Lemon Blackberry Bread is a bright and lemony quick bread, studded with juicy blackberries, and drizzled with a tangy lemon glaze. A delicious treat that's satisfying enough for breakfast and sweet enough for dessert.
For more berry-licious treats, try Strawberry Brownies and Blueberry Cheesecake Brownies next.
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You’re Going to Love This
- Lemon blackberry bread is super moist, soft, and tender, like cake!
- You definitely won't miss the lemon -- there's tons of tangy flavor in this bright and zingy lemon loaf!
- This easy blackberry lemon bread recipe is loaded with juicy, fresh blackberries
- It only takes minutes to mix this basic recipe together with simple ingredients.
- This delicious sweet treat is perfect for breakfast, coffee with friends, dessert, or anytime!
If you're a lemon lover like me, be sure to check out my recipes for Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust and Lemon Poke Cake!
Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
Unsalted butter. Soften butter to room temperature so it will cream together with the sugar.
Eggs. Use room-temperature eggs. If you add cold eggs to warm butter, it could curdle the batter.
Fresh lemon juice and zest. If at all possible, do not use bottled lemon juice. It won't taste as bright and fresh.
Pure lemon extract. One full tablespoon of pure lemon extract punches up the citrus flavor in this lemon bread recipe.
Low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt, room temperature. I've made this sweet lemony bread with low-fat plain, vanilla, and lemon Greek yogurt. Full-fat Greek yogurt should substitute just fine. Nonfat yogurt may adversely affect the texture.
All-purpose flour. To ensure the proper measure of flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup, rather than scooping it right out of the bag.
Fresh blackberries. Cut very large blackberries into halves, thirds, or quarters to keep them from sinking and provide better distribution.
How to Make Lemon Blackberry Bread
Step 1: In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time. Add lemon extract, lemon juice and zest, and Greek yogurt. Mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Step 2: Sift dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. If you don't have a strainer, whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the mixture to the batter. Stir until just combined. Do not over-mix.
Step 3: Gently fold in ⅔ of the blackberries into the lemon bread batter.
Step 4: Pour batter into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Place remaining blackberries onto the top of the bread, pressing some of the berries down into the batter. Smooth out the top of the batter with a knife.
Step 5: Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then on a wire rack until completely cooled.
Step 6: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, lemon zest, melted butter, and lemon juice -- one tablespoon at a time -- until it reaches drizzling consistency. Drizzle lemon glaze over the blackberry bread. Let the glaze set, then serve!
Expert Tips
- If you don't have a sifter or strainer, whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding to the wet ingredients.
- Use room temperature butter, eggs, and Greek yogurt.
- To get the most juice from your lemons, press down on them with the heel of your hand and roll them around on your counter. You can also throw them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
- Cut the blackberries into halves, thirds, or quarters to keep the large, heavy berries from sinking.
- This lemon blackberry bread recipe was made with fresh blackberries. For frozen, I recommend keeping them frozen, cutting them into smaller pieces, and tossing them in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter.
Recipe FAQs
Store at room temperature tightly covered in plastic wrap or foil for 2 days. For longer storage, place in the refrigerator.
This moist lemon bread will always taste better fresh, but, yes, you can freeze it. For best results, freeze it unglazed, wrapped in plastic and again in aluminum foil. You can also slice it into single servings and freeze for a grab-and-go snack. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Blackberries are big and heavy and are just going to sink. That's why I cut them into halves, thirds, or quarters, and mix ⅔ into the batter and place the other ⅓ on top to ensure even distribution of berries throughout the loaf.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Blackberry Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- zest of 2 lemons
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract (yes, tablespoon)
- 1 cup lowfat vanilla Greek yogurt, room temperature plain or lemon yogurt also work
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups blackberries
Lemon Glaze Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line loaf pan with parchment paper.Wash and rinse blackberries, pat dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Halve or quarter the blackberries if they are very large.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time. Add lemon extract, lemon juice and zest, and Greek yogurt. Mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into the wet ingredients. If you don't have a sifter, whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and add them to the batter. Stir the batter until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Gently fold about ⅔ of the blackberries into the batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place remaining blackberries on top of the bread, pressing some into the batter. Use a spatula or knife to smooth out the top of the batter.
- Bake on the middle rack for 50-60 minutes until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center of the bread should come out clean or with moist crumbs. If the top starts to get too dark before it's done baking, loosely cover the pan with foil.
- Cool bread in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove the baked loaf from the pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Place powdered sugar, lemon zest, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, one tablespoon at a time, and stir until it reaches drizzling consistency. I usually use two tablespoons of lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over the bread. Let the glaze set, then serve!
Amazing bread!! My family loved it!, I would like to make muffins. Would there be any adjustments to the recipe?
Hi, Janice, I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed it! I haven't tried converting this recipe to muffins, but I don't think you would need to adjust the ingredients, just the baking time.
Here's an article you might find helpful. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2015/09/27/make-muffins-quick-bread-recipe
Let me know how it goes; I'd love to share your results for others who would like to do the same! Cara
What a delectable spring/summer treat! Blackberries were on sale so I took advantage and I'm so glad I did. The bread is light and delicious a good mix of lemon and blackberry flavors. I plan to give it another try making mini loaves, I'm certain they will be delicious as well!
Catherine, thank you for your nice note, I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Loving your mini loaf idea, too. Great way to eat some/freeze some/give some -- plus, they're just so darned cute :). Thank you, again, and happy baking, Cara
This recipe was spot on. Don't waste your time searching for any others online. THIS is it. We had more blackberries than we knew what to do with. Our three little kiddos were growing tired of them very quickly and needed something "new." I made this exact recipe and sure enough the kiddos and I finished a whole loaf in less than 10 minutes! I made a loaf for our neighbor at the same time as our own. Though I had good intentions, I instantly regretted delivering it to her once we all began eating our own loaf... we wanted so much more! I will definitely be making another loaf (or four) before blackberry season is over.
Hi Courtney, I'm thrilled that you and your three kids enjoyed this bread! And how thoughtful to make a loaf for your neighbor, too. It means so much to me that you took the time to leave a note, thank you so much! Enjoy baking many more loaves of this yummy bread :). Cara