This gluten-free lemon coconut loaf with honey lemon drizzle is zesty, refreshing and so flavourful! Perfect to serve as a light and healthier treat or snack for Spring and Summer entertaining! {gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, & vegetarian}
This zesty and healthy lemon coconut loaf is the perfect sweet treat for when you’re craving something light and refreshing. While it resembles the taste of lemon cake, you’d never guess that this loaf is completely free of refined flour and sugar, and also just so happens to be gluten-free. Additionally, it contains a dose of vitamin C and healthy fats!
The lemon and coconut are a match made in heaven and provide the bread with such a refreshing flavour and texture. And the super simple optional honey lemon glaze is like the icing on the cake! It oozes into the loaf, adding moisture and an extra dose of zesty sweetness into each bite.
You’ll hardly be able to resist the smell of this loaf baking in the oven. Nothing beats that fresh scent of lemon and coconut!
Perfect paired with a cup of tea for a healthier treat or snack!
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour – for best results, use blanched almond flour.
- Coconut – use unsweetened coconut flakes to limit added sugar.
- Coconut Oil – use unrefined or “virgin” coconut oil since this is the most natural form of coconut oil. It has a distinct coconut smell and flavour to infuse more coconut goodness into the loaf.
Step by step instructions
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until there are no more lumps.
In another bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
Grease a loaf pan using cooking spray or coconut oil and distribute the mixture into the loaf pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula.
Bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean and edges are golden.
While the loaf is baking, prepare the honey lemon glaze, if using.
How to Make the Optional Easy Honey Lemon Glaze
In a small bowl, combine the honey, lemon juice and lemon zest and stir until combined.
And that’s all for the glaze. Totally manageable, right?
Once the loaf has completely cooled, spread the honey lemon glaze over top and sprinkle unsweetened coconut over the surface of the loaf.
The great thing about this loaf is it doesn’t require any fancy toppings or an elaborate presentation.
It looks pretty on its own or with the simple glaze and sprinkle of coconut. You can even top it with a couple of lemon slices too!
Or if you prefer, you can also skip the glaze altogether and eat the bread as is!
Recipe Tips
- Grease the loaf pan with coconut oil or cooking spray to prevent the loaf from sticking to the pan. Alternatively, you can line the pan with parchment paper, allowing it to hang over the edge of the pan slightly so that you can grab onto each side for easy removal of the loaf from the pan.
- The cooking time will depend on your oven and size of loaf pan used. I used this 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan and baked it for 38 minutes. Start with baking it for 35 minutes and adjust accordingly. The loaf is done when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean and the edges are golden.
- Allow the loaf to cool for at least 15-20 minutes before removing it from the loaf pan to allow it to set.
- If you choose to use the glaze, poke a few holes in the surface of the loaf with a toothpick to allow the glaze to seep into the loaf, adding more moisture and delicious flavour!
- Wait for the loaf to fully cool before spreading the glaze over the surface of the loaf and sprinkle with coconut.
Recipe FAQs
How to Store
You can store this loaf in the fridge in an air-tight container or tightly wrapped in saran wrap for up to three days.
If you pull it directly from the fridge, it will be a little bit firmer since the coconut oil hardens in the fridge, so you can either leave it out a room temperature for a bit or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up.
Or if you like your lemon coconut loaf on the firmer side, by all means, eat it straight out of the fridge!
Can you freeze this loaf?
Yes! You can store it in the freezer for up to a month.To freeze, I usually cut the loaf into individual slices and put each slice into a snack-sized Ziploc bag, but you could also try freezing the whole loaf as well.
To defrost: The night before or a few hours before you’re ready to eat it, pull the loaf out to allow it to thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.
Alternatively, you can pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up.
Looking for more delicious baked treats? Check out these recipes!
- Flourless Carrot Cake Muffins
- Flourless Banana Zucchini Loaf
- Flourless Pumpkin Loaf
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread {Paleo, Grain-free, Dairy-free}
- Flourless Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Flourless Chocolate Chickpea Brownies
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Gluten-free Lemon Coconut Loaf
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Zest of one lemon
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (juice from about 2 lemons)
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
Optional Honey Lemon Glaze
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan using coconut oil or cooking spray. Alternatively, you can line the pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix until there are no more lumps. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Next, add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Place mixture in greased loaf pan and smooth the surface with a spatula.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until inserted tooth pick comes out clean and the edges of the loaf are golden.
- If you choose to add the glaze, while the loaf is baking, combine all of the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and mix until combined.
- Allow the loaf to cool for at least 15-20 minutes before removing from loaf pan. Either consume loaf as is, or spread the optional glaze lightly over the surface of the loaf and sprinkle with unsweetened coconut. Place in the fridge or serve at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in April 2019 but was updated in August 2020 to include better tips and photos.
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Do you mean 1/2 cup coconut flour or 1/2 cup coconut?
1st time following one of your recipes.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Rhona
Thanks for stopping by Rhona! It’s 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes — not coconut flour. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Thanks for your quick reply!
Recipe worked perfectly. I didn’t have honey so used rice malt syrup instead which is not as sweet as honey.. The cake turned out more lemony, and delicious if you like lemons. Just added 1tspn of powdered sugar in the glaze for a little extra sweetness to offset the tang. Thank you
Thanks so much for the feedback and so happy it worked out for you! Good to know that the rice malt syrup worked as a replacement for the honey!
My favorite gluten free bread recipe yet. Thank you.
Thanks so much Stephanie! Your comment just made my day! So happy you enjoyed the recipe :)
Do you think I could use rice flour instead of almond?
I haven’t personally tried using rice flour instead of the almond flour for this recipe. My only concern would be that rice flour is grain based and therefore more highly absorbent whereas almond flour is nut based and doesn’t tend to absorb the liquid quite as much. If you use rice flour, the loaf may turn out dry, so you may need to adjust the ratio of dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Let me know how it turns out if you try the rice flour!
What pretty garnishes too! I wonder if this would work with other kinds of citrus too?
Thanks so much! It makes such a pretty loaf! I haven’t personally tried it with other types of citrus, but some readers have experimented with orange juice instead of lemon juice and reported back that it turned out really good!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
My pleasure! You can store this loaf in the fridge in an air-tight container or tightly wrapped in saran wrap for up to three days. Or alternatively, you can freeze it for up to a month!
This look so good! Do you use this base recipes for any other loafs?
Thank you!! I haven’t used this base recipe for any other loaves at this point! I’ve only tried it with the lemon coconut flavours so far :)
Hello, this looks so delicious! Just wanted to ask, what’s the size of your loaf pan?
Thanks Maryam! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you! I used the 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan at the following link: https://amzn.to/2YTEtO0
Hope that helps!
My mom and I made this today. We had to adapt a few ingredients because we didn’t have them. We used orange zest and maple syrup instead of honey. We also had to use all almond flour instead of adding coconut flour.
We’ve just tried a slice each and are IN LOVE! Moist, looks amazing and absolutely delicious! Thank you!!
Oooh this makes me so happy!! I love your ingredient substitutions too! I bet the orange zest and maple syrup would taste amazing in this loaf! Good to know it works out with using all almond flour as well! Thanks so much for taking time to provide some feedback :)
Can this recipe be modified to use pineapple/pineapple juice instead of lemon? Have you made it with any other fruit juices?
I haven’t tried it with pineapple juice or any other fruit juices but I bet it would be tasty, almost like a pina colada loaf! Hope it turns out well if you try it out!
Sooo good!! I made this last night and it was such a delicious treat! I’m doing the Candida diet so I omited the honey. I was worried it would ruin the texture but it came out like a cake! I used juice from half a lemon mixed with monk fruit sweetener for a glaze. I’ll use a whole lemon next time. Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad you loved the recipe Hanna! Love how you modified the recipe to suit your dietary needs! Thanks so much for stopping by to comment! :)
Can I replace eggs with flaxseed eggs?
I haven’t personally tried the flaxseed eggs with this recipe. If you have a chance to try it out, please keep me posted on how it turns out!
Did you try out the flax eggs? If so, did it work out?
I haven’t had a chance to try it out with the flax eggs, but hope to test it out soon! Please keep me posted if you try it out!
Can I substitute Red Mills 1 to 1 GF flour for the coconut and almond flour?
I haven’t had a chance to try this loaf out with the Red Mills GF flour. If you try it out, please let me know how it turns out!
Is it possible to only use coconut flour?
I haven’t tried it with all coconut flour, but I’m not sure how well it would turn out. Coconut flour is highly absorbent, so if you do try it out, you would definitely need to increase the liquid in the recipe. Please provide an update if you decide to try it out!
Yum! Do you know what the nutritional value of this recipe is per serving?
I don’t currently calculate the nutritional value of the recipes on the site, but if you’d like to access that information, you can always plug the recipe into http://www.myfitnesspal.com. Sorry about that!