Got an abundance of strawberries to use up? Whether you bought too many clamshells from the grocery store or picked too many berries at your local patch, there’s no way you can let those bright, beautiful summer berries go to waste.
There are plenty of strawberry desserts to choose from, and we love them all. But a loaf of strawberry bread will make your warm-weather mornings even sweeter, especially when paired with a cup of coffee and more fresh fruit on the side.
If you’ve already got the strawberries, you likely already have all the other ingredients on hand you ‘ll need for this recipe. So let’s get baking!
Ingredients for Strawberry Bread
- Fresh or frozen strawberries: If you use frozen strawberries, thaw and drain them first. Otherwise, there will be too much liquid in the batter. Put any leftover frozen berries to use in these frozen strawberry desserts.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour does the trick for this easy bread, so no need to go buy special types of flour for this recipe!
- Vegetable oil: Simple, quick bread recipes like this one often call for vegetable oil to provide a majority of the moisture in the batter.
- Eggs: Our strawberry recipe calls for one egg plus three egg whites. Room-temperature eggs are always easier to combine with other ingredients when making batters for sweet breads, cookies, cakes and other bakes. Put the leftover yolks to use in these egg yolk recipes.
- Baking soda: A little bit of baking soda helps the batter rise.
Directions
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients
Add the egg, egg whites and oil, and stir until just moistened.
Step 3: Stir in the mix-ins
Fold in the chopped strawberries and nuts.
Editor’s Tip: If you use fresh berries, clean them right before chopping and folding into the batter (don’t wash them as soon as you get home from the store or farmers market). Our guide to how to clean strawberries details a few of the best methods.
Step 4: Transfer the batter to the loaf pans
Spoon the batter into two greased 8×4-inch loaf pans.
Step 5: Bake the strawberry bread
Bake for 70 minutes or until the bread tests done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
Editor’s Tip:Â Not sure if your loaf is done? You can check the internal temperature for the perfect bread.
Strawberry Bread Variations
- Replace the walnuts with chocolate chips: Whether it’s dark chocolate, semisweet or even white chocolate chips, this sweet bread recipe would benefit from some chocolate.
- Add a glaze: A sweet glaze would take strawberry bread from sweet to decadent. A lemon, almond, chocolate or vanilla glaze would all be wonderful choices. You could even double down on the strawberry flavor by making a strawberry glaze.
How to Store Strawberry Bread
Strawberry bread will last for three to five days in an airtight container at room temperature. You could wrap the loaf in aluminum foil or storage wrap before sealing in a ziptop bag for extra protection, as well.
Can you freeze strawberry bread?
Yes, you can freeze strawberry bread. This recipe makes two loaves, so feel free to enjoy one loaf now and save one for later. Let it cool to room temperature first, then wrap it in storage wrap and aluminum foil. Our guide to how to freeze bread even advises slicing the bread before wrapping it up, so you can grab a slice or two at a time from the freezer.
For the best quality, thaw and enjoy the frozen strawberry bread within three months.
Strawberry Bread Tips
How can you prevent the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of the loaf?
Mix-ins like fresh berries tend to sink to the bottom of muffins or quick breads. One way to combat that is by tossing them with flour. This helps suspend the berries in the batter and distribute them evenly from the top to the bottom.
How can you tell when the strawberry bread is done baking?
Use the toothpick test! Stick a clean toothpick into the middle of the loaf toward the end of the baking time. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. If the toothpick pulls out some batter or moist crumbs, it needs more time in the oven.
