This bread is made with self-rising flour, which already has baking powder and salt added to it. If you do not have self-rising flour on hand, you can make your own by whisking together all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. The exact amounts are listed in the notes of the recipe card.
Lemon Bread Texture
This lemon bread has a texture that is somewhere in between regular bread and a quick bread. It does have a very tight crumb from the condensed milk, so it’s not as fluffy as a classic quick bread. I like that the bread is sturdy enough that you can even add some spread onto it. It also goes great with coffee or tea.
More Easy Bread Recipes
4 Ingredient Lemon Bread
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (2 oz) lemon juice + 2 tsp lemon zest approximately 1 medium lemon
- 3 large eggs
- 1 (14 oz) can (397g) full fat sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ¼ cups (156 g) self-rising flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Add lemon juice, zest, eggs and condensed milk to a large bowl. Whisk until eggs are fully incorporated and batter is uniform. Add in flour. Whisk until flour is fully incorporated. If you find any pockets of flour, the best way to break them up is to rapidly run your whisk in a back and forth motion rather than just stirring in a circular pattern.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until bread is done. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick and it should come out mostly clean. Let bread cool fully in pan before removing. If adding icing, wait until bread is fully cooled before drizzling it on top.
Notes
- For the lemon drizzle on top, I whisked together 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Add milk as needed to thin out icing to desired consistency.
- You will need approximately one medium lemon to produce 1/4 cup (2 oz) of lemon juice and 2 tsp of lemon zest. 2 ounces refers to the volume.
- Condensed milk is usually sold in 14 oz cans. 14 oz refers to the net weight. One can contains 1 1/4 cups condensed milk or 397 grams. Because condensed milk is so sticky, make sure you scrape the sides of the can with a spatula to get all the condensed milk out of the can.
- To make your own self-rising flour, combine 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 2 1/4 tsp baking powder and 3/8 tsp salt. Whisk until evenly combined. Measure out 1 1/4 cups for the recipe. Do not use the full amount of flour. You can save the rest of the flour in an airtight container for a future recipe.
- I used Lily's self-rising flour* to make this recipe.
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
- Nutrition estimate does not include lemon drizzle.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Very tasty lemon bread.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I love baking and I’m interested on experiencing new receipt every day.
Looking forward to making it
Enjoy!
Looks yummy
Thanks! We hope you give it a try.
This bread was so good! It was soft and moist inside. Great easy recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it!
What a unique recipe. I made this and wasn’t sure how it would turn out but wow was I surprised. It was very good and the flavor and texture reminded me of a cheesecake. Loved it! Will be making again for sure. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad it worked out for you!
I love simple baking
Thank you
Rr
Rubyanne
We do, too!
We never needed these simple, amazing recipes more the right now!!!! Thanx
We hope you love them!
thank u sis
Thank you, the best icing and bread in this galaxy! Thanks, again for sharing a sunshine receipe for the palate!
wow, thank you for such a wonderful review!
Would this recipe work if I added blueberries?
I haven’t tested it with blueberries. They may sink to the bottom.
If you dust your blueberries with some of the flour it should help them not too sink too much!
This is a wonderful recipe! Enjoyed it so much almost didn’t have time to take a picture!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this with lime instead of lemon as limes I had in house. It turned out great. Wonderful flavor. Will do the next with lemon. Sure it is delicious just as the lime is.
A lime version sounds delicious! I’m glad it worked out for you
Can whole wheat flour be used instead of white?
I have not tried with whole wheat. It may make the bread dry
hiw many grams in weight is a slice. I use this kind if stuff to treat my sugar lows but need to keep my net carbs at 20.
Sorry, but we don’t have that information.
What changes would you suggest to make the lemon bread gluten free?
You could try a cupforcup GF flour – just make sure it’s self rising or make your own following the tip in the recipe. We haven’t tested it this way, so let us know how it works for you.
Me encantó
I would like to reduce the sugar content of this recipe. Can i use less condensed milk and still make it work well?
it will likely make your bread dry. You can probably reduce the sugar content but you would need to do more than just reduce the condensed milk. For example you may need to add some oil, water, etc. Without testing it, I don’t know exactly the changes that would need to be made.
Can’t wait to make this. Looks easy.
We hope you enjoy it!
Lovely recipe.
I will be making this bread but I think I would use limes in stead of lemon.
Let us know how that works!
Excellent
This is looks amazing. Do you have to use self rising flour or can I use all purpose with baking soda?
Please review the notes in the recipe card at the end of the post – we explain how to make self rising flour.
Turned out perfect! Ans so simple 🙂
I’m so glad it turned out well for you!
Just love what I’ve seen,thankx
Thank you!
Beautiful, tasty & simple recipes. Not a big money spender.
Planning my pantry restock to make simple recipes! Looks like fun for me, without much experience in the kitchen.
Have fun making it!
I am interested in recipes that are simple and easy to make, aside from less time preparing.
Thank you
You might like to check out all of our Recipes with 4 Ingredients or Less!
I’ll try this one
Thank u looking very good
We hope you enjoy it!
Im going to try this limon bread
Enjoy!
Brilliant ideas love it
Can you sub non dairy milk and gluten free flour?
You can try condensed coconut milk. I don’t know if gluten free flour will work.
Thank you so much for these nice recipes, appreciate it very much.
You’re welcome!
I like it thank u
I’m so glad you like it!
I will try this recipe, sounds and looks wonderful
EXCELLENT!
I’m so glad you enjoyed!