Strawberry season is in full swing! It will be hard to resist the smell of this beautiful fresh Strawberry Bread in your oven this season.
This strawberry bread is made with fresh strawberries and it comes out so tender, moist, and light. It’s easy to make and freezer-friendly!
You’ll love how fragrant and delicious this quick bread is. It’s not overly sweet, it’s just perfect and balanced.
This fresh strawberry bread is one of my most beloved quick bread recipes. It’s tender, moist, and fragrant. I love the delicate flavors that this fruit adds to this quick bread.
With all the sweet strawberries available in the summer, we’ve been making my Strawberry Chicken Salad quite often, as well as batches of my Homemade Strawberry Milk. But for today, this beautiful strawberry bread takes center stage!
The secret to ultra tender and flavorful strawberry bread is using buttermilk. It adds the perfect amount of moisture, while keeping it ultra tender. I think buttermilk works better than milk or yogurt here, but I also included substitutions below.
If you’re looking for more quick bread flavors, check out my Lemon Blueberry Bread, Lemon Loaf Cake, or Nutella Banana Bread!
Why we love baking this strawberry bread:
- It’s perfectly moist, tender, and light.
- This strawberry bread is not too overwhelmingly sweet – it’s just right!
- It’s a great way to use fresh strawberries. Something about baking with it gives baked goods a delicate flavor.
- Customizable: Finish it with a glaze, add mix-ins, or turn them into muffins. More on this below.
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The Secret to the Most Tender Loaf
The secret to a tender and moist strawberry bread is using buttermilk. It interacts with the baking soda to create an ultra tender texture. It also adds a slightly tangy flavor that balances out the sweetness.
I’ve tested it with milk and yogurt, and buttermilk ALWAYS is always the winner in terms of texture. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can actually do a DIY version with milk and vinegar.
DIY buttermilk: For every 1 cup of whole milk, mix in 1 tablespoon vinegar. Stir and let it sit for about 5 minutes until thickened and curdled.
If you’d rather not use buttermilk, try plain yogurt (not Greek yogurt, it’s too thick) which is acidic and will react with the baking soda and activate it. Some brands of yogurt are thicker than others, so if that’s the case, just mix it with a little bit of milk to achieve a consistency similar to buttermilk.
Use Oil to Bake Quick Breads
Another quick tip. When it comes to quick breads, I always choose to bake with vegetable oil rather than butter. With oil, the bread will be lighter with more separated crumbs. On the other hand, if you use butter, it will be more like a pound cake.
Ingredient Notes
The full list of ingredient quantities can be found in the recipe card down below, but I wanted to share a ingredient notes I took while testing this recipe here.
- Fresh strawberries: Find ones that are firm in texture and bright red. Avoid soft or watery, as well as frozen strawberries.
- All-purpose flour: Spooned and leveled for accurate measurements.
- Baking soda: Check that it’s not expired to ensure the bread rises properly.
- Salt: Just a little bit of salt always makes baked goods taste so much better. I prefer to use Kosher salt.
- Large egg: At room temperature. You only need one large egg for this recipe.
- Granulated sugar: Granulated works best to achieve a light and tender texture. I would not recommend using brown sugar here.
- Vegetable oil: Oil gives quick breads a lighter texture with more “separated” crumbs. You can also use butter, but it will be denser, kind of like a pound cake.
- Buttermilk: This ingredient is required for the baking soda to “activate” and do its magic. For substitutions, see recipe card.
- Vanilla extract: For flavor.
- Lemon zest: Adds a subtle touch of brightness.
- Butter to grease the pan
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1 | Prep dry and wet ingredients
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wet ingredients: In another large bowl, whisk egg, granulated sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until evenly combined.
Dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Step 2 | Make the batter
To make the batter, combine the dry ingredients into wet ingredients, and mix with a whisk until no pockets of flour remain. Do not overmix. Then, toss the diced strawberries (thoroughly patted dry) with all-purpose flour. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
Then, add the floured strawberries into the batter, leaving excess flour behind. Gently fold in the strawberries into the batter with a rubber spatula until just combined.
Step 3 | Bake
Transfer the prepared batter to a greased (or lined with parchment paper) 9×5 inch loaf pan. Top with more diced strawberries, gently pushing them down into the batter but letting them still be visible.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes. After 40-45 minutes, cover with foil to prevent it from browning too much. Return to oven and continue baking. The strawberry bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Freezing Instructions
Let the bread cool completely. Wrap tightly with 2-3 layers of aluminum foil and transfer to a freezer-friendly bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Recipe Variations
There are so many ways to change up this recipe! Here are some ideas:
- Make strawberry bread muffins! Spoon the batter into a lightly greased muffin pan and bake at 375 degrees F for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out clean.
- Make a glaze: Drizzle it over the cooled bread. Combine 1 cup of confectioners sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk. You can also add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and lemon zest.
- Add mix-ins: Mix and match other fruits, such as berries (adjust the proportions accordingly) or add a few nuts. Make sure to not add too many mix-ins, otherwise the bread may not rise properly.
If you’re looking for more ways to use strawberries, check out these recipes!
Recipe FAQs
Per several rounds of testing, buttermilk is best, it makes a much lighter and more tender loaf. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use regular plain yogurt. See substitutions in recipe card below for details.
I’d recommend using vegetable oil for all quick breads. Oil yields a lighter texture with more “separated” crumbs than butter does. With butter, it will be more like a pound cake.
This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf pan.
No. Frozen strawberries contain too much moisture and will make the bread soggy.
This recipe was published in 2019 and updated in July 2024 to include additional information and tips.
Tips for Success
- Use bright red and firm strawberries for best results. Strawberries tend to soften and turn a bit pale when exposed to heat. So, the more vibrant and firmer, the better. Do not use frozen strawberries.
- Buttermilk is preferred. It’s needed for the baking soda to react and help the bread rise.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, try regular plain yogurt (see substitutions in recipe card below), although I really think buttermilk yields a much lighter and more tender loaf.
- Don’t open the oven too often. Only open it once when you need to cover the loaf with foil, and when it’s ready to check for doneness. This will prevent sinking in the middle.
- Avoid excess moisture: Thoroughly pat dry the diced fresh strawberries before tossing them with flour. Tossing them with flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom.
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Strawberry Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour - spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg - at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature - no substitutions
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Butter to grease the pan
For the strawberries:
- 2 cups diced fresh strawberries - firm in texture and bright red
- 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 9×5 inch aluminum loaf pan with butter. Set aside. Optional: For cleaner release, you can line the pan with parchment paper with overhang on the sides.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk 2 cups all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In another large bowl, mix the egg, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until evenly combined.
- Gradually, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, whisking until no pockets of flour remain. Do not overmix.
- Thoroughly pat dry the diced strawberries. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of strawberries for later and set aside. Toss the remaining diced strawberries with 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour. Gently, fold in the flour-coated strawberries into the batter until just combined, leaving any excess flour behind.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with the reserved 3 tablespoons of diced strawberries, gently pushing them down into the batter but letting them still be visible. This will make the bread more beautiful.
- Bake for about 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. About 40 minutes into the baking time, cover with aluminum foil to prevent it from browning too fast. Tip: To prevent the bread from sinking in the middle, only open it once when you need to cover it with foil, and when it’s ready to check for doneness.
- Remove from oven and let it cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Then, carefully remove from the pan and let it cool a bit more before slicing. Note: The strawberries inside may look a little bit pale, that’s normal. Using bright red and firm strawberries helps with that.
Notes
- Use bright red and firm strawberries for best results. Strawberries tend to soften and turn a bit pale when exposed to heat, so the more vibrant and firmer they are, the better.
- Buttermilk is preferred. This recipe only calls for baking soda, which needs an acid component to activate it. Buttermilk, which contains acid, reacts with it to create an ultra tender loaf.
- DIY buttermilk: If you forgot to buy buttermilk, you can make it at home. Pour 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a 1-cup measurer. Then fill the cup with milk. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. It will slightly curdle.
- Storage: Store at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Let cool completely. Wrap tightly with 2-3 layers of aluminum foil and transfer to a freezer-friendly bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
- Buttermilk: Try regular plain yogurt instead (not Greek yogurt, it’s too thick), which is acidic and will activate the baking soda. Some brands of yogurt are thicker than others. If so, just mix the yogurt with a little bit of milk to achieve a consistency similar to buttermilk.
- Turn them into muffins: Spoon the batter into a lightly greased muffin pan (fill ¾ of the way through) and bake at 375 degrees F for 22 to 25 minutes.
- Drizzle with a quick glaze: Combine 1 cup confectioners sugar with 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk. You can also add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and lemon zest.
Deana V says
i’ve made this bread three times now, and it turns out wonderful every time! my baby loves it too
Tania says
Thank you so much, Deana!
Tania says
Yes, although it may have a lightly different taste. Vegetable or canola oil is neutral in flavor, which is why I recommend that, but olive oil will work too.
Tania says
Hey Caitlin! You may be able to, but they may turn a bit pale in color after baking (still as delicious though!). Let them thaw and then remove as much liquid as you can from them with paper towel.
Michelle Harkins says
Can lemon juice be used instead of lemon zest? If so, how much?
Thank you.
Tania says
I would just leave out the lemon juice.
Sharon says
Recipe easy to follow. Divided up into 2 smaller pans. Less cooking time. Smells heavenly and can’t wait to taste it.
Kathy says
Made this last Sunday with DIY buttermilk. Was fantastic. Had no sinking in middle and was super moist. Going to try again this weekend but doing the muffins and using buttermilk.