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Lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, blueberries, vanilla - what's not to love, especially in the Summer! This blueberry lemon bread recipe with lemon glaze combines all these delicious ingredients to produce the ultimate breakfast, brunch, and dessert recipe good for all year around.
Tips and tricks for making perfect lemon bread
- Use 8x4 inch loaf pan.
- Use parchment paper. Line the bottom and two sides of the pan with the parchment paper. This will ensure that your lemon bread will not fall apart when you take it out of the baking pan.
- Use 2 separate bowls for combining dry and wet ingredients. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Only then, combine the two together.
- Toss blueberries with flour (2 tablespoons) before adding them to the batter. This will help prevent blueberries from sinking.
- Do not overmix. Overmixing will allow gluten to develop more than you want and your bread will be tough and rubbery. For soft and fluffy texture - do not overmix the batter.
- Cool the lemon bread before glazing. Drizzle the top of the bread with the glaze only after the bread has been completely cooled. Otherwise your glaze will be too runny.
Blueberries
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. You don't have to thaw frozen blueberries, just use them as is.
- Coat blueberries with 2 tablespoons of flour. This will prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the breading during baking.
The glaze is made from freshly squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar. There is just enough glaze to cover the top of the lemon bread with a drizzle and not to overwhelm the overall flavor of this dessert! The slice (or two, or three) of this blueberry lemon bread is lovely early in the morning with a hot cup of coffee or tea.
Storing and freezing lemon bread
- Keep lemon bread refrigerated. It keeps fresher and longer this way, plus the glaze keeps better, too. You can refrigerate the blueberry lemon bread after it's completely cooled. To properly store the bread, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freezing lemon bread. This lemon bread freezes well. Place it in a large plastic bag and seal air-tight. You can also wrap it really tightly with a plastic wrap. Then
After you bake the bread, cool it completely before drizzling with lemon glaze. Also, make sure the bread is completely cool before you refrigerate it. Enjoy!
Related dessert recipes with berries
Blueberry vanilla bread with lemon glaze
Ingredients
Blueberry Lemon Bread
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest grated
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Lemon Glaze
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Butter an 8x4 inch loaf pan, line the bottom and two sides of the pan with the parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk.
- In the same bowl where you combined flour, add blueberries and toss them in 2 tablespoons of flour. This will help prevent blueberries from sinking.
- Fold in lemon zest, and blueberries into the batter. Do it carefully and fast. Pour the lemon bread batter into prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 40 minutes on a wire rack. Release the bread from the pan.
Lemon glaze:
- Combine freshly squeezed lemon juice and ½ cup powdered sugar in a small bowl and beat, using electrical mixer, until smooth glaze forms .
- Drizzle the top of the blueberry lemon bread (after it's been completely cooled) with the glaze. Some of the glaze will go down the sides of the bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Absolutely one of the best bread recipes I've tried. Yum!
Oh, I am so happy to hear that, Mandy! 🙂
As usual Julia, this recipe is a hit. So moist and the combination of the blue berries and lemon flavor hits it out of the ball park. I've made 2 loaves for the Veterans bake sale tomorrow. I know the veterans are going to love it. The only issue I'm having is that most of the blueberries sink to the bottom. I use my own frozen blueberries that I picked this fall.
Hi Carol! I’m especially touched that you've made these for a Veterans bake sale. That’s wonderful. 🙂 🙂 And, I apologize for my late response. 🙂
Frozen blueberries are the reason they’re sinking — they’re heavier and release more moisture as they bake, especially home-frozen berries. A few things that help: toss the frozen blueberries lightly in flour before folding them in, add them straight from frozen (don’t thaw), and fold them in gently at the very end. You can also spoon a little plain batter into the pan first, then add the batter with berries — that gives them something to “sit on” as the loaf starts to set.
Thank you for the added info. I will give them a try. I'm also thinking now that I will try to pick out smaller sized berries to add. That may help them stay "afloat" too. I 'm making them for the 3 Christmas parties we are going to! I know they will be a hit.
HI Carol! I hope your blueberry lemon breads were a hit at Christmas! 🙂 Sending you my very best wishes for a peaceful and joyful 2026. ❤️
This was delicious! The only change I made was to add some lemon juice to the batter. I squeezed a lemon in a measuring cup and then added milk to make a 1/2 cup. It curdled the milk to make it more like buttermilk. Delicious!
What a brilliant move to add lemon juice + milk to curdle it a bit! 🙂