Blueberry Lemon Loaf is a moist cake-like loaf loaded with fresh blueberries and lemon flavor, topped and baked with a crumble topping. Then, the loaf is drizzled with a sweet glaze to make this a perfect breakfast, snack, or dessert. This is a copycat of the viral Costco Blueberry Lemon Loaf and dare I say, even BETTER! If you would like to try it without added lemon flavor, I also have a delicious Blueberry Bread you will love!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Room Temperature Ingredients: Room temperature ingredients (specifically butter, sour cream, egg, and milk) are important here to prevent lumps in this quick bread.
Egg: Out of eggs? Here are a few egg substitutes you could try.
Lemon: You will need one lemon for this recipe. First, zest the lemon until you have 2 teaspoons. Then, juice the lemon for 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Blueberries: Fresh blueberries are best in this recipe. However, you could also use frozen blueberries. Be sure to reserve about 1/4 cup to reserve for the topping before baking the loaf.
Crumble Topping: The crumble topping is easy to make, but really adds something amazing to this blueberry lemon loaf. It’s the topping I added to my Double Blueberry Muffins, which was so perfect, I had to use it again!
Glaze: The simple confectioners’ sugar glaze is made with just two ingredients, confectioners’ sugar (also known as icing sugar or powdered sugar) and water. Add water as needed to get the glaze to your desired consistency. The bread is also delicious without the glaze if you prefer to leave that off.
Can I Make This Loaf Into Muffins?
Sure! If you prefer blueberry lemon muffins (this is the recipe!), fold all of the blueberries into the batter (without reserving any for the top). Fill 12 lined muffin cups with about 3/4 cup of the batter. Top with crumble and bake for about 20 minutes.
How To Store Blueberry Lemon Loaf
Room Temperature: Wrap the bread in plastic wrap. It will last for up to five days at room temperature.
To Refrigerate: (This is not the recommended method since storing bread in the refrigerator can dry it out faster.) Place in a sealable plastic bag or airtight container and then place into the refrigerator. It should keep for up to 5 days. To reheat, remove from refrigerator and pop a slice into the microwave for 10 seconds or just allow the loaf to come to room temperature naturally, about 15 minutes.
Can I Freeze Blueberry Lemon Loaf?
Yes! If freezing the loaf, you will want to make sure you allow it to cool completely. Wrap the blueberry lemon loaf tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap and place it in a heavy-duty freezer bag. If you prefer not to use foil directly on your bread, wrap it tightly with parchment paper, then place that into a sealable plastic bag. Label it with the date; it will last for two to three months in the freezer. To thaw bread, take it out of the freezer and set it on the counter. Allow it to reach room temperature before you take it out of its packaging; it will re-absorb some of its moisture this way.
More Blueberry Lemon Treats
Blueberry Lemon Loaf
Ingredients
Blueberry Lemon Loaf
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (½ stick, 57 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (115 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (122.5 g) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 cups (296 g) fresh blueberries, divided
Crumble Topping
- ½ cup (62.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 57 g) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
Glaze
- 1 cup (125 g) confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
Instructions
Blueberry Lemon Loaf
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the sugar, butter, sour cream, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat until creamy. (You could also use a handheld mixer.)
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- With the mixer on low, alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Gently fold in about 1 ¾ cups of blueberries, reserving ¼ cup for the topping.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and top with the reserved blueberries.
Crumble Topping
- To make the crumble topping, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and melted butter in a small bowl.
- Top the batter with the crumble.
- Bake the loaf for 65 minutes. The bread is done when an inserted toothpick comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter. Let the loaf cool before adding the glaze.
Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and water. Add more water until the glaze reaches your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled loaf. Slice and serve.
Video
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What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Autumn
Holy cow, this loaf is AMAZING! I have always been a big fan of blueberry and lemon but this one is probably my new favorite. You might be tempted to scale back and use fewer blueberries. Don't, I say! 2 cups is the perfect amount!
Elizabeth
This loaf was moist and full of blueberries! I appreciated just a hint of lemon flavor since I am not always a fan of blueberry lemon treats. The crumble topping made this extra amazing!
Bella
Lemon and blueberries go so well together, in my opinion. There are sweet and tart flavors. This is a moist loaf with juicy sweet blueberries. Everything about it is incredibly tasty.
If you love the flavors of spring, this is it! Plump, juicy blueberries, in a fantastic lemon flavored loaf with a crunchy crumble on top is out of this world!
Selena
Blueberry overload!! If you love blueberries and moist bread, this is it! The hint of lemon and crunchy crumble on top is just perfection.
I’m going to try this one for sure, I only have frozen blueberries but I have to do it anyways lol, I am going to make my glaze with confectioners and lemon juice instead of water, it will be amazing, I can’t wait .
Loved it! Made it today, didn’t add the topping or glaze, added a little extra zest and it was so good. Will make it again!
DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe exactly as written and turned out amazing. The crumble topping is my favorite part, but the cake is light and fluffy booming with blueberry flavor. This is definitely a keeper.
Yay!! So glad you liked it!
I want to make this in a bundt cake ! Are there suggestions for that ?
I know I need 12 cups of batter – that would be about triple this recipe – thnx
Queen of taste tests here. When I saw it was compared to Costco’s lemon blueberry loaf I knew a taste test was in my future! Drumroll please… this recipe won! My family liked the crumb on this loaf better and they liked that it wasn’t as super sweet. Next time I will toss the blueberries with some flour to prevent them from all falling to the bottom. Also 65 mins was just a little too long for my oven. The loaf a was a little darker than I would have liked. And I added lemon oil to my glaze to up the lemon flavor. Next time I may try using lemon juice instead of water for the glaze recipe. It was a delicious treat and I will make it again!
I made this yesterday and I loved it! I squeezed some blackberries in the batter just because I had them and I wanted to be fancy. Has anyone ever squeezed blackberries? Well, I felt like the episode of I Love Lucy when she was making wine with her feet. I would like to say I taste the blackberry flavor but I’m not sure I taste it enough to have stained my hands purple. 10/10 do not recommend that. But anyway, loved this cake. I put vanilla in the glaze but I think next time I’ll save some lemon juice for the glaze. I’ve been up since 5:45 waiting for a decent time to have a slice or three and that’s why I’m here writing this review. Trying to hold back.
I love everything about this review 😂🙌🏻
With the fresh lemon zest and plump blueberries this recipe tastes just like summer… and boy does it make great muffins too.
Thank you Amanda. I always look forward to your emails.
Nan
Jupiter, Florida
I have tried a lot of blueberry lemon bread/muffin recipes. And I can honestly say this is the very best of them. I think the reason is the use of sour cream. I have never included that in any recipe I tried. The bread was moist and bursting with blueberry and lemon flavor. I did use a trick you should include: take 2 TBSP of flour from your total amount and toss your blueberries in them before folding them in. It keeps the berries from sinking to the bottom and gives a nice uniformity of them throughout. Also, 1/2 TSP of good quality vanilla made it perfect. Thanks! This is just outstanding.
I made this recipe and it’s been baking for 1 1/2 hours I hope it’s dine now
This is delicious!
I didn’t have 2 cups of blueberries but it was still so good, next time I will add a few on top as suggested i just didn’t have enough…I also only buy 1% milk so that didn’t seem to be an issue either. I think the sour cream in this recipe sets it apart, along with the crumb topping! I too used fresh lemon juice in the icing instead of water…after only cooking for about 15 minutes I checked and it was really starting to brown so I lightly covered w foil for the next 40 minutes and took off for remaining time, which I think was an additional 10-15 minutes…I tested it a couple times not wanting to to get too brown..65 minutes is a long time to bake. Everyone wanted the recipe and I will also see how they do as a muffin!
Definitely a winner recipe!
I made this and it is deelish! I should have listened to another reviewer and covered it while baking, at least halfway thru, as the crumble got a little burnt. I also added cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cardamom to the crumble. I dusted the blueberries with flour and they still sank! I will make again!!