Bright and sweet, a loaf of this easy Strawberry Bread is bursting with beautiful, juicy berries and a rich, moist crumb!
Bright and sweet, a loaf of this easy Strawberry Bread is bursting with beautiful, juicy berries and a rich, moist crumb. Use fresh or frozen strawberries for a quick breakfast, snack or dessert — any time of year!
Fresh strawberries are one of spring’s greatest joys in Virginia. They’re obviously perfect when enjoyed on their own, but when we get a little bit overzealous with our strawberry picking (which seems to happen every year), it’s nice to have a few go-to recipes that will highlight the fruits of our labor. This simple, quick Strawberry Bread is a perfect way to enjoy freshly-picked berries for an easy make-ahead breakfast or snack, but you can certainly use frozen sliced strawberries if that’s what you have available.
How to make Strawberry Bread from scratch:
This is a really basic quick bread recipe that comes together in about 15 minutes with pantry staples that you probably already have in your kitchen! Here’s what you’ll need…
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Eggs
- Oil
- Vanilla extract
- Strawberries
Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Stir in the eggs, oil and vanilla extract.
Gently fold in the strawberries that have been coated in flour.
Transfer the batter to a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 55-65 minutes.
How to serve Strawberry Bread:
We love this bread on its own for an easy make-ahead breakfast or snack, spread with butter, or with a touch of strawberry jam. For dessert, try topping a warm piece of the bread with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and some sliced fresh strawberries — like a Strawberry Shortcake!
How to Store Strawberry Bread:
Allow the bread to cool completely on a wire rack before serving or packaging. Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. The strawberry bread will stay fresh at room temperature on the counter for 1-2 days, and it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Wrapped tightly, the bread will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- To prevent quick breads or Bundt cakes from sticking to the pan, I prefer to use a baking spray (that includes flour). It also helps to run a knife around the outside of the bread while it’s still warm and cooling in the pan.
- If you’d like to add some whole grains to the bread, you can use 3/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour and 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour.
- Make sure that you dice the strawberries into small pieces and then toss them with flour before folding them into the batter. This will prevent all of the berries from sinking to the bottom.
- I prefer a light colored loaf pan (rather than a dark pan), because the darker pans tend to brown or burn the outside of quick breads before the inside cooks through.
- You can use frozen strawberries rather than fresh strawberries; however, be aware that the frozen strawberries have a tendency to “bleed” and turn the batter a pinkish/purplish color. Do not thaw the berries first.
- Add some additional mix-in’s! For instance, make Strawberry Nut Bread by stirring in 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts. Add 1/2 cup (or more!) of miniature chocolate chips for Chocolate Strawberry Bread.
- Be careful not to over-mix your batter. Gently fold, just to combine. Too much mixing will yield a tough, dry loaf. The batter will seem thick, but the berries release a lot of liquid while they bake.
- I like to shield the top of the bread loosely with foil after the first 45 minutes of baking. This prevents the top from becoming too dark, while the rest of the loaf can cook through.
- Bake Strawberry Bread Muffins! Simply divide the batter evenly among standard-size muffin cups. Bake the muffins in a 400 degree F oven for about 20 minutes.
What can I do with a bunch of strawberries?
If you have even more fresh strawberries this season, here are a few more easy recipes to try:
- Strawberry Muffins
- Strawberry Jell-O Salad
- Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Poppy Seed Dressing
- Chocolate Donut Kabobs with Strawberries
Strawberry Bread
Bright and sweet, a loaf of this easy Strawberry Bread is bursting with beautiful, juicy berries and a rich, moist crumb!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups diced fresh strawberries, patted dry and tossed with 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Optional: ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
-
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix just until combined. Gently fold in the strawberries.
-
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may want to cover the bread loosely with aluminum foil after the first 45 minutes to prevent the top from becoming too brown.
-
Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
Recipe Notes
- To prevent quick breads or Bundt cakes from sticking to the pan, I prefer to use a baking spray (that includes flour). It also helps to run a knife around the outside of the bread while it’s still warm and cooling in the pan.
- If you’d like to add some whole grains to the bread, you can use 3/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour and 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour.
- Make sure that you dice the strawberries into small pieces and then toss them with flour before folding them into the batter. This will prevent all of the berries from sinking to the bottom.
- I prefer a light colored loaf pan (rather than a dark pan), because the darker pans tend to brown or burn the outside of quick breads before the inside is cooked all of the way through.
- You can use frozen strawberries rather than fresh strawberries; however, be aware that the frozen strawberries have a tendency to “bleed” and turn the batter a pinkish/purplish color. Add the frozen berries to the batter while they’re still frozen — do not thaw them first.
- Add some additional mix-in’s! For instance, make Strawberry Nut Bread by stirring in 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, or add 1/2 cup (or more!) of miniature chocolate chips for Chocolate Strawberry Bread.
- Be careful not to over-mix your batter. Gently fold, just until all of the ingredients are combined. Too much mixing will yield a tough, dry loaf. The batter will seem thick, but the berries release a lot of liquid while they bake, resulting in a perfectly moist and tender bread.
- Since this bread has a fairly long baking time, I like to shield the top of the bread loosely with foil after the first 45 minutes of baking. This prevents the top from becoming too dark, while the rest of the loaf can cook through.
- Bake Strawberry Bread Muffins! Simply divide the batter evenly among standard-size muffin cups that have been lined with paper or sprayed with cooking spray. Bake the muffins in a 400 degree F oven for about 20 minutes.
Made the bread this afternoon and it’s quite delicious! I think I made my strawberries too large because the batter was really wet around the larger pieces. I’ll make them smaller next time. But even with that small issue, it’s really great!
Thanks, Kristy! I’m glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
Are you suppose to flour frozen strawberries? Thanks for your response.
Hi, Shon! Yep — whether you use fresh or frozen strawberries, you’ll want to flour them so that they stay suspended in the batter and don’t all sink to the bottom. 🙂