Fresh blueberries paired with lemon is a perfect combination in this blueberry lemon bread. This quick bread is perfect for breakfast or a midday snack or even served as a dessert.
Whip this quick bread together in just about 10 minutes. Fresh or frozen blueberries can be used which means you can make this delicious bread year round!
Why make this bread
Quick breads are very similar to muffins. They can be mixed together in just 10 minutes and then baked. Breads do take much longer to bake than muffins, but once cooled the bread can be sliced up and served.
Blueberries and lemon are a classic pairing. They just go perfectly together. I also have a recipe for blueberry lemon popsicles and I have blueberry lemon bars!
Steps to make bread
- Combine melted butter and sugar together in a bowl
- Add milk, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix until combined
- Fold in flour, baking soda and salt
- Add blueberries and fold gently.
- Put in a greased bread pan and bake.
Tips for making quick bread
- Do not overmix batter
- Bake in a fully preheated oven
- Test bread for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs, bread is cooked through. If toothpick comes out with wet crumbs or batter, the bread needs to cook longer
- Allow bread to fully cool before slicing
Fresh or frozen berries
I use fresh if I have them, otherwise frozen blueberries work well. Using frozen berries makes it possible to enjoy this bread all year long!
I love eating fresh blueberries, but frozen ones are a great treat. There is no difference once the berries are cooked up in a bread or dessert.
If using frozen berries, don't thaw before adding to batter. Just fold them in frozen and increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes.
Mini loaves
You can make this bread into mini loaves. You will use two small bread pans instead of one regular sized bread pan.
Reduce cooking time to 45 minutes. I often make small loaves because I like the size and each slice makes a perfect sized snack. The small loaves make perfect gifts too!
FAQs
Yes, this bread is perfect for freezing. Allow bread to fully cool then place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to a month. I like to slice my bread before freezing, but you can freeze whole as well.
Yes, fresh or frozen blueberries may be used. If you use frozen berries, do not thaw the berries first. Increase the cooking time 5-10 minutes.
More great recipes with blueberries
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my bread recipes!
Blueberry Lemon Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup butter (melted)
- ¾ Cup sugar
- ½ Cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2¼ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
Regular Loaf
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Spray a loaf pan with a non-stick spray.
- In a mixing bowl combine butter and sugar.¼ Cup butter, ¾ Cup sugar
- Add milk, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix until combined.½ Cup milk, 2 eggs, 1 Tablespoon lemon zest, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.2¼ cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- With a spatula gently fold blueberries into mixture.1 cup blueberries
- Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove from pan and continue cooling on rack.
Mini Loaf
- Follow instructions above for making bread batter.
- Place batter in two greased mini loaf pans.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.
Notes
- Can use fresh or frozen blueberries.
- If adding frozen, do not thaw before adding.
- Cooking time will increase by about 10 minutes when using frozen berries.
- Do not overmix batter
- Bake in a fully preheated oven
- Test bread for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs, bread is cooked through. If toothpick comes out with wet crumbs or batter, the bread needs to cook longer
- Allow bread to fully cool before slicing
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from The New Basics Cookbook.
This recipe was originally published in May of 2016.
Sarah K says
This is an awesome loaf. It’s a little more bready than I was expecting but mine also turned out more crumbly than you picture. Maybe I overmixed it? I’m also a lemon fiend and could stand for more lemon juice and zest in this. Lovely to serve with coffee, ice cream or cool whip. Great recipe!
Kathy says
Hi Sarah,
Over mixing can cause a crumbly bread, so that could be the issue. As far as more lemon - go for it! Be careful about adding too much juice though. You don't want your batter to become runny. You might also try glazing your bread with a powdered sugar lemon juice glaze! That would add a burst of lemon flavor!
Happy Baking!
David @ Spiced says
Blueberries + lemons really do go so well together! These loaves look amazing, Kathy. We're going on our annual blueberry picking fiesta this week, and we'll have enough blueberries for weeks. I'll definitely be saving some to make loaves...I just hope mine look as good as yours! 🙂
Fred G says
Interesting combination for a great taste.