Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake

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This Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake is an easy quick bread made with Greek yogurt and juicy blueberries, fresh or frozen, and it’s ready in under an hour.

A loaf of blueberry lemon yogurt cake with three slices cut on a cooling rack.


 

When a regular Lemon Loaf Cake just isn’t enough for your spring tastes, add blueberries. It’s simple to make and delicious to eat (or share at a work potluck, or give to a neighbor or new mom friend).

The Greek yogurt makes it extra moist without making it heavy, and it doubles as brunch or dessert. There really isn’t any good reason not to make this!

Recipe ingredients

Labeled ingredients for blueberry lemon yogurt cake.

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Baking powder: Instead of yeast, quick breads such as loaf breads, muffins, biscuits, and scones use chemical leavening agents, in this case baking powder (baking soda is another example).
  • Blueberries: You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. If using frozen blueberries, leave them frozen right up until the moment you are going to stir them in. Then, fold them in with as few strokes as possible. If you do see some residual purple streaks in the batter, they likely won’t bake up that way. In my experience, the cake looks the same as one made with fresh blueberries.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Move an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and coat with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt, eggs, zest, and vanilla.
One bowl with dry ingredients for A loaf of blueberry lemon yogurt cake next to a bowl of wet ingredients for blueberry lemon yogurt cake.
  1. Add the flour ingredients in 3 batches, whisking to incorporate after each addition. Fold in oil and stir carefully until uniformly combined. Fold in the blueberries until just incorporated.
Blueberry lemon yogurt cake batter in a clear bowl.
  1. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
A loaf of blueberry lemon yogurt cake batter before being baked.
  1. Bake for 1 hour until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
A loaf of blueberry lemon yogurt cake after being baked.
  1. Using a sharp knife, slice around the inside of the loaf pan to loosen the cake and flip out onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Cool the cake completely.
A loaf of blueberry lemon yogurt cake on a cooling rack surrounded by blueberries.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: This recipe makes 1 loaf cake, enough for 8 slices (or more or less depending on how you slice it).
  • Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
  • Freezer: Wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, label, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
  • Made with boxed cake mix: This Lemon Blueberry Cake is a delicious version made in a bundt pan. Cut thick slices for breakfast, bake sales, and snacks.
I loaf of blueberry lemon yogurt cake on a cooling rack with three slices cut.

Recipe FAQs

How do I stop my blueberries from sinking in the batter?

Culinary wisdom suggests you should toss the blueberries in some flour before mixing into the batter. I usually forget about this until it’s too late, but it’s a great idea if you’re worried about that! The blueberries in my photos were not tossed in flour, so you can decide for yourself how long I should kick myself about it.

A slice of blueberry lemon yogurt cake on a gray plate.

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Slices of blueberry lemon yogurt cake on a baking rack.

Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake

This Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake is an easy quick bread made with Greek yogurt and juicy blueberries, fresh or frozen, and it's ready in under an hour.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 359
4.98 from 90 votes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Move an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and coat with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt, eggs, zest, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, whisking to incorporate after each addition. Fold in oil and stir carefully until uniformly combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir until just incorporated.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
  • Using a sharp knife, slice around the inside of the loaf pan to loosen the cake and flip out onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Cool the cake completely.

Recipe Video

Notes

  1. Baking powder: Instead of yeast, quick breads such as loaf breads, muffins, biscuits, and scones use chemical leavening agents, in this case baking powder (baking soda is another example). 
  2. Blueberries: You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. If using frozen blueberries, leave them frozen right up until the moment you are going to stir them in. Then, fold them in with as few strokes as possible. If you do see some residual purple streaks in the batter, they likely won’t bake up that way. In my experience, the cake looks the same as one made with fresh blueberries.
  3. Yield: This recipe makes 1 loaf cake, enough for 8 slices (or more or less depending on how you slice it).
  4. Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
  5. Freezer: Wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, label, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 359kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 8gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 220mgPotassium: 107mgFiber: 1gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 130IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 103mgIron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. great recipe, I made it for some guests and they loved it, and thought it was store-bought. I made some adjustments of course; rather than a full cup of sugar I used 3/4 cup. I added a bit more vanilla, so like a full tsp, and I didn’t have vegetable oil, so I used little more than 1/4 cup olive oil and a little less than a 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter. Was great!!! The top and bottom browned more than standard though, I might cook it at a lower heat next time for longer.5 stars

    1. Thanks for writing, Amira! I’m so happy you found it flexible and were able to explore some changes with it! – Meggan

  2. I see that you have this in a variation using a box cake mix and made in a Bundt pan. But, can you make this recipe in a Bundt pan, if so would the recipe need to be doubled?

    1. Hi Robin, thanks for your question. I’m sorry but I haven’t made this recipe in a bundt pan. It might work well, but I can’t say for sure without having tested it myself. Depending on the bundt pan size, it might not need to be doubled. A loaf pan has a 6-cup volume typically, and bundts are in the 6 to 9-cup range usually. Sorry about that again, I don’t want you to end up with a ruined cake. – Meggan

    2. Thank you, I think I will attempt this, and will let you know how that works out for me. = )

    1. Hi Laurie, I use a standard loaf pan for this recipe, which is 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ x 2 1/2″, which has a volume of 6 cups. This can be made in a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ pan, which has a volume of 8 cups, but the loaf will appear a little flatter than in the standard pan.

      The rule of thumb is to not fill a loaf pan more than 2/3 full with batter, and this recipe makes about 4 cups of batter, reaching that mark perfectly in the standard pan. I hope this helps and please write back once you’ve had a chance to make this cake. I hope you love it! – Meggan

  3. I made this recepie today to bring to a friend’s house for dinner
    I always have frozen blueberries on hand
    I used 3/4 cup of sugar and lemon juice instead of zest
    Only had a small piece of lemon in fridge
    Also I baked in a 8×8 glass Pyrex for 45min
    It came out delicious and I will definitely make it again

    1. Hi RB, we haven’t tested this recipe with baking soda so I am not sure if it would work. So sorry about that! – Meggan

  4. We make this cake regularly in our house. My cool time is closer to 1 hr 15 minutes. It is a whole house favrote for the summertime.5 stars

    1. Hi Elise, I’m so glad you liked it! You can store the cake at room temperature for up to 4 days. Sometimes I keep it in the fridge because I love to have cold cake with hot tea for breakfast. But either way it’s 4 days. Thank you! I love this cake and I’m glad you did too. -Meggan

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