25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (2024)

From an early morning wake-up call to a sweet dessert to end your day, blueberries shine in these recipes.

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25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (1)

Quite possibly nature's perfect gift, blueberries are one of the healthiest foods around, and they require only a simple wash as a means of preparation. You can find cultivated berries all year, but wild and locally-grown blueberries are available—and at their peak—primarily during July and August. When shopping for blueberries at the store or farmers' market, look for berries that are firm, uniform in size, and deep blue in color with a silvery or white sheen. Avoid any packages that appear stained or damp. Once you bring the blueberries home, remove any twigs or leaves along with any berries that are soft or moldy. Refrigerate in the original container for up to five days. When you're ready to use them, rinse berries under cold water, drain, and pat dry.

Once you've stocked up, put your delicious blueberries to good use in a summery tart, no-bake cheesecake, pies, crisps, cobblers, and so much more. One of our favorite ways to serve these berries in a way that highlights their beautiful blue color and slightly tart flavor is by tossing them with granulated sugar and letting their juices slowly release. After about 20 minutes, you're left with a macerated mixture of whole blueberries in a syrupy sauce that's perfect for drizzling over ice cream, a custard pie, or even folded into pudding. For the ultimate blueberry pie filling, you generally only need four ingredients: the fruit, plus granulated sugar for sweetness, a thickener like cornstarch, and lemon juice to offset some of the granulated sugar. With this, the dessert possibilities are endless.

Ready to enjoy more blueberries all day long? Ahead, we're sharing 25 delicious blueberry recipes that make use of one of summer's all-stars.

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Instant Pot Cheesecake

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (2)

Make use of everyone's favorite multi-cooker in this stellar recipe for blueberry cheesecake.

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Blueberry "Toaster" Pastries

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (3)

Skip the store-bought version in favor of these homemade breakfast strudels that are filled with fresh blueberries and drizzled with our homemade glaze made from freeze-dried blueberries, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract.

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Berry Layer Cake

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (4)

There are berries in the cake, filling, and Swiss Meringue Buttercream, which makes for one absolutely stunning purple-hued dessert. It's the perfect excuse to bake something sweet and make use of the abundance of seasonal berries.

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No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake for a Crowd

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (5)

Skip the fussy water bath in favor of this no-bake cheesecake recipe made with a combination of ricotta cheese, cream cheese, and whipped cream, which is spread in a vanilla-wafer cookie crust and topped with blueberries.

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Vegan Blueberry Crisp

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (6)

This dairy-free dessert features a crunchy, crumbly oat- and nut-topping and a simple filling made with just four ingredients—blueberries, cornstarch, sugar, and fresh lemon juice.

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Blueberry Lattice Pie

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (7)

Hiding beneath an intricately designed pâte brisée is a subtly spiced blueberry pie filling that bursts with summer's signature sweetness.

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Blueberry "Bandanna" Tart

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (8)

Inspired by a traditional Americana bandana, this blueberry recipe is just the thing to serve at a picnic or backyard barbecue.

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Lemon-Blueberry Tart

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (9)

Bake lemon curd in buttery, lightly sweet pâté sucrée tart shells, then spread the cooled tarts with sweetened, whipped crème fraîché. Mound fresh blueberries onto each tart and brush them with melted apricot jam to give them a glossy finish.

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Pull-Apart Vanilla-Wafer Cupcake Cake with Berries

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (10)

This blueberry dessert recipe looks like a sheet cake but it's actually one dozen cupcakes tucked together and evenly frosted with a rich buttercream and piled high with fresh berries.

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Blintz Baked French Toast

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (11)

Who wouldn't want to wake up to this French toast casserole made with buttery challah bread, a trio of warm spices (cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg), creamy ricotta cheese, and blueberries for garnish?

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Peach and Blueberry Tart with Cream Cheese Filling

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (12)

Take a look at this beautiful display of macerated summer fruit, which is piled high atop a sweet mixture made from cream cheese, lemon zest and juice, and granulated sugar.

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Blueberry-Banana Skyr Smoothie

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (13)

Whip up this three-ingredient nutritious smoothie with Skyr—an Icelandic yogurt—plus frozen blueberries and ripe bananas for a perky start to your morning.

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Berry Frangipane Phyllo Tart

25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (14)

This blueberry-studded tart features a hazelnut-and-ginger filling spread in an eye-catching phyllo dough crust.

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Lemon-Olive Oil Cake

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Although most dessert recipes call for a neutral-flavored oil, we love the vibrant fruitiness and superior moistness that extra-virgin olive oil brings to this cake topped with mixed berries and sweetened mascarpone cheese.

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Wild-Blueberry-and-Apple Pie

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Everyone adores American apple pie but this blueberry-inspired version is juicier, fruiter, and all-around sweeter. What's not to love?

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Wild-Blueberry-and-Cranberry Chutney

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Try this twist on a classic cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving by cooking fresh or frozen cranberries with wild blueberries, minced fresh ginger, orange zest, and fresh sage leaves until the berries burst and the mixture thickens into the perfect holiday side dish.

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Bourbon-and-Brown-Sugar Cake with Berries

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The caramel notes found in bourbon and moist brown sugar creates a richness that perfectly complements tart blueberries and raspberries in this single-layer cake recipe.

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Berry Shortcakes with Whipped Cream Cheese

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Bake blueberries and strawberries right into these shortcakes, then spoon more fresh berries on top just before serving.

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Blueberry Dutch Pancakes

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Baked rather than cooked on the stove top, Dutch pancakes emerge from the oven puffed up like balloons and then quickly deflate, making for a dramatic presentation at the table. Rich and eggy, with just a hint of lemon zest, they're the perfect foil for sweet, fresh blueberries.

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French Fruit Tart

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We can't imagine a more elegant tart for summer than this one. Mixed berries and a drizzle of apricot jam top the rich vanilla custard—it's best served in June and July when blueberries are at their peak.

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Blueberry Fool

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The English dessert called a fool (and you would have to be one not to love it) is simply whipped cream folded with puréed stewed fruit, then chilled. Because the mixture needs to set and become almost mousse-like, and doesn't involve baking, the dish is ideal for the lazy days of summer.

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Blueberry Slab Pie

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Made in a 10-by-14-inch jelly roll pan, this big blueberry pie feeds a crowd. Add a finishing touch by brushing the crust with beaten egg and sprinkling with sanding sugar before you put it in the oven.

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Blueberry Cupcakes

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You've heard of breakfast for dinner; these blueberry cupcakes are breakfast for dessert. Fresh blueberries are mixed into vanilla cake batter—rather than muffin batter—which is then topped with cinnamon streusel and twirls of blueberry–cream-cheese icing.

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Blueberry-Cream Cheese Hand Pies

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These hand pies travel well, perfect for tucking into picnic baskets or taking to summer barbecue potlucks.

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Blueberry Muffins

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These picture-perfect muffins are studded with fresh blueberries and capped with crunchy sugar and crumb toppings.

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25 Blueberry Recipes Bursting with Flavor (2024)

FAQs

What enhances the flavor of blueberries? ›

Lemon: At the very top of the list is sweet-tart blueberries and sharp lemon, an almost unbeatable combination.

How can I make my blueberries more flavorful? ›

The simplest is simply to macerate them with sugar. Mix the berries with a few tablespoons of sugar and some citrus zest. Blueberries pair well with lime but orange or lemon would work as well. You'll want to mash a few berries to release the juice but leave most of them whole.

What flavor pairs well with blueberry? ›

If you refer to the diagram above, you'll see that blueberries also have a certain malty scent, which pairs well with cherries, almonds, apples, apricots, blackberries, bananas, lychees, avocados and elderflower.

What happens if you add baking soda to blueberries? ›

Blueberry Baking Chemistry

Blueberries turn greenish-blue in a batter that has too much baking soda (or grey in a smoothie with a lot of dairy), which creates an alkaline environment. That's why mixing a little lemon juice into your batter or smoothie will give you a more vibrant color.

What happens when you add sugar to blueberries? ›

The process of adding sugar (or in some cases, a splash of liqueur for additional flavor) to fruit and letting it steep over time is known as maceration. In addition to enhancing their natural sweetness, macerating amplifies berries' natural flavor.

Why do you add lemon juice to blueberries? ›

Lemon can enhance the flavor of blueberries by adding a touch of acidity that brings out their natural sweetness. Both lemon and blueberry are versatile flavors that can be used in a variety of dishes, from sweet to savory.

What do coffee grounds do for blueberries? ›

Coffee grounds are highly acidic, they note, so they should be reserved for acid-loving plants like azaleas and blueberries. And if your soil is already high in nitrogen, the extra boost from coffee grounds could stunt the growth of fruits and flowers.

How do you perk up blueberries? ›

To rejuvenate stressed berries, prune and mulch. You can do this now. When pruning, keep the strongest three to four canes and cut out any old, diseased, damaged or intersecting ones all the way to the ground. Blueberries bear fruit at the tips of each branch, so be careful not to cut them off.

Why add flour to blueberries? ›

The light coating of flour around the berries will absorb some of the fruit's liquid, making them less likely to sink. This is especially helpful when the batter is thin; thicker batters are a little better at cradling the fruit and keeping it suspended.

Why do my blueberries taste bland? ›

I think it may be that the root systems are more developed and have access to more nutrients. Picking them a little before they are fully ripe may also give them a more tangy flavor. Blueberries may turn blue before they are fully ripe, maybe wait a little longer and see if the flavor improves?

What herb goes best with blueberries? ›

Blueberries: This milder berry wins the award for most versatile; it worked wonderfully with everything but mint. Lavender was my absolute favorite—it lightly perfumed the berries and made them sweeter somehow. Try 1 finely chopped teaspoon in a batch of pie or jam.

What spices go best with berries? ›

Raspberries match well with thyme, basil, oregano and bay. Blueberries are the most versatile of all the berries. These blue beauties take to lavender, thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, basil and sage. Strawberries partner well with mint, basil and lavender.

What does vinegar do to blueberries? ›

Good news: You can easily kill off mold and bacteria with a quick vinegar and water bath, then dry off the berries before they go in the fridge. Here's how to do it.

What does Epsom salt do for blueberries? ›

You can use Epsom salt if your blueberries need magnesium. You should add one tablespoon of Epsom salts and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to two gallons of water and apply to the base of the blueberry plants. This method can help revive blueberry plants and encourage them to green up.

Is baking soda or vinegar better for berries? ›

Both batches of berries lasted a full week without going moldy, but the ones washed in a solution of water and baking soda were noticeably softer and stodgier than those washed in a water and vinegar, which remained firm.

What herb compliments blueberry? ›

Blueberries: This milder berry wins the award for most versatile; it worked wonderfully with everything but mint. Lavender was my absolute favorite—it lightly perfumed the berries and made them sweeter somehow. Try 1 finely chopped teaspoon in a batch of pie or jam.

What makes blueberries taste sweeter? ›

If the blueberries you're tasting seem too tart, let them continue ripening on the plant a little longer. Blueberries can remain on the bush for around 10 days after they begin to ripen, during which time they become plumper and sweeter. Keep an eye on them and keep sampling!

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