My Lemon Blueberry Bread recipe makes a moist, tender, and flavorful quick bread! The combination of citrusy flavors and sweet blueberries all topped with a decadent lemon glaze make this loaf the perfect treat!
After this you’ll definitely want to try my Cream Cheese Lemon Bars, Blueberry Cake, Blueberry Pancakes, and Lemon Bundt Cake recipes!
Why This Recipe Works
Bright & Flavorful: Are lemon and blueberry the new it couple? I think so. The combination of sweet blueberries and bright, tangy lemon makes the absolute best bread ever! The majority of that lemon flavor will be coming from lemon zest along with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for good measure. You can eat this loaf as is or add the lemon glaze on top for a sweet treat.
Simple to Make: My lemon blueberry bread is a quick bread recipe that is super easy to whip up! It just takes a bit of mixing (but not too much), and then some time in the oven! The whole family is going to absolutely love this recipe, so it is definitely worth it to make.
Ingredients
- Butter: You will want to use butter that is at room temperature here.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is totally fine. This will be whipped up with the butter before adding the other ingredients!
- Eggs: Anytime you are baking a cake, it is best to use room temperature eggs!
- Lemon Zest & Lemon Juice: I know it may seem like there is a lot of lemon zest in this lemon blueberry bread recipe, but trust me it is worth it for all that flavor! For the lemon juice, simply juice one of the lemons you used for the zest.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds a little tang and is amazing for a tender bread.
- Vanilla: Vanilla adds a bit of extra flavor!
- Flour: I have only made this with all purpose flour. You could try to replace it with gluten-free measure for measure flour if you need a gluten-free lemon blueberry loaf!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Baking powder and baking soda are added to help the bread rise in the oven.
- Blueberries: Fresh blueberries are coated in a little bit of flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the bread in the baking process!
- Lemon Glaze: This is simply made up of powdered sugar and lemon juice!
Here’s How to Make It
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat & Prep: Preheat the oven to 320. Grease a 2 lb loaf pan with butter or cooking spray before lining it with parchment paper. (not pictured)
- Cream the Butter & Sugar: Using a hand held electric whisk or a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and pale. (photo 2)
- Add Wet Ingredients: One by one, beat in the eggs, followed by the lemon zest, lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little curdled at this point, it will come together when you add the flour. (photos 3-4)
- Add Dry Ingredients: Stir in the 1 2/3 cups flour, baking powder and baking soda until you have a smooth batter. (photo 5)
- Add Blueberries: Toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tbsp of flour before adding them to the batter and stirring to combine. (photos 1 & 6)
- Bake: Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, making sure you push the mixture into all the corners before smoothing over the top. Bake for 55-60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. (photos 7-8)
- Cool & Glaze: As soon as the tin is cool enough to touch, transfer the cake to a cooling rack to cool completely. To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar and gradually stir in the lemon juice a little by little to reach the desired consistency before spreading over the top of the cake. (photos 9-10)
Expert Tips
- Don’t over mix the batter! Be sure not to over mix the batter once the flour is added. Gently fold in the blueberries to ensure that the batter is not over mixed as well. An over mixed batter results in a tough lemon blueberry bread!
- If you love lemon flavor, you can add additional lemon by adding lemon extract. Don’t add more than 1 tsp though, as the flavor will be overwhelming!
- If the lemon glaze is too thick, add 1/2 tsp more of lemon juice in increments until you have reached the desired consistency!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use frozen blueberries here, but you might want to increase the cooking time a bit. Toss in the frozen blueberries directly into the batter without thawing them!
Definitely! Let the bread cool completely then wrap well in plastic wrap. Then, wrap with a layer of foil to protect against freezer burn and place in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge when you are ready to eat it!
To store lemon blueberry bread, store at room temperature or in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days!
More Easy Bread Recipes to Try
- Zucchini Bread Muffins
- Best Moist Banana Bread
- Triple Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Lemon Poppyseed Bread
- Carrot Cake Bread
- Blueberry Scones
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me when you share a photo on social – I love seeing your CDLC creations!
Lemon Blueberry Bread
Ingredients
For the Lemon Blueberry Bread
- 9 tbsp butter - softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup lemon zest - approx 3 small lemons
- 1 ½ tbsp fresh lemon juice - approx ½ small lemon
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups flour - plus 1 tbsp
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
For the Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 320. Grease a 2 lb loaf pan with butter or with cooking spray before lining with baking parchment.
- Using a hand held electric whisk or stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and pale.
- One by one, beat in the eggs, followed by the lemon zest, lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Don't worry if the mixture looks a little curdled at this point, it will come together when you add the flour.
- Stir in the 1 2/3 cup flour, baking powder and baking soda until you have a smooth batter.
- Toss in the blueberries with the remaining 1 tbsp of flour before stirring through the batter.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, making sure you push the mixture into all the corners before smoothing over the top.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- As soon as the tin is cool enough to touch, transfer the cake to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar and gradually stir in the lemon juice little by little to each the desired consistency before spreading over the top of the cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi! Can I substitute Greek yogurt for butter?
Yes 🙂
Hello, I did not have a 2lb loaf pan so I attempted to two 1lb loaf pans. The loaves seemed short so I decided to try combining them in my 1.25lb pan (9×5) and it worked perfectly!
This recipe is so yummy! But I have one question, should the amount of lemon zest be 1 1/2 tbsp and lemon juice be 1/4 cup?
It’s correct as written 🙂 it seems like a lot but it provides a great flavor!
What can I substitute for the buttermilk?
is the oven temperature 320 F accurate or should it be 350 F?
320 Degrees is correct.
This sounds so yummy! Is a 2 pound loaf pan equal to a 9 inch loaf pan or an 8 inch loaf pan?
I have never in my life baked quick break at 320 degrees. Is this a type? I had to bake it over 90 minutes just to finish it.
It’s not a typo. It may have taken longer depending on the difference in sea level? You can try and raise the oven temperature but I would keep a close eye on the bread if you do
Will this make good cupcakes?
I’m sure they would! But they’d most likely be more like muffins
I’ve made these 3 times now and they are so very good! Can this recipe be made in cake pans? Would recipe have to be doubled?
These were super DELICIOUS! Lemon and BLUEBERRY is a great combination and these cupcakes were perfectly sweet and tangy!
Thanks, Emily!
My husband made these with my 3 year old and forgot to cream the butter… came out great. When I made them, I tried to cream the butter with the other ingredients (lemon zest, vanilla, eggs, etc) and the butter never creamed. Just had little clumps. The cupcakes came out okay but I’m curious what I did wrong… maybe cream the butter alone first and add the other ingredients once I get the right texture? Thanks!
Great job Tiffany! Shared, +1, emailed, and tweeted your site cause it’s awesome. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for sharing the love!
Just made these today. Holy Heavens, these are delicious!
Aren’t they scrumptious?! I think I must’ve eaten 7 the day I made these – I had to get them out of the house QUICK! I love lemon and I’m a sucker for cupcakes so I was done for! Ha! Thanks Shandi! 🙂
These remind me of summer 🙂 which i definitely need in my life right now..