Julie Clark
Updated:
Fresh Strawberry Bread with Pink Glaze (1 Bowl, 10 Minutes)
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Strawberry bread is a soft, moist quick bread made with fresh diced strawberries and finished with a pink strawberry glaze. It comes together in one bowl in about 10 minutes.
Quick Strawberry Bread with Fresh Strawberries
The strawberry loaf bakes in a standard 9×5 loaf pan for 50 to 55 minutes, and needs no yeast, no mixer, and no rising time. The trick that keeps the berries from sinking to the bottom is tossing them in a spoonful of flour before you fold them in.
This is our much-loved glazed cherry bread turned over for strawberry season. Every time I share the cherry quick bread recipe on Facebook, someone says it would be amazing with berries, so we tested it with fresh strawberries until the crumb held together and the glaze set up soft and sweet.
If you love fruit breads, you will also love our raspberry bread, lemon blueberry bread, and blueberry banana bread.
How Much Fresh Fruit Should You Add?
Fresh fruit can be tricky to work with because it adds a lot of moisture to the bread. Finely diced strawberries worked beautifully in this recipe, though. We used about 2 cups of small strawberry pieces.
Remember as with all quick breads to not over mix the batter. Mix the wet ingredients well, then mix in the dry ingredients just until they are combined. Then gently fold in the strawberries. This is the same method I use in our lemon poppyseed bread.
pro tip
Remember to toss the strawberries with flour so that they don’t all sink to the bottom of the loaf.
The exact baking time will depend on not only the size and shape of the pan, but also if the pan is glass or metal. It should take *about* 50-55 minutes to bake. Be careful not to open the oven too much when it is baking or the bread could fall in the middle. Peek in with the oven light on until it “looks” done, then test it with a toothpick.
Grease and flour the loaf pan (or use cake release) so that the bread comes out from the pan easily. Allow the bread to cool in the pan about 15-20 minutes and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
How Do You Make Strawberry Bread with Fresh Strawberries?
Make strawberry bread in six steps:
Stir the sugar, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla in one bowl.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in another, then stir into the wet ingredients just until combined.
Toss the diced strawberries with 2 tablespoons of flour so they stay suspended in the batter.
Fold the floured berries in gently. Do not overmix.
Pour into a greased 9×5 loaf pan and bake at 350F for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, then spread on the strawberry glaze.
How Do You Make the Strawberry Glaze?
We used ⅓ cup of freshly diced strawberries in this powdered sugar glaze. A couple of tips about the glaze:
- Allow the bread to cool completely before you add the glaze or it will melt everywhere.
- We didn’t need any milk or cream to make the glaze spreadable, but it may depend on the juiciness of your strawberries. The glaze will be very thick and look like it is not mixing up, but if you keep mixing, it should create a nice creamy pink glaze as shown below. If it doesn’t, add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time. The glaze will soften as it sits too since the sugar pulls out juices from the strawberries. Keep this in mind when adding milk and don’t add too much!
- If you’d like less calories per slice, make ½ a recipe of the glaze and just drizzle it overtop. We make enough to make it a thick icing because…well..we love frosting!
- Because of the fresh fruit in the glaze, you’ll want to store the bread in the refrigerator.
Can You Make Muffins with This Recipe?
You can make strawberry muffins with this recipe! It makes about 12 muffins. Bake at 350º Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.
You may also love our strawberry bundt cake, shortcake biscuits, strawberry angel food cake, orange bread or strawberry crunch poke cake.
Fresh Strawberry Bread with Pink Glaze
Fresh strawberries, one bowl, no mixer needed. The flour-tossed berry trick keeps every slice from sinking, and the pink glaze sets soft and sweet.
Servings 10
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Ingredients
For the Bread:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder** (see notes)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups diced strawberries
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
For the Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/3 cup finely diced strawberries
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk** (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, milk, oil, egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup 2% milk, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder**, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a small bowl, toss together the strawberries and the 2 tablespoons of flour to coat the strawberries. Fold the floured strawberries gently into the batter. 2 cups diced strawberries, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Pour the bread batter into a greased 9"x5" bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of the bread should come out clean. Allow the bread to cool for 15-20 minutes, then remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, diced strawberries and extract in a small bowl. Mix until it is smooth. 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter, ⅓ cup finely diced strawberries, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk**
- Once the bread is cool, spread the glaze on top of the bread. Slice and serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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 strawberry glaze!
*We have added up to 2 ½ cups of diced strawberries to the batter. The bread stays together the best when you use about 2 cups.
*To use frozen strawberries, dice them frozen, do not thaw, toss in flour as directed, and add a few minutes to the bake time.
**We like the strawberry bread as written, but if you’d like a higher rise on the bread, reduce the baking powder to 1 teaspoon and add ½ teaspoon of baking soda. This will change the texture slightly, but some like it a little better.
**We didn’t need any milk or cream to make the glaze spreadable, but it may depend on the juiciness of your strawberries. The glaze will be very thick and look like it is not mixing up, but if you keep mixing, it should create a nice creamy pink glaze as shown below. If it doesn’t, add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time. The glaze will soften as it sits too since the sugar pulls out juices from the strawberries. Keep this in mind when adding milk and don’t add too much!
***Many people find that they can make half of a recipe of glaze and it is plenty. If you don’t like a lot of glaze, halve the ingredients.
****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
Calories: 394kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 92mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 19.7mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 1.5mg
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to refrigerate strawberry bread?
Yes. Because there are fresh strawberries in both the bread and the glaze, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you skip the glaze, an unglazed loaf keeps at room temperature for a day.
Can you use frozen strawberries?
Yes. Dice them while still frozen, do not thaw, and toss them in flour like you would fresh. Expect a few extra minutes of bake time and a slightly deeper pink crumb. Thawed berries release too much liquid and can make the loaf gummy.
Why do my strawberries sink to the bottom?
Fresh fruit sinks when it is too heavy for the batter. Dice the berries small and toss them in 2 tablespoons of flour before folding them in. That thin flour coating grips the batter and keeps the fruit suspended.
Is strawberry bread the same as strawberry loaf?
Yes. Strawberry bread and strawberry loaf are the same thing, a sweet quick bread baked in a loaf pan. Ours is on the cake-like, tender side thanks to the fresh berries and glaze.
Love quick breads? Our cookbook is for you.
Bonus!!! We’ve included our top 5 tips for making any type of quick bread. These will be sure to give you success every time!
Olive oil or vegetable oil?
How could I make the glaze less runny? Super delicious otherwise!!
I made this last night. I’m vegan so I subbed the egg with bobs red mill egg replacer and used oat milk. It turned out so well. I also ran out of strawberries so I used lemon in the glaze and it turned out perfect! Thank you ❤️❤️
Do you think you could use wheat flour instead of white flour?
Hi! I’m actually out of baking powder and going to the grocery store in the middle of all this gives me hives, so I’m wondering if I could just increase the baking soda or if there’s another way to substitute the powder or if it would fundamentally change the recipe.
How to make gluten free? Almond flour plus gluten free baking mix?
Made this last night it is so good! Just have one question: Does this need to refrigerated?
Really great recipe. I added the baking soda and baking powder (the amount the tip suggested) and it turned out perfect. Trying not to eat the entire loaf in one day lol.
Great flavor! Very delicious and moist sweet bread! Next time, I’m planning on adding either more powdered sugar or less milk to the glaze – it was a bit runny, especially after mixing in the strawberries, but still had a really good taste! I did add a little extra flour to the strawberries going into the bread, and that seemed to keep it from being too wet.
I’ve used fruit in cakes/breads before and I really don’t like that “wet” taste that the fruit when cooked. Your picture looks as though it’s what I’m looking for. What’s the texture of the finished fruit in the bread and is there any suggestions on how to get my results?
Can I replace the milk with coconut milk ?
We made this tonight and substituted lemon extract for the vanilla. Super yummy!
I would love to make this recipes, but I don’t have fresh strawberries on hand. Have you ever used frozen strawberries for this recipe? I know there may be extra water. Is there a way to account for that?
Can I freeze this bread? Needing to make ahead of time, say 3 days!
I love the flavor of this bread as does my family, however the two times I have made it, I develop a huge crack down the top of it and one side caves in and it looks done inside. I bake it until the toothpick comes out clean, sit on a rack to cool for 10-15 minutes, looks great until I take it out of the pan then get busy with something else and it cracks on me. Please help I really love the flavor but am about to give up on it. and am worried about a peach one.… Read more »