This Gluten Free Starbucks Lemon Loaf copycat is all the flavors of the famous loaf, but in a gluten free version!
Lemon is one of my favorite flavors to work with when it comes to gluten free baking. Not only do I love the actual flavor of lemon, but the acidic nature of lemons pairs well with gluten free flours.
Citrus juice helps make the texture better in gluten free baked goods. It is also a strong flavor which helps avoid the strange taste that gluten free baked goods can often have.
Because I know lemon works so well in gluten free recipes, I have wanted to come up with a gluten free version of the famous Starbucks lemon loaf. It took some time and work, but I finally have a lemon loaf we love!
It is now one of my favorite gluten free desserts. This is so good no one will know it is gluten free!
This recipe makes two loaves. I like to make two so I can freeze one, but you can easily half the recipe if you only want one loaf. My favorite loaf pan to use for gluten free baking is USA Pan loaf pan. Nothing sticks to this pan. I have several of them and love them.
Can I used a gluten free flour blend in lemon bread?
It is no secret that I don’t love gluten free flour blends, especially for desserts. I like to be able to control the amounts of the individual flours and xanthan gum. What works in a cookie or muffin, might not work in a cake or pancake. I like to control the ingredients for the best results.
This recipe is no different. I prefer it with the individual flours. However, I know many of you prefer to use a blend because it is easier. So after perfecting the recipe with individual gluten free flours, I tried it with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 blend.
It worked fine with Bob’s Red Mill Blend. The texture was better with the individual flours, but it did work with the blend. If you have the individual flours I would suggest using them, but if you prefer a blend give it a try with Bob’s Red Mill blend. The directions for doing that are in the recipe below.
Gluten Free Starbucks Lemon Loaf (Copycat)
A delicious gluten free version of the famous lemon bread.
Ingredients
Bread
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 cup oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract
- 1 1/4 cups white rice flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 cup sweet rice flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Lemon Glaze
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease 2 (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inch) loaf pans and set aside.
- In a bowl combine white rice flour, cornstarch, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, sour cream, oil, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Whisk until well combined.
- Stir in flour mixture just until well combined.
- Divide batter evenly between loaf pans.
- Bake for 50-54 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on cooling rack for about 1 hour.
- Mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice for the glaze.
- Drizzle half of the mixture over the loaves. Let set for 10-15 minutes to allow the glaze to soak into the bread that is still slightly warm. Drizzle remaining glaze over loaves.
- Let cool completely. Slice and serve.
Notes
If using gluten free flour blend substitute 3 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gf blend for the rice flour, sweet rice flour, cornstarch, and xanthan gum. Make according to directions.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 295Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 227mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 0gSugar: 23gProtein: 3g
It looks outstanding, Lynn! Sharing. 🙂
Shirley
Thanks!
I am excited to try this, first of all! Secondly, I have great respect for you as a recipe developer (I’m just a follower – Ha ha) so I am going to ask your opinion. If I wanted to add frozen berries (raspberries or blueberries) to this loaf, do you think I would need to adjust the liquid amounts?
I hope you enjoy it! I have not tried it with fruit added, but that is a great idea. We love the combination of lemon and blueberries in muffins and in bundt cake, so I think it would be great in this. I might cut back on the liquid slightly, but not much. Depending on how lemony you want it with the blueberries you might cut back on the lemon exact too. This has very strong lemon flavor which it great, but with fruit you might not want it quite that strong. So maybe use 1/2 tablespoon lemon exact. I hope that helps.
Thanks so much for your response!
One more item: I just want to verify the loaf pan size – 1 lb (or 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75).
Yes it is a 1 lb 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 inch pan. I just added that to the directions. Sorry I forgot to put that in.
Thank you! I love the USA loaf pans as well.
I love your recipes, Lynn, and would appreciate it so much if you could include more dessert/ snack recipes that use only honey or maple syrup….for my grandson. 😊
I’m not much of a baker so I’m not sure how the batter should look. It seems a little bit lumpy, is that normal? I’m afraid to overmix it.
I’d like to make his for my grand daughter who is missing getting the lemon loaf when mom goes to Starbucks! I’m wondering if I could use Fage plain Greek yougurt instead of sour cream. I use it often to get in a little protein. in a little protein.
Also–sweet rice four–haven’t seen that at the health food store. I guess I could use the bobs 1:1 but you said it’s much better with the separate flours? Anyone find the sweet rice four in the stores?
I think greek yougurt would probably work fine. I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but I have in other breads and muffins and it works well, so I think it is worth trying. Sweet rice flour can be hard to find. I buy mine from Amazon usually but I use a lot of it, so I don’t mind buying a larger amount of it. If you have the Bob’s 1:1 blend I would use that. I think that the individual flours work the best, but Bob’s 1:1 blend has sweet rice flour in it and is my favorite blend if I use one. I hope that helps and that your granddaughter enjoys it!
I made this cake for non gluten free friends and everyone loved it. So fantastic… thank you
I am so glad that everyone loved it! I love to help people make gluten free easy and delicious so thank you so much for letting me know. I love hearing that non gluten free people enjoy my recipes as much as the gluten free ones.
I’m needing some gluten free and diabetic recipes. Have a granddaughter that I’m trying to teach how to bake and still eat some sweets. Any recipes would be helpful!
A lot of gluten free recipes are high starch because many of the flours that replace regular flour is tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch, and rice flours. I am thinking that you will want more paleo type recipes that use almond, coconut, and other nut type flours. I hope that helps. I imagine cooking both gf and diabetic would be hard.
Lynn,
Love this recipe. I made it with the flours you suggested and yes, the texture is very different from mixes. It came out perfect. I have to be gluten free and I like good food. I try to make food that no one would suspect to be gluten free. There are a lot of great recipes to make that happen. This is definitely one of those. I ran across it by accident and am so grateful to have found your site! Thank you
I am so glad that you enjoyed the lemon bread! And I am glad to know that you could tell a difference with the individual flours vs a mix. In some recipes it makes such a difference. I love sharing easy recipes that are so good no one can tell that they are gluten free, so I am so glad that you found my site! Have a great day.
Hi Lynn,
Can you taste the sour cream in this recipe. I absolutely cannot stand sour cream but this looks so yummy and I want to try it
I don’t think you can taste it. It just gives it a great taste and texture. I haven’t tried it, but plain yogurt might work in place of the sour cream if you like that better. I just might use a higher fat yogurt in it. I hope that helps and that you enjoy the lemon bread. It is one of my favorite gluten free desserts to make!
I cannot find sweet rice flour in South Africa. I have all the other ingredients. What can I substitute it with? I don’t want to use our all purpose flour mix. Hate the taste.
In the U.S. you can often find sweet rice flour at Asian stores, but I am not sure about South Africa. I have not tried it in this recipe, so I can’t say for sure if it would work, but I would probably try mixing rice flour and another starch like potato or tapioca starch in place of the sweet rice flour. Sweet rice flour is sticky and has higher starch than just rice flour. I don’t think replacing it with just rice flour or just a starch would work well, but I think using part rice flour and part another starch might work. I hope that helps. If you try it I would love to know how it turns out.
I was wondering if you have ever tried this with a dairy free substitute for the yogurt? I’m searching for alternatives and this recipe looks fantastic.
Thank you for your time.
My dairy free daughter does not love lemon flavored things so I have not experimented much with a dairy free version of this recipe. I think it would need to be a higher fat creamier dairy free yogurt or substitute in order to keep it moist enough. If you have a dairy free yogurt that you have used in other cakes or quick breads it is probably worth a try. I would probably half the recipe though so you don’t waste ingredients if it doesn’t turn out. If you find a good substitute I would love to hear what works.