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This delicious Lemon Blueberry Cake is made from a boxed mix and either fresh or frozen blueberries. This cake is based on my popular Lemon Bundt Cake and created upon request for the readers, and it was a great idea! It’s spectacular.
Lemon and blueberries are a classic flavor combination, and I especially love it for spring. Even though citrus has officially fallen out of season by the time blueberries arrive in June, the lemon-blueberry combo feels like a bridge between winter and summer.
I have a Lemon Bundt Cake on the site that is extremely popular, and people asked for years if they could add blueberries. Of course you can! I always consider recipes a starting point for negotiations, and you should always make them your own.
We tested the cake in a bunch of different ways and found that both fresh and frozen blueberries work. The only caveat is, you need to limit yourself to 6 ounces of blueberries. It is so tempting to go over and just load up the batter with more, but it doesn’t work out the way that you want it to.
So stick to 6 ounces, use fresh or frozen, no need to thaw frozen blueberries, and I hope you love it!
Table of Contents
Lemon Blueberry Cake Recipe Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Boxed lemon cake mix: This gives you a head-start on the cake and is the secret to ultra-lemony flavor. Yes, even restaurants use boxed lemon cake mixes.
- Instant lemon pudding mix: Add the dry pudding mix to the batter dry (you don’t prepare the pudding separately). Even if your cake mix says “pudding in the mix,” you should still add a box of instant pudding.
- Lemon zest and juice: Zest the lemon before cutting it in half for juice.
- Blueberries: Both fresh blueberries and frozen blueberries work here, just be sure to use only 6 ounces (not more). You don’t need to thaw frozen blueberries; just toss them in frozen.
How To Make Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat large Bundt pan with shortening or nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together cake mix and dry pudding. Add water, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs and stir to combine. Carefully fold berries into the cake batter.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.
- Cool 15 minutes in pan. Invert on to a rack set over a baking sheet and cool completely. To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, water, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake and let harden for at least 10 minutes.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Lemon Blueberry Cake makes 12 servings (or 9 if you like large slices).
- Storage: Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Wrap the unglazed cake in 2 layers of freezer-safe plastic wrap. Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before glazing.
- Made with yogurt: This Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake is a quick bread made from scratch in a loaf pan. Cut thick slices of the loaf cake for breakfast, bake sales, and snacks.
- More berry desserts: Try Blackberry Cobbler, Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon Cake wtih Limoncello Whipped Cream, Blueberry Muffins, or Raspberry Pretzel Salad.
More Bundt cakes
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Lemon Blueberry Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 package lemon cake mix (see note 1)
- 3 ounces instant lemon pudding mix (see note 2)
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (see note 3)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 4 eggs
- 6 ounces blueberries fresh or frozen (see note 4)
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons water or lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat large Bundt pan with shortening or nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix and dry pudding. Add water, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs and stir to combine. Carefully fold in blueberries.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.
- Cool 15 minutes in pan. Invert on to a rack set over a baking sheet and cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, water, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cake and let harden for at least 10 minutes.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Boxed lemon cake mix: This gives you a head-start on the cake and is the secret to ultra-lemony flavor. Yes, even restaurants use boxed lemon cake mixes.
- Instant lemon pudding mix: Add the dry pudding mix to the batter dry (you don’t prepare the pudding separately). Even if your cake mix says “pudding in the mix,” you should still add a box of instant pudding.
- Lemon zest and juice: Zest the lemon before cutting it in half for juice.
- Blueberries: Both fresh and frozen blueberries work here, just be sure to use only 6 ounces (not more). You don’t need to thaw frozen blueberries; just toss them in frozen.
- Yield: This Lemon Blueberry Cake makes 12 servings (or 9 if you like large slices).
- Storage: Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Wrap the unglazed cake in 2 layers of freezer-safe plastic wrap. Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before glazing.
I have made this recipe 5 times in the past month and it has become my summer go-to. I’ve used both regular cake mix and a pound cake mix, both delicious, however the pound cake shrinks a bit as it cools down. I love serving it with frozen blueberries which taste like little blueberry ice cream pellets.
That sounds delicious, Laura! I’m so happy you love it. Take care! – Meggan
Hi! I can’t wait to make this. I cannot seem to find instant lemon pudding mix at any store around or online. Would vanilla be ok? Thanks!
Hi Katie, yes! The flavor will be a little less lemony, but it works just as well. I hope you love it! – Meggan
this cake is unbelievable! I am not even a big lemon cake person but this is perfection and so easy
I’m so happy you loved it, Jane! – Meggan
I’ve made this recipe twice now, and it’s a huge hot with the family! Easy to make and delicious. The last time I made it, I baked in a rectangular pan and added a crumb topping.
Thanks for your kind words Jen! I’m glad everyone loves it! -Meggan
Would cupcakes be a good choice with lemon curd as frosting?
Hi M, other readers have shared that they made this into muffins and cupcakes and enjoyed them. I think lemon curd would be delicious spooned on top. I would be concerned the curd may not be thick enough to stay as frosting, so it may be more like a glaze. Take care! – Meggan
Can you substitute the Blueberries for fresh raspberries?
Hi Debbie, I don’t see why not! I hope you love it! – Meggan
Can I use a 9×13 pan instead
Hi M, I haven’t baked this cake in a 9″x13″ pan. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work though. You may need to adjust the baking time. I hope you love it! – Meggan
Could I turn this into a poke cake instead of adding drizzle? I was curious if I could make and bake as instructed but poke holes after it’s done baking and add a can of condensed milk and chill?
Hi Jana, I haven’t tried this myself with this cake, but think it’s a great idea! My concern would be that because the bundt cake is dense already it may turn gummy if too much condensed milk is added. Please write if you happen to try it, I would love to know how it turns out. – Meggan
Can I use lemon pound cake mix?
Hi Sydney, thank you so much for writing. I haven’t tried it myself, so I’m not sure how the texture of the cake will be. Another reader made it using a pound cake mix, but baked it in loaf pans instead of a bundt cake pan. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Please write if you do try it. – Meggan
There’s a curse between me and Lemon Blueberry bundt cakes. This is the 4th recipe I’ve tried, with two different types of bundt pans (both Nordic Ware non-stick cast aluminum) and the results are the same. Only half the cake comes out of the pan.
Now this isn’t my first rodeo baking. I’ve been baking cakes for just shy of 40 years and the ONLY time I ever have a problem is with Lemon Blueberry bundt cakes. I’ve made at least a hundred various bundt cakes, typically when I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to bake a full scratch cake.
The only modification I made was using only 5oz of blueberries, since the other three I attempted all fell apart in the exact same way, only half the cake comes out
As always, I used a Nordic Ware cast aluminum non-stick pan and sprayed it with Wilton Bake Easy, which I have been using for years. Baked it at 350 degrees in my calibrated oven for 40 minutes and the toothpick came out clean with one crumb. Set it on a wire rack for 15 minutes and same result as the other three attempts.
Do you have any ideas?
I have to go to bed now so that I can get up at 5:00 to bake another cake before I go to work tomorrow, so I have this for a potluck I’m going to after work.
That sounds seriously frustrating, Jeff. I’m so sorry! I wonder if there is something occurring between the acidity from the lemons and the Wilton Bake Easy. Have you tried greasing the pan with just shortening? I’m sorry again, I hope your next attempt is successful. – Meggan
If mine doesn’t come out easily I try the following:
Grease WELL!! Even the center tube. I use a baking spray
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes after baking.
Use a spatula or butter knife to loosen the edges (including the center tube) of the cake from the pan gently.
If that doesn’t work, If you wet a dish towel with HOT water, and wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with it for around 10-15 minutes it will cause the metal to expand a tiny amount and release the cake.
You can also try the above and then pop them in the freezer for a few minutes if that alone doesn’t work.
Hope that helps
This cake was delicious. Did not care too much for the glaze. It seemed too sugary. Next time I think I will try a cream cheese glaze with limited sugar. Other than that was a family favorite and will make again!! Oh, and will coat the blue berries with a light dusting of flour so they disperse evenly throughout.
Thank you for taking the time to write, C.! – Meggan
I have made and loved this cake so many times! Is it possible to make it without the blueberries? If so would you change the cake recipe?
Hi usauk11, it is, you can omit them or substitute with strawberries. Take care! – Meggan
Easy, moist and lemony—this cake got rave reviews at Easter and was requested for an upcoming family party so I’m about to make it again. Thanks!!
You’re so welcome, Lori! 😊 – Meggan
Do you recommend rinsing frozen blueberries before adding them?
Hi Tiffany, no need to thaw or rinse the frozen blueberries. (Unless for some reason they are homegrown and not rinsed before freezing.) Hope you love them! – Meggan
Will this batter make 3 8 inch round cakes?
Hi Kelly, I haven’t tried making this into 3 8-inch rounds. I’m not sure there would be enough batter to make three full whole rounds. Sorry about that. – Meggan
Five stars for this recipe! It was delicious and perfectly moist. I added a 1/2 stick of unsalted butter in the batter and used lemon juice in the glaze. I made a 9×13 sheet cake. I will keep this recipe and make it again and again! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Terry! 😊 – Meggan
I made this for a work function, and it was the main topic of conversation!! It was a hit. I’m baking a third cake as I type because it’s so loved!
Thank you so much!
Oh my gosh, that’s amazing! Go you!!! Thank you for trying my recipe and loving it 🙂 – Meggan
I have not tried the recipe yet. Is there an adjustment to the time or recipe to accommodate over 5,ooo elevation?
Hi Lynn, I haven’t tested this recipe at your elevation, however, here is my advice. This recipe is based on a boxed cake mix, and they should have altitude adjustments printed on the box, so you could try following those. I think it would probably work well and you’d be successful, although I haven’t tried it myself. Normally altitude adjustments involve decreasing leavening agents or sugar or increasing liquid ingredients, but since it’s a boxed mix, you cannot really tweak a lot of that. I suggest following the advice on the box, that’s your best bet. Thanks! Good luck. – Meggan
Very nice and in detailed lemon blueberry cake recipe.
I have lots of blueberries to go through and I loved the blueberry muffin recipe so thought I try this one. The whole family loves lemon flavoring except me but I loved this so much! Delicious! I think I messed up on the icing though I used 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and the icing was too thick so I added water and worked out for me. Trying more recipes soon!
Very good recipe of lemon blueberry cake.
Thank you!
This was delicious and so easy to make only problem was not greasing and flouring the Bundt pan. I used cooking spray and it stuck bc the blueberries settled on the bottom before it could cook. I would recommend using frozen blueberries they might work better, or smaller blueberries. Mine were fresh and very large. But still absolutely delicious!
Hi Sheri, I’m glad the cake was still delicious! I’m sorry it stuck. You’ll want to make sure to fold in the blueberries and immediately put it in the oven to bake as well to prevent the blueberries from falling. I hope the next one is even better. Take care! – Meggan
Hi! If you dust the blueberries in flour first, it will help them to not settle to the bottom. Just toss them in a bowl with a tbs of flour, just to coat lightly
I am crazy about a little tang of cream cheese in a glaze. Can you suggest how I would add it to this glaze for that lemon cream cheese flavor? Thanks.
Hi Susie! I love this idea! I would add 2-3 tablespoons of softened cream cheese to the icing ingredients, and add water, lemon juice, or even milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Make sure to taste as you go to adjust the flavor to your liking. (The thought of doing all lemon juice may result in a tart-tasting glaze.) – Meggan
This will be the 2nd time I made this wonderful cake. Got raves. Family requesting for Christmas.
I’m so happy it was a hit, Cristi! I hope this one comes out wonderfully. Have a Merry Christmas! – Meggan
Will the cake become dense and not fully cooked in the middle if more pudding mix is added?
Hi Yoli, I believe it will become dense. If the cake mix has it already, it shouldn’t be enough to impact the texture of the cake. – Meggan
The lemon & blueberry Bundt cake- the ingredient *photo* says it shows all of the needed ingredients. There is a box cake mix, but also flour/baking soda/etcetc. Directions include just the cake mix- also, please mention the directions for the glaze. Thx so much!
I made this cake for a family picnic. It was a huge success! My brother-in-law said it was too fancy for the picnic and I said, no way! That’s the milk glass cake stand that’s so fancy. I added 6oz of frozen blueberries and they all floated week in the batter . Perfect presentation. The cake had a just right mix of puckery lemon and sweet cake. My new favorite!
Thank you so much for writing and sharing, Michele! I’m so glad it was a hit! – Meggan
My niece requested a lemon blueberry cake for her college graduation party so I made this cake. I couldn’t find instant lemon pudding so I used vanilla instead. I got lots of compliments & was told it was better than a cake they bought at a bakery shop. Definitely would make again!
Thank you so much for your comment, Johnna! I’m so glad it was a hit! Take care! – Meggan
Everyone just loves this cake!!
I’ll be making it again soon..
I appreciate the comment, Sharon! I’m glad everyone loves it! – Meggan
Have made this cake several times. Always a huge hit! So easy to make, and so good!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Teresa! I’m glad you love it! – Meggan
can this be made in a 9×13 pyrex? if so, how would recipe change?
Hi Lisa, thank you for the question! I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t see why it can’t. I would expect the bake time to be less. I would start checking for doneness at around 25 minutes, and add time as needed. I hope you love it! – Meggan
Absolutely outstanding cake. Easy to make. Moist, light and tasty. The perfect ending to a meal. I am already planning on when I can make this again. I think this will become my spring “go-to” cake.
Thank you for publishing.
You’re welcome, Sylvia! I’m so glad you loved it! – Meggan
I made this today. I used a boxed pound cake mix, just regular flavor but followed this recipe for everything else. I put it in two bread tins, like two pound cake tins. Came out delicious!! I did make the glaze with milk, confectioners powder, pinch of salt and vanilla. My husband absolutely loved it. Very lemony and used fresh blueberries. I’m giving the other pound cake away to one of his coworkers, I’m sure they will love it too! Thanks for the recipe, so easy and delicious!
You’re so welcome, Robin, I’m so glad you loved it! I’m sure his coworker will, too! – Meggan
I made this over the weekend, and it was delicious. Gone in 1 day between the hubby and son!
I added bits of pecans on top for a bit of crunch. Great idea. Will try sliced almonds next time.
Making again today in muffin form.
Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome, Maggie! That sounds delicious! – Meggan
Recipe says to whisk dry ingred then add rest of ingred and stir then fold in blueberries,,,no mention of using a mixer?
Hi Jane, a mixer isn’t needed for this recipe. It can be done with a whisk and by hand. If you chose to use a mixer, you can, just make sure to not overmix the batter and still fold in the blueberries. – Meggan
In 2021 with the blueberry lemon bundt cake you stated that flour coating blueberries to keep them from sinking in batter…was a myth. In 2022 with the blueberry yogurt lemon quick bread/cake you stated that you forgot to add flour to your blueberries to keep them from sinking. I find always, that tossing blueberries in flour before adding to batter to keep them from sinking…is not a myth, regardless of what you are making, with the exception of pancakes LOL. You might want to figure this out in your kitchen xo
Hi Dee, you’re right. I absolutely said all of that! Here’s why. I read a post on Serious Eats about this (https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-stop-blueberries-from-sinking-muffin-baking) and they said the flour thing was a myth. I assumed they were right (because it’s Serious Eats, after all), so I said, don’t bother. But I continued to see this technique suggested by reputable food people (such as Sim Sifton in the New York Times), so I spent more time playing around with it. And I feel like at WORST, it doesn’t hurt anything. At best, I really think it helps. I think most of the time I see a difference, and I’m sorry for flip-flopping on the issue. I don’t know that all my blog posts are current with my ideas, but I’ll check around for anything with blueberries and see what it says. Sorry for the confusion. I am always learning, happy to admit when I’m wrong, and trying to update everything in my corner of the internet. -Meggan
Hi , I was wondering if I could do a brown sugar crumble on top instead of the sugar glaze . TIA.
Hi Nicole, I don’t see why not! I haven’t tried this on the lemon cake, but I would like to suggest the streusel topping from my Blueberry Muffins recipe. (Since I haven’t done it myself, it might make too much topping for the one loaf.)
For the streusel topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter cold
To prepare the streusel topping, in a medium bowl combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until the topping is crumbly and coarse. Top the cake during step 3 after adding the batter and bake as directed.
Here is the link to the Blueberry Muffins incase you would like to check it out sometime: https://cash-surge.live/blueberry-muffins/%3C/a%3E Take care and please let me know how it turns out! – Meggan
Made this cake for a birthday now it is everyone’s favorite cake! I usually make all my cakes from scratch, but decided to give this one a try… so glad that I did! So moist & the icing is to die for! Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re welcome, Kelly! So glad it was a hit! – Meggan
Made this into 20 cupcakes in fancy cupcake papers, and iced with glaze and added three blueberries to top and a cute toothpick owl/birdie. Did not have lemon pudding, so used vanilla pudding mix but tripled the grated lemon peel. My five grand girls approved at their belated birthday picnic yesterday! They told me they were “delicious” – I had to agree!
Sounds amazing Elaine, so glad you all enjoyed! – Meggan
I made it . It came out perfect the aroma made me want to cut it but I held off.Ih my goodness it is so good .and it was a last minute decision to make it.
Thanks Stephanie! – Meggan
The best Lemon Blueberry cake ever. Love the fact that this cake stays moist for days. Of course it doesn’t last that long in our home.
Thanks Judy, so glad you all love it! – Meggan
I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but can I replace the blueberries with strawberries? I’ve looked up strawberry lemon cakes, and none of them sound like what I’m looking to accomplish.
Hi Jennifer, that sounds delicious! I haven’t tried it myself but don’t see why not! I would make sure not to use too many strawberries, no more than 6 ounces, as it becomes troublesome in my tests with using blueberries. Enjoy – Meggan
This cake was delicious. I baked it as a double-layer cake, and I loved how it turned out! We saved the rest of it for Father’s Day this weekend! I do have a question, though, about making it a fluffier cake since it did come out dense. My brother mentioned that adding baking powder to the recipe would enable the batter to rise more. Do you have a suggestion about how much to add?
Is Duncan Hines a good choice? My Betty Crocker already had pudding in the mix.
Thank you
Hi Margie, yes! Great choice. I hope you enjoy the cake! – Meggan
Recipe doesn’t say how much lemon zest or juice to use
Hi Carol, the amounts are listed in the recipe card. Here they are for you: 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice from 2-3 lemons. Take care – Meggan
My daughter asked for a blueberry cake for her 5th birthday. I decided on this recipe and am so glad!! It was so good!! I had to adjust a bit to make it gluten free. I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free vanilla cake mix, but followed the recipe after that. I cooked it in a Bundt pan and it was done exactly at 40 minutes. And frosted it with cream cheese frosting (attached recipe). There wasn’t a disappointed party goer!! Delicious 😋
This was a very tasty cake, and also very forgiving of the adjustments I made. I didn’t have lemon-flavored cake mix or pudding, but I had lots of lemons on hand. I used regular yellow cake mix and vanilla pudding, 1T of lemon zest, 2/3 C lemon juice and 1/3 C water. It had just enough lemon flavor and was very moist.
Best recipe I’ve found and there’s a great deal of them out there. Came out perfect. Absolutely delicious, moist and flavorful. Thank you.
Best recipe I’ve found and there’s a great deal of them out there. Absolutely delicious, moist and flavorful. Thank you.
What if the lemon cake mix already says it has pudding in the mix, do you still add the dry lemon pudding to it?
Hi Fabre, I would think so. I haven’t personally tested this, but I imagine there wouldn’t be enough pudding mix in that cake mix to get the nice moist consistency of this recipe. Let me know how it works out! Thanks! Meggan
So easy to make and it comes out delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
LOVED the cake….but it needed more than 40 minutes to bake. Only after adding extra time (Twice), which in turn caused the cake to fall and sink slightly did I see in the pre-amble that cook time was 1 hour.
Please correct!!!!
Hi Susan, I’m sorry about that! Mine has always been done in 40 minutes, but I know oven times vary so I really need to put that in the recipe (a range for the time). Thank you for the feedback! Sorry again. -Meggan
Yeah, so I completely missed the part about not adding too many blueberries. My cake was a total failure. It looked good in the oven, and it seemed done, but as soon as I took it out, it fell severely and looked awful. The blueberries had all sunk to the bottom and stuck to the pan and the cake around them was still moist and gooey. I was so heartbroken. I hate wasting ingredients. And making stupid mistakes.
In this case, more was absolutely NOT better.
So the glaze is a very simple recipe that would be very hard to mess up I would think. So I’m not sure why making the glaze based on your recipe came out extremely thick and paste like. There was no possible way to drizzle something that only had 3 tablespoons of water and half a teaspoon of vanilla. Not with 2 cups of sugar added. Luckily I had a tub of cream cheese frosting in the pantry. I haven’t officially eaten the cake yet, but I know it will be good because I licked the bowl after I poured the batter out. LOL
Hi Kati, the recipe says to add 1 or 2 more teaspoons of liquid if you need it, to get your desired consistency. That’s really all it takes – 3 tablespoons of water and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla IS just about the amount of liquid you need for the glaze. But, after making it 8 times last weekend with different liquids and substitutions, I ended up changing it to 1/4 cup of water and 1 teaspoon vanilla for the 2 cups of powdered sugar. It’s super runny at that consistency, but I think that’s probably what most people will want. So thank you for helping me fix it up! I am glad I took the time to try a bunch of variations and stuff. I haven’t tried it with cream cheese but I definitely need to. Thank you Kati! -Meggan