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!!
Do you think i could follow the recipe but add frozen/fresh blueberries to it?
Yes, and I would do fresh, ~1 cup.
Is it possible to use a healthier oil, like olive oil? I made the lemon loaf and it is delicious but the vegetable oil content is a bit high.
Probably but I haven’t tested it with olive oil.
This cake with olive oil is delicious and people who’ve made it love it https://www.averiecooks.com/olive-oil-orange-cake/
Thank you. I will try the orange cake next. My daughter gobbled up the last of the lemon loaf. It was really delicious!
LMK what you think of the orange olive oil cake next!
VERY good loaf. I made it exactly per instructions. Perfect texture. I adjusted the icing a bit to make it more to my liking (a bit of butter, zest and salt) Overall a big success and exactly what I was looking for!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was exactly what you were looking for!
My grandmother, who was a baker (professional, known for wedding cakes), immediately wraps her banana nut bread tightly in foil immediately coming out of the oven. She lets it cool completely in the foil. She said this helps to keep the bread moist. My question, can this same step be done with this bread or do you recommend against? I know ingredients set up differently and I don’t want to ruin my lemon loaf.
I think that would be fine. I haven’t tested it so can’t say for sure but probably ok.
excellent in every way: simplicity, presentation (beautiful, wish i had taken a pic! !) , and most important of all – taste! i’m thinking about adding coconut next time (my husband says “don’t mess with the Volkswagen beetle!”) – but like a combo of flavors sometimes…. not a fan of blueberries (to add), never much flavor…
thanks for the recipe and your information on why you use what you do… not subbing one ingredient for another when the swap seems comparable…
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad they were perfect!
Glad you appreciate my tidbits of info about why/why not to swap ingredients.
And I think addition coconut sounds great! I bet you could use coconut oil and some coconut extract to get some coconut flavor but not overpower it or change the texture by adding actual shredded coconut.
i love the way you explain why you use what you use, e. g., don’t sub lemon oil for extract, and why not to use fresh lemon juice instead of extract – thank you, very helpful! making it in the morning for sunday coffee..i’ll let you know how it turns out and will rate it then!
Glad you appreciate the details and explanation and I’m sure you’ll love the recipe!
I only had coconut oil in my house so I risked it and used coconut oil. While it turned out soft and moist, it came out very oily and the color is just off – not bright and clean. I know it must have been the coconut oil. Can you help explain why coconut oil made it turn out that way? It’s probably edible, but it looks sickly and oily. My fault. Thank you!
Coconut oil is not quite the same as other oils when baking and sometimes it makes things exceedingly oily and just doesn’t deliver the results than a canola, vegetable, etc. oil will. I am sure there is a very detailed scientific explanation you can Google for the science behind it. All I can say is that from personal experience, it cannot be subbed 1:1 for other oils in baking across the board.
I have to apologize for a poor rating. My lemon extract is expired and that’s where my failure happened.
Yes if you used an expired product all bets are off.
All extracts do vary in their potency. I have tried using less and for me, it’s not lemony enough but you could experiment and use less and see how it goes. I had to remake this loaf dozens of times before I got it right, for us.
Could I substitute zest for lemon juice?
I would make exactly as written for optimal results since this recipe was such a hard one to get just right so I would not deviate at all.
The BEST and easy, easy to make. Lemon extract difficult to find around me though. I’ve made more than ten of them!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you’ve made it more than 10 times!
Thanks for sharing this recipe, my first lemon loaf was a great success. Now I don’t need to get it from Starbucks. Your version is wayyyy better. Again, thank you.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that you don’t need it from Starbucks anymore and that my version is way better for you!
Made this twice, reliable delicious recipe for a lemony moist loaf! Actually second time I forgot the oil completely and it’s still fabulous, will be making it this was for a low fat alternative from now on :)
That’s great to hear it still was great without the oil!
Bless your heart for working so hard on this! (The Lemon Loaf) It’s delish. So many of your recipes I’m going to try, now that I’m retired!! YAY!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will be trying more of my recipes! Congrats to you for being retired :0
Averie can this Lemon Loaf be frozen? I would like to make a few loaves ahead of time for a party.
Yes, no problem to freeze it.
This truly is the best lemon loaf I’ve ever had! My husband said it’s awesome too.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s the best lemon loaf you’ve ever had!
Further to my comment on the baking powder. Shall I reduce to just one teaspoon?
yes I’d give that a try