Adapted from this blueberry muffins recipe, this blueberry muffin bread is soft, moist, and loaded with blueberries. Since there’s no individual muffins, this muffin batter goes from the mixing bowl to the oven in minutes. Though this quick bread is outstanding on its own, a swirl of blueberry jam and sprinkle of crumble topping create an outstanding crust.
I’m always on the lookout for quick and easy recipes that double as breakfast and snack. Banana bread, morning glory muffins, and zucchini bread are my usual defaults, but in an effort to break out of routine, blueberry muffin bread is now in the line-up.
What is Blueberry Muffin Bread?
Glad you asked. Blueberry muffin bread is exactly what it sounds like… blueberry muffins baked as bread. This is a quick bread recipe, so there’s no yeast required. Blueberry muffin bread is soft, moist, and completely overloaded with blueberries. Enjoy it warm from the oven or straight out of the refrigerator. It also freezes beautifully!
Blueberry Muffins in a Loaf Pan
Any muffin recipe yielding around 12 standard size muffins doubles as a quick bread recipe. Today we’re using my blueberry muffins, which is actually my master muffin recipe. This particular muffin batter creates 1,000s of muffin varieties including cranberry orange muffins, peach muffins, and apple cinnamon muffins. For the muffin bread, I added a little more flour to ensure this was a nice big loaf.
Now we can create plenty of quick bread recipes too! For example, swap blueberries for chocolate chips and you have an easy chocolate chip quick bread.
Blueberry Muffin Bread Ingredients
Like pound cake and biscuits, blueberry muffin bread is another example of how extremely basic ingredients easily transform into an absolutely delicious recipe.
- Butter: Butter is the base and produces a soft cakey crumb. If desired, swap with solid coconut oil.
- Sugar: Use a mix of granulated and brown sugar for flavor. A dry unrefined sugar, such as coconut sugar, works too. I don’t recommend a liquid sweetener.
- Eggs: 2 eggs work their magic providing structure and overall richness.
- Sour Cream or Yogurt: Plain low fat or full fat sour cream or yogurt add exceptional moisture, as well as the necessary acid for the baking soda.
- Vanilla & Salt: Flavor flavor flavor.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the workhorse of quick breads like apple cinnamon bread and zucchini bread. I don’t typically bake with gluten free flours, but let me know if you try any that work.
- Leaveners: Both baking soda and baking powder add necessary lift. Remember the differences in baking powder vs baking soda and why we use both in some recipes?
- Milk: The blueberry muffin bread would be flat and heavy without milk.
2 Optional Extras!
The blueberry muffin bread is completely awesome on its own. But if you want to take things up a notch, add one or both:
- Blueberry Jam: Swirl 2 Tablespoons of blueberry jam into the batter.
- Crumble Topping: Simply combine all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Sprinkle on top before baking.
The pictured bread includes both. See my recipe notes for detailed instructions.
Enjoying your slices with a swipe of homemade honey butter is fantastic here, too!
Blueberry Muffin Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Adapted from my favorite Blueberry Muffins, this blueberry muffin bread is soft, moist, and loaded with blueberries. Since there’s no individual muffins, this muffin batter goes from the mixing bowl to the oven in minutes. Though this quick bread is outstanding on its own, a swirl of blueberry jam and sprinkle of crumble topping create an outstanding crust.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (80ml) milk, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (210g) fresh blueberries*
- optional: 2 Tablespoons blueberry jam and/or crumb topping (see recipe note)
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan or coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients and beat until no flour pockets remain. Fold in the blueberries.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan. See note if adding streusel or blueberry jam swirl. Bake for 60-65 minutes, loosely covering the bread with aluminum foil at the 30 minute mark to help prevent the top and sides from getting too brown. A toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf will come out clean when the bread is done. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Cover and store bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cool baked muffin bread completely. Tightly wrap the loaf or slices (individually or grouped) in 2 layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place wrapped bread in a large freezer-friendly storage bag or reusable container. Freeze for up to 3-4 months. Thaw wrapped or unwrapped in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Cooling Rack
- Sour Cream: Plain yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream. Unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana may also be used.
- Blueberries: Fresh blueberries are best. I do not suggest frozen blueberries. If you need to use them, do not thaw, add another 2 Tablespoons of flour to the dry ingredients, and extend the bake time.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. See my post on the importance of room temperature ingredients for more information.
- Blueberry Jam or Crumble Topping: If desired, swirl 2 Tablespoons blueberry jam (or any flavor) into the top of the loaf before baking. A crumble topping adds a lovely crunch. Simply combine 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, then using a fork, mix in 2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter until crumbles form. Sprinkle over loaf before baking.
- Adapted from Blueberry Muffins with a *little* extra flour and milk to produce a nice large loaf.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I usually love all of your recipes, but this one didn’t turn out right somehow. I retraced my ingredients and steps and I don’t know why, but the bread came out dry and bland … maybe the cook time was too long? Anyways I’ll still try other recipes on this site, but this one didn’t work out well for me.
I had a ton of blueberries from Costco and I didn’t want to freeze them (they sometimes get lost forever). I searched for Muffins made with sour cream and came across yours, then I saw your loaf recipe. It was one of the best I’ve ever made. I think I baked it a little too long, the bottom got overly brown but it was still moist and delicious.
Hi Sally! I love this recipe of yours but I don’t have sour cream at the moment. Could I replace it with buttermilk similar to your blueberry muffin?
Hi Sangeeta, if using buttermilk, use it to replace the sour cream AND the milk. (1 cup total.) Enjoy!
This is a great recipe! I love blueberry muffins but do not like making the individual muffins, dealing with the foil cups, etc. I added zest of half of a lemon as well.
Try purchasing silicone muffin cups. They are the best! Environmentally friendly and my muffins slide out every time!!
can i sub strawberries in this recipe?
Hi Sally, fresh strawberries work great! Chop them to be roughly the same size of blueberries. No other changes! We also have a strawberry bread recipe you might like.
I make this for friends and family a lot. Who doesn’t like Blueberry Muffins.
QUESTION: The blueberries seem to push to the sides of the loaf when baked. Is there a way to encourage them to stay throughout the loaf?
Toss them with a tablespoon or two of flour before folding them in the dough
Love your recipes! Thinking about trying this one but wondering how it would work using mini loaf pans? I’ve never tried mini quick bread loaves so need advice. Thank you!
Hi Janet, we’re unsure of the exact bake time, as mini loaf pan sizes can greatly vary. It will be shorter, but keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Hope they’re a hit!
Janet, I almost always make quick breads as “mini” loaves. (More to give away and share!) For me, that is one pound of batter in each loaf pan (I don’t remember the exact dimensions but I believe it is 7″ x 4″ or thereabouts).
I did it using this recipe last night with two of my 1# loaf pans. However, I did not have regular milk, so I subbed in buttermilk and it was baked through at around 40 minutes at 350. I will need to experiment more as it stopped rising at the top (one of my concerns when I initially put the batter in the pans) and probably could have continued rising (thanks to the buttermilk substitution), but miraculously did not sink. Luck was on my side!
Can I make this a lemon blueberry bread? Would I just add zest, and instead of vanilla add lemon, or would I still do the vanilla and some lemon juice?
Hi Paula! We recommend adding the zest from 1 lemon and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice. Make sure you remove 2 Tablespoons of milk to make up for the lemon juice.
I hope to make this while adding lemon zest and juice. Should I remove all the vanilla if doing so?
Hi Deborah, you can include both lemon and vanilla in this. Enjoy!
Sadly, I made this into muffins but it was too dense.
Hi CW, thank you so much for giving this recipe a try. Should you wish to try again, we’d recommend following our blueberry muffins recipe instead. You’ll notice they are very similar, but this loaf bread has a little bit more flour and milk to make a nice large loaf. The muffins are wonderfully soft and light. Thank you again!
How does the texture and consistency of this recipe compare to that of your other quick bread recipes, like orange glazed cranberry bread? I usually use that recipe as a based recipe for most of my breads.
Hi Mary, they are quite similar—both very soft and incredibly moist!
Recipe is too bland. Needs more sugar.
I very much appreciate that you also put the quantities in gr. I’m following you from Italy and here we use MKS system of measurement. If I want to make smth I know is a US recipe I always turn to you. You’re the best!
We’re so glad you find it helpful, Jasenka!
This recipe is truly amazing! The dough is so dense yet so moist and crumbly! And don’t even get me started about the crumble on top But the one complaint I have (which is probably a fault on my end) is that the blueberry’s keep sinking to the bottom of my loaf no matter what. I’ve tried drying them, coating them in flour, freezing them, but nothing seems to help. What do you do to prevent this from happening to you?
Hi Ruken! Make sure to use fresh, not frozen blueberries and coating them with a little flour can help. The batter should be thick enough to suspend them. Are you making any changes (even small ones) to the batter?
This was absolutely delicious. Super moist and just the right amount of sweetness. Perfect blueberry bread
I made it for the first time today and it turned out great! I love all your recipes.
I used a mashed banana in place of the sour cream and frozen Maine blueberries. It was delicious!!!
It was good but nothing special. I should have done the crumble topping. I did the jam and it was meh.
I never bake I am 62 years old and started bacon and I found out your recipes are the best every week I make something for my girls at work
I had a container of too-tart blueberries and went looking for a recipe to make them more palatable. I cooked my blueberries with a little sugar and thickened them with cornstarch. Cooled and layered them into batter. Worked perfectly. Love the texture of the bread and also love that it’s not overly sweet. Sally’s recipes never disappoint.
I cannot wait to start baking these recipes. Can I use spelt flour instead of all purpose flour
Hi Jessie, we haven’t tested this bread, or any of our bread recipes, with spelt flour, so we’re unsure of the results. It would likely take some tweaking, as it may not be an easy 1:1 swap. Let us know if you decide to do any experimenting!
I recently made this bread it was out of this world can’t wait to make another
Do you think that canned blueberries would work in this recipe?
Hi Beth, fresh blueberries are best in this recipe. If you do use canned, be sure to blot them as much as possible before adding to the batter. You won’t want any of that excess moisture/liquid. You may also want to add another 2 Tablespoons of flour to the dry ingredients, and extend the bake time. But for best results, we’d recommend waiting until you have fresh blueberries to use.
This recipe is wonderful! Everyone loved them. They are so moist and delicious!
The muffins came out absolutely amazing!
This bread was not bad; but I made the cranberry bread and I like that much better. This seemed like it needed more sugar. I was surprised because blueberries are usually my favorite. I measured the ingredients out ahead, so I don’t know what I would have done wrong.
When I make them, I cannot eat them right out of the oven, they taste off, like the sour cream is heavily prevalent. After several hours they start tasting sweet. I almost threw them away first time I baked them because it was so unpleasant.
This recipe is amazing, especially as a breakfast treat! I have made it twice already and it does not last! The taste s incredible. I will make this many times.
Very moist, easy to make. I replaced the blueberry jam with lemon jelly and topped with the strusel. I will add some lemon zest to the batter next time I make it.
Will flax eggs work as a sub for regular eggs in this recipe?
We haven’t tested flax eggs in this recipe but let us know if you do!
They were OK. I followed the recipe exactly. Nothing spectacular. I wouldnt make them again.
I loved this recipe! I wonder if I can just substitute the blueberries with cranberries?
Hi Marcia, so glad you love this bread! Yes, you can definitely make it with cranberries!
I second a few of those commenting that the bread needed to be sweeter. The batter was deliciously sweet, but once baked, the sweet somehow disappeared. My fresh blueberries also sunk to the bottom. I question leaving the bread in the pan to fully cool. Once I removed it, it was quite wet on the bottom because I think it was steaming in the pan.