diff --git a/news/changelog-1.12.md b/news/changelog-1.12.md
index fc75b3ed02a..f2550ff7ea6 100644
--- a/news/changelog-1.12.md
+++ b/news/changelog-1.12.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ All changes included in 1.12:
 ## Accessibility
 
 - ([#15269](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/pull/15269)): Announce every link that opens a new tab to screen readers, not only links opened by `link-external-newwindow`. (author: @mcanouil)
+- ([#15306](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/15306)): Fix the notebook preview title taking the theme's heading color on the primary-colored header bar, which left it low-contrast or unreadable with themes such as `lux` or a custom `$headings-color`. The title now uses the same color as the header buttons. (author: @SabyaXSachi)
 
 ## Formats
 
diff --git a/src/resources/formats/html/embed/template.html b/src/resources/formats/html/embed/template.html
index faf33fb7f08..ee85761d31d 100644
--- a/src/resources/formats/html/embed/template.html
+++ b/src/resources/formats/html/embed/template.html
@@ -28,12 +28,15 @@
         border-bottom: solid 1px;
       }
 
+      /* The title sits on the theme's primary background, so it inherits the
+         header's contrasting text color instead of the theme heading color */
       #quarto-embed-header h6 {
         font-size: 1.1em;
         padding-top: 0.6em;
         margin-left: 1em;
         margin-right: 1em;
         font-weight: 400;
+        color: inherit;
       }
 
       #quarto-embed-header a.quarto-back-link,
@@ -123,7 +126,7 @@
   </head>
 
   <body>
-    <nav id="quarto-embed-header" class="headroom fixed-top bg-primary" aria-labelledby="quarto-embed-title">
+    <nav id="quarto-embed-header" class="headroom fixed-top text-bg-primary" aria-labelledby="quarto-embed-title">
 
       <a href="$if(nbMeta.backHref)$$nbMeta.backHref$$endif$" onclick="window.quartoBackToArticle(); return false;" class="btn btn-primary quarto-back-link"><i class="bi bi-caret-left"></i> $nbMeta.backLabel$</a>
       <h6 id="quarto-embed-title"><i class="bi bi-journal-code"></i> $nbMeta.title$</h6>
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/.gitignore b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..66901a1bd5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+/notebook.out.ipynb
+**/*.quarto_ipynb
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/index.qmd b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/index.qmd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..92b9ea1df1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/index.qmd
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+title: "Home"
+theme: cerulean
+---
+
+{{< embed notebook.ipynb#answer >}}
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/notebook.ipynb b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/notebook.ipynb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4a8eaaca779
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean/notebook.ipynb
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+{
+ "cells": [
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 1,
+   "id": "answer",
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/plain": [
+       "2"
+      ]
+     },
+     "execution_count": 1,
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "execute_result"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "#| label: answer\n",
+    "1 + 1"
+   ]
+  }
+ ],
+ "metadata": {
+  "kernelspec": {
+   "display_name": "Python 3",
+   "language": "python",
+   "name": "python3"
+  },
+  "language_info": {
+   "name": "python"
+  }
+ },
+ "nbformat": 4,
+ "nbformat_minor": 5
+}
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/.gitignore b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..66901a1bd5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+/notebook.out.ipynb
+**/*.quarto_ipynb
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/index.qmd b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/index.qmd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cb92a43ace4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/index.qmd
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+title: "Home"
+theme: lux
+---
+
+{{< embed notebook.ipynb#answer >}}
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/notebook.ipynb b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/notebook.ipynb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4a8eaaca779
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading/notebook.ipynb
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+{
+ "cells": [
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 1,
+   "id": "answer",
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/plain": [
+       "2"
+      ]
+     },
+     "execution_count": 1,
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "execute_result"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "#| label: answer\n",
+    "1 + 1"
+   ]
+  }
+ ],
+ "metadata": {
+  "kernelspec": {
+   "display_name": "Python 3",
+   "language": "python",
+   "name": "python3"
+  },
+  "language_info": {
+   "name": "python"
+  }
+ },
+ "nbformat": 4,
+ "nbformat_minor": 5
+}
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/.gitignore b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..66901a1bd5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+/notebook.out.ipynb
+**/*.quarto_ipynb
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/index.qmd b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/index.qmd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..79185be0fee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/index.qmd
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+title: "Home"
+theme: [default, theme-light-heading.scss]
+---
+
+{{< embed notebook.ipynb#answer >}}
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/notebook.ipynb b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/notebook.ipynb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4a8eaaca779
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/notebook.ipynb
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+{
+ "cells": [
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 1,
+   "id": "answer",
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/plain": [
+       "2"
+      ]
+     },
+     "execution_count": 1,
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "execute_result"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "#| label: answer\n",
+    "1 + 1"
+   ]
+  }
+ ],
+ "metadata": {
+  "kernelspec": {
+   "display_name": "Python 3",
+   "language": "python",
+   "name": "python3"
+  },
+  "language_info": {
+   "name": "python"
+  }
+ },
+ "nbformat": 4,
+ "nbformat_minor": 5
+}
diff --git a/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/theme-light-heading.scss b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/theme-light-heading.scss
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2a29f307eb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/docs/playwright/html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading/theme-light-heading.scss
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+/*-- scss:defaults --*/
+
+// A user theme setting a custom light heading color. The heading color
+// previously leaked onto the notebook preview title, which sits on the
+// theme's primary background.
+$headings-color: #dee2e6 !default;
diff --git a/tests/integration/playwright/tests/notebook-preview-title-color.spec.ts b/tests/integration/playwright/tests/notebook-preview-title-color.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b8f2e4449e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/playwright/tests/notebook-preview-title-color.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+import { expect, test, type Locator, type Page } from "@playwright/test";
+import { checkColorIdentical } from "../src/utils";
+
+// The notebook preview header is painted with the theme's primary background,
+// so its title must use the same contrasting text color as the header's
+// buttons. A theme with a custom $headings-color used to leak that color onto
+// the title, making it hard or impossible to read against the primary
+// background while the buttons next to it stayed white.
+const testCases = [
+  {
+    name: "default theme (no custom heading color)",
+    dir: "./html/notebook-preview-standalone",
+  },
+  {
+    name: "theme with custom dark heading color (lux)",
+    dir: "./html/notebook-preview-theme-dark-heading",
+  },
+  {
+    name: "theme with custom light heading color",
+    dir: "./html/notebook-preview-theme-light-heading",
+  },
+  {
+    // cerulean defines a light heading color of its own, but also paints
+    // headings white inside .bg-primary containers, so the title must stay
+    // white rather than regressing to the theme heading color
+    name: "theme that already compensates heading colors on .bg-primary (cerulean)",
+    dir: "./html/notebook-preview-theme-cerulean",
+  },
+];
+
+async function bgPrimaryColor(page: Page): Promise<string> {
+  // Compute the color the `bg-primary` utility produces for this theme
+  return await page.evaluate(() => {
+    const probe = window.document.createElement("div");
+    probe.className = "bg-primary";
+    window.document.body.appendChild(probe);
+    const color = window.getComputedStyle(probe).backgroundColor;
+    probe.remove();
+    return color;
+  });
+}
+
+test.describe("Notebook preview title color", () => {
+  for (const { name, dir } of testCases) {
+    test.describe(name, () => {
+      let title: Locator;
+      let header: Locator;
+
+      test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
+        await page.goto(`${dir}/notebook-preview.html`);
+        header = page.locator("#quarto-embed-header");
+        title = page.locator("#quarto-embed-title");
+        await expect(title).toBeVisible();
+      });
+
+      test("title matches the header buttons' contrasting color", async ({ page }) => {
+        const backLink = page.locator(".quarto-back-link");
+        await expect(backLink).toBeVisible();
+        await checkColorIdentical(title, backLink, "color");
+      });
+
+      test("header keeps the primary background", async ({ page }) => {
+        await expect(header).toHaveCSS(
+          "background-color",
+          await bgPrimaryColor(page),
+        );
+      });
+    });
+  }
+});