If you love bright, citrusy bakes, you might also enjoy Lemon Bars or the fruit-forward flavors in a Blueberry Crumble.
There is something about the pairing of tart lemon and sweet blueberries that makes a loaf of Lemon Blueberry Bread feel like a special occasion, even on an ordinary Tuesday. This one bakes up genuinely fluffy thanks to whipped egg whites folded into the batter — so each slice is soft and light rather than dense — and the optional Greek yogurt topping adds a cool, creamy finish that makes it feel bakery-worthy straight from your own kitchen.
The whole loaf comes together with pantry-friendly ingredients: coconut flour, butter, Greek yogurt, monk fruit sweetener, and a generous three-quarters cup of fresh blueberries. Because it skips almond flour entirely, it is a great option for anyone baking for tree-nut-sensitive guests without having to hunt down specialty ingredients.
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Reader Love
Thank you for a splendid recipe. The only change I made was to whip the egg whites until triple volume and fold them into the batter as the final step. The final product was light and airy, and delicious with a smear of mascarpone cheese.
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💛 Why you’ll love this recipe
- Genuinely fluffy texture. Whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks and folding them into the batter gives the loaf a light, airy crumb that coconut flour bakes don’t always deliver.
- No almond flour required. The entire recipe is built on coconut flour, making it naturally tree-nut-free.
- Big lemon-blueberry flavor. Both lemon juice and lemon zest go into the batter, and three-quarters cup of fresh blueberries means you get fruit in nearly every bite.
- A Greek yogurt topping that works. Spreading plain Greek yogurt over the cooled loaf adds a creamy, slightly tangy finish without any additional prep.
- Simple, familiar ingredients. Eggs, butter, coconut flour, Greek yogurt, and fresh fruit — nothing unusual or hard to source.
- Great for sharing. The loaf slices into 10 servings, making it an easy bring-along for brunch, a potluck, or a weekend gathering.
⏲ How to make this recipe
👉 Easy ingredient swaps
- Sweetener: Monk fruit sweetener can be swapped 1:1 with Swerve. If using stevia, check the brand’s conversion chart — you will need significantly less.
- Butter: Coconut oil substitutes 1:1 and keeps the crumb just as tender. It is the swap to reach for if you are baking this dairy-free, though you will also need to handle the yogurt separately.
- Lemon juice: If you are out of fresh lemons, use ¾ teaspoon of lemon extract in place of the juice the recipe calls for. Going the other direction, 1 teaspoon of zest is roughly equivalent to 2 tablespoons of juice, so you can lean on whichever one you actually have.
- Lemon zest: ½ teaspoon of lemon extract stands in for 1 teaspoon of zest. Fresh lemon does taste better here, so treat extract as the backup rather than the plan.
- Baking powder: Regular baking powder works in place of gluten-free baking powder and will not affect the texture, so use what you already have rather than buying a box you will reach for twice a year. Going without baking powder altogether is harder: you can in theory use about ¾ teaspoon baking soda plus 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (or 1 to 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice), but the proportions are fussy and I have not tested that version in this loaf.
- Topping: The Greek yogurt topping is optional. Skip it for a plainer loaf, or use full-fat Greek yogurt for a richer finish. Coconut yogurt swaps in 1:1 for the topping. I have not tested coconut yogurt inside the batter itself, so I cannot promise that one works.
- Blueberries: Fresh blueberries are called for; if substituting frozen, do not thaw them first to avoid excess moisture in the batter.
✨ Variations
- Almond version: Replace the lemon juice and zest with 1 teaspoon almond extract for a nutty-sweet loaf that pairs just as well with blueberries. This one comes from a reader who makes it whenever she is not in the mood for the lemony tartness, and it has been a favorite variation on this recipe for years.
- Plain blueberry: Omit the lemon juice and zest for a more straightforward blueberry bread with a milder flavor.
- Mixed berry: Replace part or all of the blueberries with raspberries or a combination of fresh berries for a different fruit profile.
- Mini loaves: Divide the batter between two smaller loaf pans and reduce baking time, checking doneness with a toothpick earlier than the 55-minute mark.
〰️ How to serve
- Slice and serve at room temperature, either plain or with the optional Greek yogurt spread on top.
- Pair with a hot cup of coffee or tea for a relaxed weekend brunch alongside a coffee cake.
- Serve alongside fresh fruit or a Blueberry Spinach Smoothie for a fuller breakfast spread.
- Let it cool and firm up on a wire rack before you slice it. Coconut flour loaves are fragile while warm, and a hot slice will crumble apart under the knife.
🍞 Pan size, and how to tell when it is done
I bake this in a 9.5 by 5 inch nonstick loaf pan lined with parchment, and 55 minutes is the time that pan wants. You do not have to own that exact pan, but know what changes if you use a different one. A narrower 8.5 by 4.5 pan builds a taller loaf that needs longer in the oven and browns on top before the middle sets. A wider pan spreads the batter thin and it will be done early. Either way the bake time moves, so start checking well before the timer if your pan is not the one above.
The toothpick is the only doneness test that matters here. Insert one into the center of the loaf; it should come out clean, with no wet batter clinging to it. Color is not a reliable signal with coconut flour, which browns on the surface long before the center has set, so a golden top on its own does not mean the inside is baked. Undercooked coconut flour bakes stay gummy in the middle and will not firm up as they cool, which is the one failure worth guarding against.
Line the pan with parchment rather than greasing it, and leave the paper long enough to overhang two sides. Those overhangs are the handles you lift the whole loaf out with once it has cooled a few minutes, and they save you from trying to invert a soft coconut flour loaf out of a pan.
🧊 How to store it
At room temperature. Keep the loaf in an airtight container with a clean muslin cloth or a folded paper towel tucked in alongside it, and it holds for up to four days. The cloth is doing real work: this bread carries a lot of moisture from the eggs, yogurt, and blueberries, and without something to absorb what condenses inside the container the top slice goes damp by day two.
In the freezer. Wrap the cooled loaf in parchment, then seal it in an airtight container or a freezer bag, and it keeps for up to two months. Freeze it plain and add the Greek yogurt topping after thawing, because yogurt separates and weeps once it has been frozen. Slicing before you freeze is worth the extra minute; you can pull out one slice at a time and let it come back to room temperature on the counter instead of thawing the whole loaf.
Once it is frosted. A loaf that already has the yogurt topping on it belongs in the fridge, covered, and is best inside two days. The topping is plain Greek yogurt rather than a shelf-stable frosting, so treat a frosted loaf the way you would treat the yogurt itself.
💬 FAQs
Can I use frozen blueberries instead of fresh?
Fresh blueberries are recommended. If you use frozen, fold them in straight from the freezer without thawing — thawed blueberries release excess liquid that can affect the batter’s texture.
Can I substitute the monk fruit sweetener?
Yes. Swerve works as a 1:1 swap. If you prefer stevia, use the conversion chart on your specific brand’s packaging because stevia is much more concentrated and you will need considerably less than the recipe’s quarter cup of monk fruit sweetener.
Why do I need to whip the egg whites separately?
Whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks and then folding them into the batter is what gives this coconut flour loaf its light, fluffy texture. Skipping or deflating this step will result in a denser loaf.
Do I have to use the Greek yogurt topping?
No — it is listed as an optional topping. The loaf is fully baked and delicious on its own. The Greek yogurt adds a creamy, slightly tangy layer if you want a finished, frosted look.
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Lemon Blueberry Bread
Ingredients
Bread:
- 5 eggs, yolks and whites separated into 2 separate bowls
- ¼ cup 48g classic monk fruit sweetener
- ½ cup 56g coconut flour
- ⅓ cup 76g butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons 28g plain Greek yogurt
- Juice from ½ medium-sized lemon, ~24mL
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¾ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup ~113g fresh blueberries
Optional Topping:
- 1 cup 227g plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9.5″ x 5″ nonstick loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, mix egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set bowl aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add egg yolks and monk fruit sweetener and, using an electric mixer, mix together until pale in color.
- To same bowl, add remaining ingredients excluding blueberries and, using electric mixer, mix again until ingredients are fully incorporated. Pour mixture into bowl of whipped egg whites before adding blueberries. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold mixture, being careful not to overly do so, which will result in the mixture deflating.
- Using a rubber spatula coated in nonstick cooking spray, scrape dough into prepared loaf pan and spread into even layer. Transfer pan to oven to bake until a toothpick can be inserted into bread and come out cleanly, about 55 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and allow bread to cool slightly before removing bread from pan by pulling on edges of parchment paper. Transfer baked bread to sit atop a wire rack at room temperature to cool and fully firm up. Then, using a rubber spatula, frost top of bread with Greek yogurt before slicing and serving.
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