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Made with fresh blueberries, lemon juice, and lemon zest, this Lemon Blueberry Bread is ultra moist with a sweet yet tart flavor. Enjoy with tea or coffee in the morning or as dessert!
Lemon blueberry is one of my favorite flavor combinations. I always eagerly await spring and summer when fresh, plump blueberries are readily available. This lemon blueberry bread recipe is one of my favorite ways to use fresh blueberries. It’s sweet but not overly so and works for both breakfast and dessert. If you find yourself with an abundance of blueberries, be sure to check out my lemon blueberry cake and lemon blueberry muffins too.
Why I Love This Lemon Blueberry Bread
There are so many things I love about this bread! Here are a few of them.
- No mixer necessary. One thing I love about quick breads, is that they can be made with just a whisk. There’s no need to get the mixer out to cream the ingredients. All you need is a bowl and a whisk!
- Sweet but tart flavor. The lemon flavor and the tart, fresh blueberries really balance out the sweetness in this bread. It makes it perfect for serving with tea or coffee in the morning.
- Moist & tender. This lemon blueberry bread isn’t quite as dense as a pound cake, but ingredients like oil, sour cream, and whole milk make it super moist with a soft, tender crumb. Each bite feels so decadent!
Recipe Ingredients
This moist quick bread recipe is made with lemon, blueberries, and a handful of pantry staples. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon – Both lemon zest and lemon juice are used in this bread. Zest the lemons before juicing them, to make things easier.
- Vegetable oil – Adds moisture to the bread.
- Milk – I used whole milk. 2% would also be fine.
- Sour cream – Be sure to use full-fat sour cream for the full flavor, richness, and moisture.
- Eggs
- Lemon extract – A splash of lemon extract adds even more lemon flavor to the bread. Vanilla extract could be substituted here for a more subtle lemon flavor in the bread.
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder – Helps the bread rise in the oven.
- Blueberries – I prefer using fresh blueberries to make this bread. However, frozen blueberries work too. Do not thaw them ahead of time as it will turn the batter blue when you mix them in.
- Sanding sugar – Optional but I like to add some to the top of the bread for added texture and sweetness.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Bread
This lemon blueberry bread recipe is so simple to make. The printable version of the instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.
- Make the lemon sugar. Combine the lemon zest and sugar, using the back of the spoon to mix the zest into the sugar. This helps the lemon oil become more fragrant.
- Make the batter. Mix in the wet ingredients until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Rinse and dry the blueberries, then add them to the flour mixture to coat them in flour. Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until mostly combined. A few streaks of flour are fine.
- Bake. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle a few extra blueberries on top and add the sanding sugar. Bake for 60-70 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Let the bread cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan, then remove it and let it cool to room temperature. (Or enjoy a few slices while still slightly warm!)
Tips & Variations
Here are a few tips for making this easy lemon blueberry bread.
- Adjust the lemon flavor. For a more subtle lemon flavor, omit the lemon extract or reduce the amount of zest. Don’t adjust the amount of lemon juice to maintain the correct proportion of wet ingredients.
- Coat the blueberries in flour. I usually just dump the blueberries in with the dry ingredients but another option is to add a few tablespoon of the flour to a separate bowl with the blueberries. Coating the blueberries in flour helps prevent them from streaking the bread blue and also stops them from sinking to the bottom. Feel free to add or replace the blueberries with blackberries, strawberries or raspberries!
- Avoid overmixing. Don’t overmix the ingredients once the dry ingredients are added to the wet. This will make a tough bread. Just stir enough that everything is mixed – clumps in the batter or streaks of flour are just fine.
- Add a glaze. I love the simplicity of the sanding sugar but a glaze would also work for this bread. Just whisk lemon juice or water with powdered sugar and drizzle it on top. It’s also plenty flavorful and moist without any topping.
- Remove from the pan. After cooling for 20 minutes or so, remove the bread from the pan. The moisture gets trapped and will make the bread soggy on the bottom and sides if it sits in the pan for too long.
Proper Storage
- Fridge/counter. Lemon blueberry bread can be stored on the counter or in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.
- Freezer. It also freezes super well. Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, place in a Ziploc bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter.
Lemon Blueberry Bread
Made with fresh blueberries, lemon juice, and lemon zest, this Lemon Blueberry Bread is ultra moist with a sweet yet tart flavor. Enjoy with tea or coffee in the morning or as dessert!
Servings: 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons lemon zest (zest of 2 lemons)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup fresh whole blueberries
- 1 Tablespoon sanding sugar for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the lemon zest and the granulated sugar. Use your fingers or the back of the spoon to mix the zest into the sugar. This step is optional, but it helps the fragrance and flavor of the lemon oil to permeate the sugar and the finished bread.
- Beat in lemon juice, oil, milk, sour cream, eggs, and lemon extract until thoroughly mixed. A whisk will work fine, you don’t need to use an electric mixer.
- Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Prepare the blueberries by gently rinsing and drying them.
- Add the blueberries to the flour mixture and toss to coat them in flour. Alternately, toss a tablespoon of the flour mixture into the blueberries and shake to coat them. This helps the blueberries to keep a more even distribution rather than sinking to the bottom of the loaf.
- Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Add in the blueberries if they are still separate. Stir just until wet and dry ingredients are mostly stirred. It is fine to have some streaks of flour left in the mixture.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle a few blueberries over the top if desired and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan.
- Remove loaf from the pan and allow to cool the rest of the way.
- Serve warm or cooled.
Last Step:
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Notes
Wrap and store in plastic wrap. The loaf can be stored on the counter or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 3040kcal | Carbohydrates: 429g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 133g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 66g | Monounsaturated Fat: 31g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 367mg | Sodium: 1366mg | Potassium: 1445mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 225g | Vitamin A: 1151IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 577mg | Iron: 14mg
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2 comments on “Lemon Blueberry Bread”
My sister loves blueberry and lemon I made this bread for her and she is in love with recipe always asking me when am I making it again well Sunday I’ll be making lemon blueberry bread again
So glad she loves it! Thanks Jamie!