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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.
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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 thefrozen onesin 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:
Ricotta Cheesecake
Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Blueberry Ricotta Muffins
Italian Tiramisu
Lemon Muffins
Cranberry Bread.
5 from 1 vote
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
Prep Time:10 minutes mins
Cook Time:50 minutes mins
Total Time:1 hour hr
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
US Customary - Metric
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 thefrozen onesin 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
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: blueberry bread, olive oil bread
Servings: 8 slices
Calories: 367kcal
Author: Florentina
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Can I make this into muffins?
Reply
Definitely!
Reply
Hi Florentina,
This looks amazing and will definitely try it! But a quick question though, must the olive oil be extra virgin or can I substitute it with canola oil? Thanks!Reply
Hi Brenda, you can definitely substitute with canola, I try to go the healthier route and I’m particularly fond of olive oil and the richness it adds to baked goods. Let me know how it goes 🙂
Reply
Btw Florentina, is it possible to substitute ricotta cheese with any other cheese? If yes, which do you recommend?
Reply
Hi Brenda, sorry I haven’t experimented with a different cheese, however my next choice would probably be cottage cheese or goat cheese… If I still ate goat cheese that is 🙂
Reply
So the recipe calls for 1/2 tsp sea salt but nowhere does it say when to add it. Also, if I use 1/2 of the lemon zest, when do I use the second half?
Reply
Hi Donna, you add the sea salt with the dry ingredients. The remaining lemon zest goes on top of the glaze 😉
Reply
Wow, I was thinking of making banana bread but now I have to make this!
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Oh yes, i think this one wins over banana bread, tough i love banana bread, Olive oil and blueberries win every time !
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