These delicious baked lemon blueberry donuts bring everything you love about the classic lemon-blueberry combo into donut form. A bit sweet, a bit tart, and so good, this is a great baked donut recipe for spring and summertime!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review
“Tart yet delicious! I made 6 large so I didn’t have to make 2 pans, so I added a few extra minutes to the cook time. Pretty easy to do though! Won’t be a problem to eat in one day.” – Amy
I love the combination of lemon and blueberry, but I feel like you usually see it in a muffin, loaf, or coffee cake. While most people got on the sourdough train during COVID, my husband and I took a few other routes. One being homemade donuts. We tried making fried donuts a few times and they were good, but too messy. We tried yeasted donut recipes but didn’t always feel like fussing with yeast. And then we discovered baked donuts. And went on a baked donut SPREE.
After spending the fall of 2020 making countless batches of pumpkin baked donuts and perfecting a few other homemade baked donut recipes (our baked maple glazed donuts and our baked peppermint mocha chocolate donuts), I decided to develop a springy flavor too.
I’ve developed over 50 breakfast recipes for this website and four of them are baked donuts, so I’ve gotten pretty familiar with what works in a donut pan. The thing that took the most testing here was the blueberries. Fresh ones burst and streak the batter purple, and full-size berries overwhelm a donut that’s only so big. Frozen wild blueberries turned out to be the answer, since they’re small enough to scatter evenly and have a more concentrated flavor. I also learned to spoon the batter in rather than pipe it, because piping squishes the berries on the way through the bag.
After lots of test batches, we landed on this lemon blueberry baked donuts recipe with a zesty lemon glaze on top. So. Darn. GOOD.
Jump to:
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review
- Why You’ll Love These Blueberry Donuts
- Ingredients For Lemon Blueberry Donuts
- Equipment Needed
- How to Make Baked Blueberry Donuts
- Expert Tip: Do NOT Overmix Your Batter!
- Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- How to Store Baked Blueberry Donuts with Lemon Glaze
- Blueberry and Lemon Baked Donuts Recipe FAQs
- Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy One of These Easy Baked Goods for Breakfast Next!
- Lemon Blueberry Baked Donuts
Why You’ll Love These Blueberry Donuts
Standard ingredients are used to make this recipe! We generally have everything we need in our fridge, pantry, or freezer (for the wild blueberries), making them easy to whip up on a whim.
Small Batch! This recipe yields 6-7 donuts (depending on how full you fill your donut tin). Perfect for a smaller family, and since baked donuts are best eaten day-of, there is less potential for waste (or soggy donuts hanging around).
Easy to make. Baked donuts are super easy to mix up! Mix the ingredients together, scoop the batter into your tins, and bake!
Bold, Springy Flavor: Zingy lemon accented by sweet blueberry… it doesn’t get much better!
Lovely Texture. These lemon blueberry baked donuts are super moist and a little cake like (which is what we’re looking for from a baked donut).
Ingredients For Lemon Blueberry Donuts
For the Donuts
- All-Purpose Flour. The structure of your donuts. Measure carefully and don’t pack it into the cup, since too much flour here gives you a dry, dense donut.
- Brown Sugar. Brown sugar sweetens these and adds a touch of molasses depth that plays nicely against the bright lemon. It also keeps the donuts moist.
- Baking Powder. Our leavening agent. These donuts rise in the pan rather than spreading, so fresh baking powder matters. If yours has been open for more than six months, it’s worth testing before you bake.
- Salt. A small amount to balance the sweetness and sharpen the lemon flavor.
- Plain Greek Yogurt. Yogurt keeps these moist and tender and adds a slight tang that works with the lemon. I love baking with it because we always have it in the fridge. Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt both work here.
- Unsalted Butter, melted. Adds richness and flavor. Melted butter also means no creaming step, which is part of why these come together so quickly.
- Large Egg. Binds everything together and gives the donuts their structure and slightly cakey texture.
- Fresh Lemon (juice and zest). We’re not doing a hint of lemon in these, we’ve got some big lemon flavor thanks to using both the juice and the zest of a fresh lemon. One medium lemon should cover what the donuts and the glaze call for.
- Blueberries, fresh or frozen. Since we’re not in peak berry season here in the upper Midwest for most of the year, I use frozen wild blueberries (sometimes labeled low-bush). They’re smaller than standard blueberries and have a more intense blueberry flavor, and the smaller size means they distribute beautifully through a donut this size. If you’re in-season, grab those beautiful fresh blueberries!
For the Lemon Glaze
- Powdered Sugar. The base of the glaze. It dissolves smoothly into the lemon juice without any grittiness.
- Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest. The juice thins the powdered sugar into a dippable glaze, and the zest gives it a real lemon punch plus pretty little flecks of yellow on top.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Equipment Needed
A donut pan. Homemade baked donuts are one of those treats that do need a special piece of equipment to get that classic donut shape: a donut pan. You can either get metal donut pans or silicone donut pans, selection is based on personal preference.
- I love and use this 2-Pack of Non-Stick Metal Donut Pans
- I have friends who love and use this 2-Pack of Silicone Donut Pans
How to Make Baked Blueberry Donuts
Preheat oven & prep your pan: Preheat to 350°F, then spray your donut pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside
Prep your ingredients: Whisk together your dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, yogurt, and egg until well combined. Stir the lemon juice and zest into your wet ingredients. Gently fold in your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients (note: dough will be very thick). Once just combined, gently fold in your blueberries.
Spoon dough into donut pan: While I generally like to pipe my donut batter into the donut pans, I recommend spooning this batter into your pans to avoid squishing the blueberries! If desired, gently smooth out the tops after all batter has been placed.
Bake: Bake approximately 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
Cool: Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze your donuts: While the donuts finish cooling, make your glaze in a small bowl. When cooled, dip the top half of each donut into the glaze and set up-right on your cooling rack to set. Note: if I have additional glaze left, I often double-dip my donuts!
Expert Tip: Do NOT Overmix Your Batter!
Overmixing your batter can create tough baked donuts (and you don’t want that!). Gently fold your wet and dry ingredients together until just combined.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Use sour cream in place of the Greek yogurt. Swap it 1-to-1 with full-fat sour cream if that’s what you have.
- Make 6 large donuts instead of filling two pans. One of our readers noted that they dos this to avoid dirtying a second pan, and it works well. Fill each well a bit fuller and add a few extra minutes to the bake time, checking with a toothpick.
- Swap the berries. Raspberries or blackberries both work with lemon, though you’ll want to chop larger berries so they distribute well. Frozen is still my preference for the same reason.
- Skip the glaze and dust with powdered sugar. A lighter finish if you’d rather have these for breakfast than as a treat.
- Make it a lemon poppy seed donut. Leave out the blueberries and stir 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds into the dry ingredients instead.
How to Store Baked Blueberry Donuts with Lemon Glaze
I’ll be straight with you: baked donuts are at their best the day they’re made. That’s true of this recipe and every baked donut recipe out there. The texture is softest and the glaze is at its best without making the donuts soggy. That said, leftovers are still good, and here’s how to handle them.
At room temperature: Store fully cooled donuts in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days. They’ll soften a bit as the glaze absorbs moisture, which some people actually prefer.
In the refrigerator: An airtight container in the fridge will stretch them to about 3 days. They do firm up when chilled, so let them sit out for 15 minutes before eating.
To freeze: Freeze the donuts unglazed for best results. Let them cool completely, then wrap individually and store in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and glaze them fresh. The glaze doesn’t freeze well on its own, so making it the day you serve them is worth the five extra minutes.
Blueberry and Lemon Baked Donuts Recipe FAQs
Yes, baked donut batter is much thicker than you think it will be! If you are having issues getting all of your dry ingredients incorporated into your wet ingredients, you could add more lemon juice (more zing!), a dab of yogurt, or even a little water. Do so in 1 teaspoon increments so you don’t make your dough too moist or runny.
You can use either! I have been using frozen wild blueberries because it is not currently peak-berry season where I live. To defrost frozen berries, measure out the amount needed for the recipe and soak them in room temperature water while you get the rest of your ingredients together. When ready to fold into the batter, drain the blueberries and gently fold them into your batter.
Almost always one of two things has happened if you have dry baked donuts. Either too much flour went into the batter, or they stayed in the oven a few minutes too long. For the flour, fluff it in the container first, spoon it into your measuring cup, then level it off with a knife rather than scooping directly from the bag. For the bake time, start checking at 22 minutes with a toothpick. These go from done to dry fairly quickly.
You can bake this batter in a muffin tin, though you’ll end up with lemon blueberry muffins rather than donuts. Fill the cups about two thirds full and start checking around 18 to 20 minutes. The texture will be slightly different since donut pans give you more surface area and a more even bake, but they’ll still taste great.
Glaze is forgiving, so adjust it right in the bowl. If it’s running off the donuts, add powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time. If it’s too thick to dip into, add lemon juice half a teaspoon at a time. You’re looking for something that coats the back of a spoon and drips slowly.
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy One of These Easy Baked Goods for Breakfast Next!
Lemon Blueberry Baked Donuts
Ingredients
Lemon Blueberry Donuts
- 1 C all-purpose flour
- ½ C brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ C plain greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- ½-3/4 C blueberries fresh, or frozen that have been thawed*
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Lemon Glaze
- 1 C powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F, spray donut pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray and set aside
- Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside
- In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, yogurt, and egg until well combined. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until a dough forms (do not overmix, the dough will be very thick)
- Gently fold in the blueberries into the dough until well distributed throughout
- Spoon the dough into the donut pan(s) and smooth out gently
- Bake 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
- Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely
- While the donuts cool, make your glaze. In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest together until a thick liquid forms.
- When the donuts are cooled, dip the top half of each donut into the glaze and place back on the rack to allow the glaze to set*
David says
Made ’em. Love ’em. Will make ’em again.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
So glad you enjoyed these!!
Sarah Thornton says
This looks so good, Meredith!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
Thank you so much Sarah!!!
Amy says
Tart yet delicious! I made 6 large so I didn’t have to make 2 pans, so I added a few extra minutes to the cook time. Pretty easy to do though! Won’t be a problem to eat in one day
ourlovelanguageisfood says
So glad you enjoyed them! 6 large donuts is a great choice to avoid using 2 pans. Thanks for making my recipe!