My 5 Favorite Quick Breads

Quick breads are easy, one pan wonders that anyone can make in a few minutes. As a result, you get the kitchen smelling great and joy from pulling something homemade out of the oven. Especially in the cold winters months, having a warm piece of goodness with a cup of hot tea or coffee is divine. Thanks for joining me today as I share some of my favorite recipes.

1.Banana Bread

Just this past weekend, I had some ripe bananas and made this healthier version of banana bread from Half Baked Harvest. For years, my go-to recipe for Banana Bread is the one from Martha Stewart’s Entertaining book. It is so moist and flavorful due to the butter, sugar and sour cream added.

The Maple Banana Bread with Cinnamon Spice Butter recipe is sweetened with maple syrup and coconut oil, mixed up in one bowl. It is delicious and what I love is it isn’t too sweet, but just right. Perfect for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or even an after-dinner dessert. My husband loves walnuts and this did not disappoint. I didn’t make the cinnamon spice butter, but it does sound delicious, especially on a warm piece.

Note: Do not throw out old bananas. I freeze mine, leaving the peel on. A quick defrost and they are ready to use in your recipe.

2. Lemon Blueberry Bread

This gluten, dairy and grain free (paleo) bread is packed with flavor. Working with nut flours is a bit different than all purpose flour, but you can have equally delicious results. Packed with juicy blueberries and fresh lemon, this recipe takes 15 minutes to prep and 45 minutes to bake.

It’s hard to believe I shared this recipe from Ambitious Kitchens with you back in 2018 and it’s still a favorite!

3. Zucchini Bread

If you grow zucchini in your garden, this is a great recipe for all those additional veggies. What’s nice about this recipe is that you can add chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins, pineapple to taste. One year I stopped counting after picking 75 zucchinis so you can imagine we made every kind of zucchini bread imaginable.

You can also adapt this recipe to cut the oil quantity in half and use apple sauce instead. We have also substituted Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream. I’ve made notes in the recipe below.

If you are looking for a grain free recipe, here is a Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bread one recipe from Ambitious Kitchen.

4. Cranberry Walnut Bread

Now is the time to buy fresh cranberries. Even though this recipe calls for fresh or frozen, it’s always a plus to use this seasonal fresh fruit. This cranberry walnut bread is loaded with fruit in every slice.

Again, this is an easy recipe to prep. However, this one takes a bit longer to bake (65-70 minutes), but it’s an easy to recipe to assemble.

5. Date Nut Bread

When I think of date nut bread, I have fond memories of my mother making it. She said it was one of her favorite quick breads, which she would top with cream cheese. As a child, I didn’t get the cream cheese (yuck) and as an adult, I’ve yet to try it. But I do like the date nut bread either alone or with butter.

One of my son’s friends brought me a huge box of dates. Did you know dates are good for brain health? Here is a recipe from All Recipes for a Moist Date Nut Bread. Of course, I don’t have a photo of my date nut bread, but next time I make it, I will capture the goodness of it.

Of course, most of these recipes have nuts, but you can eliminate them if you want.

Getting Good Equipment

Having good baking pans is a must. This one by Chicago Metallic was rated as #1 on Spruce Eats.

I love this decorative loaf pan, which is perfect for making pumpkin bread. With so many great boxed pumpkin bread mixes, I did not include a from scratch recipe in this post. Typically I need to trim the loaf so it sits flat when you remove the pan. There are many different styles that you can find on Amazon here.

When using a decorative loaf pan, make sure you grease the pan well.

Do you have a favorite quick bread recipe? If so, please share! Happy baking!