Cherry Bread

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A simple quick bread with maraschino cherries in every bite. Don’t forget the almond cherry glaze on top this simple cherry bread.

Can you tell I’ve been in a “pinkish” mood lately?  I bet you can’t tell, with the bright pink cherry bread staring at your here. 😍 Just this month we’ve posted cupcakes and cookies that are very….well….pink!  

I remember when Kinslee was just starting to read on her own, we got the Pinkalicious books from the library.  Have you seen them? They’re super cute. They’re so fabulous for little girls who want to be a princess.

slices of cherry bread on a plate

Maraschino Cherry Bread Recipe

So when this pinkalicious cherry bread popped into my mind, I knew I needed to make it now.  Yes, it would have been great at Christmas time, since maraschino cherries pop up all over the place at the holiday season (hello merry cherry cheesecake bars).  And it would have been so fitting for a Valentine’s Day treat, being so pink-y.  But I decided to stick with our pink theme this past month and share this with you now. No waiting necessary!

collage of how to make cherry bread

Quick Bread Recipe

This quick bread is your traditional quick bread recipe.  Sugar, milk, oil, egg, almond extract, flour, salt and baking soda and powder. I wanted every bite to be loaded with cherries, so I used two jars of maraschino cherries (for a total of 20 ounces).

Drain the juice, but reserve about ⅓ cup of the juice for the glaze. Chop the cherries either in a small food processor or with a knife. We used our Ninja Express Chop for this. It worked like a charm and took about a total of 3 seconds. Gently fold these cherries into the batter and bake the bread in a 9×5 loaf pan for 50-55 minutes.

Baking Tip

As with any quick bread or muffin, it’s important not to overmix the batter. It’s OK if there are still lumps or a tad bit of flour in the batter. It will all bake together so perfectly in the end.

Cherry Glaze

The glaze on top of the bread is a mix of powdered sugar, melted butter, the cherry juice you reserved from the maraschino cherries and some almond extract.  The bread is good without the glaze, but the almond cherry glaze makes it over-the-top amazing!

pink maraschino cherry bread on a plate

My family each tested a small slice of this bread, then we put the rest in the freezer for a later treat.  I’ll have to say that I ate a slice or two while it was frozen and I think I liked the bread frozen more than fresh from the oven for some reason. That makes it a deliciously cool treat for spring and summer!

If you love cherries, try our cherry hot chocolate, cookies, cherry almond cake and Amish cherry rolls.

closeup of the inside of cherry bread
closeup of the inside of cherry bread

Easy Cherry Bread Recipe

4.68 from 144 votes
A simple quick bread with maraschino cherries in every bite. Don’t forget the almond cherry glaze on top!
Servings 10 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

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Ingredients
 

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar 150 grams
  • 1/2 cup 2% milk
  • 1/2 cup canola oil (or vegetable or melted coconut oil)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract* (or vanilla extract)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour 260 grams
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 jars maraschino cherries** (10 ounces each)

Glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9"x5" loaf pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening, then dust with flour.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, oil, egg and almond extract.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
  • Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving the juice for the glaze. Coarsely chop the cherries in a food processor or with a knife. Gently fold the cherries into the batter.
  • Pour the bread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes***. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, cherry juice and almond extract in a small bowl. Whisk until it is smooth.
  • Once the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top of the bread. If you spread the glaze on while the bread is still warm, it will melt and run off.
  • Slice and serve. Store any leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container. The bread freezes well, too.

Video

Notes

*I often add an extra teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to the bread batter (along with the wet ingredients) for an extra boost of flavor. I do this especially if I’m not putting the glaze on top. The bread has the most flavor when you add the cherry glaze!
**Many maraschino cherry brands come without red dye in the cherries. If you pick up a jar like this, your bread will not be pink. If you want pink bread, be sure that the cherries you use actually have red coloring in it. You can always add additional red coloring if you want the bread to have more of a pink flavor.
***The exact baking time will depend on the exact type of pan you use. If it is smaller, it will take longer to bake. I have used a metal pan that is just slightly smaller (8.5″x4.5″) and it takes about 60-65 minutes to bake. Glass/Ceramic/Stone pans will all bake different. The bread is done when the inside of the bread is about 200ºF.
**The calories shown are based on the bread being cut into 10 pieces (and all of the frosting used), with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.

Nutrition

Serving: 155g | Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 92mg | Potassium: 130mg | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1.3mg
Course Breads
Cuisine American
Calories 378
Keyword bread, breakfast, cherry, dessert
About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Terri
7 years ago

Going to make this with my 4 year old granddaughter who will love the girl color!

Celeste
7 years ago

5 stars
Hi! I tried this recipe exactly and it was delicious! Only that my glaze did not come out as thick as yours and just kind of ran off the bread…..any suggestions as to maybe how I can make it thicker? But either way it was amazing! Thanks! ????

Debbie
7 years ago

5 stars
I made this exactly to the recipe. It looked done and the toothpick came out clean, but after I let it cool and took it out of the pan it collapsed cuz the inside was much….I was so disappointed, I don’t know what happened. Well anyway, I threw that one away and now I’m baking the second one, guess I’ll just let it cook a little longer. But it looks and smells amazing.

Jodi Robertson
7 years ago

5 stars
Wonderful recipe! Super easy to make! I made it just as the recipe states with the only exception being that I used 1 cup of Maraschino cherries, and one cup of regular (pitted, no sugar added) dark jarred cherries. Also, instead of a bread pan I used a 9 x 9 cake pan and baked for about 45 minutes. Will definitely make again! Thanks! 🙂

Levis2go
7 years ago

5 stars
Do you think the flavor is better way almond or vanilla extract? Can I make this as muffins? Should it be made to be eaten hot out of the oven or the night before? Thanks!

Rhonda
7 years ago

3 stars
The bread itself was not my favorite. No flavor even with all the cherries but as soon as I made a glaze to cover bread, it was just ok. I appreciate you sharing this.

Mrs Major Hoff
7 years ago

5 stars
This was amazing! My kiddos devoured it! We will be adding it in as a family fav! Thanks!

Heather B
8 years ago

Quick question. Do you think this recipe would work with substituting applesauce for the oil?

Tanu
9 years ago

The Cherry Bread is just awesome !!!! This is my second time making it with egg replacement. Just a question, the egg in the recipe, is it just for taste or is it a binding agent, cos if its just for taste then we can just avoid it to make a eggless Cherry Bread……… Thanks in advance

Karen
9 years ago

I made this bread according to the directions,but when I sliced it the bread fell apart. Any ideas?

namie
9 years ago

i soooo love it! even my mom loved it! (she’s diabetic, but when she saw the color and it smells yummy, she cant help it!)
Thank You! ♥

tovie
9 years ago

This was to die for!! Thanks 🙂 I added some mini chocolate chips to the batter.

Brandi
9 years ago

Could you make this cherry bread out of a cherry chip cake batter? My dad loves cherry chip cake, but it gets boring year after year. Is their a way that this recipe could be used with the box cake instead of actual cherries?

Nici
9 years ago

This is so pretty! I love the idea of almond and cherry flavor together too. Thanks for showing us your Creative Ways!
Blessings,
Nici

dina
9 years ago

i’ve never seen cherry bread before. love the color!

Ana Maria
9 years ago

Hi!!! I’m so in love with this!!! I inmidiately thought “I need to bake it!”. But I was wondering how many cups or grams of cherries are needed. I have a big jar of cherries at home so I wanted to use them 😀

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