This Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe is the perfect thing for delicious dessert or a fun breakfast. Inspired by my favorite treat at Starbucks, this Lemon Bread has just a handful of ingredients and comes out soft, moist and topped with a sweet glaze.
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I don’t go to Starbuck a lot, I honestly just can’t afford it. But, at least once a month, I definitely treat myself to a Latte. I certainly deserve it! For years, I thought Starbucks was just a great place to go and load up on caffeine drinks. But, at some point, I realized that they had some pretty tasty snacks there as well. And their Lemon Loaf bread is one of my favorites!
Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe
It’s weird, lemon flavored desserts are often things that I overlook when deciding what to eat. But, everytime I eat something, I absolutely love the fresh, sweet taste. I’ve made some really delicious lemon inspired recipes on this website, like these Mini Strawberry Lemon Tarts and these Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes.
So, I thought I’d take a shot at sharing this copycat version of my favorite treat at Starbucks: The Iced Lemon Loaf Cake!
What Ingredients Will You Need For This Recipe?
Like I mentioned above, nothing crazy here and you probably already have most of these in your kitchen already!
For The Lemon Loaf
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- granulated sugar
- large eggs, room temperature
- butter, softened
- lemon juice and lemon zest
- whole milk
For The Glaze:
- confectioners’ sugar
- milk
Do You Need To Put The Glaze On This Lemon Loaf?
No, not really. But that is a large part of the awesomeness of the Starbucks recipe. You could have this lemon bread just plain if you needed to cut out some of the sugar. Some other options to put on top of the this loaf would be lemon curd or even a thin layer of vanilla pudding. In this case, you would need to keep it refrigerated. But it may be tasty!
Other Tips And Tricks For Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe
We use butter in this recipe instead of oil. From some research, it appears that that is what Starbucks uses in their recipe, so it makes sense to do that. If you want to make this recipe have even more of a lemon flavor, you could add a small amount of lemon extract to the mix (I wouldn’t put more than one 1 tsp in).
I hope you enjoy this recipe for Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe. I’d love to know how it turns out for you in the comments. Happy Baking!

Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 stick butter approx. ½ cup, softened
- Juice and zest of one lemon approx. 2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ½ cup whole milk
For Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 3 tbsp milk
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Grease an 8x4 loaf pan with butter and set aside.
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In a medium bowl, sift together all dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs until creamy.
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Add butter and mix thoroughly, followed by the lemon juice and zest.
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Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk. Mix thoroughly.
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Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
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Mix together confectioners’ sugar and milk and pour over cooled loaf. Serve and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
We use butter in this recipe instead of oil. From some research, it appears that that is what Starbucks uses in their recipe, so it makes sense to do that. If you want to make this recipe have even more of a lemon flavor, you could add a small amount of lemon extract to the mix (I wouldn't put more than one 1 tsp in).
Laura says
Had to not do glaze as there is zero instructions on how much powder sugar:
Kathy says
Thank you for pointing that out.
C says
I need the instructions for your glaze also
Kathy says
added. Thank you for pointing that out.
Mimma says
Bake until knife comes out dry? I put it in for 45 min but knife is still moist., not sure how to proceed.