This Paleo Almond Lemon Blueberry Bread is to-die-for. A simple recipe ready within the hour. Bursting with blueberries and lemon flavor, this grain-free bread is a must.
This post is sponsored in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. Thank you for supporting Fit Mitten Kitchen!
Originally published 2018, updated with more notes in 2021 – same amazing recipe!
Moist, soft and almost cake-like in texture.
This loaf is typically gone in two days, tops. IT’S THAT GOOD.
Whether you follow a paleo diet or not, this bread is a reader favorite.
Looking for more paleo recipes? Check them out here.
The Best Paleo Lemon Blueberry Bread Recipe
This recipe first started out as banana bread but then I started craving lemon-flavored goods so I altered the recipe a bit. So to all you banana haters out there, you’re welcome.
(Banana lovers, you can check out some more recipes here.)
I digress… So once I changed the recipe it took me a couple of tries to get the texture I was anticipating.
But with the right modifications, this lemon blueberry bread turned out better than I ever could have imagined. And now it’s one of FMK’s top recipes and a personal favorite as well.
Ingredients Needed
- almond flour & tapioca flour – the combination of these two ingredients provides a light, perfect texture for this paleo bread. (No xanthan gum needed!) More notes on the flour below…
- baking soda & salt – baking soda for the leavening and salt to balance flavor.
- eggs – provides structure for this lemon loaf. I don’t have a good vegan sub here, but let me know if you try it with something like flaxseed meal.
- honey or maple syrup – the liquid sweetener. Honey browns faster and adds a delicious flavor, but maple syrup works too. You don’t need much, as the almond flour provides a rich and naturally sweet flavor on its own.
- lemon – you need both lemon zest and fresh lemon juice for this lemon blueberry bread.
- ghee or oil – ghee (clarified butter) will add more buttery flavor but oil works too. Avocado, light olive or melted and cooled coconut oil all work. You just need 1/4 cup.
- blueberries – fresh blueberries are my favorite here. If using frozen blueberries, you’ll need to add more to your baking time. And toss in some tapioca flour to prevent from sinking to the bottom.
- sliced almonds – for garnish. Totally optional but makes the loaf look pretty!
Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour
The main ingredient we’ll be using in this Paleo Almond Lemon Blueberry Bread is “Super Fine Almond Flour” (made from blanched almonds) from Bob’s Red Mill.
Note that we’re using the blanched almond flour, NOT “natural almond flour” also known as almond meal.
I’m super excited to be partnering with Bob’s Red Mill this year – their quality ingredients are pantry staples in the FMK household, and I am sure many of yours too!
How to Make Bread with Almond Flour
This lemon bread is really quite simple and comes together in a few simple steps.
You’re mainly mixing the dry ingredients together separately from the wet, then combining them before folding in the blueberries. And then it’s time for the oven!
But here is for you step-by-step:
- First preheat oven to 350ºF and line a 8×4 medium loaf pan with parchment paper; set that side.
- Next whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and set aside.
- In large bowl whisk together eggs, oil, honey, lemon juice, and extracts. Then add the dry ingredients, using a spatula or spoon to stir. Just as the mixture is almost combined, fold in the blueberries.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan – I like to make sure not all of the blueberries are sitting on the bottom of the pan so give the batter a gentle stir in the pan. Top the batter with sliced almonds if desired.
- Bake lemon blueberry bread for 20 minutes uncovered, then add foil for the last 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent the top from browning too quickly. Note: honey browns quicker than maple syrup. So if you use maple syrup in this recipe, your bread may not brown as much. My bread took 43 minutes, but check the middle for done-ness with a toothpick inserted in the center after 35 minutes, just to be sure.
- Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes before lifting from the parchment paper to remove bread. Slice and ENJOY!
Some notes about the recipe
Flour
As noted above, the other dry ingredient needed is tapioca flour. If you’re not familiar with grain-free baking or baking with almond flour, the tapioca flour helps bind the ingredients together a bit better than leaving it out of the recipe. You can also sub with 2.5 tablespoons of coconut flour, or 1/3 cup cassava flour.
Oil
I tested this recipe with both ghee and macadamia nut oil, but any oil should be fine. Using oil will keep this recipe completely dairy free. If using coconut oil, make sure the rest of your ingredients are room temperature (i.e. eggs and lemon juice).
Sweetener
I used honey here but you can *likely* sub another liquid sweetener with similar results (i.e. maple syrup), though I did not test that myself. Do NOT use a dry sweetener here as it will throw off the liquid ratio.
Baking
To prevent the top from browning too much, add piece of foil over top of loaf pan halfway through baking time.
Honey browns more than maple syrup as well, but either liquid sweetner can be used.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing from you and it helps others learn about the recipe too. Xx Ashley
PrintPaleo Almond Lemon Blueberry Bread
This Paleo Almond Lemon Blueberry Bread is a fan favorite. Buttery in flavor thanks to blanched almond flour, and bursting with blueberries and lemon. A simple recipe mixed by hand and ready within the hour. No coconut needed in this recipe, but more notes below on flour substitutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices 1x
- Category: baking
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour (180g weighed)
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- zest of 1 medium lemon
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup ghee or oil, melted (avocado, coconut, macadamia nut oil)
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 3 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 medium lemon)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (or vanilla)
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional but boosts flavor)
- 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 TBS sliced almonds for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a 8×4 medium loaf pan with parchment paper; set aside.
- In medium bowl add almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt and zest from 1 lemon; set aside.
- In large bowl whisk together eggs, oil, honey, lemon juice, and extracts.
- Pour dry ingredients into large bowl of wet ingredients, using spatula to stir. Then fold in blueberries.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan – I like to make sure not all of the blueberries are sitting on the bottom of the pan so give the batter a gentle stir in the pan. Top the batter with sliced almonds if desired.
- Bake lemon blueberry bread for 20 minutes uncovered, then add foil for the last 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent the top from browning too quickly. My bread took 43 minutes but check the middle for done-ness with toothpick after 35 just to be sure.
- Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes before lifting from the parchment paper to remove bread. Slice into 10 slices and ENJOY!
Notes
I do not recommend substitutions here as grain-free baking can be tricky. See notes in blog post for more details.
Some readers have had success subbing 2.5 tablespoons of coconut flour for tapioca flour. You can also use 1/3 cup of cassava flour or a 1:1 all-purpose gluten free baking flour with similar results.
Store bread in covered container at room temperature 2-3 days, or in fridge about 4 days. This bread is moist so just keep an eye on it.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10
- Calories: 205
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 238mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 56mg
Keywords: paleo lemon blueberry bread, healthy blue berry lemon bread,
Recipe Stories
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Anna says
This is pretty good for a first time attempt at using almond flour…I didn’t have honey so I used monk fruit sugar…same amount 1/4c as if I had used honey….thought the bread would be sweeter but 1/4c is not that bad…it came out really nice…just not as sweet as other blueberry loaves one would get in a bakery or other….i also had no lemon zest so only used the lemon juice…
★★★★
Ashley says
Thanks for noting your subs!
Katie says
Great recipe for New Year’s day! My husband and I absolutely loved this. The only changes I made was to cut the quantity of honey in half and I used arrowroot flour instead of tapioca. Did not need the aluminum foil for some reason, and we still enjoyed a perfectly crispy (not burned) coating. I thawed the frozen blueberries I had on hand and used the resulting juice. (Next time I’ll try baking this with frozen berries.)
I cut the sugar because my husband needs to watch his blood sugar. I must say that less sweetness in the bread helped me to appreciate the natural sweetness of the blueberries.
We can’t thank you enough for this great recipe! I look forward to trying out others on your site. Happy New Year!
Diana says
I have baked this COUNTLESS times and love it. Everyone loves it. Only thing I do differently is that I use ~1/8 cup less almond flour and sub the remainder with coconut flour. Helps to dry out the batter. I live in the PNW if that helps anyone. 🙂 I use an Oregon honey every time too; a Blackberry flavor honey tastes phenomenal in the bread. Thanks for this amazing recipe!
★★★★★
Sarah McIntyre says
I am not sure how to rate this. It fell in the middle so there is a dip. If was fine until I used foil to cover it halfway through. What would be the reason for this?
★★★
Ashley says
Hi Sarah, it’s hard to know for sure without being there, but it could be that the you didn’t have quite enough flour (180 grams weighed). Oven temperatures vary as well. I know that’s not the answer you’re looking for but it’s hard to say for sure since I wasn’t in the kitchen with you 🙂
Susan says
This recipe “Rocks “!!! I just made it, followed your suggestion and it’s “AMAZING “ delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Ashley says
Thanks so much for sharing Susan!
Kelly says
I used a flax egg and it came out perfect. Very moist and delish!
★★★★★
Ashley says
Thank you for your feedback and sharing your substitution! Appreciate it!