Strawberry Bread

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Made with fresh fruit, this easy, moist strawberry bread is a delicious and easy treat. It’s loaded with diced strawberries and topped with a sweet strawberry glaze! The perfect summer recipe for enjoying strawberries!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

I love baking with yummy fresh strawberries this time of year. It’s one of my very favorite fruits and there are so many great ways to enjoy them. This strawberry bread is a new favorite for it’s simplicity, ease and wonderful taste. Here’s a few reasons you have to try it.

• Real strawberry flavor. Between the bread itself and the creamy strawberry glaze on top of it, all of the strawberry flavor in this loaf comes from real, fresh fruit. It’s the perfect way to celebrate summer berries.
• Super easy. This recipe is great for any skill level. With a simple mixing method, the batter comes together in minutes, and the glaze is even quicker and easier.
• Anytime, anywhere. This strawberry bread isn’t overly sweet, but it IS sweet, making it perfect for breakfast or dessert (depending on the mood). Enjoy it at home or bring it along to your next brunch or summer cookout. It makes for great sharing (or gifting!).

Ingredient Notes

Here’s what you’ll need to turn this strawberry bread recipe into a sweet reality. Have a look at the recipe card below for exact measurements.

Strawberry Bread

• All-purpose flour – Be sure to measure your flour accurately for best results. Too much flour will give you a dry loaf. Check out my post on how to measure flour accurately.
• Baking powder – The baking powder will give the perfect rise and texture to this bread.
• Salt – To bring out the flavors in the bread. Without it, the bread would be bland.
• Unsalted butter – I prefer the taste of melted butter in this recipe, but vegetable oil will also work. So will a combination of the two.
• Sugar
• Eggs – Be sure to use large eggs, not medium or extra large.
• Vanilla extract
• Fresh lemon juice – Fresh! Not from the bottle. You can leave it out if you don’t have it on hand, but I love the pop of flavor it adds.
• Milk – I recommend 2% or whole milk.
• Diced strawberries – You want to dice the strawberries pretty small so they disperse evenly throughout the batter. Do your best to find strawberries that aren’t overly ripe. This will give the bread a longer shelf life. Oh, and stick with fresh strawberries here.

Strawberry Icing*

• Finely diced strawberries – In order to make the icing, you’ll need to mash the strawberries. Dicing them first will make your job much easier.
• Heavy cream – You could also use milk, but you won’t need as much of it.
• Powdered sugar – Adjust this as needed, for the right drizzling consistency.

* The icing is optional, but does add a little extra strawberry flavor and makes this loaf more dessert-like. Your call!

How to Make Strawberry Bread

Here’s a quick overview of how to make this moist, fruity loaf. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5 loaf pan with non-stick baking spray.
• Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar, and then whisk in the eggs and vanilla, followed by the lemon juice and milk.

• Put it all together. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold in the strawberries.

• Bake. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes.
• Cool. Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn it out onto a cooling rack.

• Make the icing. Mash the strawberries and then add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Whisk in the powdered sugar. Add additional cream, a teaspoon at a time, if needed to get a spreadable icing consistency.
• Ice the bread. Spread the icing over the fully-cooled bread.

Tips for Success

• Don’t over-mix. When mixing the dry ingredients into the batter and when folding in the strawberries, mix just until everything is incorporated. No more. Mixing any more than that can cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop, giving you a tough, dense strawberry bread.
• Fresh strawberries. While you could use frozen berries in a pinch (thawed and drained first, of course), they tend to add too much moisture to the batter. They will also be mushier than fresh strawberries. No one wants that.
• Dice ’em small. When dicing the strawberries for the bread, dice them pretty small. This way they will disperse well throughout the batter. They will also be less likely to sink to the bottom of the loaf pan.
• Let it cool. Allow the bread to cool completely before adding the icing. Otherwise, the icing will melt and sink into the bread, making it soggy, instead of sitting on top.
• Measure accurately. I always recommend weighing your dry ingredients with a food scale, especially the flour. It’s so much more accurate and ensure you get this bread just right.

Can I Make This Into Muffins?

Sure! Liberally grease a standard muffin tin with cooking spray and fill each tin 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack. Once cool, add a little icing to the top of each muffin.

How to Store

• Counter/Fridge. Seal the cooled and iced loaf in an air-tight container. Slice it first if needed. You can store it at room temperature for up to 24 hours and then in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freezer. Seal the strawberry bread in an airtight container or wrap individual slices in a double layer of plastic wrap. You can store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the loaf (or a slice or two) to thaw on the counter before enjoying.

More Strawberry Recipes to Try

• Strawberry Shortcake
• Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
• Strawberry Brownie Cheesecake
• No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
• Strawberry Pound Cake
• Strawberry Sundae Cupcakes

Watch How to Make It

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