Celebrate strawberry season with this super moist strawberry quick bread recipe. Dotted with fresh strawberries and paired with a sweet crunchy topping, this easy recipe can be mixed up quicker than a whistle! It’s a wonderful quick bread recipe perfect for breakfast, brunch, or snack time.
The other day I found myself with some extra beautiful fresh juicy strawberries and buttermilk in my fridge. I went on a search for a fresh strawberry cake recipe, but landed on an old fashioned quick bread recipe baked in a loaf pan. Since I love strawberry muffins with crumble topping, I decided to try adding it to this recipe, too. The result is a winner in our books!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Uses simple, everyday ingredients. This quick bread recipe comes together with pantry staples you probably already have on hand.
- Great for using up extra buttermilk. It’s the perfect solution when you have leftover buttermilk in the fridge.
- Easy buttermilk substitute included. No buttermilk? No problem—there’s a quick DIY version you can make in minutes.
- Loaf cakes are less fuss than muffins. You only need one loaf pan—no need to portion out batter into muffin tins.
- One-bowl mixing means less cleanup. Everything comes together in a single bowl, and there’s no need for an electric mixer.
- No need to separate wet and dry ingredients. This recipe skips that extra step, making prep even quicker.
- Customizable to your taste. It’s delicious plain, or you can add a crumble topping and glaze for a sweeter treat.
Ingredients needed for this moist strawberry quick bread recipe
(Please refer to the full, printable recipe card below of the post for exact measurements.)
- Fresh strawberries – Choose juicy, ripe berries. Dice them small and pat dry to reduce extra moisture.
- Egg – Use one large egg at room temperature to help everything mix smoothly.
- Buttermilk – Adds that tender texture and slight tang. You can use low-fat or full-fat.
- Canola oil – Keeps the bread moist without any butter. You can sub your preferred baking oil.
- White sugar – Sweetens the bread and helps it brown nicely.
- Vanilla extract – Adds warm depth to both the batter and the glaze.
- Baking powder – Gives the loaf its lovely rise.
- Salt – Just a touch to balance the sweetness.
- All-purpose flour – Forms the base of the loaf and crumble topping.
- Butter – Cold and cubed for that perfectly crumbly topping.
- Brown sugar & more white sugar – For sweet crunch in the topping.
- Cinnamon – Just a hint to warm up the topping.
- Powdered sugar & milk/cream – Whisk together for a simple, pretty vanilla glaze.
How to Make This Strawberry Quick Bread with Pictures
This recipe has four simple parts: preparing the strawberries, mixing the batter, adding the crumble topping, and drizzling the glaze. Each part is quick and beginner-friendly!
Refer to the printable recipe card above for the detailed instructions.
1.Prepare the Strawberries
- Rinse, hull, and finely dice the strawberries.
- Lay them out on a paper towel–lined baking sheet and gently press another paper towel on top to absorb extra moisture. Let sit while you mix the batter.
2. Mix the Quick Bread Batter
Once you’ve diced the strawberries, let them remain on the paper towel in the pan while you prepare the quick bread batter:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. 
Sprinkle baking powder and salt over the top and whisk again. 
Add flour and stir until just combined. Fold in strawberries. 
Pour into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper (only fill 2/3 full to avoid overflow!)
3. Make and Add the Crumble Topping
- all purpose flour
- cold butter cut into cubes
- white sugar
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
1. In a small bowl, mix flour, both sugars, and cinnamon. 
2.Cut in cold butter until the texture looks like coarse oatmeal. 
3.Sprinkle generously over the top of the batter in the pan.
**Tip: If your batter fills the pan too full, it may spill over. Either use a larger loaf pan or fill only 2/3 full and use any extra batter for a muffin or two! (Please note that the batter in the pan pictured above is nearly level with the top of the pan. That is NOT recommended! The batter in my bread spilled over the top and made a bit of a “muffin top” bread!)
Place on an oven rack positioned in the middle of your oven and bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Using the sides of the parchment paper sling, pull up on the cake and remove from the pan. Cool completely on a cooling rack before glazing.
4. Glaze after Cooling
If you’d like to add a pretty glaze before serving, just mix together 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Then add in milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until it becomes a vanilla glaze that runs off the spoon easily.
Tips & Tricks
- Cut the fresh strawberries into small dices so they can be distributed well throughout the bread.
- I used a standard size loaf pan at 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches. However the batter went almost up to the top instead of the recommended 3/4 of the way full. Some of the batter spilled out of the pan during the baking process! To prevent that from happening, bake in a larger pan, or only fill 2/3 full and make a muffin or too as well!
- Putting the crumble topping on this buttermilk loaf cake and having it spill a bit around the edges of the pan reminds me of a giant muffin top loaf. It’s delicious!
- If you don’t put crumble topping on this bread, some people like it toasted with butter. Yum!
FAQs about strawberry quick bread
Although I would definitely recommend real buttermilk for this recipe, you can make your own substitute easily. In a 1 cup measuring cup, measure 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar, and then fill the remaining cup with milk. (2% or whole milk works best.)
Strawberry bread can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Let the bread cool completely before wrapping.
Without glaze is best for freezing—but you can always glaze after thawing.
Wrap the whole loaf or individual slices tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil, or place in a freezer-safe container or bag.
Label with the date and freeze for up to 3 months.
To serve: thaw at room temperature, then reheat slices in the microwave or oven if desired.
For more quick bread recipes:
- Buttermilk Banana Bread
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Bread with canned pumpkin
For more strawberry recipes:
- Strawberry pie – oh my! This is so delicious…
- Strawberry muffins
- Vanilla strawberry cake
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Fresh Strawberry Bread with Crumble Topping
Celebrate strawberry season with this super moist strawberry bread recipe. Studded with fresh strawberries and topped with a sweet, crunchy crumble, this easy recipe comes together quicker than a whistle! It’s a wonderful quick bread for breakfast, brunch, or snack time
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a loaf pan with a parchment paper sling.
- Rinse the strawberries well, cut off the leafy tops, and dice them into small pieces.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and sugar (egg, buttermilk, canola oil, sugar, and vanilla) until smooth.
- Then add the dry ingredients. First sprinkle in the baking powder and salt, and whisk until fully incorporated and the batter is smooth with no lumps.
- Add the flour and mix until combined, but don’t overmix. Overmixing the flour can make the batter lose its moist texture.
- Fold in the diced strawberries.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- To make the crumble topping:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, and flour.
- Add the cold butter cubes and cut them in with a pastry blender or two knives until it looks like very coarse oatmeal.
- Sprinkle the crumble topping over the batter in the loaf pan.
- Bake on a rack in the middle of the oven at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Using the parchment sling, lift the loaf out of the pan and cool completely on a rack before glazing.
- To make a vanilla glaze:
- If you’d like a pretty glaze before serving, mix together 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add milk or heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until it becomes a vanilla glaze that runs easily off the spoon.
