This lemon blueberry bread is moist, tender, and bursting with juicy berries. Drizzle the loaf with a simple glaze for an extra pop of lemon flavor.
This lemon blueberry bread recipe is one of my favorite ways to use the blueberries we pick in Michigan every summer. These sweet, bursty berries are so tasty that we eat most of them plain, but I always try to save enough for a loaf of this delicious quick bread too. It’s moist, tender, and loaded with berries, and plenty of lemon zest gives it a pop of bright flavor.
Enjoyed alongside a cup of coffee or tea, a slice of this lemon blueberry bread is the perfect light breakfast. For a sweeter treat, drizzle it with a simple lemon glaze and call it dessert.
Lemon Blueberry Bread Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this lemon blueberry bread:
- Blueberries, of course! If you don’t have fresh blueberries on hand, frozen blueberries work too. No need to thaw before folding them into the batter.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon and level it to avoid packing too much into your measuring cup.
- Baking powder and eggs – They help the bread puff up as it bakes.
- Cane sugar – For sweetness.
- Whole milk Greek yogurt – Ever used sour cream in muffins, cakes, or quick breads? The Greek yogurt plays a similar role here, making this loaf super moist and adding a nice tangy flavor.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For richness. I love the fruitiness it adds to this recipe, but if you’d prefer to use a neutral oil instead, by all means, do!
- Lemon zest – It adds bright lemon flavor.
- Vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Don’t forget the glaze!
For an extra-lemony loaf, add a lemon glaze on top. It’s easy to make with just two ingredients: powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Bread
Like any good quick bread recipe, this lemon blueberry bread is super easy to make—no stand mixer or other special equipment required! Here’s how it goes:
First, make the batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, place the cane sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to massage the zest into the sugar. This step helps it release its fragrant oils into the batter.
Add the remaining wet ingredients to the zest mixture, and whisk to combine.
Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined.
Fold in the blueberries. The batter will be thick!
Next, bake the lemon blueberry bread. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan, and use a spatula to smooth the top.
Transfer to a 350°F oven, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the blueberry lemon bread cool completely in the pan. Yes, it’s tough to wait, but the cooled loaf will have a moister texture and stronger lemon flavor. Plus, you don’t want to add the glaze until the bread has cooled to room temperature anyway. If the bread is still warm, the glaze will melt.
Finally, slice and enjoy. I hope you love this flavorful quick bread!
Lemon Blueberry Bread Recipe Tips
- Don’t overmix. For a light and fluffy loaf, mix the wet and dry ingredients together until they’re just combined. Overmixing will start to activate the gluten in the flour, resulting in a dense quick bread.
- The batter will be thick. That’s ok! It should be! Instead of a liquid like milk, Greek yogurt adds a lot of the moisture to this loaf. Because of this, the batter is on the thicker side, but it still bakes beautifully.
- Let the bread cool before adding the glaze. Some lemon blueberry bread recipes ask you to glaze the loaf while it’s still warm, but I prefer to add mine after the bread has cooled. That way, you get a gorgeous white drizzle on the top and sides of the loaf. If you add the glaze earlier, it will lose its white color and seep into the bread.
- Other berries are great here too. This lemon loaf is delightful with all sorts of berries! Try folding in raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries cut into 1/4-inch chunks.
How to Store Lemon Blueberry Bread
This lemon blueberry bread keeps well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
It also freezes well. I recommend slicing the bread before freezing so that you can defrost individual slices for a quick breakfast or snack! To thaw, pop slices in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or let them sit at room temperature for an hour or two.
More Favorite Easy Baking Recipes
If you love this lemon blueberry bread, try one of these easy baking recipes next:
- Lemon Yogurt Cake
- Healthy Banana Bread
- Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Or any of these 25 Easy Baking Recipes!
Lemon Blueberry Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ¾ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
- Lemon glaze, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8x4 or 9x5-inch loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, place the cane sugar and lemon zest. Use your fingers to work the zest into the sugar until well combined. This helps the zest release its fragrant oils. Add the yogurt, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla and whisk to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the blueberries. The batter will be thick.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool completely before removing from the pan. If desired, drizzle with lemon glaze before slicing and serving.
Anyway to make this vegan? Than you!
Any hints for using frozen blueberries?
Hi Lisa, you can add them to the batter frozen. No need to thaw!
I mix with a couple tablespoons of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the bread.
Hello, can I use same ratio of coconut sugar or maple syrup instead of cane sugar?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Rita, you could replace the cane sugar with an equal amount of coconut sugar. If you use maple syrup, I’d use a scant amount of Greek yogurt or slightly less oil to make up for the extra liquid added to the batter. I hope you enjoy!
Has anyone tried making a gluten free version of this yet? Suggestions??
Thanks!
Barbara
Hi Barbara, we haven’t tested a gluten-free version of this recipe, so I can’t guarantee the results, but I think a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend in place of the AP flour would work.
I would use Cup4Cup flour. It is great for baking. I convert recipes all the time using it. Just exchange the flour and you’re good to go.
Can I use sour cream instead of yogurt
Hi Mary, we haven’t tested it, so I can’t guarantee the results, but I think it would work great!
This recipe is so delicious. It’s loaded with blueberries and very moist. It was a hit at my breakfast. I will be keeping this recipe for sure.
Thank you!!
Can the Lemon Blueberry Bread be made with almond/coconut flour instead of AP flour in order to reduce carbohydrates?
Hi Dick, no, those flours aren’t a 1:1 exchange for regular flour. I’d search for a recipe that was specifically created using those flours.
The recipe is wonderful but took over 2 hours to bake in an 8×4 inch pan. Does this mean the batter was too wet?
Hi Emily, did you change anything about the recipe? If not, I might check your baking powder, it sounds like it didn’t rise properly.
If I have a 10×5 baking pan should I adjust the temperature and baking time?
Hi Francie, I would keep the same temperature but check the bread earlier than what’s listed.
I’m not a baker at all. But this lemon-bluberry loaf I couldn’t mess up. Instead of the oil I put a half cup of earthbound margarine. Came out tasting yummy.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi, is it ok to use fat free Greek yogurt?
Hi Dorothy, that should be fine.
Loved this one!! Turned out great. I personally left off the glaze for the purpose of saving calories since I’m eating in a deficit right now, but it definitely would have made it even better! I plan to make the glaze when I’m not cutting calories. … I substituted the greek yogurt for Trader Joe’s European Style Plain Full Fat yogurt. Still turned out tasty, however, I noticed that my loaf took between 50-52 minutes and was more “done” around the corners of my loaf pan (amber glass). It was still tasty, just baked unevenly. Also, I used Wyman’s Frozen Maine wild blueberries. They were good, but they’re tiny so I wish I put fresh larger blueberries just to get more of a blueberry burst when taking a bite.
Hi Lindley, I’m so glad you enjoyed the loaf!
Having experienced something nearly identical when baking recently, I did some research on pans. Google “which baking pan should I use for quickbreads?” If my memory is correct, glass is for casseroles, etc. Baked goods are better in metal. Something something about heating up faster, heat distribution, etc.
all in on any lemon-blueberry combo and a lemon glaze, even more so, definitely beats my simple zucchini bread recipe, thank you!
So glad you loved it!
Moist and oh so delicious!
Lemon flavour really enhanced by the turbinado sugar rub and love the many sweet blueberries.
Loaf kept moist for days. Great reheated in the toaster oven ❤️
I’m so glad you loved it!
Hello,
Could I make muffins instead of a loaf with this recipe?
Yes! I finally did it and they were divine. I did a quick streusel topping just because I like it. They also freeze well. They were done in about 22 minutes. I used dark metal muffin pan at 360.
I made a couple loaves last night. Our family enjoyed one and the other went to a brand new mama down the street 🙂 This recipe is glorious. Definitely my new go-to!
Hi Rebekah, I’m so glad it was a hit!
If I used spelt flour, to make this gluten free, could I skip the yogurt part, since spelt flour usually retains most of its moisture?
Beware: spelt is not gluten free
Hi, the Greek yogurt supplies a lot of the moisture in this recipe, so I don’t recommend skipping it. I’m not sure how spelt flour would work here, but as another reader noted, it’s not gluten-free. We haven’t tested a gluten-free version of this recipe, but a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend might work.
Do you think I could substitute almond Greek yogurt to make it dairy free?
Hi Leslie, I think this would work, but because we haven’t tested it, I can’t say for sure. If you try it, let us know how it goes!
Do you think I could sub in blackberried?? They’re coming on early and fast!
Hi Kristin, yes! I think blackberries would work great here. I would halve them if they’re large.
What is the recipie for the lemon glaze
Hi Jeanne, you can find the lemon glaze recipe here: https://www.loveandlemons.com/lemon-glaze/. It’s also linked in the recipe card above.