This eggless orange blueberry bread is soft, fluffy, and packed with juicy blueberries, fresh orange flavor, and crunchy pecans. Made with applesauce and yogurt as egg substitutes, this easy quick bread is perfect for breakfast, snacking, or dessert.
Blueberries never seem to fail me in baking. Some of the most loved blueberry recipes on the blog, like my vegan blueberry muffins and low fat blueberry coffee cake, continue to be reader favorites even after all these years.
So when I had some fresh blueberries sitting in the kitchen, I wanted to bake something a little different from the usual muffins or cake. I remembered a lemon blueberry bread recipe I had bookmarked quite a while ago and decided to give it an orange twist instead.
I usually prefer orange over lemon in baked goods because the flavor feels softer and less sharp. It adds a light citrus flavor without taking over the whole recipe, which worked perfectly in this orange blueberry bread.
I have used homemade applesauce and yogurt as egg substitutes for baking this bread, and it turned out wonderfully soft and light. The juicy blueberries, fresh orange flavor, and crunchy pecans make every slice so good. The smell while this bread bakes is probably my favorite part. The whole kitchen smells warm, buttery, and full of fresh citrus.
More Blueberry Recipes You'll Love:
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Recipe
Orange Blueberry Bread
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 and ¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 5 tablespoons Butter (measured and melted)
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Applesauce (Homemade, dry measuring cup)
- ¼ cup Plain Yogurt (I used fat free - dry measuring cup)
- 4 tablespoons Orange Juice (Freshly Squeezed)
- 1 tablespoon Orange Zest
- ½ cup Milk (I used 2%)
- 1 cup Blueberries (Fresh or Frozen)
- ½ cup Pecans (Chopped, or any nuts of your choice/optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchments paper, grease it lightly with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the applesauce, yogurt, orange juice, and orange zest.
- In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugar for about 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture may look slightly crumbly and that is fine.
- Add the yogurt mixture and beat until combined. The batter may look curdled.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk, mixing gently after each addition.
- Fold in the blueberries and pecans. If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the bread in the pan for about 1 hour before removing it. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing. For neat slices, let the bread rest for a few hours or overnight.
My Notes
- Line the loaf pan with parchment paper for easy removal and cleanup. It helps the bread come out cleanly after cooling.
- I used a combination of applesauce and yogurt as the egg substitute in this recipe. You can use all yogurt instead if preferred. If using only applesauce, increase the baking soda to ½ teaspoon for a better rise and texture.
- Freshly squeezed orange juice gives the best flavor in this Orange Blueberry Bread. Store bought juice can leave a slightly bitter aftertaste in baked goods.
- I used the zest from 2 large oranges for a fresh orange flavor throughout the bread.
- You can skip the blueberries and pecans to make a simple eggless orange loaf cake instead.
Meena says
Hi Madhuram,
I tried this recipe without the blueberries as I didn't have them on hand. It came out just so wonderful. The sweet aroma, the beautiful texture of the bread..the flavor was just out of this world! My husband was all praises for me! I told him the real credit goes to madhuram's recipe! I had 1 question. when i mixed 5 tbsps of melted butter with 1 cup sugar, it didn't cream up. so i added 2 tbsps of margarine to the mix. Should I take 5 tbsps of butter and then melt it or melt the butter first, and then measure 5 tbsps from it? I hope my question makes sense! Pls correct me if Iam wrong. I want to make loads of this in future. Another question-can I use the same recipe for muffins? If so, how long should I bake it? Thanks tonnnes!
Madhuram says
Meena, thanks for trying this recipe without the blueberries. I'm so eager to try it out myself that's why I had written it in the Notes section. Yes the butter and sugar doesn't cream up much, it looks more like coarse crumbs. You measure the 5 tablespoons of butter first and then melt it. Muffins should bake up much quicker; try between 15-17 minutes maybe or 20 minutes max. You test once at 15 minutes and then decide accordingly.
Honey says
This looks so good... I always love your recipes and how you try and lower the fat where possible.
Lovely site!
Welcome to my blog.
Gayathri says
Hi Madhuram,
This looks so good. Just one question. I usually use EnerG egg replacer. Wanted to know if the apple-sauce + yoghurt in your recipe is for one egg or more?
Thanks,
Gayathri
Thanks Gayathri. I have replaced 2 eggs with 1/4 each of applesauce and yogurt. I haven't tried EnerG in quick breads so far. So if you happen to try it please let me know how it turns out.
Cherine says
Looks so good!
Hetal says
Hi....I am back to blogging and its gr8 to see all ur lovely recipes..
Vanya says
Thanks for the suggestions, Madhuram. I did leave mine overnight on the cooling rack. Next time I'll try refrigerating before slicing.
By the way, I took it to work and it was a huge success! This is probably the 5th recipe I've tried from your blog and I've yet to encounter a disappointment. You rock! 🙂
Madhuram says
Thanks for the compliments Vanya. I wish the bread hadn't crumbled though
Vanya says
Hi Madhuram,
This recipe looked incredibly good and I had to try it out asap! The bread tastes great but it seems to break/crumble easily. Do you think it's the weight of the pecans that's making it fragile?
Thanks,
Vanya
Madhuram says
That was very quick Vanya. Thanks for trying the recipe. Did you give enough time before slicing it? I left mine overnight plus another couple of hours. My bread had a very light crack on the top and while cutting that portion only it crumbled. The rest of the slices were perfect. In fact my son took it to school for 3 days and he doesn't like bits and pieces falling down.
I got an idea while typing this, maybe in future you could try leaving the bread tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge (of course after it has cooled completely) for an hour or so before slicing. Maybe that could help.
Madhavi says
Hi
I am a fan of your blog. very nice recipes , frankly speaking i have learnt how to bake a cake from your blog. thanks for that . i am a vegetarian and don't like to use eggs in any of my cooking so always come back to your site for my eggless cooking specially cakes and cookies. Thanks for sharing with us all u r recipes. Will definetely try this orange blueberries cake . it looks so yummy.!!!!!!
You're welcome Madhavi.
Priya says
Gorgeous and beautiful looking bread..
suma says
Yumm!! Love citrus in bakes and this looks really good!! What can be a good substitute for apple sauce?? Would love to try this recipe..
CurryLeaf says
Wow,Wow,Wow.I think I too will love this Madhu.Love all ur blueberry recipes.What u said abt oil and butter is true.Sometimes (almost all times 😀 ) butter is better
Bhuvana Govind says
wow...lovely Madhuram special after a while.. how r u my friend? How r things with u? Write when you find time. Take care
Regards,
Bhuvana
notyet100 says
looks so yum,.will definetly try this
Sayantani says
we dont get blueberries here so whenever I see something baked with this fruit I feel like tasting it. looks very moist and perfect.
harini-jaya says
great combo of blueberries, orange juice and apple sauce. was wondering if we can use canola oil instead of butter and still get the same taste? any thoughts?
Madhuram says
I wouldn't think so Harini. I too use oil mostly but went with butter for this recipe and don't regret it at all because it had such an amazing flavor and smell. Bread with oil would be moist too but not as flavorful as this one. Maybe you can try some butter flavored melted margarine instead. Or try using oil and a teaspoon of butter flavored extract.
Rachana Kothari says
I love citrus flavours in baked goods too. This bread would be perfect with my cuppa now 🙂
Vidhya says
bread looks so good Madhu... I am bookmarking this one:)
Happy Cook says
Wowo the cake jus tlooks so so beauiful, wish i had a slice with my cup of tea this afternoon.
Sanjeeta kk says
The bread looks moist and perfect for any time tea break!
Sonia {7spice} says
I'm not big fan of blueberries itself, but love to use in baking. This loaf looks quite tempting. I've bookmarked low fat orange pound cake from somewhere and will keep your recipe in my mind too.
Well, 2 weeks ago, I tried your Oat Flour and Beet Brownies, came out really good. Very tasty, indeed! Thanks for recipe. 🙂
You're welcome Sonia.