Strawberry Bread

This strawberry bread is moist, tender, and loaded with fresh berries in every slice. A hint of cinnamon and a crunchy exterior make it just as good for breakfast as it is for an afternoon snack.

“I made this with strawberries from my garden and could not believe how moist the crumb was. The crunchy top was my favorite part, and my family finished the whole loaf the same day.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Renata

This strawberry bread has become my go-to loaf when fresh strawberries are at peak season! I have tested this recipe many time so trust that the balance of sweetness and fruit is genuinely exceptional.

It works just as well for a slow weekend morning as it does sliced and tucked into a lunchbox. If you love a fruit-forward quick bread, my strawberry muffin recipe, sourdough blueberry muffins, and this apple bread follow the same technique and are perfect to keep in the freezer for an easy treat!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Fresh Strawberries: The star of the loaf, providing bursts of juicy sweetness throughout every slice. If you substitute frozen strawberries, let them defrost and drain off any excess liquid. Tossing the diced berries in flour right before folding them in is the key step that keeps them suspended rather than sinking.
• Coconut Oil: Melted coconut oil adds moisture and richness, contributing directly to the soft, tender crumb. Butter or a neutral oil can be substituted if needed, though the flavor and texture will shift slightly.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk keeps the crumb tender and adds a mild tang that balances the strawberries’ sweetness. If you love baking with buttermilk, my buttermilk cornbread is another great way to use the rest of the carton.
• Granulated Sugar: The main sweetener in the loaf, it balances the tartness of the strawberries and helps create that beautifully golden, slightly crisp crust.
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose Flour: The bread’s main structure comes from all-purpose flour, used both in the batter and as a light coating for the strawberries. Whole wheat flour can be substituted, but the loaf will be denser, and you may need to adjust the liquid content. Or you could make this chocolate chip zucchini bread, fig bread, or these strawberry muffins.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Cinnamon
• White Sparkling Sugar: An optional finishing sprinkle that creates a crackly, golden top. Skip it if you prefer a plainer loaf, which is fine!

Variations for Strawberry Bread

• Vegan Version: Replace the eggs with flax eggs and swap the buttermilk for a plant-based milk with a splash of apple cider vinegar. For a proven dairy-free base, my vegan banana bread uses a similar swap and shows exactly how the texture holds up without eggs or dairy.
• Lemon Strawberry: Add the zest of one lemon to the wet ingredients before whisking. The citrus sharpens the berry flavor and gives the loaf a brighter, more fragrant quality. You could also add strawberries to these lemon poppy seed muffins!
• Mixed Berry: Swap half the strawberries for blueberries or raspberries. Toss all the berries in flour together and fold them in as directed. If you love a mixed berry treat, make sure you try this berry cream cheese coffee cake next!
• Add a crumble: You can add a streusel or crumble before baking! Use the topping from these raspberry crumble bars or from this apple streusel bread!

Professional Tips for Perfect Strawberry Bread

• Use a serrated knife for clean slices. A serrated bread knife cuts through the soft crumb and fruit pockets without compressing or tearing. A straight-edged knife drags through the moist interior, and the slices fall apart.
• Leave the excess flour in the strawberry bowl. When you scoop the floured berries into the batter, tilt the bowl and spoon the fruit in carefully. Adding the loose flour sitting at the bottom of the bowl disrupts the liquid ratio and can leave you with a dense, gummy center.
• Do not rotate the loaf early. The batter needs about 45 minutes in the oven before the center crumb has enough structure to handle being moved. Rotating before that point can cause the middle to sink and never fully recover.
• Load the pan strategically. It sounds fussy, but I always scrape the fruit-heavy bottom of the batter into the pan first, then make sure the final spoonfuls going on top carry plenty of strawberries. If most of the fruit lands at the bottom of the pan, it sinks further during baking and your top slices end up nearly berry-free, even with the flour coating doing its job.

How to Make Strawberry Bread

Use these instructions to make a moist, tender strawberry quick bread with a crunchy, sparkling sugar top and juicy bursts of fruit in every slice. Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Prep the Pan and Strawberries. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set it aside. Rinse your strawberries and dry them thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels, then remove the stems and cut them into a small dice, about 1 centimeter cubed.

Dry strawberries release less moisture into the batter. Any extra liquid left on the fruit will work against the texture you’re going for.

Step 2: Whisk the Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until evenly combined. Set the bowl aside.

Step 3: Mix the Wet Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, sugar, and warm melted coconut oil. Vigorously whisk the wet ingredients together until the mixture is smooth and fully emulsified. It should look uniform and slightly thickened, not streaky or separated. (photo 1 & 2 below)

Add the wet ingredients in this order: buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, sugar, and then the warm coconut oil last. If the oil looks like it is pooling or separating, keep whisking. It will come together.

Step 4: Combine: Dump the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk just until a smooth batter forms. Stop whisking as soon as you no longer see dry streaks. (photo 3 above)

Step 5: Fold in the Strawberries. Toss the diced strawberries with the 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour in their bowl, coating them evenly. Scoop the floured strawberries into the batter, being careful to leave behind any excess loose flour sitting at the bottom of the bowl. Gently fold the strawberries into the batter until they are evenly distributed. (photos 4, 5 & 6)

Step 6: Fill the Pan and Top with Sparkling Sugar. Dollop the strawberry batter into the prepared loaf pan, then spread it out into an even layer. Sprinkle the sparkling sugar evenly over the top if using. (photo 7)

The flour will keep the strawberries from sinking to the bottom but not if you put most of the batter with the fruit on the bottom! I make a point to scrape the batter from the bottom of the bowl into the pan early on then make sure I add batter with lots of strawberries on the top. I know it sounds crazy, but it is just one of those things that we all do when filling a loaf pan with batter!

Step 7: Bake and Rotate. Slide the pan into the preheated 350°F oven and bake for approximately 55 minutes total. The loaf is done when a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few clinging crumbs and the very center of the top gives a little resistance when you press it lightly rather than feeling soft and sunken.

At the 45-minute mark, rotate the pan 180 degrees to encourage even browning, but not before then. The center crumb needs that uninterrupted time to mostly set before you jostle the pan.

Step 8: Cool and Slice. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. For the cleanest slices, use a serrated bread knife.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

If this strawberry bread earned a spot in your regular rotation, there is plenty more where it came from in my quick bread recipe or head right over to this strawberry cake to really round out your strawberry baking!