This grain-free blueberry almond flour bread has the perfect touch of lemon. It's naturally sweetened and drizzled with a powdered coconut sugar glaze. This bread is a must.
Baked goods and salads are my favorite foods ever. I figure all the crazy salads I eat must balance out the baked goods, right!? This almond flour bread with blueberry and lemon was born when I decided to start playing around more with grain-free baking. I’m gluten-free, but I eat a lot of grains. Nothing against grains (if they are whole grain, they are fair game and considered a clean food), but I thought I should switch it up a bit. Plus, it’s just fun to create new baked goods!
This almond flour blueberry lemon bread is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. Okay, so it’s free of a lot of stuff, but packed full of good for you ingredients and tastes amazing.
Ingredients Needed
- Almond flour + coconut flour – the combination of almond flour and coconut flour helps with the overall structure and texture of the bread.
- Flaxseed meal – adds a nice nutty flavor, plus flaxseeds are extremely healthy. They are high in omega-3’s, a great way to add in some fiber, and are high in antioxidants.
- Baking soda + salt – the combination of these two helps the bread to rise.
- Almond milk – helps with keeping the bread moist. If you’re not dairy-free, cow’s milk will work too (but opt for whole/organic milk to keep it as close to nature as possible).
- Coconut oil – helps with moisture in the bread. Check out MY POST on coconut oil to learn about the different kinds of coconut oil and which ones are best.
- Eggs – Almond flour bread bases typically require more eggs to help with the final structure of the bread. You'll need 3 eggs for this recipe. Check out MY POST on eggs to learn about egg labels and what to look for to ensure you are getting the healthiest eggs.
- Vanilla extract – helps with the flavor of this yummy bread.
- Pure maple syrup – this bread is naturally, and lightly sweetened, with some pure maple syrup.
- Lemon zest + lemon juice – both are needed to create the perfect lemon flavor in this bread.
- Powdered coconut sugar glaze – totally optional, but highly recommended. This adds a subtle, caramel-like sweetness to the bread… swoon! You’ll need ¼ cup powdered coconut sugar, some water, and lemon juice to make this irresistible glaze!
Can I Use Regular Powdered Sugar for the Glaze?
Yes, you can. Just know that this takes away from being completely refined sugar free, but regular powdered sugar will still make a delicious glaze (I recommend organic for regular powdered sugar)!
How to Make Almond Flour Bread with Blueberry and Lemon
This bread comes together very easily. One bread pan and one bowl makes clean-up a breeze!
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Start by lightly greasing an 8x4 loaf pan and lining the bottom and short sides of pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the remaining wet ingredients and lemon zest. Mix until combined. Then fold in the blueberries.
- Scoop bread mix into the prepared loaf pan and spread out evenly throughout pan. Top with additional blueberries.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until bread is cooked through. I typically tent the bread with some foil at about 35 minutes to keep the top from browning/cooking too much.
- Allow to cool in bread pan for 10-15 minutes. Using the parchment paper, remove bread from pan. Allow to fully cool before slicing (this helps to keep the bread from breaking/crumbling; almond flour bread can be finicky).
- Mix your coconut powdered sugar with water or lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over bread before slicing. Slice into 12 pieces.
Now you have yourself a delightful loaf of almond flour bread with blueberries and lemon! Indulge and enjoy!
Recipe and Ingredient Notes
Flours - as mentioned, the combination of almond flour and coconut flour help with the final structure of the bread. If you don't have coconut flour, you could replace the coconut flour with additional almond flour. I have not tried this, however, so I can't guarantee the results. I also don't recommend replacing the almond flour with any other gluten-free flours or flour blends.
Sweetener - this bread is naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup, keeping it refined sugar-free. You can replace the maple syrup with honey if desired and this will still keep it refined-sugar free. Honey is a good alternative to maple syrup in this recipe since they are both liquid sweeteners.
Baking - Almond flour recipes tend to brown quicker than regular flours, so I always add a piece of foil over the bread about 35 minutes into baking to prevent the top from burning.
Glaze - the glaze on this bread is optional, but it's oh so good, so I suggest giving it a try. I use my own powdered coconut sugar to make the glaze, but you can use regular powdered sugar if easier. Just note that this will NOT be refined sugar-free if using regular powdered sugar.
Eggs - because eggs help so much in the structure of almond flour recipes, I don't recommend using an egg replacement like flax or chia eggs. If you do try an egg replacement, I'd love to hear how it turns out so please let me know!
Lemon - I love the combination of lemon and blueberries, but you could easily skip the lemon all together and just have a blueberry almond flour bread.
Let Bread Cool - Almond flour breads can be finicky, so let the bread fully cool before slicing. This will help the bread not to crumble when slicing.
Storing Almond Flour Bread
This blueberry almond flour bread with lemon should be stored in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
It's also great for freezing! Slice up the loaf and store individual slices in the freezer until ready to eat. I love Stasher bags for storing and freezing things.
Other Healthy Baked Goods I Think You Will Like
Gluten-free Zucchini Bread
Best Gluten-free Banana Muffins
Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread (dairy free)
If you make this almond flour bread with lemon and blueberry, please let me know what you think! Leave a comment below and/or share a photo on Instagram and mention @CleanPlateMama!
Almond Flour Bread with Blueberry and Lemon
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Bread
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup ground flaxseed (also called flaxseed meal)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup non-dairy milk (cow's milk works too)
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tbsp. lemon juice
- 3 tbsp. lemon zest
- 1 cup blueberries
Ingredients for the Powdered Coconut Sugar Glaze
- ⅓ cup powdered coconut sugar
- 2-3 tsp. water (or lemon juice)
Instructions
Instructions for the Bread
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Lightly grease an 8x4 loaf pan. Then line the bottom and short sides of pan with parchment paper (this will make it easy to remove the bread when done).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, flaxseed, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the remaining ingredients, with the exception of the blueberries.
- After the dry and wet ingredients are mixed, fold in the blueberries.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Tent the bread with some tin foil about 35 minutes into baking to prevent top from burning.
- Remove bread from oven and allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes. Using the parchment paper, remove bread from pan. Place on a cooling rack or plate. Allow to fully cool before adding the glaze and slicing.
To Make the Glaze
- Add the powdered coconut sugar to a small bowl. Start by adding 1 tsp. water (or lemon juice) and whisk well. Most likely it will be too thick, so continue to slowly add water/lemon juice while whisking. You want the glaze to be thin enough to drizzle, but not too thin that it will soak into the bread.
- Drizzle finished glaze on top of bread before slicing.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Roughly 2 large lemons will be enough for the lemon juice and lemon zest.
- If you have enough lemon juice left over you can use that to mix with the coconut powdered sugar. If not, use water instead.
- I prefer fresh blueberries, but frozen will work too. If using frozen, do not thaw first.
- Nutritional information includes the coconut sugar glaze. If you skip the glaze, one slice will have 8 grams of sugar, 257 calories, and 18 grams of carbohydrates (no other nutrition facts are drastically impacted by the coconut sugar glaze).
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. This bread is also great for freezing.
Hello Sara,
Lately, I've been baking banana bread and for some reason it's not coming out as moist at it should be, then I saw this Almond bread recipe of yours. I gave it a try right away because I have all the ingredients in my pantry. I followed exactly what's in your recipe, and OH MAMA MIA, the kitchen smells so good and the texture was so moist. My husband devoured it and almost ate the whole thing. Then, I have ripped bananas crying on my counter top, so I made a banana bread right away and instead of using whole wheat flour, I used almond flour, coconut flour, flax meal and just like I'm making the Almond bread over again. Except that, I added one cup of mashed bananas and didn't add lemon zest and juice. The result, my husband didn't care to finish half of the Almond bread with blueberries (LOL) and instead finished the banana bread in just 2 days. LOL. He kept saying it's so good, and so this will be my favorite bread to make, both with banana and blueberries and lemon because the texture is just perfect and it's not too heavy on your tummy. I will keep baking more for my family. Thank you so much for sharing. Keep it up!
Hi Jenn - Thanks so much for the note! Thanks for for trying the bread; so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed it! And I love how you adapted it to make banana bread. I just may need to do that myself 🙂
Hi,
Many Thanks for the recipe, will definitely give it a try!! Wanted to ask if I can replace maple syrup/honey with Lakanto monk fruit?
TIA
I have not tried using monk fruit, but I do think it could work. However, since you would be replacing a liquid with a powder, I would add an additional 1/4 cup milk so that it's not too dry. If you do replace the maple syrup with the monk fruit, please let me know how it turns out. I'm super curious now 🙂 Thanks for the question!
I have more of a question than a comment. My bread came out moist and spongy. Is this normal for the blend of flours? I also didn't have coconut flour so I just used more Almond flour. Would that have made a huge difference?
Hi Nikki - great question! I am guessing it turned out that way because you didn't use coconut flour. In gluten-free baking, the right mix of flours is super important. In this recipe, the coconut flour helps to absorb the liquid and create the right texture. Subbing with additional almond flour won't result in the same consistency. I hope it still tasted good!
Can I just use all gluten free all purpose flour
Hi Kay - Great question! Unfortunately, gluten-free all purpose flour is not a 1:1 replacement for almond flour. Almond flour reacts very differently in baking and swapping out with a gluten-free all purpose flour would not work.