Strawberry bread is fluffy, soft, and moist, packed with farm-fresh strawberries for an irresistible flavor. Simple, sweet, and delicious, this loaf cake is the perfect treat to make for a summer brunch or for dessert to enjoy with a cup of tea after a long day. The best part? The easy batter comes together in just 10 minutes.
Why You'll Love Strawberry Bread
- Quick and easy to make. Strawberry bread is such a quick and easy cake to make. The batter comes together in just 10 minutes so you can easily make the decision to bake these on morning, and be enjoying them with a cup of coffee or tea within the hour. The perfect brunch treat.
- Moist, cakey texture. With a carefully balanced texture, this healthy strawberry bread is fluffy, soft, moist, and will melt in your mouth. It's filling but not dense—which is exactly how you want your loaf cake.
- Fresh strawberries. Strawberries are a vital source of vitamin C and other minerals which makes them great to incorporate into your diet. These are the perfect treat to make, especially when strawberries are fresh in season. Grab a crate or two at your local farmer's market!
Ingredients and Substitutions
To make this delicious healthier strawberry bread, you will need the following ingredients (full quantities listed in the recipe card below):
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder + baking soda
- brown sugar - this loaf is on the healthier side and calls for a lot less sugar than most recipes. It gets its sweetness from the fresh strawberries. If you are looking for a sweeter loaf, feel free to add in more sugar, or add a vanilla glaze on top after.
- ground cinnamon
- salt
- milk
- vegetable oil - I would recommend a vegetable oil like avocado oil or melted coconut oil.
- egg
- vanilla extract - you can also substitute this with almond extract.
- fresh strawberries - I recommend using fresh strawberries for the best results. You can use frozen strawberries but the loaf will be more moist.
You will also need measuring cups and spoons (or kitchen scale), mixing bowls, and a 1 lb. loaf pan (5x9-inches).
How to Make the Best Strawberry Bread
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients including flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, ground cinnamon and salt. Whisk together until evenly distributed and set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk to combine all the wet ingredients including milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into dry flour mixture and fold together using a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry ingredients is visible. Do not overmix. Overmixing will make the bread denser and firmer. Fold in the chopped strawberries until evenly mixed. Do not overmix.
- Bake. Lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan (1 lb. loaf pan) with cooking oil, and pour in the batter. Bake in a 350 F preheated oven for 55 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Serve. Let cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. Then invert to remove the loaf. Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with a vanilla bean glaze or honey if desired.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- How to store: Freshly baked strawberry bread keeps the best at room temperature for up to two days in an airtight container. You can store them for up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic cling wrap, but you may lose some of the moist texture.
- How to freeze: Free cooled strawberry loaf cake tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and in a freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours or at room temperature before serving.
- How to make muffins: You can use this batter to make 12 muffins instead. Divide the prepared batter into a 12-tin muffin pan lined with cupcake liners or sprayed with cooking oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
More Dessert Recipes with Fruit
- Baked Jelly Donuts with Strawberry Jam
- Lemon Sweet Rolls
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie
- Glazed Lemon Blueberry Scones
- Blueberry Pie with Lattice Top
- Blueberry Yogurt Muffins
- Classic Cherry Pie
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Recipe
Strawberry Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: one 5x9-inch loaf
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Strawberry bread is fluffy, soft, and moist, packed with farm-fresh strawberries. Simple, sweet, and delicious, perfect for a summer brunch.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk (240 grams)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil (70 grams)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 + ½ cups fresh strawberries, chopped into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan (1 lb. loaf pan) with cooking oil.
- In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients including flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, ground cinnamon and salt. Whisk together until evenly distributed and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine all the wet ingredients including milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet mixture into dry flour mixture and fold together using a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry ingredients is visible. Do not overmix. Overmixing will make the bread denser and firmer.
- Fold in the chopped strawberries until evenly mixed. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. Then invert to remove the loaf.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with a vanilla bean glaze or honey if desired.
Notes
How to store: Freshly baked strawberry bread keeps the best at room temperature for up to two days in an airtight container. You can store them for up to 1 week in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic cling wrap, but you may lose some of the moist texture.
How to freeze: Free cooled strawberry loaf cake tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and in a freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours or at room temperature before serving.
How to make muffins: You can use this batter to make 12 muffins instead. Divide the prepared batter into a 12-tin muffin pan lined with cupcake liners or sprayed with cooking oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Amanda says
This strawberry bread is definitely a keeper recipe for me! One addition I made that really brought it together for me was adding lemon rind (from 1 lemon) to it. Really made the strawberries shine!
Ashley says
Easy and delicious! I presliced to bring to a Bible study tonight. Excellent summer treat when you don’t want a sweet.
Carol Ann says
Thank you, Sam for a wonderful recipe. This marks my return to baking after an interval so long that I had to check the baking powder. It came together easily, although I took the precaution of sifting all the dry ingredients.
It is delicious, and so much less sweet that the dessert breads one normally sees.
Now I am combing through your recipes to see what to bake tomorrow!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks Carol Ann! Yes we went easy on the sugar on this one for a healthier option and to bring out the natural flavours of the fresh strawberries in season right now =)
Robert J Semerau says
The recipe was easy and delicious. Our neighbor graces us with fresh strawberries every week when in season and we were ready for something new! We made two loaves from our two boxes of berries. It did need to cook a bit longer (75-minutes), I suppose because it was two loaves. Excellent and raves from our neighbors!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you for sharing! So happy you all liked the recipe!