This lemon blueberry bread recipe is easy to make and simply scrumptious. It is made with fresh Arizona lemons and organic blueberries that pop in your mouth. Each bite is like sunshine in your mouth.
When it’s time to pick lemons in Arizona, it’s time to make lemon blueberry bread. There’s nothing like fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to make this lemon blueberry bread recipe. And there is nothing like the taste of fresh lemons right off the tree.
Jump to:
In Arizona, lemons ripen in the trees and must be picked in January. However, this year, our cooler-than-usual winter presented a late harvest. In other words, I have hundreds of beautiful lemons.
We share our lemons with our neighbor boys and family, and I juice and zest as many as I can to use when lemons are $1.00 a piece at the grocery store.
Since lemon brings out the berries’ flavor, I decided to add some beautiful organic blueberries I found at the market. Blueberry lemon bread, without a doubt, resembles dessert rather than bread.
Like my Orange Cranberry Bread recipe, I made this blueberry lemon bread recipe oil-free and without refined sugar.
Let’s make some luscious blueberry lemon bread.
How to Juice and Zest Lemons
To juice the lemons for the freshest lemon juice, I used my Cuisinart Juicer. Although you only needed ½ cup of lemon juice for the blueberry lemon bread, I juiced additional lemons and zest to freeze to use later.
Even though the juicer quickly juices the lemons, it helps to strain the juiced lemons to remove any pulp that slips through the juicer.
As you know, lemons, limes, and other citrus are expensive, especially in the off-season. Whether you have a lemon tree in your back year, in-season fruit is cheaper and fresher than off-season fruit.
Instead of wasting money, consider these ways of using in-season fruit and preserving it for later use.
- Juice lemons, oranges, and limes freeze in ice cube trays, or I love using Souper Cubes (2-3 Tablespoons each ice cube reservoir); then transfer into a zip lock bag for easy access to use drinks, sauces, or other recipes calling for citrus.
- Freeze lemon, orange, and lime slices or wedges for up to 3 months to add to summer drinks
- Freshly squeezed citrus juice lasts up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
- Make fresh lemonade
- Zest multiple lemons or other citrus and keep in the refrigerator in a mason jar for up to 2 weeks. Zest can also be frozen in a mason jar or freezer-safe container and scooped out as needed.
Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour (or flour of choice): for a gluten-free option, choose chickpea flour, or almond flour for a gluten-free option. Or, choose whole wheat or buckwheat flour.
- Baking Powder: a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar, used instead of yeast in baking.
- Baking Soda: helps baked goods brown better. And that’s because browning occurs better in alkaline batters – add some baking soda to a batter with baking powder, and it’ll get to work neutralizing acids, turning them alkaline and encouraging browning
- Salt: enhances the flavor of the other ingredients. Its presence perks up the depth and complexity of other flavors as the ingredients meld. Salt also provides a balance to the sweetness of cake batters—but a salty flavor should not be discernible.
- Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice: The lemon juice works to super-activate the baking soda or baking powder and creates a little extra loftiness in your baking, and provides the lemon flavoring in the lemon blueberry bread.
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce: used as an egg replacer, unsweetened applesauce is the binder for the bread mixture.
- Lemon Zest: often called a lemon peel, is the small shavings from the brightly colored and intensely flavored outer skin of citrus fruit. Use it to add a tangy zip to the recipe.
- Oat Milk: Or any unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk. I like oat milk because of its creamy texture.
- Blueberries: Fresh or frozen. If choosing frozen berries, do not thaw them before adding them to the bread recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: it enhances all the other flavors in the recipe, giving it more dimension and flavor.
- Maple Syrup (or coconut sugar): As a substitute for sugar, maple syrup provides an earthy sweetness to a recipe.
Recipe Substitutions
- Substitute chickpea Flour, rice flour, almond flour, or buckwheat flour for all-purpose flour.
- Date syrup or agave is a great substitution for maple syrup in recipes.
- It is always best to use fresh lemon juice, but bottled lemon just can be used in a pinch.
- Choose any plant milk but make sure it’s unsweetened plain plant milk.
- Frozen blueberries work well if fresh blueberries aren’t available.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Bread
One of my favorite parts about this blueberry lemon bread recipe is it all happens in one bowl. Once the dry ingredients are stirred together, the ingredients go into the same bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Stir dry ingredients together to ensure the baking powder and baking soda are mixed in.
- If using coconut sugar, stir into the dry ingredients.
- Add the apple sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and oat milk. Also, add maple syrup if used instead of coconut sugar.
- Stir by hand; do not use an electric mixer.
- Do not over-stir; make sure all the ingredients and wet ingredients create a thick and slightly lumpy batter.
- Next, gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
- Using a silicone bread pan or a pan lined with parchment paper, pour bread batter into the pan, scraping down the bowl’s sides to get all the batter.
- Then, place ½ cup blueberries into the top of the bread, randomly placing them. This is just for added flavor and for aesthetics.
- Reserve some blueberries to add to the top of the batter once it’s poured into the pan.
The blueberries, however, aren’t folded in until the very end, so they maintain firmness and don’t break apart.
Recipe FAQs
Generally, any bread that does not contain eggs or dairy (most bagels, sandwich bread, loaves, rolls, buns, pitas, lavish, flatbreads, and crackers fits this definition
Blueberries are lovely, but not on their own unless you add some lemon. The acid complements the rather blandness of the blueberry.” So that’s it? This is what makes the lemon-blueberry combination so outstanding, refreshing, and addictive
Blueberries have a tartness that can sometimes be overwhelming by itself. Basil, Cinnamon. Ginger, Lavender, Thyme, Mint, and Rosemary are all fantastic giving the blueberry lemon combination depth and sweetness.
Tips
- Another tip is to use a silicone loaf pan or line the pan with parchment paper to avoid using any sprays or oils.
- When the bread is thoroughly cooked, check to make sure it’s done by placing a knife into eh middle of the loaf pan.
- If it’s done, the knife comes out clean. Pop it back into the oven if some batter appears on the blade.
- Freeze fresh juices in season to use throughout the year.
- Allow the bread to cook completely and set it up before removing it from the pan.
- Since lemon blueberry bread is so moist, it is prone to molding at room temperature after about 4-5 days. You can extend the shelf life by wrapping it well and either refrigerating it (for 7-10 days) or freezing it (for up to 3 months).
If you can wait, cover the bread tightly and patiently wait for a delicious piece of blueberry lemon bread with a cup of your favorite tea or coffee.
So, the next time you’re craving a sweet treat, try blueberry lemon bread. If you love this recipe, please give it a 5-star rating below.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Blueberry Bread
Lemon blueberry bread is oil-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free. It is made with fresh Arizona lemons and organic blueberries that pop in your mouth. Each bite is like sunshine in your mouth.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Stir dry ingredients together to ensure the baking powder and baking soda are mixed in.
If using coconut sugar, stir into the dry ingredients.
Add the apple sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and oat milk. Also, add maple syrup if used instead of coconut sugar.
Stir by hand; do not use an electric mixer.
Do not over-stir; make sure all the ingredients and wet ingredients create a thick and slightly lumpy batter.
Next, gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
Using a silicone bread pan or a pan lined with parchment paper, pour bread batter into the pan, scraping down the bowl’s sides to get all the batter.
Then, place ½ cup of blueberries on top of the bread, randomly placing them. This is just for added flavor and aesthetics.
Cook for 50-55 minutes. If using a silicone pan, check the bread at 45 minutes since it cooks quickly.
To check to make sure the bread is cooked through, place a knife through the middle. It should come out clean. If there is batter on the blade, cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Notes
- Choose fresh blueberries in season or frozen blueberries if fresh are not available.
- If using frozen berries, do not thaw the berries; use them in their frozen state
- Choose fresh lemon juice and zest over bottled lemon juice.
- Applesauce is a great egg replacer, but you can also use a flaxseed egg or any egg replacer.
- Use unsweetened plain plant milk.
- Make sure to fold the blueberries and reserve some to place on top of the bread before baking.
- Using parchment paper lined in a bread pan or choosing a silicone bread pan allows for oil-free baking.
- Another tip is to use a silicone loaf pan or line the pan with parchment paper to avoid using any sprays or oils.
- Since lemon blueberry bread is so moist, it is prone to molding at room temperature after about 4-5 days. You can extend the shelf life by wrapping it well and either refrigerating it (for 7-10 days) or freezing it (for up to 3 months).
- Allow the bread to cook and set up before removing it from the pan.
- Freeze fresh juices in season to use throughout the year.
- If it’s done, the knife comes out clean. Pop it back into the oven if some batter appears on the blade.
- When the bread is thoroughly cooked, ensure it’s done by placing a knife into the middle of the loaf pan.
Nutrition
Calories: 168kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.04gSodium: 148mgPotassium: 116mgFiber: 2gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 45IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 1mg
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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