Packed with sweet and juicy berries, blueberry bread is a great anytime-baking recipe. It is guaranteed to add a touch of sweet indulgence to your breakfast or snacks. This moist quick bread is made with easy-to-find ingredients and stirs together without a mixer, making it one of my favorite year-round baking recipes.
Though I reach for this recipe when I have fresh summer berries, it’s simple to swap frozen when they’re out of season. If desired, top the loaf with a lemon glaze or streusel for a bakery-style finish, or swap in other berries when they are in season! For more easy quick bread recipes, check out my banana bread, apple bread, and cranberry orange bread recipes!
Ingredients
Blueberries — the best-tasting blueberries you can find are ideal for this recipe since they are the star of the quick bread!
All-Purpose Flour — measure the flour by weighing it or scooping it into measuring cups and leveling with a knife for the best loaf that is moist and fluffy.
Butter — melt the unsalted butter on the stovetop or in the microwave, then let cool for 5-10 minutes, until warm to the touch, before mixing the batter together.
Vegetable Oil — a liquid oil like vegetable oil will be the quick bread tender and moist for several days. You can also use canola oil or substitute light olive oil.
Milk — use full-fat or whole milk if possible; 2% can work in a pinch.
Egg — for the easiest mixing, bring the egg to room temperature. You can do this by soaking the egg in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.
How To Make Blueberry Bread
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan with butter or baking spray or line it with parchment paper. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and egg to a medium mixing bowl.
3. Pour in the melted and cooled butter. Whisk together until smooth and pale yellow.
4. Whisk in the milk until thoroughly combined.
5. Place the blueberries in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the flour mixture over the blueberries. Gently toss to combine.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until almost fully combined, with only a few streaks of dry flour remaining.
7. Gently but quickly fold the floured blueberries into the batter.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?
Yes, you can easily swap frozen blueberries for fresh berries in this quick bread recipe. Do not defrost the berries, and toss them with flour as directed before use. The baking time of the bread may increase by about 5 minutes.
How To Keep Your Blueberries From Sinking
The best way to prevent the berries from sinking in the batter is to coat them with flour. This gives the berries a surface for the batter to cling to so they remain distributed throughout the bread when baked. Not doing this can result in the blueberries sinking to the bottom of the pan. So, instead of your blueberry loaf baking up with berries throughout it, they will all be heavily concentrated at the bottom of each slice.
Variations
- Add a glaze. Drizzle the cooled blueberry loaf with a simple lemon glaze or vanilla glaze! Try the glaze recipes from my lemon poppy seed muffins or vanilla bundt cake.
- Top with streusel. For a bakery-style presentation, sprinkle the loaf with homemade streusel topping. Bake for the directed time and tent the loaf with aluminum foil if the streusel browns too quickly.
- Sprinkle with sugar. Top the loaf with a tablespoon or two of granulated, turbinado, or sparkling sugar before baking.
- Use other berries. Raspberries, halved blackberries, chopped strawberries, or a combination of your favorite berries are great picks.
- Make mini loaves. For smaller loaves, perfect for gift-giving or freezing, divide the bread batter between 6 to 8 mini (2×4-inch) loaf pans, filling them no more than two-thirds full. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean.
How to Store
Once completely cooled, transfer the bread to an airtight container and store it at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Tips For Making The Best Blueberry Bread
- Don’t overmix. Overworked flour gets glutinous, resulting in tough or dense bread. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined and a few streaks of flour remain before finishing by stirring in the blueberries.
- Prevent the bread from over-browning. If the bread browns too quickly, loosely tent it with aluminum foil after 40 minutes of baking.
- Bake in a 9×5-inch pan. If desired, you can make this easy blueberry bread recipe in a slightly larger pan. Since there is more surface area, the loaf may bake more quickly, in 55-65 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a nuttier-flavored loaf, you can swap white whole wheat flour for part of the all-purpose flour. The texture of the bread may be slightly denser if doing so, but the flavor will still be delicious. Use 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose and increase the milk by 2 tablespoons.
Yes, like other quick breads, this blueberry bread freezes very well. Once it has cooled to room temperature, wrap slices or the whole loaf tightly in plastic wrap before transferring it to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the bread at room temperature for 1-2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Yes, it is very easy to make blueberry muffins with this recipe! Follow the recipe instructions, dividing the batter between 12 paper muffin liners. Then, follow the baking instructions in my blueberry muffins recipe for perfect muffins.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Blueberry Bread recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Blueberry Bread Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 8½x4½-inch or 9×5-inch loaf pan
- Nonstick baking spray
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (60mL)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled (56g)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk (120mL)
- 1¼ cups blueberries fresh or frozen (180g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8½x4½-inch loaf pan with butter or baking spray. (You can also line it with parchment paper.)
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, melted and cooled butter, egg, and vanilla until smooth and lightened in color. Whisk in the milk until fully combined.
- Place the blueberries in a medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the flour mixture over the blueberries. Gently toss to combine.
- Pour the milk mixture into the remaining flour mixture and stir together with a spatula until almost fully combined and only a few streaks of dry flour remain. Gently but quickly fold the blueberry mixture into the batter. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 65 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Don’t overmix. Overworked flour gets glutinous, resulting in tough or dense bread. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined and a few streaks of flour remain before finishing by stirring in the blueberries.
- Prevent the bread from over-browning. If the bread browns too quickly, loosely tent it with aluminum foil after 40 minutes of baking.
- Bake in a 9×5-inch pan. If desired, you can make this easy blueberry bread recipe in a slightly larger pan. Since there is more surface area, the loaf may bake more quickly, in 55-65 minutes.
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