This glazed strawberry bread tastes like summer in a loaf pan! It’s tender, moist, and chock-full of juicy berries. The cake-like crumb and creamy, dreamy vanilla icing make for a treat that’s sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. The recipe is quick and easy, and there’s no mixer required!
If you find yourself with an overabundance of fresh strawberries (one of my very favorite problems to have!), and you’re not sure how to use them all before they go bad… you could make this reader-favorite strawberry cake, but… maybe you don’t feel like putting in the effort to make a layer cake. Trust me, I get that!
Enter this recipe for glazed strawberry bread: a quick bread with a tender, cake-like crumb that’s bursting with fresh strawberry and vanilla flavors. I originally published this recipe in 2014, and have made a couple adjustments based on reader feedback. The bread slices hold shape better by using less buttermilk, and the bread rises taller using a slightly smaller loaf pan and a combination of baking powder AND soda. The recipe in the recipe card below reflects these small tweaks.
Here’s What You’ll Love About This Glazed Strawberry Bread
- Quick and easy to make—no mixer required
- Excellent way to use up leftover fresh strawberries that didn’t make it into your strawberry shortcake
- Cake-like texture stays moist for days
- Extra dessert-like with a topping of creamy vanilla icing
- Make-ahead friendly: this strawberry bread tastes even better on day 2
- Freezes well, so make it when berries are in season and stock your freezer, so you can enjoy that peak strawberry flavor long after their short season ends!
Ingredients You Need & Why
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of today’s quick bread.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: My team and I tested this recipe several times with varying ratios of these two leaveners, and the hands-down winner was the carefully measured mix of both you’ll see in the recipe below.
- Salt: Flavor enhancer/sweetness balancer—a baking recipe superhero!
- Egg: An egg provides structure and binds all the ingredients together.
- Sugar: Use a mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar to sweeten this cake-like bread.
- Buttermilk: This power ingredient is what makes my chocolate cake so darn moist, and it serves the same purpose in this strawberry bread. The lactic acid in buttermilk allows the baking soda to produce carbon dioxide. Don’t have buttermilk? Save yourself a trip to the store and see my recipe Note below for a DIY option.
- Oil: I prefer to use oil in my quick breads, like in lemon poppy seed bread, chocolate zucchini bread, and cinnamon swirl quick bread, because of the unparalleled moisture it provides. Lately I’ve been making this strawberry bread with melted coconut oil, and it doesn’t make the bread taste like coconut. But if you dislike coconut and can easily detect it in baked goods, play it safe and use a neutral vegetable oil.
- Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean Paste: I love the combo of strawberries + vanilla, like in this strawberry vanilla crisp. Pure vanilla extract works wonderfully, but I like to use vanilla bean paste here. You can find it next to the vanilla extract in the grocery store baking aisle, or you can order it online.
- Fresh Strawberries: Chop the berries and gently toss them with a little flour, to prevent them from sinking to the bottom. I don’t recommend using frozen strawberries in this recipe, because they can leak a lot of moisture and turn the bread into mush with an unappetizing purplish hue! Save the frozen berries for smoothies and strawberry sauce.
A Quick Comparison
I want to show you a side-by-side comparison. When retesting this recipe, my team and I tried it using only baking powder. The crumb looked plush and light, but the bread tasted very gummy and the flavor fell flat. Then we used a combination of baking powder AND baking soda. The bread doesn’t rise quite as much, but it develops a beautiful color and almost caramelized-like flavor. It was also moist and tender, without tasting gummy. In terms of taste, the baking powder + soda combo was a clear winner!
How to Make Strawberry Bread
The steps to put all the ingredients together are as easy as 1, 2, 3:
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Combine the wet with the dry, and gently fold in the chopped strawberries.
I recommend baking this strawberry bread in a 1-lb. (8×4-inch) loaf pan like this one or this one. If all you have is a 9×5-inch loaf pan, which is what you use for banana bread and pumpkin bread, you can use it, but expect the bread to be a little shorter.
Coating the chopped strawberries in flour helps prevent them from sinking in the bread:
Expect a creamy and thick quick bread batter with LOTS of strawberries:
The bread takes at least an hour to bake. Begin checking at 55 minutes, though, just in case your oven works extra hard!
Vanilla Icing
Back in 2014 when I first published this recipe, the vanilla icing was an afterthought and yet now I can’t imagine the strawberry bread without it! It soaks down into each slice, making the bread even more moist and tender… and it makes the top of the bread melt in your mouth.
We’re using my classic vanilla icing recipe, only halved to make just enough for the bread (like this cinnamon swirl banana bread!). It’s super simple. Grab some confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream or milk, and a little vanilla extract/vanilla bean paste, and whisk it all together.
Drizzle over the bread before serving.
Easy Strawberry Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is super moist and tender strawberry bread, filled to the brim with fresh summer berries. I usually make the quick bread with melted coconut oil, but a neutral oil like vegetable oil works too. Drizzle the cooled bread with creamy vanilla icing.
Ingredients
Bread
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
- 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 and 1/2 cups (230g) chopped fresh strawberries, tossed in 1 Tablespoon of flour
Vanilla Icing
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream or milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan like this one or this one with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Make the bread: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and buttermilk together until combined. Make sure there are no brown sugar lumps remaining. Whisk in the oil and vanilla.
- Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk until there are no more lumps. Avoid over-mixing. Gently fold in the strawberries. Pour/spoon batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 55–70 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. All ovens vary, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 55-minute mark.
- Remove bread from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour. Remove bread from the pan and place the loaf directly on the wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the icing: Whisk the icing ingredients together. (I usually use heavy cream, which promises a thick icing.) Drizzle over bread before slicing.
- Cover and store bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Icing seeps into the top of the strawberry bread over time, so expect the tops of the slices to become a little moist.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: It’s best to freeze this bread without the icing, and ice the bread after thawing and before serving. Freeze baked & cooled loaf for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. If desired, bring to room temperature before serving. To learn more details about how to freeze quick breads, see my post called Make-Ahead Baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8×4-inch Loaf Pan (like this one or this one) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Vanilla Bean Paste | Cooling Rack
- Update in 2023: This recipe was originally published in 2014. Over the years, I made some subtle improvements to improve the taste and texture. The recipe used to call for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, but the baking powder + baking soda combination above produces a better-tasting crumb. The recipe also used to call for 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, but the bread was often too wet.
- Can I use a 9×5-inch loaf pan? I recommend baking this strawberry bread in a 1-lb. (8×4-inch) loaf pan like this one or this one. If all you have is a 9×5-inch loaf pan, you can use it, but expect the bread to be a little shorter/flatter. The bake time is about the same.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 3/4 cup. (In a pinch, lower-fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the bread won’t taste as rich and moist.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Vanilla: I love using vanilla bean paste in the bread and icing because it combines both extract AND vanilla bean seeds. You can, of course, use pure vanilla extract instead. If you want that extra vanilla bean flavor, feel free to add the seeds scraped from 1/4 of a vanilla bean in the bread batter, and use the seeds from another 1/4 of the vanilla bean in the icing. (This is in addition to the liquid vanilla extract.)
- Can I Use Frozen Strawberries? I strongly recommend using fresh, as frozen or thawed berries produce a mushy bread. If you need to use frozen, thaw and pat as dry as possible before tossing in flour.
- Glazed Strawberry Muffins: Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C) and spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray, or line with cupcake liners. Prepare batter as directed above. Fill each cupcake liner to the top with batter and bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C). Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for an additional 14–15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Top with glaze. Makes about 12 muffins. You may also enjoy these chocolate-covered strawberry muffins or strawberry cheesecake muffins.
Keywords: strawberry bread
Yummy! I had some extra strawberries leftover, so I smashed them with a fork and added them to the Vanilla Icing before drizzling over the top of my loaf. Lovely flavor, very moist — a great and tasty way to use summer strawberries!
★★★★★
This recipe looks delicious. I want to make five cakes for a large group and would like to use 9×9 pans which are easier for my husband to slice. (Yes, he does the slicing and I bake.) I realize the baking time would be less than for a loaf pan. Are there any other adjustments I should make so that the cakes turn out well?
Hi Margaret, we haven’t tested this bread in a square pan before, but our cake pan sizes and conversions guide will be a helpful resource. Hope you enjoy the bread!
This recipe is incredible. Really easy to make- me and my 5 year old enjoyed making this together. We also used the DIY buttermilk recipe which is also great. This looks, smells and tastes amazing! Everyone who had a piece today raved about it. Will absolutely be making again. The freezing instructions are also helpful but I’m not sure we will have any left to freeze as it tastes so good!
Thank you!!
★★★★★
I’ve made this recipe exactly as written several times for different family functions, church, etc, and it has turned out perfect every time! Everyone loves it! Thank you!
★★★★★
Sooo moist
Not too sweet, looks lovely. Notes very helpful .
Loved this recipe, used King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour and it was wonderful. Topped it with a lemon icing. Thank you Sally for the vast cake recipes!
★★★★
Quick q: buttermilk is often hard to find here, but kefir isn’t. Since they’re both fermented milk products of about the same viscosity, could kefir replace buttermilk in this recipe without negatively altering the result?
Hi Rose, you can certainly try it. I haven’t tested it though.
Hi Rose,
I wanted to let you know buttermilk is very easy to make. You use milk (the amount the recipe calls for) and 2 +1/4 tsp vinegar(white or apple cider) or lemon juice.
I made this then other day. Just as written. But I think the pan could be bigger, it over-flowed a bit. I use the metric conversions so the weights and measures are all spot on. Despite that, my husband loves it. I had to cut it up and freeze it otherwise he would have eaten it all in a day or two! I’m going to try it in a 9 x 5 just because, or maybe 9 x 9. Will see. Thanks Sally!
★★★★
I made this recipe, and it was all right. The taste of the cake was good. The berries were mushy, which is to be expected I suppose, but if you’re not a fan of the texture of watery, mushy berries on your bread, you might not like it as much. If you don’t mind that texture, the taste is delicious!
★★★
Can I use oat milk instead of buttermilk?
Hi Sam, buttermilk is required for this recipe. See recipe Notes for a DIY version using milk and vinegar or lemon juice. You can try this DIY method with oat milk, but we’re unsure of the exact results.
Sally, could I use fresh cherries instead of strawberries?
Hi Anna, we haven’t tested it but imagine that should work okay here. Depending on their size, you may want to halve (or even quarter some of) the cherries so they’re about the same size as the chopped strawberries. Please do let us know if you try it!
Just a follow-up to my initial post about using cherries rather than strawberries. I made this bread with cherries and it was delicious and beautiful. I did quarter the cherries but otherwise made no real changes to the original recipe.
★★★★★
This recipe caught my attention as I was searching for a different recipe. I quickly decided this is the recipe that I needed to make instead. The recipe was easy to follow, easy to make, and yielded excellent results. Light, fresh, not too sweet, perfect for a summer treat!
★★★★★
I picked my first strawberries ever and used them to make the bread – in three little loaf pans. They turned out very moist and just right – my husband liked them without the glaze!
★★★★★
What type of salt do you use? And is it the same style salt and all of your recipes?
Hi Nikki, I use regular fine table salt in my baking recipes. This one, and all of the recipes published on my site unless specifically stated otherwise.
This bread was AMAZING and so easy to make. I’ll be making more to go in the freezer so we can enjoy a slice of summer during the winter months.
★★★★★
Amazing! I made this bread a few times using the older recipe and this one is even better. The strawberries don’t sink and the loaf slices easier!
★★★★★
This was so delicious! Wonderful texture & flavor, quick & easy. My kids and husband raved about it.
★★★★★
Easy-to-make and with good results – that’s the best kind of recipe. The email with this recipe came a few days ago when we had “a ton” of strawberries on hand. We had eaten our fill of berries and took Sally’s email as an omen. Followed the recipe as written with no substitutions or deviations. We’ll make this again. Thanks, Sally.
★★★★★
I had fresh strawberries thought I would try this bread. The strawberries made the bread mushy obvious to much juice. Followed recipe to the letter. Recipe called for chopped berries did not want a lot of juice so chopped only enough not to over juice berries…didn’t work. Very disappointed!
★★
I wanted to take something into the office that my supervisor would enjoy for her birthday. Strawberries are her favorite! This bread (which everyone called ‘cake’ because it had icing on it) was *so* incredibly moist and flavorful – a really big hit in the office!
★★★★★
Can I double this recipe?
Hi Mary, it would be best to make 2 separate batches. The batter is thick as written, and I fear adding more volume and then trying to fold in the strawberries would create a lumpy pink and/or over-mixed batter with chopped strawberries that release too much liquid. Best to make 2 separate batters and then carefully fold them together.
Hi Sally. My son has requested this and fresh strawberries aren’t in season. Would this recipe work with frozen strawberries?
Hi Keely, we don’t suggest using frozen strawberries – we find they turn the bread purple if you aren’t careful when mixing.
A neighbor brought over some freshly picked strawberries, so I made a couple batches of this bread for both of us to enjoy – so delicious!
★★★★★
Sally, This recipe sounds AWESOME!! I know you listed many oils you can use, but I was just wondering which one you used in the recipe. Thanks so much.
I’d made this bread with all 3 suggested oils, actually. All equally delicious. Enjoy!
Hello Sally! I have a weird question. I baked this bread last night and I’m not sure where I went wrong. First, it took about 1 hr and 25 minutes before it was done, and I’m not sure why it took so long. Also, is the batter supposed to be runny or not? In addition, when I look at your pictures, your strawberries are still red but mine are purple, which is weird to me. Finally, the strawberries in the bread are kind of like wet and soggy, which is also weird to me.
Despite, all of this it still tastes great! haha. I look forward to your response.
Glad you like this bread! Depending on how bright your strawberries are, they can be a red, pink, or light purplish when baked in a batter. Bake times vary, but I suggest using an oven thermometer to test your oven’s temperature. 1 hour and 25 minutes is quite long for 1 loaf of bread.
I have a question, after doing the glaze, will the glaze harden after sitting or stay soft? I put my bread in bread bags. If the glaze will harden I could do the glaze. But if it stays soft and gooey, it would make a mess in the bread bag.
Thanks!
With a light drizzle, the glaze will harden over several hours when exposed to air. However, I recommend leaving it off if putting in bread bags. The glaze will smear off regardless.
Hi Sally, your recipe for Strawberry Bread is fanominal. so moist and the glaze is a perfect fit . I used a 1/8 of the cinammon after reading all the comments. The perfect amount. The best ever fruit bread. thank you for sharing your recipe can’t wait to try whatever else you have on line