Description
Homemade lemon blueberry bread made with fresh lemon zest, juicy blueberries, and sour cream for the most tender, flavorful quick bread. Topped with an optional sweet lemon glaze, this easy recipe is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or gifting.
Ingredients
For the Bread:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 2 large lemons) — this is where all that sunshine flavor lives
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice — always fresh, never bottled
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter) — butter adds richness; oil keeps it extra moist
- 2 large eggs, room temperature — this helps everything blend smoothly
- 1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) — the secret to that tender crumb
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh blueberries (or frozen, thawed and drained) — pat frozen berries dry to avoid extra moisture
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (for tossing with blueberries) — keeps them from sinking
Optional Lemon Glaze:
- 1–1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). While it’s warming up, grease and flour your 9×5-inch loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
I like to let the parchment hang over the sides a bit—it makes lifting the bread out so much easier later.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 3 cups of flour, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
The lemon zest will release its oils as you whisk, and your kitchen will already start smelling amazing.
Set this bowl aside for now.
In your large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil (or melted butter) until well combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition. Then stir in the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
Mix until everything is smooth and well blended. Don’t worry if it looks a little lumpy from the sour cream—that’s perfectly normal.
Now, gradually add your dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients.
Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to fold everything together gently. The key here is to mix just until you don’t see any dry flour anymore—overmixing can make the bread tough, and we want it soft and tender.
While you’re folding, grab a small bowl and toss those blueberries with the tablespoon of flour. This little trick creates a light coating that helps keep them from sinking straight to the bottom.
Once they’re coated, gently fold the blueberries into the batter, being careful not to crush them.
Spread the batter evenly into your prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top with your spatula.
Pop it into the oven and bake for 55 to 65 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs—no raw batter.
If you notice the top browning too quickly (usually around the 45-minute mark), just tent it loosely with aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes.
Every oven is a little different, so trust your eyes and that toothpick test.
While your bread is baking or cooling, you can whip up the glaze if you’re using it.
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice, adding the juice gradually until you get a consistency that’s pourable but not too thin—think honey-like.
Once your bread is out of the oven and still warm, drizzle the glaze over the top. It will soak slightly into the bread, creating this wonderful sweet-tart crust. If you want to be fancy, sprinkle a little extra lemon zest on top while the glaze is still wet.
Notes
- Fresh is Best: Always use fresh lemon juice and zest rather than bottled—the flavor difference is night and day.
- Frozen Blueberries Work Too: If using frozen, don’t thaw them completely. Pat them dry with paper towels and keep them slightly frozen when you toss them in flour and fold them into the batter. This prevents them from bleeding too much color.
- Check Early: Start checking for doneness at 55 minutes. Ovens vary, and overbaking will dry out your bread.
- Don’t Skip the Flour Toss: That tablespoon of flour coating your blueberries really does keep them from all sinking to the bottom—it’s worth the extra bowl.
- Make It Extra Lemony: For lemon lovers, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the batter and increase the zest to 1½ tablespoons.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American