This Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Bread is tender, moist, and a perfect combination of tart lemon and sweet blueberries. An easy recipe for a delicious blueberry lemon loaf, sweetly topped with lemon glaze, and great for breakfast or dessert.
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There’s something about baking with lemons and blueberries that reminds me of beautiful sunny days. The combination of flavors is light, slightly tart, and refreshing.
My number one tip, for making this lemon blueberry bread, is to always use a real lemon and fresh blueberries. The tenderness of the bread with the sweet lemon glaze is so good, you’ll be making it again and again.
If you’ve mixed up muffins or quick breads before, you’ll notice this recipe follows a similar method. And the glaze, which is a variation of the one I use with these Gluten Free Lemon Cookies, adds some extra sweetness to the loaf.
This quick bread is easy to make and full of delicious flavor. It can double as a breakfast choice, with coffee or tea, or as a tasty dessert.
Why this Recipe Works
- Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest add a bright fresh flavor to the quick bread.
- Using baking powder and baking soda gives lift to the bread.
- The lemon glaze adds a touch of sweetness to the blueberry bread.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Blueberry Lemon Bread
- Butter - Unsalted butter.
- Sugar - White granulated sugar.
- Eggs - Large eggs.
- Vanilla - Pure vanilla extract.
- Sour cream - Full fat sour cream.
- Lemon - A large lemon.
- Gluten free flour blend - Use a cup-4-cup gluten free flour blend.
- Baking powder and baking soda - The combination of these two leavening agents gives lift to the bread.
- Blueberries - Fresh blueberries.
For the Lemon Glaze
- Powdered sugar - Also known as confectioner’s sugar.
- Milk - 2% or whole milk will work.
- Lemon juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Butter - Unsalted butter is what I normally use. For dairy free use Earth Balance buttery sticks.
- Gluten free flour blend - I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour to make this banana snack cake gluten free. If you don’t have a problem with gluten, you can use all-purpose flour.
- Milk - I use 2% or whole milk in the lemon glaze. For dairy free you can use almond milk or cashew milk.
- Sour cream - I use regular, full fat, sour cream in this recipe. Use a dairy free sour cream if you need to avoid dairy.
How to Make Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Bread
- Beat together the butter and sugar.
- Stir in the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, lemon juice and zest.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Fold in ¾ cup blueberries.
- Transfer the batter to a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
- Top with remaining blueberries and bake for 1 hour.
- Stir together powder sugar, milk, and lemon juice until smooth.
- Drizzle lemon glaze over cooled bread.
- Serve and enjoy!
Step By Step Instructions
(For ingredient amounts see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
Make the Bread:
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until combined.
Stir in the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice until incorporated.
Add the gluten free flour blend, baking soda, and baking powder and stir until combined.
Fold ¾ cup of blueberries into the batter.
Spread the batter in a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan and scatter remaining blueberries over the top.
Bake at 350-degrees for 60 minutes or until a wooden pick, inserted in the center, comes out clean. Cool the bread for 10 minutes in the pan.
Remove the bread from the pan and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool completely before adding the glaze.
Make the Glaze:
In a small mixing bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and reserved lemon juice until smooth.
Using a small ladle or large spoon, drizzle glaze over top and sides of the bread.
Allow glaze to set before slicing and serving the lemon blueberry bread.
Gluten Free Flour
Make sure to use a good quality all-purpose gluten free flour blend when making this lemon blueberry loaf. I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 which contains xanthan gum.
Xanthan gum helps to hold the baked goods together. In traditional baking, gluten in all-purpose flour acts as the binding agent for the baked good. Gluten free baking requires a replacement for the binding agent and that’s where xanthan gum comes in.
Your results may vary depending on the gluten free flour you use. I haven’t tried using almond flour or coconut flour with this recipe.
Remember to use the “spoon and level” method when measuring your gluten free flour. Simply use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and then use the back of a table knife to level off the top. Using the measuring cup to scoop the flour directly from the canister or bag can give you more flour than needed in the recipe.
Need more Gluten Free Quick Breads?
Try one of these other great recipes.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Use fresh blueberries and fresh lemon juice to get the most out of this flavor combination. For some recipes bottled lemon juice is a good substitute, but in this case, using real lemons is definitely worth the effort.
- Remember to zest the lemon before juicing it. It’s much easier to get the zest off the lemon before you cut into it.
- Before juicing the lemon, use the palm of your hand to press down on the lemon while rolling it back and forth on the counter. Doing this will allow you to get more juice from the lemon.
- Check your gluten free flour blend for xanthan gum. If it doesn’t contain it, try adding ½ teaspoon to the recipe. I like Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour.
- Allow the bread to cool completely before adding the lemon glaze. If the bread is still warm, the glaze will slide right off the bread. Placing the bread on a wire rack, set over a sheet pan, will keep the extra glaze off the countertop.
No. Frozen blueberries will add too much moisture to the bread. If you only have frozen berries on hand, you’ll want to try my blueberry muffin recipe instead.
Store leftover blueberry bread at room temperature, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend storing the bread in the refrigerator since baked goods can dry out in the fridge.
Yes. Allow the bread to cool completely then wrap it in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe bag or container before freezing.
You can also slice the bread and wrap each slice in plastic wrap before placing the slices in a freezer-safe bag for freezing. I like this method because I can take out just one or two slices at a time as needed.
The bread can be stored for up to 1 month in the freezer. Thaw the bread overnight on the counter or microwave a slice on medium power for 20-30 seconds.
If you’re a fan of blueberries and lemons, you’ll want to try this gluten free bread. Fresh blueberries and lemons just seem to be made for each other. Enjoy!
You Might Also Like
- Gluten Free Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
- Lemon Loaf Cake with Lemon Glaze
- Gluten Free Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Gluten Free Triple Chocolate Chip Brownies
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Scones
Find more tasty recipes in the Recipe Index.
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Recipe
Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Bread
Ingredients
For the Bread:
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1 large lemon grated and juiced (reserve 2 teaspoons of juice for glaze)
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Make the Bread:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Using cooking spray or shortening, grease the bottom of a 9"x5" loaf pan.
- Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until combined.
- Stir in the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Add the gluten free flour blend, baking soda and baking powder and mix well.
- Fold ¾ cup of the blueberries into the batter.
- Spread the batter in the prepared pan and scatter the remaining blueberries on top.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the bread in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Allow the bread to cool completely before adding the glaze.
Make the Glaze:
- Mix the powdered sugar, milk, and reserved lemon juice together in a small bowl.
- Spread the glaze over the bread. Allow the glaze to set before cutting the bread.
Notes
- Use fresh blueberries and fresh lemon juice to get the most out of this flavor combination. For some recipes bottled lemon juice is a good substitute, but in this case, using real lemons is definitely worth the effort.
- Remember to zest the lemon before juicing it. It’s much easier to get the zest off the lemon before you cut into it.
- Before juicing the lemon, use the palm of your hand to press down on the lemon while rolling it back and forth on the counter. Doing this will allow you to get more juice from the lemon.
- Check your gluten free flour blend for xanthan gum. If it doesn’t contain it, try adding ½ teaspoon to the recipe. I like Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour.
- Allow the bread to cool completely before adding the lemon glaze. If the bread is still warm, the glaze will slide right off the bread. Placing the bread on a wire rack, set over a sheet pan, will keep the extra glaze off the countertop.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information provided is an estimate and will vary based on products and brands you use. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the ingredients you are using with your preferred nutrition calculator.
This recipe was first published in 2017 and was published again in 2022 to include updated images, tips, and additional text.
Patty says
Taste tester approved.
Flavor Walk says
So glad you liked it.
Mandira says
Hi! I am planning to try this recipe. Do you think I can use a mix of coconut flour and almond flour? If yes, could you please advise in what ratio? Thank you in advance. Mandira
Flavor Walk says
Hi Mandira,
I haven't tried the recipe with coconut flour or almond flour. I normally use a cup-4-cup gluten free blend to make the substitution for all purpose flour really easy.
Donna says
Can this be made into muffins? And how long would it bake forr? Looks delicious!Thank you.
Flavor Walk says
Hi Donna,
To bake 12 muffins instead of the bread, increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 23 to 27 minutes. A wooden pick, inserted in the middle of a muffin, should come out clean when they're done.
Karen says
Are you supposed to tent this loaf it got dark and I was afraid it was gonna get to dark and it wasn’t done
Flavor Walk says
Hi Karen,
I'm sorry the bread wasn't done. I haven't needed to tent the loaf, but all ovens are different. You may want to tent the loaf (loosely cover it with aluminum foil) for the last 20 minutes.
Melissa says
Excellent! I didn't have blueberries on hand but did have fresh raspberries and it was delicious! I also used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and it still came out great.
Flavor Walk says
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for sharing how you adapted the recipe. I'm happy to hear it worked for you. And thank you for the 5-star rating.
Becky says
Could this recipe use stevia or monkfruit for sweetner instead of sugar? Do you think it would still turn out ok?
Flavor Walk says
Hi Becky,
I haven't tried using stevia or monkfruit in this recipe so I'm not sure if it would work. If you try it, please let me know how it turned out.