One-Bowl Lemon-Blueberry Quick Bread
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Assembled in one bowl and baked in a loaf pan, this lemon-blueberry quick bread comes together in no time and thanks to both olive oil and yogurt, it stays exceptionally moist for days. Rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar makes the citrus flavor really shine and a clever mixing method ensures you’ll have blueberries bursting in every bite!
Last weekend, while flipping through Jessie Sheehan’s Snackable Bakes in search of an extra-crumb coffee cake recipe I’d bookmarked months ago, I paused two recipes in, struck by a photo of a blackberry-studded loaf cake.
In the notes, Jessie credits both Dorie Greenspan and Ina Garten and describes the result as “nothing short of summer in a loaf pan.”
How could I not make it?
Given that I am sharing the recipe here, it’s clear that I loved it. But do you know what I loved even more? The process.
The recipe calls for rubbing the zest of two lemons into the sugar, a step that releases oils from the zest into the sugar, heightening the lemon flavor. I remember watching Dorie Greenspan do this years ago on the Martha Stewart Show while making lemon madeleines, and whenever I take the extra time to do it, I think: Why don’t I always do this? The smell is intoxicating.
Next, the ingredients, which include yogurt, oil (as opposed to butter), and lots of fresh lemon juice, are added nearly one by one, with whisking called for after each addition. It’s a one-bowl job!
Finally, and this is perhaps my favorite part of the whole process, the blueberries (or blackberries) are not added all at once: you fold 1 cup of them into the batter, then, once the batter is in the loaf pan, you scatter the remaining 1/2 cup over the top, before sprinkling all of it with turbinado sugar and popping it into the oven.
One hour later, it will emerge, sugar-crusted, berries busting at the seams. It is a sight to behold! With a cup of morning coffee or afternoon tea, a slice of this loaf is such a treat, perfectly sweet, bright with lemon flavor, juicy berries bursting in every bite.
PS: Lemon-Blueberry Dutch Baby
5 Favorite Quick Breads
Quick breads, in essence, really are cakes baked in loaf pans. Apart from the shape, there is nothing really bread-like about any quick bread I have ever made. Here are 5 of my favorites:
- Mrs. Myers Banana Bread
- Award-Winning Zucchini Bread
- My Mother’s Pumpkin Bread
- Super Simple Irish Soda Bread
- Beer Bread
Jessie Sheehan’s wonderful Snackable Bakes
Lemon-Blueberry Quick Bread, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients:
Zest the lemon into the sugar…
… then rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers.
Add the oil and vanilla and whisk for 30 seconds.
Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition.
Whisk in the sour cream or yogurt and freshly squeezed lemon juice:
Whisk in the baking powder followed by…
… the salt.
Switch to a spatula and stir in the flour.
The batter will be slightly lumpy.
Fold in 1 cup of the blueberries.
Transfer the batter to a buttered- and parchment-lined loaf pan.
Scatter another 1/2 cup of blueberries over the top. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake at 350ºF for roughly 1 hour. Remove from the oven, let cool for 20 minutes…
… then remove the loaf from the pan by the parchment sling and let it cool to room temperature.
Slice and serve!
One-Bowl Lemon-Blueberry Quick Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Description
Adapted ever so slightly from Jessie Sheehan’s wonderful Snackable Bakes.
Changes I’ve made:
- Used blueberries in place of the blackberries. If you want to use blackberries, roughly chop them before adding them to the batter.
- Upped the vanilla to 1 teaspoon vanilla from 3/4 teaspoon.
- Used extra-virgin olive oil in place of the vegetable oil.
- Upped the kosher salt to 1/2 teaspoon from 1/4 teaspoon.
- Used sour cream in place of the yogurt: I’ve made this twice with yogurt and once with sour cream, and while all were delicious, I think the sour cream version may have been the best. Not sure I would be able to detect a difference in a blind taste test, but just noting this to say both ingredients work great.
I use this 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan for this recipe.
Ingredients
- softened butter for the pan
- zest from 2 lemons
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (118 g) extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream or whole milk yogurt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups (195 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (222 g) fresh or frozen blueberries
- turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8 1/2 – x – 4 1/2-inch loaf pan (I love this one) with softened butter. Line with a sheet of parchment paper that extends up and over the long sides of the pan (like a cradle for your cake).
- Rub the lemon zest into the granulated sugar with your fingers in a large bowl until fragrant. Whisk in the oil and vanilla for 30 seconds. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, and then the lemon juice and yogurt. Sprinkle the baking powder and salt into the bowl, one at a time, vigorously whisking after each. Gently fold in the flour just until a few streaks remain. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Fold in 1 cup (145 g) of the berries.
- Scrape the batter into the pan, smooth the top, then arrange the remaining 1/2 cup (72 g) of berries over the top of the loaf, pressing down gently. Lightly sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, rotating at the halfway point. The cake is done when a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a moist crumb or two. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, then lift the cake out by the parchment paper overhang and transfer to a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing and serving. Keep the cake, wrapped, on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
292 Comments on “One-Bowl Lemon-Blueberry Quick Bread”
I would give this recipe a five star rating. I decided to go ahead and make it last night after reading all the comments with their positive reviews. I did make a few alterations and I put mine in a bread machine. Instead of sour cream I used vanilla bean Greek style yogurt. At the end of the recipe I added a half a cup of vanilla granola and sliced almonds. I also added three tablespoons of honey. I put it all in the bread maker turned it on the quick bread setting and went to bed myself. This morning it was glorious. I would love to include a picture, however it didn’t make it past breakfast. It was dense and moist and flavorful and the Granola and the almonds gave it just a bit of texture. Thank you very much!
Wow, so interesting to read all of this! I had no idea bread machines had quick bread settings. Thanks for writing and sharing these notes 🙂 🙂 🙂
Please mention coating the blueberry’s in flour if they are frozen. I didn’t do that step and all the berries sunk to the bottom and it was mushy. Such a. Disappointment
I was worried about not coating the frozen blueberries with flour, but thought I would try it. I carefully added 1 cup of frozen blueberries and gently stirred just to coat. Then I added the 1/2 cup to the top and gently pushed them down. It baked just as her picture. However, using my confection oven, I had to bake for 75 min. (covering the end pieces with foil for the last 15 min.. I did make a lemon glaze for the top using powder sugar and the remaining lemon juice I had left over.
Thanks so much for sharing all of these notes, Cathee! So helpful 🙂
I doubled the recipe and made two loaves of this last night. I took one to church today for our Easter brunch, and it was gone in 10 minutes! I opted for sour cream and veggie oil and it was perfectly moist. I would suggest that if you’re baking two loaves at a time to bake for 70 min and then add time if needed. I did 60 min and the middle was still a little underbaked but another 10-12 minutes was perfect.
I will be adding this to the regular rotation of quick breads! Thank you!
Great to hear, Emmy! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂 🙂 🙂
Delicious and I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you for the recipe.
Great to hear, Linda! Thanks for writing 🙂
Just wondering, due to the giant rhubarb bush I have in my garden, could I substitute that for the berries?? I’m liking the one bowl idea. Thanks.
I think it should be fine! I had rhubarb scones recently and they were delicious and the woman had simply chopped up the rhubarb and added them to her favorite scone recipe. I say go for it!
This is one of my favorites! I’ve made in a loaf pan and also mini muffins. Every time this comes out delicious.
Great to hear Rebecca! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
Because the weather is cold and rainy I decided to gat baking and just made this cake and it’s so delicious. It has the right amount of sugar, vanilla and berries. I had some blackberries so I combined them with the blueberries. Brilliant! My husband saw the cake leave the oven and was extremely disappointed that he had to wait 20 minutes for a slice. It was worth the wait! Then there was no risk of breaking the cake. It’s the only cake where my husband and I have had 2 pieces each within an hour. So good! And so easy to throw together. Thanks for the changes you made to the original recipe Ali
So great to read all of this, Deborah! It is SO hard to wait those 20 minutes… sometimes I need to leave the house to pass the time. Thanks for writing! xoxo
Great recipe! I made it gluten free and half monk fruit sweetener and it came out terrifically! It’s light and fluffy and full of lemon flavor just as I like it. I put a lemon glaze on it too. I will be making this many times. Thank you!
Great to hear! Thanks so much for writing and sharing these notes 🙂
I made this today and it’s delicious, however it comes to very high in the center. What did I do wrong?
Hi! Can you clarify your question? I’m no sure what the problem is 🙂
Very good and moist! I made a lemon glaze rather than sprinkling with sugar.
Yum!
I did both!! Lol
5star recipe! Just like the peasant bread is 5 stars.
This blueberry lemony delight is bakery quality. Not just any bakery but high end extraordinary bakery. It is stupendous. And easy to make. Rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar is brilliant. It’s delicious.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. It was very lemony and moist but I felt the extra virgin oil was too overpowering. I will make it again using vegetable oil 😉
Thanks for sharing your recipe. It was very lemony and moist but I felt the extra virgin oil was too overpowering. I will make it again using vegetable oil 🙂
I wonder how I would alter cooking time & temp to make 4 mini loaves?
Love this recipe!!!
Same temperature! The timing will depend on the size of your mini loaves, but I would start checking after 30 minutes 🙂
this looks so delish! i wonder if i could add some leftover sourdough discard, like about 100g. if so, what would be the adjusted plain flour measurement? thank you for this recipe!
Worth a shot! I’d reduce the flour by 50 grams.
One of my favorite flavor, combinations, blueberries and lemons… This is my all-time favorite quick bread recipe. I always end up putting in more blueberries(and lemon zest) cause I can’t help myself 🫣it just takes a bit longer to bake! I also put the turbinado sugar on the parchment paper after buttering the pan… Makes the whole darn thing like crystallized deliciousness…🤤 ( started doing this years ago with my banana bread and it carries through) . Big chunk of this with a cappuccino for breakfast and I am powered through my morning! Amazing! Your recipes never disappoint! Working my way through your Crumbs cookbook… Appreciate all the effort you put into it. Pictures are stunning. The recipes are delightful. I pass them on all the time to my family members 🫶🏼
Awww Niki, it’s so nice to read all of this… thank you for your kind words 🙂 Turbinado-encrusted banana bread sounds absolutely divine!
Love that it is one bowl and so easy. Just took it out of the oven and it looks so perfect ,I can’t believe I made it! Only had one lemon but it provided 2 Tbsp of juice so should do. I’m going to try scones next as the blueberries are so abundant now. Thankyou Ali.
Great to hear, Cathy! And I hear you: can’t get enough of blueberry everything right now 🙂
I’ve made this loaf many times and it is always delicious! I was wondering if it can be frozen?
Great to hear, Gayle! And yes, it can 🙂
I love this blueberry sour cream bread! I cut the sugar to 3/4 cup and the oil to 1/4 c. avocado oil plus 1/4 c. buttermilk. It came out absolutely delicious! My husband thought it was delicious too! Thank you for the recipe.
I also made your one-bowl blueberry scone recipe, They are baking as we speak!!
So nice to read all of this Sandy! It’s hard not to make blueberry everything this time of year. Thanks for writing!
I made 6 jumbo muffins out of the batter. I subbed with avocado oil, 1 huge lemon and a scant 1/3 cup of Splenda’s baking mix sweetner. I also reduced the AP flour to 1 cup and added 1/2 cup almond flour. Baked for 40 minutes. Very moist and delicious and not too sweet. A keeper!
Great to hear Jack! Thanks for writing and sharing these notes 🙂
Hi Ali:
This bread was fun to make. I followed your ingredients and instructions to a “t” and it came out beautifully and delicious. I used frozen blueberries without flour. I baked it about 70 minutes. I used sparkling sugar on top of the blueberries. I will certainly make this recipe again. Thanks so much. Kathy
Great to hear, Kathleen! Thanks for writing and sharing these notes 🙂
Deliciously successful! Macerating the lemon zest sent a burst of lemon flavor and scent throughout the batter, my kitchen, and infused the finished cake with a delightfully fresh flavor I used fresh blueberries very lightly dusted with a bit of flour. I didn’t have turbinado sugar, so added scant 1/4 tsps cinnamon and nutmeg to mix and sprinkled the batter with some finishing sugar (larger sugar crystals) before baking. Quick mix, easy cleanup and fabulously moist, flavorful cake makes this a repeatable recipe. Thank you so very much.
Great to hear, Rhonda! Thanks for writing and sharing all of these notes 🙂 All sounds delicious!
We do not have kosher salt here in New Zealand, would our iodised salt be a good subsistute, or freshly ground sea salt?
Hi! I think sea salt would be best 🙂
Hmm, I cook this for an hour and it was sitill raw. Should I be using convection?
Hmmmm…. I don’t use convection but you could try that next time. Does your oven run cool?
The easiest and most delicious cake!!! You must try this. I did add extra zest which made it oh so lemony. Yummy
Great to hear, Lucille! Thanks so much for writing. I’m always down for more lemon zest 🙂
I didn’t have parchment paper, turbinado sugar, or plain yogurt. I doubled the recipe, as it was for a bake sale fund raiser for my church. I used sanding sugar and I used Vanilla Greek Yogurt. It turned out very moist and tasty.
Great to hear, Dee! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
This cake is unreal. It’s Perfect with coffee, for guests or just a little treat for yourself. I made this on a beach holiday and the wonderful smells filled the house, gently waking everyone up. Once everyone descended on the kitchen, it was gone! Make this today!
So nice to hear this, Jen! Thanks so much for writing 🙂