The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) — It took years, but I finally recreated it!! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!! You’re going to love this lemon bread recipe!
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Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe
This iced lemon loaf cake recipe has been beyond a long time in the making. I’ve been trying to make this copycat Starbucks lemon loaf on and off for years. I can’t even tell you how much I have obsessed, tried, trialed, and failed at it. Until now.
If you’ve ever had Starbucks’ Lemon Loaf, you know how good it is. Full of lemon flavor, moist, dense, and rich. Anything that good I shouldn’t want to learn how to make at home, but I couldn’t leave well enough alone.
I’ve tried countless internet recipes for lemon bread and some were ‘fine’ but not quite perfect, while others were total fails. And I definitely didn’t want to go the cake mix route.
I even sent one almost-a-possibility-but-not-quite to my mom to have her trial it.
Something as ‘simple’ as a lemon loaf cake eluded me for ages until I rediscovered and slightly adapted my own 2012 recipe for Blueberry Yogurt Cake with Lemon Vanilla Glaze. It’s an easy, no-mixer, one-bowl, whisk-together batter.
This lemon loaf cake is soft, springy, and moist without being heavy or dry, problems which often plague pound cake. Nor is it oily, which sometimes happens with the Starbucks’ version. Plus, you probably have all the ingredients on hand to make it and you can pronounce every ingredient used.
The lemon loaf cake itself is perfectly lemony, and the lemon glaze boosts the lemon flavor even more. Lemon lovers will be in their glory!
And just think of all that money you’ll save by making it at home. That’s almost dangerous.
Ingredients in Lemon Loaf
To make this copycat Starbucks lemon loaf recipe, you’ll need:
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Sour cream
- Canola oil
- Lemon zest
- Lemon extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
And to make the lemon bread glaze, you’ll need:
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Lemon juice
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Lemon Loaf
This Starbucks recipe for lemon loaf couldn’t be easier to make! Here’s a look at how this recipe comes together:
- First, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and sour cream before drizzling in the oil.
- Stir in the lemon zest and extract, followed by the dry ingredients.
- Turn the lemon loaf batter into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake until the top is domed, set, and toothpick inserted in the center crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter.
- The copycat Starbucks lemon loaf needs to cool for at least 30 minutes before drizzling with the glaze!
Lemon Loaf FAQs
Yes, this lemon bread freezes incredibly well. It can be frozen up to 6 months.
Just be sure to glaze the bread AFTER it’s been frozen and thawed (the glaze can be frozen, but the texture changes slightly).
Of course, just note that your bake time will vary depending on the size of your pans.
One reader reported success making seven mini loaves and baking them at 350ºF for about 35 minutes, if that helps. However, I can’t speak from personal experience.
Most likely, yes. You’d need to bake two 9×5-inch loaves.
A few readers have also asked if they can double the recipe and bake the batter in a 9×13-inch pan or a metal bundt pan. Both options would likely work, although I can’t say for sure.
I don’t recommend doing so, as that would change the taste of the lemon bread too much. If you want a lemon olive oil dessert, make my Lemon Olive Oil Cake recipe instead.
I’ve had quite a few readers ask about using gluten-free flour in this copycat Starbucks lemon pound cake recipe. I’ve only made the recipe as written, but readers have reported success using either Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour or Cup4Cup gluten-free flour.
I can’t say for sure if using a gluten-free flour will work, but this is what readers have recommended!
No! Do NOT use lemon oil and lemon extract interchangeably because they’re not — oil is much more potent and intense.
No, do NOT use lemon juice in place of lemon extract because it’s not strong enough and the acidity can alter the overall results.
I used 2 tablespoons of lemon extract because no actual lemon juice is used in the loaf and I found 2 tablespoons lemon extract necessary for full-bodied lemon flavor, but you can add it to taste.
What Readers Are Saying
As you can see on the recipe card, this copycat Starbucks recipe for lemon loaf has over 1,500 reviews on it. And if you scroll to the very bottom of this post, you’ll see the 1,000+ comments that readers have left.
To say that this lemon bread recipe has been tried and tested — and loved! — is an understatement!
Here are just a few 5-star reviews that have been left on this lemon loaf cake recipe:
“Delightful! This loaf did not last long in my household – lemony and delicious and a recipe I always come back to.” — Stephanie
“I have been making this recipe for a few years! Always gets the best reviews! I poke holes in it so when I add the glaze it goes into the loaf! This is my go to recipe when I am asked to bring a dessert!” — Joan Kasaris
“Simple, yet delicious! Baked mine for 40 minutes. It’s a dense, flavourful cake and will be my go-to lemon loaf recipe from now on since I have too been looking for the perfect lemon loaf for a long time. Thanks for finding it for me!!!” — Vivi
“Hard to believe a recipe so quick and easy tastes so good. Passed some out to friends and they were amazed at texture and flavor. I followed the reciperight to the end.” — Roger Drenga
“This recipe is incredibly delicious, and this was also my very first time baking a lemon loaf. I’m so happy how it turned out, and everyone in our house loved it. Thank you!” — Danielle
Recipe Video
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The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat)
Ingredients
Lemon Loaf
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or Greek yogurt
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon extract, to taste (not teaspoons)*
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
Make the Loaf:
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, sour cream, and whisk vigorously until smooth and combined.
- Drizzle in the oil while whisking to combine.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon extract, and whisk to combine. Note – I used 2 tablespoons of lemon extract because no actual lemon juice is used in the loaf and I found 2 tablespoons lemon extract necessary for full-bodied lemon flavor, but add to taste.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and stir until just combined, don’t overmix. Some lumps will be present and that’s okay, don’t try to stir them smooth.
- Turn the batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 50 to 52 minutes, or until top is domed, set, and toothpick inserted in the center crack comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter. In the last 10 minutes of baking, tent pan with foil (loosely drape a sheet of foil over pan) to prevent excessive browning on the top and sides of bread before center cooks through.
- Allow loaf to cool in pan on top of a wire rack for at least 30 minutes (I cooled 4 hours) before turning out onto rack to cool completely before glazing.
Make the Lemon Glaze:
- To a small bowl, add the confectioner’s sugar and slowly drizzle in the lemon juice while whisking until smooth and combined. You may need to play with the sugar and lemon juice amounts a bit as necessary for desired consistency and flavor.
- Evenly drizzle glaze over bread before slicing and serving.
- Extra glaze can be spread on the cut surface of the bread like you’d spread butter on toast and it soaks right in making the bread even moister and more lemony. Or you can halve the glaze recipe if you’re not a glaze person.
Video
Notes
- *Don’t use lemon oil and lemon extract interchangeably because they’re not; oil is much more potent and intense. Don’t use lemon juice in place of lemon extract because it’s not strong enough and the acidity can alter the overall results.
- Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months; I don’t recommend storing it in the fridge because it’ll dry out.
- Recipe adapted from my Blueberry Yogurt Cake with Lemon Vanilla Glaze.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Lemon Desserts:
Lemon Lemonies – Like brownies, but made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense, chewy, not cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor!
Lightened Up Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake — No BUTTER in this healthier cake with big juicy blueberries and refreshing lemon! It’s a keeper!
Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting – Soft, fluffy, moist, very lemony cupcakes from scratch! Easy one-bowl, no-mixer recipe for cupcakes that taste like they’re from a bakery!
The Best Lemon Bars – Truly the best lemon bars I’ve ever had!
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze – Almost more berries than cake in this soft, fluffy cake!
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies — Packed with big, bold lemon flavor for all you lemon lovers! They’re soft, chewy and not at all cakey!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — An easy buttermilk cake with big lemon flavor!! Soft, fluffy, and foolproof if you like puckering up!!
Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies — Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese!! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!!
Baked Lemon Donuts with Lemon Glaze — They taste like the Starbucks lemon loaf, but in donut (or mini muffin) form!! Easy, no mixer recipe with a tart-yet-sweet lemon glaze that’s PERFECT! Lemon lovers will adore them!!
Made this recipe yesterday with sour cream and it turned out beautifully! Had to bake it for an additional 10 mins, probably due to oven variations. Thanks for this recipe! I love the Starbucks lemon loaf and at almost $5 and 500 calories a slice, it’s hard to justify buying. But this solves all my problems!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And yes, a savings on both calories and $$ !
my girlfriend really loved this thing at starbucks on her last trip to the us, and I’m trying to use your recipe even with this impossible system of weight. You didn’t mention the temperature of the oven, or even if we should pre-heat it. Could you specify?
Step 1, oven temp. As far as weight measurements, sorry I use cups and tablespoons.
Hey . I can i replace greek yoghurt with homemade yoghurt? Would i have to add some baking soda in that case? As yoghurt is acidic
Hey i soo want to try this recipe but there is this troubling thought bugging me. This recipe uses yoghurt hence it has an acidic factor but no baking soda is used .i usually add baking soda whenver i use buttermilk or yoghurt. So Will that work anyway? I mean without the soda
Being that I tried SO MANY times to get this recipe to work, I recommend following it EXACTLY because if you don’t, I have no idea if it will work or not. I tried so mnay various things that I ‘swore would work out’ but then the loaf would fail until this combo of ingredients.
Hello! I live in Argentina and I don’t have lemon extract. What do you recommend to use in replace? Instead of greek yogurt may I use natural yogurt or do I use sour cream for better? Thanks for your reply. Laura
I don’t know what to recommend as a substitute – this ingredient is critical for the success of the recipe. Use sour cream, not natural yogurt if you don’t have Greek.
Do you think regular 2% yogurt would be fine? I don’t have any greek on hand right now.
Unfortunately no, it’s too thin. You could try sour cream if you have that on hand.
I made this last night; it makes a beautiful loaf! I let it cool in the (glass) loaf pan over night and it came out easily in the morning – always the fear with loaf pans – I was kicking myself last night for not putting parchment paper in the bottom of the pan to make sure it came out whole, but it turns out I didn’t need to worry. I found that it took a fair bit longer to bake, but I have a bit of a weird oven, so that could be why.
Glass takes longer to bake in than a metal pan does and despite the video showing a glass pan (that’s what my video team had in their kitchen) when I bake this loaf in my kitchen I use a metal pan. Glad it didn’t stick and that you’re enjoying it!
Hi Averie, I live in Switzerland and wanted to let you know I have made this loaf 4 times (just cutting half the sugar) and everybody who tried it, loved it! So you know, you’re recipe has gone international ;o) thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that it’s an international hit!
What lemon extract do you recommend?
I’ve used either McCormick or a storebrand.
I have made this over a dozen times and I must say it is THE BEST LEMON LOAF I’VE EVER HAD!!! I followed the recipe and didnt make any alterations. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and especially for all the time you put into perfecting it!
Thanks for trying the recipe over a DOZEN TIMES and I’m glad it’s a favorite and the best you’ve ever had!
You show coconut oil in your lemon loaf demonstration but not in your written ingredients. I’m confused.
You can use either coconut, vegetable, or canola oil. Some people are not fond of the flavor of coconut oil and in that case I would recommend sticking with the other two. Enjoy!
Hi, may I know if I get to bite into the pieces of the lemon rind in the cake? I prefer not to so please advise how should I cut or how small should I cut so that i wont bite into them inside the cake. Thanks!
You won’t be biting into lemon rind if you use a lemon zester and zest very finely. Enjoy!
When you say sour cream or Greek yogurt (lite ok). Is lite ok for the sour cream as well or just the Greek yogurt.
Either one can be lite. Just not fat free. You need some fat, just not all of it, if you don’t want to use full fat products.
Omg. I just made this and it’s absolutely delicious!! So moist and flavourful. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I made this last night – and my family devoured it this morning! I used 1.5 Tbs. of lemon extract and thought it was the perfect amount. I might try cooking for 48-50 next time. Excellent recipe! I may never buy the Starbuck’s version again :)
Livingthewolfstyle.com
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! All ovens vary so just bake til done in yours and glad you may never buy the Starbucks version again :)
Hi, I made 14 cupcakes at the same temp and baked for 21 minutes. They were delicious and moist just like the loaf, but I admit I prefer the loaf with the glaze. I started checking the cupcakes at 16 minutes then then checked every two minutes until they were springy in the middle. I prefer the loaf cake form rather due to the glaze. However, I will make cupcakes again and add a lemon buttercream frosting and wrap my mind around that!!! Thanks again for your amazing recipe. Happy baking, Melissa
Good to know you prefer the loaf over cupcakes. I do have a lemon cupcakes recipe with a great frosting you may enjoy! https://www.averiecooks.com/lemon-cupcakes-with-lemon-cream-cheese-frosting/
Hi, I adore this loaf cake and want to try making it into muffins for easier freezing after baking. Any ideas on changing the temp and cooking time? It truly is delightful. Thanks, Melissa
I wouldn’t change the temp and most muffins bake from 18-23 minutes, depending on oven and size of muffin tin. But that’s just a guesstimate. Bake until they’re springy and set in the center. Glad you love the recipe so much! LMK how the muffins go!