If you like Starbucks Lemon Loaf, you will love this VEGAN copycat lemon loaf! This recipe is easy to make, loaded with lemon flavor and topped with a delicious lemon glaze.
If you find yourself standing in the line at Starbucks in front of the pastry case, staring longingly at that glazed lemon loaf, then this recipe is for you! Anyone else wish Starbucks would get some vegan pastries already? I know sometimes they have salads that are vegan, and maybe some snacks, but can I get a vegan scone or muffin with my coffee, PLEASE?
I did several trial runs to perfect this vegan lemon loaf. My first several tries were delicious, but they didn’t have that pound cake quality I was going for. Instead, they were light and fluffy, like a delicate lemon cake. To achieve a pound cake texture, I had to get creative! The secret ingredient? Tofu. Okay, don’t run away! I promise you can’t taste it at all, but it works like magic to achieve pound cake perfection.
How to make Starbucks Copycat Vegan Lemon Loaf:
It’s super easy! You should know by now I like to keep things as simple as possible in the kitchen.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.
- Blend all wet ingredients in a blender (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW)
- Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the wet and mix.
- Pour in pan and bake for 35-45 minutes.
- Let cool, then glaze.
Glaze for Lemon Loaf:
The glaze is probably the best part of this whole thing. It’s simple: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Whisk in a bowl, pour over your loaf, and devour. Well, I do like to let the glaze harden for a little bit before slicing and serving, but it’s not necessary!
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What kind of tofu should I use and where can I find it?
For this recipe, you want the silken tofu in the vaccum packs. You could use soft, firm or even extra firm. But it should be silken. Try to avoid the tofu packed in water, as it tends to leave a bit of a taste of tofu, while the silken in vaccum packs is pretty much undetectable. It’s in several grocery stores, but you can also order it on Amazon here.
You will only use 1/2 the package for 1 loaf, so maybe consider doubling the recipe and make 2 loaves at once! You can freeze the 2nd.
Want more vegan baked goods? Try one of these:
- 1 Bowl Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- 1 Bowl Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Easy Vegan Banana Bread
- Starbucks Copycat Vegan Pumpkin Scones
- Vegan Lemon Cake
Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf (Vegan)
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 6 ounces silken tofu (1/2 package)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest from 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Lemon glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a standard loaf pan.
- Blend all of the wet ingredients in a blender until smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Now pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix with a large spoon until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
- While the loaf cools, add the icing ingredients to a medium sized bowl and whisk until smooth. Once the loaf is cooled, drizzle or pour the glaze on top of the loaf. Let the glaze harden, if desired, before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Calories estimate is for 1/8th of the loaf.
- Look for the silken tofu in a vaccum pack, not packed in water.
- May sub coconut oil or melted vegan butter for the canola oil. For oil free, sub non-dairy yogurt or applesauce.
- May use any non-dairy milk, such as soy, coconut, almond, hemp or oat. Unsweetened is best; if you only have sweetened milk you may want to reduce the amount of sugar you add.
- Make sure to use fresh squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor, and a full zested lemon. I love this grater/zester!
- You can try subbing white whole wheat flour/ whole wheat pastry flour for the white, but it will change the flavor. I haven't tried this with gluten free flour.
kim
March 7, 2019 at 9:12 amhi could y ou make this gluten free as well?
Nora
March 8, 2019 at 3:44 pmI haven’t tried it yet, but I think it could work.
linda
March 11, 2019 at 6:37 amOMG i made this last night with GF flour and it turned out perfect! I had to cook it for an extra 10 minutes.
The GF mix I used was from minimalistbaker.com
Nora
March 11, 2019 at 10:25 amOh goodie, I’m so glad it worked with gluten free flour, thanks for sharing!!
Atticus
March 7, 2019 at 9:26 amI don’t even know where to begin. Didn’t think it was possible for this to taste as good as it looks in the picture, but holy smokes, I was wrong. This loaf is amazing. Better than the one at Starbucks!! Thank you so much!
Patti
March 10, 2019 at 12:49 pmWonderful. When I went to make it(just got home from the grocer), I realized I only had one cup of flour. I ground up some oatmeal into flour and used that for the other cup. Crossed my fingers and it turned out great!
Yolanda Lonnie Pavey
March 17, 2019 at 8:37 amBIG hit with the family!!! Absolutely yummy!
Once again Thank you for all your work making veganism delicious!!
Nora
March 17, 2019 at 10:07 amThanks Yolanda! So glad it was a hit. You are so welcome! 🙂
Natasha Carter
March 23, 2019 at 8:55 amHi. I can only find silken tofu in water. I really want to make this loaf. Can I use it? Thanks. (So far all your recipes are amazing…thank you).
Nora
March 23, 2019 at 1:39 pmYes, it will work! I actually made it with firm tofu (packed in water) the other day and it worked just fine.
Deborah Baker
March 29, 2019 at 3:13 pmHi, Nora! I just made this and it’s wonderful! I used 3 of those small cardboard loaf pans, it’ll be easier to share them. So delicious and moist, I must save a big slice for my coffee in the morning. The only thing is mine isn’t really lemon or “yellow” looking. Did you use a pinch of turmeric for color?
Thanks so much for this great recipe!
Nora
March 29, 2019 at 4:17 pmI’m so glad you enjoyed the lemon loaf! I didn’t, but that is a great idea! Not sure why mine turned out more yellow than yours. 🙂
Gloria
April 2, 2019 at 5:44 pmI am so happy with this lemon loaf! I followed the recipe exactly and it is very delicious. The only changes I plan to make next time is to add a bit more lemon zest and make my glaze a bit thicker. Can’t wait to try again!
lillian
April 10, 2019 at 11:41 amThis is so good. Someone had mentioned adding more zest and I think I will do the same. I made some lemon curd to go with it too because I love 🍋🍋😁
delilah
April 13, 2019 at 6:34 pmat first the batter was hard to mix and i had alot of dry clumps, then i added it to a blender but it seemed like it was too thick for the blenderm i dont know if i overmixed it?? Its so dense and kinda dry and it never would turn golden ): i wanna try it again but i dont know what i did wrong.
Nora
April 14, 2019 at 6:16 amHi there! So putting the dry ingredients plus the wet ingredients in the blender is not something I would recommend, it will likely create a very dense, dry loaf, not the texture we are going for here. Some small clumps are okay, and if you felt it was too clumpy for some reason, use a whisk for a minute instead of putting it in the blender. But some clumps are fine and are better than over mixing. Did you make any substitutions at all or follow the recipe exactly? I can only vouch for the recipe exactly as written, substitutions will change the way the loaf turns out. Sorry you had trouble, and hopefully we can find out why so you have success next time!
Sherri Switala
May 3, 2019 at 8:24 pmJust realized I’m out of canola … can I use grapeseed oil? Or, would it be better if I used melted vegan butter? Thanks!
Nora
May 4, 2019 at 7:14 amI would go for the melted vegan butter, but grapeseed oil would work as well. Thanks!