Breakfast

April 21, 2021

Heart Healthy Lemon Blueberry Bread

Made with olive oil, greek yogurt, and Stevia, this easy Healthy Lemon Blueberry Bread is moist, fluffy, and delicious! Each slice has the perfect balance of sweet and tart from fresh blueberries and lemon juice, and boasts the texture of pound cake.

I'm going through this phase right now of retesting and re-photographing all my old recipes from my previous blog and I love it!

During my first six months of food blogging, I had lots of great ideas, just not the best photography skills or culinary knowledge to really make my creations "Pinterest worthy."

One of those "OG" Ka Pai Cooking recipes was a loaf of Lemon Blueberry Bread. At the time I thought it was great, but when I made it as I wrote it last year it was overly spongy, flat, and lacked the true "lemon" flavor. I also didn't like the ratio of macros it had, either.

I thought April was the perfect time to reintroduce my recipe to the blog, so I got to work retesting, researching, and rephotographing, and I'm much happier with the result this time!

Not only is there the perfect amount of lemon, but the blend of olive oil and greek yogurt yields the most tender crumb without falling flat. You'll love it!

A loaf of healthy lemon blueberry bread

Ingredients for lemon blueberry bread

  • Olive oil: a heart-healthy substitute to melted butter that gives a moist loaf and a tender crumb. I use extra virgin.
  • Stevia: a no-calorie plant-based substitute for granulated white sugar. You won't taste the difference, I promise!
  • Eggs: for an extra rich bread with lots of texture and lift. Extra eggs also help bind the wet and dry ingredients together. Please note: if you cannot have eggs, I recommend finding another recipe! Egg substitutes, in my opinion, will not work for this Lemon Blueberry Bread.
  • Lemon juice and lemon zest: both provide that classic lemon flavor. We're using lemon zest in both the bread batter and the icing!
  • All-purpose flour: not the healthiest flour on the shelf, but it's the perfect choice for a light, fluffy quick bread! Feel free to use a gluten-free all-purpose flour if necessary.
  • Greek yogurt: I always always use this brand for all my baking, breakfast, and snacking needs (not sponsored), but you can use whatever nonfat vanilla greek yogurt you love.
  • Fresh blueberries: the perfect compliment to fresh lemon! Please note: I do not recommend using frozen (or thawed from frozen) blueberries because they retain too much liquid and will both stain the batter and sink to the bottom in the loaf pan.
  • Powdered sugar: for that sweet lemon icing on top. If you'd like to keep this Lemon Blueberry Bread refined sugar-free, feel free to use a powdered zero-calorie substitute!

A slice of lemon blueberry bread with lemon icing

Expert tips

  1. Cream the oil and Stevia very well: Stevia tends to clump together when added all at once to wet ingredients. To avoid clumps of unincorporated sugar, you can either start your stand mixer with the oil in it and slowly add the sugar, or make sure to blend for at least two minutes and scrape down the sides as necessary.
  2. Use room temperature eggs: I cannot stress this enough! Room temperature eggs are critical for good, consistent, and successful baking. If the eggs are fresh out of the fridge, they do not incorporate as well into the batter and they don't produce as much lift during baking. Room temperature ingredients mix together much easier, which produces a smooth batter, which yields a light, tender baked good. Cold ingredients will, well, not give you that. To learn more about room temperature ingredients, check out this food blog!
  3. Incorporate the eggs one at a time: this ensures even, thorough, and smooth mixing throughout your bread batter.
  4. Alternate mixing the dry ingredients with the yogurt: this practice is common with cakes, and since we want to imitate a pound cake texture, this is the way to do it! Don't worry about measuring exact amounts, just eyeball similar portions. I like to add the dry ingredients in three batches and the yogurt in two.
  5. Only use fresh blueberries: I've found that frozen or thawed-from-frozen berries retain too much liquid and stain the batter. They also sink to the bottom because the excess liquid makes them too dense.
  6. Toss the blueberries in cornstarch: this prevents the blueberries from sinking in the unbaked bread batter! I prefer cornstarch over flour because I think it sticks better to the fruit, but either will work. If you're gluten-free, make sure to use cornstarch!
  7. Watch your loaf in the oven: sometimes, the top of the bread will finish baking before the inside is done. If you check your loaf around 35-45 minutes and the top looks quite done, add domed tin foil over the bread.
  8. Cool your Lemon Blueberry Bread before adding the lemon icing: we don't want the bread to melt the icing, just crystalize it. I recommend waiting at least 20 minutes before adding your icing.

A loaf of lemon blueberry bread cut into slices

Frequently asked questions

Can I make this Lemon Blueberry Bread gluten-free?

Yes! You can substitute the all-purpose flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour. Make sure to use gluten-free flour or cornstarch to toss the blueberries, too.

Can I make your Lemon Blueberry Bread dairy-free?

Yes! Use your favorite non-dairy greek yogurt in place of my regular greek yogurt. Please note: I have not tested this personally, but I believe it will yield similar results. Leave a comment below if you try it!

Can I make this recipe vegan?

No. If you're looking for a vegan Lemon Blueberry Bread recipe, I suggest trying this recipe, these Lemon and Blueberry Muffins, or Ambitious Kitchen's recipe for Lemon Blueberry Bread (one of my favorite bloggers!).

How long will Lemon Blueberry Bread stay fresh?

I recommend no more than three days in an airtight container on the counter or five days in the fridge.

Can I freeze my bread for later?

Yes! Allow the loaf to cool completely at room temperature, omit the icing, and slice into twelve slices. Wrap each slice individually in foil, then store in the freezer for up to three months.

Allow the bread to thaw at room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving. I recommend making the icing fresh, if you want the icing.

More healthy quick bread recipes

The Best Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (video included!)

Easy Fudgy Triple Chocolate Banana Bread

Healthy Cinnamon Pecan Applesauce Bread

Secretly Healthy S'mores Banana Bread

Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

A loaf of healthy lemon blueberry bread with some cut into slices

I can't wait to see my bread in your kitchen! I know you'll love it's sweet but tart flavor and the light, fluffy texture. My husband and I can eat a whole loaf in 48 hours!

Be sure to leave a star rating and review below if you try my Lemon Blueberry Bread so other readers know how you liked it! You can also tag me on Instagram -  I love seeing my recipes in your home!

Made with olive oil, greek yogurt, and Stevia, this easy Healthy Lemon Blueberry Bread is moist, fluffy, and delicious! Each slice has the perfect balance of sweet and tart from fresh blueberries and lemon juice, and boasts the texture of pound cake.

Author:

Brooke Harmer

Prep:

15

min

cook:

60

min

total:

75

min

servings:

12

Ingredients

For the Bread

  • ⅓ C olive oil (extra virgin)
  • 1 C Stevia
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1½ C all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ C nonfat vanilla greek yogurt
  • 6 oz. fresh blueberries*
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1 tsp cornstarch (or flour)

For the Icing

  • ½ C powdered sugar
  • ½ Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp nonfat vanilla greek yogurt
  • 1 lemon, zested

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a stand mixer (or with a handheld mixer), cream the oil and Stevia together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides so all the sugar is thoroughly incorporated.
  3. Mix the eggs into the batter one at a time until well combined. Then, mix in the lemon juice, vanilla, and milk until just combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the greek yogurt into the bread batter until the batter is smooth. Don't overmix, but make sure the batter is well combined. It's ok if there are a few streaks of flour remaining.
  5. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries in the lemon zest and cornstarch. Gently fold the blueberries into the bread batter (but don't allow any excess cornstarch to mix in). Pour the Lemon Blueberry Bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and tap on the counter a few times to get rid of any excess air bubbles.
  6. Bake for 50-60 minutes* or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
  7. Prepare the icing by whisking together all icing ingredients until smooth. Pour over cooled Lemon Blueberry Bread and allow to set. Slice into 12 slices and enjoy!**

Notes

*See blog post for details about baking time.

**See blog post for details about storage.

Nutrition facts are a calculated estimate of 1/12 of the loaf, including the prepared icing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 slice / Calories: 161 / Fat: 7.5g / Saturated Fat: 1.3g / Carbohydrates: 19.4g / Fiber: 0.5g / Sugar: 6.6g / Protein: 2.6g