Sweet Irish soda bread recipe has a golden, crunchy, sweet crust with a moist, buttermilk interior, and tangy cranberries dotted throughout. The best soda bread mixes up in minutes and includes easy adaptations to make with gluten-free flour as well. Tasting is believing to see why this bread earns all the rave reviews!
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World’s Best Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Sweet soda bread was the only Irish bread recipe I ate growing up, so I assumed all versions were equally yummy. Turns out, not so much.
During college I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day the way any collegiate would – drinking lots of green beer. But I wasn’t a complete heathen. The night had to start with proper meal at an Irish pub.
When the server placed the soda bread on the table I happily dug in, forewarning my friends to get ready for the best, moist, goodness ever. I immediately spit it out, swearing to my friends I would make them a”real” Irish sweet bread so they could experience what bread heaven tastes like.
Turns out the recipe I grew up on wasn’t exactly from the old country. You see, Mom used a smidgen more sugar than traditional recipes.
Hence, why we counted down the days to the St. Patrick’s meal growing up. We couldn’t wait to get our hands on two of my mom’s most anticipated recipes – warm slices of bread dotted with raisins or dried cranberries and her Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage with apple juice.
Luckily both recipes are freaky-easy to prepare. While the corned beef simmers away, the soda bread is as easy as mix, dump and bake. There’s no yeast or kneading, just simple ingredients. The end result? Well, like these viral cheesy sausage muffins, it’s recipe you’ll have a hard time ignoring. 😎
Well this is the best soda bread recipe ever. It is now referred to as Shawna’s soda bread I have to make it for every gathering which is fine by me. Only problem is there are never any leftovers.
—Shawna
OMG!! This is the best Irish Soda Bread I have ever had or ever made! It is exactly what the title states. SWEET and extra MOIST. That’s what I typed into my search engine, “give me a recipe for soda bread that is SWEET and MOIST!” This is a keeper.
—Kathleen
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How Is This Recipe Different?
Soda bread typically has a hard crust with a tangy, moist interior. It’s considered a quick bread because baking soda is used to leaven the bread instead of yeast. Soured milk or buttermilk is used to activate the baking soda and gives a nice, moist crumb.
Sweet soda bread recipes, like this one, will taste differently than a traditional version. It’s extremely moist, more sweet tasting and cake-like. None of these things are a bad thing in my book!
Is it bread? Is it dessert? Just like an oatmeal mug “cake,” who cares. It’s legitimately amazing.
Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
This recipe requires no yeast, kneading or baking expertise! Better yet, it may be made with traditional or gluten-free flour to make a yummy gluten-free version.
Whisk and well (no fancy equipment!)
Take a large mixing bowl and whisk together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center. You don’t even have to pull out a mixer for homemade soda bread. It’s easy peasy.
Pour in the liquid and stir.
In a separate smaller bowl whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, and egg. Make sure the butter has cooled down or it will re-solidify once it hits the milk and egg. Better yet? If you can think ahead, just make sure everything is at room temp.
Add some extra goodness.
You know what pairs perfectly with this nice sweet and moist crumb? Dried cranberries. Or raisins. Or sultans. Or orange zest. Now it’s time to stir in the pizzazz. The dough will be stiff so you may have to get your hands in there to work it all in.
Shape and pop it in the oven.
Shape the dough in a buttered cast iron pan, 9-inch round cake pan, or on a baking sheet. Slash the top with a sharp knife to make that signature cross and bake in a 350ºF oven for 1 hour. If you’re making this with gluten-free flour, you may need to bake slightly longer. More on that below!
Bonus Baking Tips and Yummy Modifications
- Instead of cranberries substitute raisins, dried cherries or leave the dried fruit out completely.
- For an added hint of orange add 1 tablespoon orange zest with the wet ingredients.
- Adjust the amount sugar for personal taste.
- When baking gluten-free Irish soda bread, the baking time will increase by 5-10 minutes.
- For an authentic add-in, substitute raisins and add 2 teaspoons caraway seeds.
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Did you make this recipe? I love hearing from you! Leave a star rating and comment below the recipe card. It helps others when searching for recipes and I appreciate feedback from our community. You will always hear back from me! -Melissa
Seriously Moist Sweet Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour or gluten-free flour, (I recommend Cup4Cup gluten-free flour)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup dried cranberries, see recipe notes for substitutions
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease a cast iron skillet or 9-inch round pan with butter. (See recipe notes for other options.)
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center by pushing the dry ingredients away from the center.4 cups all purpose flour or gluten-free flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a small bowl whisk together the melted and cooled butter, buttermilk, and egg.⅓ cup unsalted butter, 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk, 1 egg
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, pouring it into the well and stir to form a soft dough. The dough will be very thick and might need to be kneaded slightly to work in the flour. Add the cranberries. Mix or knead until no flour pockets remain.¾ cup dried cranberries
- Shape dough into a ball (use lightly wet fingers if dough is sticky) and transfer to the prepared pan. Use a sharp knife to make an "X" on top of the the ball.
- Bake until set, about 50-60 minutes for all purpose flour, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes for gluten-free flour. Insert a knife or toothpick in the middle to make sure it's set. To prevent the bread from becoming overly brown, loosely tent foil over top for the last 10-15 minutes baking time. Baking times can be longer, depend on the size of pan you bake it in and if using gluten-free flour, which takes longer.
Notes
Baking Pan Options
The easiest substitution for a cast iron skillet is a round cake pan. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and shape the dough into a ball in the middle. As the bread bakes, the dough will spread and fill out the pan. A baking sheet may also be used. Simply shape the dough into ball in the middle of a greased baking sheet, or line with parchment paper. The dough will spread slightly, but it will still maintain its ball shape. Some readers have also split the dough between two bread loaf pans. If diving the dough, the baking time will decrease. Start checking around 35 minutes baking time.Substitution for Buttermilk
- Pour 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup.
- Add milk until you have 1 1/3 cup total liquid.
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes, stir, and then use.
Dried Cranberries
Instead of cranberries substitute raisins, dried cherries or leave the dried fruit out completely.Freezing and Storing
Store leftovers, well wrapped, at room temperature up to two days. Avoid refrigerating the bread because it will dry out. To freeze, once the bread has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to a freezer bag. Alternatively, cool it completely, slice, and then transfer to a freezer bag. This allows you to grab and thaw slices as needed.This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.
Made tonite…the BOMB!!! Family raved about it. Thx for posting recipe
Hey Sharon!
Thank you so much for the huge positive vote! I don’t know what it is about this bread, but it’s impossible to not love it. I could literally eat a whole loaf. I have to freeze it right away to save myself!
Best,
Melissa
This looks lovely. I was just going through my kitchen to find a cake pan or caste iron skillet and realized that they’re both in my other house! Can I bake this loaf in a regular loaf pan or a glass pie plate?
Hi Annie,
You can literally bake this on or in anything so you are in luck! I’ve just plopped it down on a baking sheet, pie dish would work, or loaf pans (I would probably split between two). Enjoy!
Melissa
I decided to try your recipe with another recipe and baked both of them at the same time to see what the difference was? Hands down, your recipe wins! My family recipe doesn’t call for the cup of sugar, so it is not sweet, but I do like the sweet soda bread, so now it will be in my recipe collection too.
My only question is….the buttermilk and the melted butter. Why do you need melted butter? Wouldn’t room temp work too? I’m not patient so I added the melted butter to the buttermilk and it curdled. Wasn’t all that great the second time around either, but maybe my buttermilk was off?
Otherwise a great recipe! Thanks!
HI Sandra, Yay! So glad you loved it. 🙂 I’m not patient either and I always add the melted butter before it cools. I don’t think the buttermilk curdled, but when the warm butter hits the cold milk bits of butter will solidify. I haven’t really found it makes a difference with the end result, though. I haven’t tried it with the softened butter, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work as well. Thank you so much for writing!
Best,
Melissa
Family LOVED this bread, and has already asked for more. I used a mix of golden and dark raisins.
Yes, I know the feeling. My kids squeal with excitement when they see I’m making this. Always a good feeling!
What size cast iron skillet do you use?
I use a 10″ skillet, but I think you can easily give or take an inch if you don’t have a 10″ skillet. Enjoy!
I made this for St Patrick’s day and it was amazing! This will be a keeper for sure!
Thank you Susan! I’m so happy you loved it and thank you for taking the time to let me know 🙂
I have used this recipe every St. Patrick’s day for the past three years. It is acclaimed by family and friends as the best Irish soda bread they ever had.
Hi Melanie,
Aww, thanks for sharing that. I’m so happy it’s such a winning recipe for you!
Best,
Melissa
Made this recipe for the first time this St. Patrick’s Day. it was a complete success! I baked it in my cast iron skillet, I am now on the lookout for a cast iron dutch oven!
Thank you for sharing, it made our celebration a bit sweeter!
You are very kind, Louise. Thank you for writing in and sharing how much you loved the bread. I’ve been baking it like crazy lately because you all make me have a craving for it constantly!
Thank you for this delicious Irish soda bread recipe! I’ve followed a gluten free diet for approximately 6 years and haven’t found a soda bread recipe worthy of making a second time… until now. Wow, it is so yummy! Even my sister (who dislikes most GF food) went back for seconds and thirds! I couldn’t wait to eat it again today.
I baked it in my Grandmas’s cast iron skillet, which worked great, but the dough was incredibly sticky and tough to transfer from the bowl to the skillet. It was very much like the consistency of raw chocolate chip cookie dough, the non-GF kind. Any suggestions to make the dough less sticky next time?
Gosh, I hear you. I was so excited to discover that the bread I grew up and loved so dearly works perfectly using gluten free flour as well! That’s always a sweet victory, too, when non-gluten free guests are pleasantly surprised with how good something is!
When I make it, it doesn’t sound like it’s as sticky as that. It’s stickier than yeast bread dough, but not so much like a batter. Perhaps it’s the brand of gluten free flour you used? I always use Cup 4 Cup with this bread. I know the gluten free flours really differ with their blends.
Best,
Melissa
While kiving in the Chicago area I was able to purchase the best soda bread. It also was on the sweet side.
I moved 7 years ago, & have not found anywhere that makes one I like, and have tried several recipes on my own as well.
I came across this today & decided to
give it a try.
It is amazing! My new favorite for sure!
Oh my gosh, that is the best news ever! I love when you find the perfect recipe you’ve been looking for. So glad I can help!
Best,
Melissa
Ever since I found this recipe I have been making this soda bread. I used to try different ones, but this is clearly the best as far as I am concerned! It is a simple recipe that is easy to make, and using a cast iron skillet just makes it even better for some reason!
It has now been quite a few years and I still make at least 6 or 7 each year. My friends and family look forward to it every year!!!
Although I don’t make corned beef a lot, I agree, this bread recipe gets used over and over again with our family too! And, I agree, cast iron is best!
Melissa
This turned out well for me. Dough was very wet and sticky and I was concerned that all the raisins hanging out on the outside would burn. They did not. I put this in a round cake pan and set timer for 50 minutes, and gave it another 5 or so at the end. It tirnred out well. Didn’t add more sugar or caraway seeds, kept it a bit more “pristine” . It goes together quickly and easily. I did mix with my hand. What a sticky mess that was. Not sure if I will do that again. 😏
Hello Gayle,
I always get worried about the raisins sticking out too! Sometimes I push them in a little with my finger, but you’re right, it turns out and and it all gets eaten!
The dough isn’t like a traditional yeast dough that is easier to work with. It can be a little sticky. It’s kind of in a no man’s land of being hard to finish stirring with a spoon, and too soft to knead. That’s why I do a little mixture of both, as you can see from the recipe video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Best,
Melissa
3/15/19 followed receipe as printed but dough remaine too wet to form into flat ball! What did I do wrong??
Have made soda bread many times and the dougGoogleh was sticky but stiff enough to work with! HELP what to do??
Hi Veronica! What type of flour were you using? Regular or gluten free? I’m not sure why the dough wasn’t stiff, though, unless there was an error in the amount of liquid added. I make this with regular flour and gluten free and it’s gets very hard to stir and I have to finishing kind of kneading the flour in with my hands. Sorry it was a frustrating experience! How was it after it baked?
Best,
Melissa
Making ANOTHER batch this afternoon. This morning’s batch didn’t make it through lunch. It’s absolutely delicious and our children have a new favorite.
That’s incredible! I have to freeze the bread after our adequate share because my kids never stop asking for another piece either!
Best,
Melissa
Thank you for recipe, I used half quick oats pulsed fine in food processor, added mixed dry ingredients and pulsed, then liquids and pulsed until all mixed. Threw in cranberries for a “quick” pulse. Baked in 9″ round cake for about 50 min. Looks delicious
Karen, thank you so much for writing. I love all those ideas and I’m going to do exactly that next time I make it. I LOVE using quick oats in baked goods and I think it would be a perfect addition to this bread!
Best,
Melissa
Made this bread a few times now. It is delicious. I’m making two loaves today, March 15th as we speak. Thanks for giving us the wonderful reciepe! 🦠☘️🍀
You are very welcome. I’m happy to share, what I believe, to be the best irish soda bread ever! Glad we feel the same about it 🙂
Melissa
Excellent!!!
Thank you, Carol. 100% agree with you!
This is the same recipe my mom uses. It is delicious and very moist. I like it better than the non-sweet versions.
oh my gosh, do I completely agree. When I tried “real” Irish soda bread, I almost spit it out! It definitely wasn’t as good as the version I grew up on.
Now you have me thinking about what pan to use. Don’t want a flatbread. Going to make 4 I give them to my dinner guest at St Patrick’s dinner I do. Don’t know if it is late for an answer and also can I make two small out of 1 recipe?
Hi Dorothy, You can split this one recipe between two loaf pans, the smaller (a smaller 8″ bread pan would be ideal, but 9″ will work too). The time to cook them will probably not be as long, start checking at 45 minutes. Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions!
Best,
Melissa
Hello! This looks so delicious. I am curious if it is possible to freeze this bread?
A resounding yes! I freeze it all the time. It’s like a little present when I open the freezer. I let it cool completely, slice, then place in a freezer ziplock bags.
Thanks!!! I’m making it for Thanksgiving!
I’m sure this bread is tasty and I definitely intend to give this recipe a try but you need to drop the “Irish” from the title and just call it soda bread, because no one in Ireland would add sugar to soda bread (unless it was made with white flour and currents, and that’s called curney bread). Irish soda bread is flour, buttermilk, bread soda and a pinch of salt, simple and tasty .
Hi Yvonne, Yes, you are right. Like I said in the post, I don’t think anyone in Ireland would consider this traditional Irish soda bread. I call it that because it’s just what my mom always referred to it as. I’ve never heard of curney bread, but perhaps that is what she got it confused with. I hope you do enjoy it!
I lived in Ireland for 18 months as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I can say that this is the best soda bread I’ve had. Did it taste like soda bread I was used to? No. Was it insanely delicious and promptly devoured? Yes, yes it was. I followed the recipe exactly as written. The dough was really sticky but a little flour on my hands did the trick. My only suggestion is to use the craisins infused with pomegranate juice. I saw them yesterday at the store and they were delicious. They’re even better than normal craisins. Thank you for this recipe, it’s a real keeper.
Hi Kristy, Thanks for writing! I am so happy you fell in love with this recipe. It really is like nothing I have tried before. I’m not even sure where the recipe came from. My mom always made it on St. Patrick’s Day and told us it was Irish Soda Bread. After trying authentic Irish Soda Bread, I realized the one I grew up with probably wasn’t, but this definitely tastes a whole lot better! How cool you got to live in Ireland as a missionary. What a wonderful opportunity!
Fantastic! Its become a family favorite and I make it all the time. Thank you!
That’s great! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. 🤗
I’ve been experimenting with different Irish soda bread recipes and couldn’t find one that was any good until this one! It is delicious! Exactly what I’ve been looking for. This recipe is a keeper! Will be making this many more times! Thank you!
I completely agree. I LOVE this bread. I know it’s probably not a “traditional” Irish soda bread, but I don’t care because it is SO MUCH BETTER than regular Irish soda bread. I always have such a hard time stop eating it.
I made this recipe today and it tasted fabulous. However, it took close to an hour and a half for the center to get completely baked. Luckily, I’ve been baking for over 50 years so I was able to use a few tips I’ve learned over the years to get a lovely finished bread. Since I didn’t have a cast iron skillet, I used a 9 inch cake pan as suggested. The batter rose at least three inches higher than pan which is probably why the center took so long to completely bake. I was wondering if I should use a 10 inch pan or perhaps a loaf pan, so the batter will spread out rather than rise. As another thought, I was thinking I could divide the batter into two cake pans. Any thoughts on this since I will make this bread again? Thanks.
Hi Judy, Thanks for writing! I completely agree this bread varies on baking time, depending on how you bake it. Sometimes I just throw it on a baking sheet too, which would allow it to spread out a little more and not take as long to bake. Using gluten free flour also adds a bit of time to the baking. I haven’t tried putting it in loaf pans, but would be interested to find out how that turns out. I’d imagine you would need 2 larger size ones. I will amend the recipe so future bakers know times can vary, depending on how you bake it. In the future, since you don’t have a cast iron pan, just spray a cookie sheet and put the ball in the middle. I’ve made it like that a lot. Enjoy!
Thanks, Melissa. Husband is still talking about how delicious the bread tasted. I will try baking on a baking sheet. I was afraid it would spread out flat. Of course, any way you slice it (excuse the pun), it will taste yummy.
There is so much baking powder and soda in the recipe, it really doesn’t spread out all that much. Follow up and let me know how it turns out for you that way.
This bread is definitely amazing and crazily addicting. I made some recently, thinking I’d freeze the rest for St. Paddy’s day, but the kids devoured it all.
I have also substituted yogurt for the buttermilk and found it was successful.
Great tip! Thanks for letting us know because I usually have yogurt on hand, but not buttermilk.
I used my mixer with bread hook to mix and bread came out beautiful. Baked for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Perfect golden brown. Bread is delicious, great recipe followed it exactly.
That’s wonderful! Glad you enioyed it. 😊
Jan says…….This was my first try at making soda bread. Made it for a St. Patricks Day Dinner of 12. One of my guests went back at least 6 times for more. Said it was the best. Since I had buttermilk left over, I’m making it again today to go with our homemade soup dinner. So00000……..obviously, we loved it also. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Jan, I feel for your guests. I can’t stop eating it either! I’m glad this recipe is getting some time outside of St. Patty’s Day. It deserves it! Thank you so much for writing and sharing how much you enjoyed it.
Made this for a neighborhood St. Patrick’s day party and got RAVE reviews. Any number of “best ever, get me the recipe” requests. I followed the recipe to a T and it was perfect. Didn’t have Buttermilk so used milk with lemon instead. It is EXTREMELY sticky but I had seen the warnings so just sprinkled a dusting of flour on the top to make it possible to get the knife to cut the slits. Also, since I didn’t have cast iron skillet, I used parchment paper and Pam in a 12″ spring form pan due to the warnings of it spreading. Again — it was PERFECT – spread to the sides but allowed it to rise enough to be pretty and round.
This is a GREAT recipe !!!
Nancy, that is good to know about the milk and lemon juice. When I made it this year my grocery store ran out of buttermilk, so I was going to try doing it that way. My mom ended up coming to my rescue with her extra buttermilk, but now I know you don’t have to have buttermilk stocked to make it. Thank you so much for writing and sharing your tips!
Made this today.4 cups of flour were to much so I only added 3.Came out perfect!Wouldn’t try it with 4.
Hi Cami! Thanks for writing. My family has been making this bread for over 30 years, we have always used 4 cups, and it always turned out fabulous so I never questioned it. I haven’t made mine yet this year, though, so I’ll be interested to give it a taste test to see what it’s like with less flour. I’ll keep you guys posted!
I love the sound of the chewy crumb – will definitely give it a try!