Fresh beautiful juicy cherries loaded into a tender quick bread makes a delicious cherry bread in less than an hour. It’s slightly sweet and perfect as a snack or any meal of the day.
This easy cherry quick bread recipe is all about the cherries. Beautiful dark cherries are distributed throughout this homemade cherry bread making it a loaf you’ll want to share.
Growing up, we had two cherry trees in our back yard. We couldn’t wait for that beautiful fruit to ripen. The pies that were made with those cherries were culinary masterpieces.
The biggest problem we had was that the birds didn’t wait as patiently as we did. My sister and I would climb up into those trees and hang tin pie plates from string onto the branches. When they fluttered in the breeze it would scare all but the bravest birds away.
Regardless, we knew that if we wanted some pie we’d have to pick those cherries as soon as they were ready. The best cherries were at the top of course but that didn’t deter my sister and I. Our reward was worth the climb.
What are the best cherries for baking?
In my humble opinion, you don’t have to worry about the variety of cherries used in baking. I’ve seen recipes using all kinds of varieties. I do have a few tips that may help you, however.
- Tart cherries may require slightly more sugar in your recipe. Sprinkle the sugar called for right over the cherries.
- You can use frozen cherries. Set the cherries in a colander over a bowl so the liquid can drain off them. Tap them lightly with a paper towel to remove any additional moisture from the cherries before adding them to your recipe.
- Extra-large cherries can be diced before adding them to a recipe. Smaller cherries just need to be pitted.
- You can pit cherries with a small pairing knife or a cherry pitter specifically for this purpose.
What is Quick bread?
It doesn’t mean quick as in fast. Quick bread uses leavening agents other than yeast or eggs such as the baking soda and baking powder in this Cherry Quick Bread recipe.
That being said, cherry bread is faster than bread recipes requiring yeast as a leavening agent because there is no need to wait for it to rise. I love quick bread recipes!
It’s Freaky Friday! What’s that?
I wish I could take credit for this Cherry Quick Bread recipe but I can’t! This Cherry Bread recipe is a part of the #freakyfridayrecipes series that I participate in about 4 times a year.
The Freaky Friday blog hop, organized by Michaela who runs An Affair From the Heart, is a group of bloggers that are secretly assigned each others’ blogs from which we choose a recipe appropriate for the theme. It’s so much fun and there are so many quality recipes.
The theme of this blog hop is “Summer”. I was given Erin’s blog, The Speckled Palate. I knew that this was going to be both easy and difficult!
You see, Erin and I have a lot in common. We both believe that homemade is best and like using simple ingredients. We also love feeding the people we cherish and making memories together. That’s the easy part.
The difficulty was deciding on one recipe! Her blog is full of delicious recipes!
- Quick Rosemary Drop Biscuits which I’ve actually made with my fresh from the garden rosemary.
- Super Easy and Flavorful Beef Taco Pasta Salad. A delicious recipe that won’t heat up the kitchen and can be put on the table in a jiffy.
- Strawberry Melon Salad – My fresh mint is going crazy right now and just begging for a beautiful salad like this one.
A few gadgets that you may need
- Cherry pitter – Make your life easier and use a pitter!
- Glass Bowls – I have two sets of these bowls. I like the rounded bottom which makes blending ingredients easier.
- Zester – I love this tool and use it all the time!
- Citrus juicer – This is the star of my margarita’s and any time I need to juice a lemon or lime!
- Loaf pan – I like this pan for my quick bread recipes. They’re a little larger and I like the shape of my finished loaf.
Cherry Quick Bread – Baked From Scratch
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Cherries Any variety pitted and largely diced plus additional halves for the top of the bread
- 1¾ cup Unbleached All-Purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 4 tbsp coconut oil *melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract I recommend using pure
- 1/4 cup applesauce unsweetened
- 1 lemon zested & freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Heat the coconut oil in a covered large glass bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir after 15 seconds. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Add the sugar and stir together until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla, salt, applesauce, and the zest and juice of the lemon. Stir to combine.
- In another large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda. Whisk to combine. Add the cherries and stir.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold together until mixed.
- Spoon mixture into the prepared pan and dot the top with additional cherry halves.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes. Cover the top toward the end of baking if the top gets too brown.
- Cool on a baking rack for 15-30 minutes and then remove the bread from the loaf pan.
- Store at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
Erin also has meal plans all spelled out for you. Make your life easy and check out her blog, The Speckled Palate! Just go see for yourself all of the amazing recipes. I’ll guarantee you’ll want to stay awhile. While you’re at it, take a look at what these other Freaky Friday participants are cooking up!
Take a look at all of our Summer 2019 Freaky Friday Recipes:
- An Affair from the Heart –Summer Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppy Seed Dressing
- Aunt Bee’s Recipes – Greek Chicken Salad with Lemon Oregano Dressing
- Bowl Me Over – Mexican Coleslaw
- Hostess at Heart – Cherry Quick Bread
- House of Nash Eats – Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
- LeMoine Family Kitchen – Easy White Pizza Tarts
- Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish – Thai Shrimp Curry
- Take Two Tapas – Caprese Empanadas
- The Speckled Palate – Cherry Bourbon Slush
- West Via Midwest – Cornbread Tamale Pie
- Who Needs a Cape? – Warm Bean Dip a.k.a. Texas Trash
Linda
Friday 31st of July 2020
Tried it tonight and like others it did. Not Rise much and it’s a very heavy /thick batter. Used a bread loaf pan, used unsalted butter instead of coconut oil and left the lemon zest out but put in the lemon juice on the cherries Baked for 40 mins at 350 and it was done Taste was good but a bit dry
Julie Menghini
Monday 3rd of August 2020
This is indeed a thick batter that doesn't rise much. Exchanging the coconut oil with butter and the other changes you made may have affected your outcome. I do appreciate you stopping by and hope your comment helps other readers.
Murni
Thursday 25th of June 2020
My bread didn’t turn out good. I think the flour should be 1 3/4 cup instead of only 3/4 cup.
Julie Menghini
Saturday 27th of June 2020
I'm so sorry Murni! You're so correct, the flour is 1-3/4. I've corrected the recipe and appreciate you pointing this our for us!
Helen
Sunday 10th of May 2020
We enjoyed this bread for Mother’s Day brunch for the 4 of us. It was moist and satisfying, more like custard than bread in my opinion. I followed the recipe exactly but used gluten free flour instead. It didn’t rise very much and at most if eaten as a dessert, it would serve 8 people. We finished the whole thing at brunch today. Thank you for the recipe.
Julie Menghini
Monday 11th of May 2020
Using Gluten-free flour is going to act differently than the flour I used but am very glad you enjoyed it.
Clara
Friday 22nd of November 2019
This recipe sounded good, but didn't turn out very good. Didn't hardly raise. The bread is only an inch high. I should have doubled the recipe to make one loaf. Also it is VERY crumbly and doesn't slice well.
Julie Menghini
Saturday 23rd of November 2019
What sized pan did you use? Several people have made this recipe and didn't have your experience? You may want to test your baking powder and baking soda to make sure they're still good.
Lori Vachon
Friday 26th of July 2019
I'm currently in the biggest cherry growing region in Michigan while on vacation. Definitely picking up some beauties so I can make this when I return home.
Julie Menghini
Saturday 27th of July 2019
Oh my gosh, I've got to get to Michigan pronto! Thank you, Lori!