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!!
What is the nutritional value?
https://www.averiecooks.com/faq/ item #4
Can I add poppy seeds?
yes
Hi Averie! Thank you so much for your recipe! I’ve made it so many times I can remember the recipe by heart lol
I want to check with you – I have a friend who is allergic to gluten and she is coming to dinner and I want to make this lemon loaf for everyone and she can have it too. Do you think I can just replace flour with gluten-free flour? Or is there any other modification I should do?
I would use the GF flours that you can buy that are 1:1. So a cup of regular flour = a cup of that kind of GF flour. I would give that a whirl and keep me posted how it goes. I wouldn’t alter anything else.
I was about to try with Bob’s 1-1 gluten free flour, how did yours go? I did the lemon donuts with the gluten free flour and unfortunately it didn’t work out. Would love to hear your experience. Thank you
This looks really good and I’m going to try it this week. Just one question, can you substitute olive oil for the vegetable/canola oil? I have done it with my cornbread recipe but don’t know about baking a loaf like this.
I haven’t tried subbing with olive oil – would probably ‘work’ in terms of the structure but not sure if would impart too much of a noticeable taste for your liking (it would for mine; but everyone is different).
I’m a fussy 74 year old baker and have tried several “copy cat” Starbucks lemon loaf recipes. They were not even close!! I have come to the right place – Averiecooks!!
I baked it this morning; frosted, cut it a few minutes ago. It is beautiful and delicious.
Thank you for the recipe Averie.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Thanks for all the compliments and I’m glad my recipe delivers!
this recipe is awesome. i got bored and didnt have all of the ingredients, ended up using 4 eggs whites and a packet of instand pudding mix since i didnt have the extract, still turned out pretty great with your base recipe. i cant wait to try more of your recipes
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great based on your improvisations!
Looks delicious! You mention baking soda in the comment above, but it’s not listed in the recipe. Should it be?
I meant baking powder; I was typing on the fly. The recipe is correct as written.
Hi Averie
I’ve made it twice the first was not good. I’ve made it today March2/17 the lemon flavor excellent but it does not seem to rise like most loafs do. What am I doing wrong. Would like a replay. Thank you.
It’s hard to say what is going on with the rise. Possibly need new baking powder/soda? Check that oven is working well and getting hot enough? Glad you like the overall flavor!
Turned out perfect! Great recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad the recipe came out great for you!
Averie, I have to admit, I did not trust this when I first saw it. I thought – that is way too much liquid ingredients for the amount of flour and even when I tasted the batter before adding the flour, it didn’t seem “lemony”. You proved me wrong. I made this last night and brought it to work. The lemon flavor is perfect and the sweet and tart are deliciously balanced. The girls who are “watching their figure” wanted a “little slice” and WOW it slices beautifully – even a very thin slice. I admit – I will be making this again tonight for my sister and brother-in-law. They will absolutely love it and I am besotted with it!! I LOVE lemon!! Fabulous recipe!! Can’t wait to try your other yummy desserts!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And glad I proved you wrong ?
Followed this exact recipe and I have to say, they turned out exactly like the lemon loaf at Starbucks. I would recommend this recipe to anyone who enjoys that pop of lemon in their dessert. It was completely devoured within a few hours!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad it turned out just like Starbucks!
This was really good! I only had olive oil in the house but it worked just fine. Also, I was afraid to add the whole 2T of lemon extract so I used 1.5, but next time I’ll add the entire amount because my cake could have been a little more lemon-y. As for the glaze, I thought it was a little too tart! So next time I might cut the lemon juice in that with a little water, but that’s just a matter of taste. My husband thought it was perfect as-is. Thank you for the recipe!
I remade this loaf soooo many times when I was working on it and I always found that anything less than 2T of lemon extract was too little and sounds like you found that to be the case as well. Cut back on the lemon juice and/or thin with water as you said next time. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I made this tonight and it was AMAZING. The icing was too runny for me so I added more sugar. Otherwise, perfect!!! So lemon-y . Texture is a little dense but I really like it that way, reminds me of a pound cake.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe and think it’s amazing! With glaze, it’s never an exact science; I always have to tweak the liquid/sugar amounts to get the exact consistency I’m looking for.
I am on my 8th time making this – amazing recipe. Thank you so much for posting it. 3 are in the oven as we speak……Oscar Party dessert for tomorrow…..
Love that you’ve made this 8 times, and that you have 3 in the oven for your Oscar party! Enjoy and glad this is a huge hit with you!
Do you think i can use 2 Tab. orange extract and grated orange peels instead of the lemon extract and lemon peels? Make it a orange loaf????
Yes and if you read over the comments, others have done exactly this.
I made this recipe and unfortunately it didn’t turn out. I checked it at 40 mins (10 minutes before it was supposed to be done), and it WAS done, so I wasn’t able to put the tin foil on top for the extra ten minutes. A toothpick came out completely clean. It would have started to burn if I had left it in much longer. It was dark on top, the crack didn’t form, and the middle looked weird…not light yellow at all, but rather a kind of darker yellow and brown splotchy look. The texture was also spongy and kinda wet, and it had a fishy smell and aftertaste to it. I’m very sure that I followed the directions, and all of my ingredients were within the expiration date. Can you think of anything that I might have done wrong?
Anything with a fishy smell or taste does not sound like the ingredients were fresh…or something was going on for sure. Also just based on what you wrote, it sounds like your oven is running very hot. Brown exteriors with underdone interiors are often a sign of a too-hot oven; or too hot for that particular recipe. I’d look into that. Thanks for trying the recipe.
Thanks for the advice. It actually was done after 40 minutes…a toothpick came out clean and it wasn’t mushy or raw on the inside. I use an oven thermometer and it was at the right temp and my breads usually turn out fine. I’ll have to try it again in the future. From what you said, it sounds like something might have been off with one or more of the ingredients.
Question on the Greek yogurt — should it be Plain or Lemon flavored? Can’t wait to try this recipe.
If you can find lemon flavored, I think that would be lovely. I just use plain.