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.
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, I baked blueberry muffin bread last weekend.
I try to be the most productive during nap time and pouring blueberry muffin batter into a loaf pan sounded much more appealing than dividing into individual muffins. And I have a feeling you’ll appreciate this easy recipe too!
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 muffins, peach muffins, and apple crumb 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. I also made apple cinnamon bread by adding 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and peeled chopped apple. We all LOVED it.
Blueberry Muffin Bread Ingredients
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. If desired, substitute whole wheat flour for a denser blueberry muffin bread. I don’t 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 why we use both?
- 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. Trust me, you’re going to be VERY HAPPY about it. 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. 🙂
Forever making muffins as quick breads. It’s so much easier!
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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 (spoon & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) 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 (250g) 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.
- Sour Cream: Plain yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream. Unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana may also be used.
- Blueberries & Other Fruit Add-ins: 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 recipe, and extend the bake time. I love making apple bread from this recipe using 1-2 peeled chopped apples. Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read here 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.
Keywords: blueberry muffins, bread
Hi Sally, would it be possible to use coconut milk indtead of regular milk if I wanted it to taste of coconut?
Thank u!
Hi! You can use coconut milk instead.
I made this with frozen wild blueberries, didn’t read about folding them in, beat’em as wet ingredient,oops! Thawed them and drained the excess juice (into a glass,cheers!)
Worked great, the entire loaf is bluish purple,which I don’t mind one bit.
Hi Sally! I have a few questions:
1. The inside of my bread came out brown (like there isn’t that much color difference in the top and on the inside). I followed the cooking instructions (put foil at the 30 min mark, and for 63 mins). But I did use very ripe mashed bananas in place of the sour cream. Would using yogurt avoid this? or should I modify my temp/cooking time?
2. I wished it was sweeter, should I add 1/4 cup of white or brown sugar?
I also used jam instead, put it halfway and then on top. I also made sure to swirl it and not mix it. It came out moist and soft (the only downside was it wasn’t as sweet as I have wanted). Will definitely keep this recipe! Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
Hi Sam, mashed banana is darker than yogurt or sour cream– its natural sugar also browns, so that’s why your loaf looks different. You can add more sugar to this loaf if you’d like. Glad you enjoyed it!
Instead of milk & yogurt/sour cream can I use buttermilk and if yes, how much?
Hi Rose, If using buttermilk, use it to replace the sour cream AND the milk. (1 cup total.)
Followed the recipe to a T. But ended up taking an hour and a half to bake through. The outside was done, but the inside was all batter. I covered it in foil at the hour mark so it wouldn’t burn. The outside of the bread overcooked a bit, but the inside was very tasty.
Can you use the muffin trick you talk about in other posts (5 min on higher temp then lower for remaining bake time) to get more height on the loaf?
Thanks!
I can’t see why not!
I made this just as directed with the streusel topping, but using gluten free flour (because of a severe gluten allergy) and it was perfection! So delicious! The only thing I changed is I made it in 3 mini loaf pans so it didn’t take quite as long to bake. I prefer the smaller loaves so we can enjoy one and freeze the other two to enjoy later.
★★★★★
Are loaf, muffin and muffin bread recipes like this one suitable for doubling? Thank you in advance!
You should be able to double most muffin and quick bread recipes. Just be sure not to over mix the batter!
thank you!
Would it be possiable to make muffins instead of bread for this recipe?
Hi Barb, This is the recipe as muffins: Blueberry Muffins
I followed the instructions for the crumble topping, but it did not crumble /remained moist. Your thoughts? I did not dare put it on as ir sue\rely was not a consistency to sprinkle.
Hi Diane! When over-mixed, the crumble topping will form more of a paste. Stop mixing it as soon as it begins to crumble together. If it’s still too wet, add another Tbsp of flour.
Hi. Made this loaf following the recipe and instructions to a ‘T’ yet 8 mins in when I looked in the oven there was loads of batter on the bottom of the oven, the pan had overflowed. Had to transfer it into another pan and threw out about 5 tablespoons of the batter. What went wrong? Tasted nice though lol.
★★★
Hi Angela, Are you using a 9×5-inch pan? The batter will likely overflow in a smaller pan.
Hi. Yeah 9 x 5 2lb loaf tin.
When I’ve had this happen in other recipes (not this particular one) it’s because I used self rising flour by mistake. During this pandemic most markets only had self rising flour and I didn’t catch the difference
My son made this and just switched fresh cherries (halved and floured) and mini choc chips instead of blueberries. He baked for about 5 mins longer than stated and it came out great! We also added a bit of crisp topping that we had in the freezer – super delicious and not too sweet.
★★★★★
I made this for my boyfriend as a surprise brunch, served out with maple smoke bacon. I used vanilla yogurt, frozen blueberries, but thawed and folded in at the last. I cooked this in a toaster oven which takes some adjusting to keep from burning. It turned out great, even the streusel crumble didn’t burn and my boyfriend loved it!!
★★★★★
Hi Sally – I’m currently making this for a 4th time, just wanted to say that you are amazing and so is this recipe, xoxox.
★★★★★
Hey Sally! To make the apple variation of this would it work to sub apple sauce for the butter?
I don’t recommend it, Leanna.
Thanks! Would solid coconut oil work instead of butter?
This overly complicated recipe isn’t worth the effort. I bought 2 pkgs of blueberries and made quick blueberry muffin recipe I found online. 10 minutes to mix. 20 to bake. Kitchen was clean and dishes were put away before eggs in this recipe were at the dreaded “room temperature “. My husband asked me to make a blueberry loaf and based on reviews, I did. He’s still apologizing. The result wasn’t awful, but not nearly as good as the 30 minute muffins. Life’s too short for all this work to get an okay result.
★★
Hi Lisa, thanks so much for the feedback and sorry you were disappointed. I write my recipes in detail for those who may not have all the experience to bake from scratch. Creaming the butter and sugar, adding a swirl of jam, or crumble on top certainly takes extra time and effort. Glad you found a recipe you like better!
I’ve made a lot of different blueberry breads over the years. This one I won’t be making again. My family and I all agreed it needs more sugar. It’s very bitter for being a muffin mix recipe. If you make this, I would recommend another 1/2 cup of sugar.
This is the first recipe I have followed that has details in the instructions. I don’t like to cook because nothing ever comes out right even when I follow every direction. Thank you for being very specific for people like me that, for example, have no idea which rack to bake something on in the oven. I mistakenly mixed the crumble with softened butter rather than melted but i believe that was my only mix up. I just took it out of the oven and its so pretty!! Thanks again.
★★★★★