Lemon Blueberry Bread Recipe

This lemon blueberry bread recipe packs in lots of lemon zest, lemon juice, yogurt, and plenty of blueberries for a rich and lemony loaf. The glossy lemon icing is optional, but highly recommended!

We recently shared our blueberry bread, and the first question we received afterward was, “Can I add lemon?” Well, yes, you can, and this lemon blueberry bread recipe is proof.

You’ll use fresh lemon in two ways: first, by rubbing the zest of two lemons into your sugar for the batter, and second, using some lemon juice to make a simple lemon glaze for the top. For muffins, see our blueberry muffins or these lemon blueberry muffins.

Key Ingredients

• Blueberries: Fresh or frozen blueberries work here. In either case, toss them with a tablespoon of flour before stirring them into the batter (this helps them stay in place rather than sink to the bottom of the loaf). If you do use frozen berries, keep them in the freezer until you are ready to add them to your batter. Otherwise, they will begin to thaw on the counter, adding a purple tint to your batter.
• Lemon: We use lemon in two ways. First, the batter gets a big hit of freshly grated lemon zest. Second, we use lemon juice to thin the glaze on top.
• Flour: We stick with all-purpose flour for this blueberry loaf. When measuring, follow our tips for spooning and leveling your measuring cups to avoid adding too much flour (see tips below the recipe).
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda: This bread has a heavy, thick batter, so we need both leaveners (baking powder and baking soda) to help it properly rise in the oven.
• Butter and Oil: Melted butter adds flavor, while oil keeps this loaf moist for multiple days after baking. Unsalted butter is perfect (or use salted and reduce the salt by 1/8 teaspoon), and any neutral oil works well (like safflower or vegetable oil).
• Yogurt or Sour Cream: Whole plain yogurt is the secret to the best loaf! Use a thicker yogurt, such as Greek or Icelandic. Sour cream is a lovely substitute and makes the bread ever-so-slightly richer. Whole milk yogurt or sour cream is best.
• Sugar: Not only does sugar sweeten the bread, but it also adds tenderness, flavor, and moisture. We call for both granulated sugar and brown sugar in our recipe below. For the most flavorful bread, use dark brown sugar (though light brown sugar is fine).
• Eggs: We call for 3 whole eggs in this loaf. They help the bread rise tall in the loaf pan. Room temperature is best, but check the tips for bringing eggs to room temperature quickly (see below the recipe).
• Vanilla and Salt: These make the loaf taste incredible (well, these and the lemon zest).

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Lemon Blueberry Bread

Tip 1: Use a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Our recipe makes a large loaf, so make sure that your pan has enough room for it to rise. Then, before adding your batter, lightly grease the pan and line it with parchment paper so the loaf is easy to remove later on.

Tip 2: Make lemon sugar. To really get as much lemony flavor into this bread as we can, rub lemon zest (2 tablespoons of it!) into the sugar. Use your fingers to rub the lemon zest and sugar together until fragrant. We use the same trick when making lemon blueberry cake and lemon bars!

Tip 3: Whisk the dry and wet ingredients separately. You’ll need two bowls to make this batter. In the first bowl, whisk the dry ingredients well to ensure the baking powder and baking soda are evenly distributed throughout the flour. Then, in the second bowl, you’ll whisk the wet ingredients (butter, oil, lemon sugar, and yogurt).

Tip 3: Stir (or fold) the dry and wet ingredients. To make the batter, grab a flexible spatula and gently stir (or fold) the wet ingredients into the dry. You aren’t beating the two mixtures together. Instead, gently combine them until you no longer see any flour clumps or streaks.

Tip 4: Flour the blueberries and add extra on top. When we were testing this batter, we had the problem of all the blueberries sinking to the bottom. The solution is to flour your berries in a tablespoon of extra flour before stirring them into the batter. This helps them stay in place. Some will still sink, but not as many. I also love adding about 10 extra blueberries (unfloured) to the top before baking.

Tip 5: How to tell the loaf is done. Quick breads take a while to bake (like zucchini bread or pumpkin bread). Expect somewhere from 55 to 70 minutes in the oven. To tell the bread is ready to come out of the oven, look for these cues:

1. The top has risen, is golden brown, and you no longer see wet batter.
2. When you lightly press the loaf, it bounces back instead of jiggling or leaving an indent.
3. A toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Tip 6: Add a lemon yogurt icing to the top. This loaf is lovely without any icing, but we always add a simple lemon icing to the top once it’s cooled. To make it, you’ll stir together confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), vanilla extract, yogurt, and fresh lemon juice until it drizzles in a thick ribbon. Once your bread is cooled, pour it over the loaf, then let it set.

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