Blueberry Lemon Zucchini Bread

Quick, describe the flavor of zucchini! There’s not much to say, right. Zucchini are good food, and practically free, however, so many of us are happy to use its culinary neutrality to help carry other flavors. I particularly like to do this with baked goods, and quick bread is the first place I go with zucchini. I like the way it carries spices and pecans, chocolate, and whole grains. Recently I used zucchini to help bring sunny summer fun to quick bread loaves with lemon and blueberries.

This flavor variation on my usual zucchini quick bread was a huge success. I love lemon and blueberry together, and they both came through in the taste department to make these loaves delicious. Lemon zest carries lots of flavor through baked goods, and I used the zest of a whole lemon in this recipe. The fresh blueberries made little pockets of bursting sweetness while the zucchini stayed fairly quiet as it usually does.

I also really liked the appearance of each slice of this sweet treat. In addition to the big flashes of blue from the berries, there are flecks of green from the zucchini and yellow from the lemon zest. A summer confetti without adding sprinkles!

Now that the zucchini from my garden is starting to pile up like cordwood, I’m super excited that I have a delicious new way to enjoy zucchini quick bread. With an adjustment in baking time, I think this batter could be baked as muffins or in a cake pan as well (perhaps with the streusel from this recipe on top), so summertime treats can just keep coming out of the oven. And I’m sure we can count on mild-mannered zucchini to continue to be a good sport and keep playing along.

Blueberry Lemon Zucchini Bread

3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 lemon (you will use both juice and zest)

3 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup canola oil

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries (or use frozen; do not thaw)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray with cooking spray two 8 x 4-inch bread pans. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir well with a whisk to combine. Add the lemon zest and work it into the flour mixture with your fingers until it is well-distributed and not clumped together. Set aside.

3. In a medium-size bowl, whisk the egg and sugar together for a minute or two, or until they are thick and pale in color. Whisk in the oil until the mixture is very smooth. Whisk in the buttermilk and the juice of the lemon. There should be about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, but this measurement does not matter much.

4. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in the zucchini and blueberries just until they are well-distributed.

5. Distribute the batter evenly between the two prepared bread pans. Smooth out the batter in each pan. Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. When the bread is done, a wooden skewer or pick inserted in the center will come out with just a few crumbs sticking to it, not a glob of wet batter.

6. Cool the bread in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack. Slice to serve.

Makes two 8-inch loaves. Wrap loaves in freezer-safe bags and freeze for up to 3 months.

Other recipes like this one:Zucchini Buttermilk Bread with Pecans, Chocolate Zucchini Quick Bread, Blueberry Banana Quick Bread

One year ago: 15 August Favorites