Lemon Blueberry Bread Recipe
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Lemon Blueberry Bread – an easy Italian style quick bread recipe from scratch. Loaded with blueberries, made with fruity olive oil, rich ricotta cheese and dressed in a decadent lemon glaze.
Best Lemon Blueberry Bread
In case you find yourself with a bucket of blueberries this season, I’m pretty sure this is the best thing you can do with them. A crazy delicious, soft and moist treat to go with your morning coffee.
Blueberry Bread Ingredients
- Olive Oil – a light and fruity olive oil is highly recommended but a neutral vegetable oil like canola is fine too.
- Ricotta cheese – the secret Italian ingredient that will take any quick bread from good to amazing. It adds moisture, natural sweetness and a unique cheesecake like flavor. (A plant based version works great too).
- The Blueberries – fresh is the way to go, make sure you wash and dry them well in advance. No need to worry about them sinking to the bottom as this ricotta batter is thick and creamy and you will have berries all throughout.
- Vanilla – it adds a nice subtle flavor so definitely use it if you have some.
- Lemon Glaze – an easy mix of powder sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice. You can sprinkle some lemon zest for extra zing.
- Flour – all purpose flour is all you need here, you could substitute with a whole wheat pastry flour for a denser but more nutritious bread.
- Baking Powder + Baking soda – use both, the powder does most of the leavening and the baking soda helps neutralize the acidity in the recipe.
Tips + FAQ
- Why are there green stains around the blueberries? – the short answer is “Anthocyanin”, the antioxidants in plants responsible for the beautiful colors you see in blueberries. Depending on the PH levels in their environment they will change colors. Baking soda makes the batter pretty alkaline hence the greenish tint of the blueberry stains. If you wish to avoid this then make sure to add extra acidy to your batter and/or use a little less baking soda.
- Can I use frozen blueberries ? – yes you can use the frozen ones in a pinch but use them straight from the freezer, do not allow them to thaw at all.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter – use a wide spatula to gently Fold everything together for the fluffiest result.
- Storage – once completely cooled off any leftover bread can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored at room temperature. Individual slices can be frozen in little freezer bags then popped in the toaster oven to reheat.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Bread
- Start by preheating your oven to 350”F.
- Dry Ingredients – in a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold in the blueberries.
- Wet Ingredients – In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, olive oil, vanilla and ricotta cheese.
- Combine – transfer the wet mix to the bowl with the dry ingredients and using a wide spatula fold them together.
- Bake – pour the cake batter inside an oiled loaf pan or lined with parchment paper and bake for 50 minutes to one hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
- Cool – transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow it to cool off completely.
- Glaze – whisk the lemon glaze ingredients together and pour over the bread once it has completely cooled off.
Favorite Desserts:
Lemon Blueberry Bread
Fluffiest lemon blueberry bread, made with with smooth olive oil, a creamy richness from ricotta cheese and a decadent lemon glaze!
Print Recipe
Ingredients
Blueberry Bread:
- 1.5 cups blueberries
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (extra light or neutral vegetable oil)
- 2 eggs (farmer's market organic free range)
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups organic flour all purpose
- 3/4 c granulated cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- Zest from 2 lemons
Lemon Glaze:
- 1/2 cup powder sugar
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 “ F
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and sea salt. Add the blueberries and half of the lemon zest and gently toss to coat. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, olive oil, vanilla and ricotta cheese until smooth. Transfer to the bowl with the flour blueberry mixture.
- Using a wide spatula gently fold the wet batter into the dry ingredients , making sure not to crush the blueberries if possible.
- Using a drop of olive oil make sure to coat the inside of a loaf pan.
- Transfer the batter to the oiled pan.Bake in the preheated 350”F oven for about 50 minutes to one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and allow it to cool off completely. Gently transfer the cooked bread onto a plate and start working on your lemon glaze.
Glaze:
- To make the lemon glaze whisk together the powder sugar with the lemon juice until smooth and thick to your liking. Add more lemon juice or powder sugar to obtain desired consistency.
- Using the whisk drizzle the glaze on top of the blueberry bread and immediately sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest. Slice with a serrated knife and enjoy with your morning coffee.
Notes
- Can I use frozen blueberries ? - yes you can use the frozen ones in a pinch but use them straight from the freezer, do not allow them to thaw at all.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter - use a wide spatula to gently Fold everything together for the fluffiest result.
- Storage - once completely cooled off any leftover blueberry bread can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored at room temperature. Individual slices can be frozen in little freezer bags then popped in the toaster oven to reheat.
Nutrition
Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 143IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg
Servings: 8 slices
Calories: 367kcal
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Oh man this looks so good. Love the combination of lemon and blueberries. I am printing and pinning this one…I HAVE to make this for sure!!
I actually thought this was a cake, not bread, when I first saw the photos. It looks amazing!
Thank you Jemma, you are so sweet. Hope you try it, we really love it !
Yes, please! This bread looks amazing. I love baking with olive oil and I love the combination of lemon and blueberry. I need to eat this!
Ohh, this looks absolutely GORGEOUS
Thanks Kylee 🙂
Looks beautiful. Would love to try this one out.
One of my pet peeves with anything made with blueberries is that there are never enough of them in each bite….. that will NOT be a problem with this recipe! I love that the bread is just jam packed with blueberries! Pinned! Thanks so much!!
Me too, I need to have a blueberry in every bite. That’s how I came up with this blueberry loaded olive oil bread. Necessity 😉
I had no idea about the green around blueberries in baking! I’m so used to seeing it that I never even thought to ask! This break looks so so so delicious, can’t wait to try it myself!
Thanks Carla, hope you give it a try this weekend, perfect time for baking ! ~ Florentina
Loving the blueberries, lemon, and olive oil! Some time ago I came across another olive oil bread recipe and ever since then I have been hooked! Your photos are beautiful!
I am over the moon with olive oil bread ! i make a variation of it about once a week, this one is a top favorite now !
I LOVE ricotta cheese. And LEMON. This might just be the perfect bread for me 🙂 I’ve never baked with olive oil before though…this will be very interesting…
I hope you try it. It is the perfect quick bread for us, i get requests for some type of olive oil bread at least once a week. We are hooked lol
I think this is the perfect Spring recipe! The lemon glaze really sets this over the top!
I make a cake that it very similar to this. I love the combination of fresh berries and lemon juice.
Oh my goodness, I would never have thought of using olive oil in a bread but love the idea. It sounds wonderful and looks even more delicious. Thanks so much for sharing.
Once you start using olive oil in your baking, you’ll never go back to whatever it was. The taste is amazing, not to mention how moist and fluffy your olive oil bread will be.
I love love love baking with olive oil. It yields the best baked goods. Also love the fact that this bread has tons of blueberries! 🙂
Olive oil is magic isn’t it ? I might change my middle name to olive oil ! lol
This bread looks like it would be amazing with a morning cup of coffee! I need to try making this sounds heavenly!
This! I could eat this breakfast, lunch AND dinner. It looks delicious and not too difficult to make.
Very easy to make, 2 bowl, 1 spatula, you got this 😉
this looks amazing…i can’t wait to try it.
This looks amazing! I’m going to have to save this for later. I definitely want to make this.
That sounds so good. I love homemade breads like this.
This looks like such a delicious blueberry dessert! The photos came out beautifully!
Thank you, working on my photo skills , a work in progress. But the olive oil cake is Legit ! hehe
I have to try this recipe. I love lemon and blueberry together.
Blueberry and lemon are a magical couple. I’m in love, hope you try it !
I love to try new blueberry recipes. This looks so delicious i know my kids are going to love it.
This recipe looks so delicious and easy to make. I will have to try making this on the weekend.
I love the flavor combination of blueberry and lemon! I will have to make this!
Oh I hope you make it soon, can’t wait to hear about it ! I’m in love with this olive oil bread !
That looks sinful and I want to make it today! I honestly never knew that you could bake with olive oil. I am going to try this recipe!
Olive oil is everything ! Olive oil bread is perfection ! I can’t bake without ricotta and olive oil, I swear on my Prada ~ Florentina Xo’s
My wife and I made this over the weekend and it was incredible ! The kids loved it too, so next time we are going to make 2 loaves for sure . The ricotta cheese really makes this special.
Ricotta and olive oil forever !