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!!
I am so glad I found your website. This is an incredible recipe. There is absolutely nothing I would change. My husband melted when he tried this. I had no choice in sending this to my sister to make. I have tried one other recipe of yours and now I am slowly printing these to put in recipe binder for frequent future use.
I am so glad I found your website. This is an incredible recipe. There is absolutely nothing I would change. My husband melted when he tried this. I had no choice in sending this to my sister to make. I have tried one other recipe of yours and now I am slowly printing these to put in recipe binder for frequent future use.
I am so glad your husband and sister and you have been really enjoying my recipes!
This loaf is amazing. I owned a bakery years ago and wish I had this recipe back then. So moist! My guys finished the first day and were asking for me to make more.
Ive made this a million times over the past couple years but wanted to say I also make the mini loaves with it.
I have pans of 8 mini loaves I use and check at around 30 minutes sometimes up to 35 minutes.
People love the mini ones I make fr family dinners
Ive made this a million times over the past couple years but wanted to say I also make the mini loaves with it.
I have pans of 8 mini loaves I use and check at around 30 minutes sometimes up to 35 minutes.
People love the mini ones I make fr family dinners
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad that you have been making this a ton the past few years and also as mini loaves. Yes, people love mini loaves and they are perfect for gifting and sharing which is so nice of you!
Where are the measurements for the ingredients?
In the recipe card section of the blog post.
Hi Averie:
This is the second time I’ve made this and we love it. We took it to my friend’s house to have with coffee. Cherie loved it too. The lemon extract (McCormick) is expensive but I’m sure it’s less than purchasing a loaf at Starbuck’s. It’s so quick and easy to make and the lemon taste so vibrant! Thanks again for a great recipe.
Hi Averie:
This is the second time I’ve made this and we love it. We took it to my friend’s house to have with coffee. Cherie loved it too. The lemon extract (McCormick) is expensive but I’m sure it’s less than purchasing a loaf at Starbuck’s. It’s so quick and easy to make and the lemon taste so vibrant! Thanks again for a great recipe.
Hi Averie:
This is the second time I’ve made this and we love it. We took it to my friend’s house to have with coffee. Cherie loved it too. The lemon extract (McCormick) is expensive but I’m sure it’s less than purchasing a loaf at Starbuck’s. It’s so quick and easy to make and the lemon taste so vibrant! Thanks again for a great recipe.
I am glad you love the loaf and yes even though extract is expensive, it’s still cheaper than buying a 10 slices or a loaf of Starbuck’s lemon loaf (plus I think much tastier)!
Hi Averie, not sure if this has been asked yet, there are a lot of comments to go through :)
Can I use plain 0% Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Thank you!
Probably yes that is fine.
Can one use coconut oil instead of canola oil? Thank you!
Probably yes that will be fine although I haven’t personally tried it.
Thankyou for sharing this beautiful and very helpful post. I really like your post.
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Pros – loaf texture and baking directions were spot on. Cons – used 2 TBSP lemon extract as directed because I wanted a strong lemon flavor. I presumed the alcohol would bake out of the loaf; however, when cut, you could smell (and taste) the alcohol from the extract. Luckily I served it with strawberry sauce which slightly masked the alcohol. After reading the last review about using Watkin’s extract and looking at my lemon extract, bakers should be warned to watch the alcohol content of their lemon extract in this recipe because the alcohol does NOT bake out of the product. If your extract is high in alcohol, you will need to cut back if you do not want the flavor of alcohol in your loaf.
All extracts vary and so yes, one always has to be mindful of things like this. However, the alcohol content does bake out (heat neutralizes the actual alcohol) although some brands or types of extract you will still be able to taste an aftertaste that is alcohol-ish. I use store brand generic (cheap) extract and don’t have this problem. I am glad you found the texture and my directions spot on. Thanks for trying the recipe.
What lemon extract are you all using? I used Watkins pure lemon extract and the loaf tastes like lighter fluid……It was an absolutely beautiful loaf, perfect consistency, but dang the 2tbsp of extract killed it, even one would have been too much
I generally use the store-brand generic extract I find at my local grocery store (cheapest). If you want to splurge, McCormick is another good option. Sorry that Watkins didn’t do the trick for you. Before you add any brand to any future recipes, do a thorough sniff test. You could probably try add a drop to a large glass of water too and see what you think.
Agreed. I made the mistake of adding 2 tbsp of lemon extract – and you can definitely taste the alcoholic nature. My daughter wouldn’t eat it. Next time I plan on trying 2 tsp and see if that works.
All brands of extract vary in how alcohol-ey they taste. Unfortunately yours sounds like it was on the stronger side. I use store brand extracts with good luck.
I live in the town that makes Watkins. I also had the same lighter fluid experience. Otherwise a beautiful loaf! But Watkins also produces Great Value extracts. So I’ll try again with less.
Best lemon loaf my family loved it! First time ever leaving a review but I had to this turned out amazing.
Thank you for the recipe
Best lemon loaf my family loved it! First time ever leaving a review but I had to this turned out amazing.
Thank you for the recipe
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that your family loved it and it’s the best. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, much appreciated!