If baking homemade gluten-free bread intimidates you, start here. My extra easy gluten-free beer bread recipe has zero yeast, zero kneading, and pretty much zero effort. With only 6 simple ingredients and 5 minutes prep, this cheesy, golden cheddar beer bread is a no-fail quick bread anyone can handle.
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No-Fuss Gluten-Free Beer Bread
Before transitioning to a gluten-free diet, I turned to a quick beer bread recipe when I needed an emergency loaf to serve with meals, soups, or a satisfying, comforting snack.
Just like highly-rated banana bread made with gluten-free flour or tender, fluffy gluten-free drop biscuits, GF beer bread requires no yeast or kneading, and always results in an incredible moist and delicious texture.
Since beer is off limits for those with celiac or gluten sensitivities, I didn’t think it would be a possibility to enjoy my favorite homemade bread any longer. But, fortunately times have changed and there are many GF beers to make this quick bread possible again.
Below I will show you just how easy it is to make beer bread from scratch, along with mix-in ideas, and modifications to make this recipe work flawlessly every time. This quick bread is perfect for serving alongside chili, dinner salads, or hearty soups, like homemade and hearty gluten-free chicken rice soup.
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Ingredient Tid Bits
- Gluten-free flour blend – Traditional wheat flour recipes use self-rising flour, such as Bisquick, but I like to avoid having to buy expensive speciality ingredients whenever possible. Use your preferred gluten-free all purpose flour, but I highly recommend Cup4Cup GF flour for best taste, texture, and a moist crumb.
- Cheddar Cheese – For the cheese flavor to shine through, I recommend freshly grated extra sharp cheddar. I even like to throw a little extra on the top before baking. For a dairy-free recipe, omit the cheese and increase the amount of salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
- Gluten-Free Beer – Since the market and availability has expanded in recent years, I’ve created an entire gluten-free beer list resource, including which popular brands are low gluten or GF.
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.)
Dry ingredients and cheese
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9X5 inch loaf pan. I like using this slightly bigger size loaf pan for this recipe because of the dough amount.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients then stir in the cheese. You’re almost there!
Pour in the GF beer
Next, pour in 12 oz of gluten-free beer with half the melted butter and optional milk. Stir to combine until no flour pockets remain and you have a stiff dough.
If you would like to make cheddar beer bread without beer, I have some of those options listed below.
Spread and bake
Finally, scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Drizzle on the rest of the melted butter and pop into the oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a long skewer or knife comes out clean. See? Easy peasy!
Alternatives for GF Beer To Use In Bread
Gluten-free beers may be expensive or hard to locate in your area. Or, you may still want to enjoy this recipe with what you have on hand. Fortunately, there are many options to replace beer in bread!
- Use an equal amount of soda or seltzer water. Since you will be eliminating that yeasty beer flavor, I suggest adding dried herbs, such as 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning or cheddar cheese with cooked and crumbled bacon stirred in.
- Make a sweeter tasting bread. Increase the sugar (or honey) to 1/4 cup and replace the beer with lemon-lime soda, such as Sprite or Mountain Dew.
- Make an orange loaf by replacing beer with an equal amount of orange pop, adding 1 tablespoon orange zest, and increasing sugar to 1/4 cup.
- Replace the beer with another preferred carbonated beverage, such as ginger ale or hard cider.
Yummy Variations and Mix-Ins
- Cheesy herb – Use sharp cheddar or a mixture of cheddar and parmesan. Stir in 1 teaspoon each rosemary, basil, and thyme to the dry ingredients.
- Bacon- Add 1/2 cup cooked and crumbled bacon with the cheese.
- Garlic Parmesan – Stir in 1 tablespoon minced garlic and 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan instead of cheddar.
- Spicy – Use pepper jack cheese or cheddar and stir in 1 finely chopped jalapeno.
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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
Cheddar Gluten-Free Beer Bread (Quick Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 cups (438 g) gluten free all purpose flour, I use and highly recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour
- 2 tablespoons (26 g) granulated sugar, or honey
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup (90 g) freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 12 ounces gluten-free beer
- 4 tablespoons (28 g) melted butter, divided
- 2 tablespoons milk, if needed (see recipe notes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9X5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients – gluten-free flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. If using honey instead of sugar, pour that in with the beer. Stir in the cheddar cheese.3 cups gluten free all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ½ cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- Pour in the beer, optional milk, and 2 tbsp melted butter. Stir to combine. The dough will be very thick, show no dry flour pockets. Spread evenly in the prepared loaf pan. Pour the remaining melted butter over top.12 ounces gluten-free beer, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a long skewer or knife comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and placing on a cooling rack.
Notes
Adding Milk
Since Cup4Cup changed their formula, I have found the dough to be a little drier. If the dough seems too dry (the flour won’t mix in) add 2 tablespoons milk. The dough will still be very thick, but will bake up soft. Only use as much milk as it takes to moisten the dough. Too much milk will make the bread gummy. You can use the milk with any GF flour brand, if necessary.storing and freezing
For best results, let the bread cool at least 15 minutes before slicing. After it has cooled completely, store in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature up to 2 days. To freeze, store completely cooled bread in a ziplock freezer bag with air removed, up to 3 months. You may also slice the bread before freezing to store, but I recommend using within 1 month. Update to recipe 10/26 – I increased the salt to 1 tsp and cheddar from 1 cup to 1 1/2 cup for more pronounced flavor.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.
Melissa with the new cup for cup blend that has no milk powder in it. If memory serves me you suggested the last time I ask about this a while back to add a couple of tablespoons of milk powder to duplicate the original version.
Is that what you would suggest today or is there another adjustment that you would suggest?
Thank you, Dottie
Hi Dottie,
Yes, I have found things with the new C4C formula have a tendency to be a little drier. For a recipe like this, I would go ahead and just add some milk, about 2-4 tablespoons should do the trick!
Best,
Melissa
Thank you.
Sadly I had the same negative experience as a few others. Got a glue brick, hard as nails on the outside, still raw paste on the inside after 2 hours baking.
Quantities were all correct. I used 1 to 1 gf flour I’ve used successfully in many other recipes. Maybe didn’t work because I used a Corningware loaf pan? Did you use a thin tin baking pan perhaps? Wish this could have worked.
Hi Jill,
I’m so sorry to hear this. I do normally bake my breads in metal baking pans. I know this makes a difference with quicker bake times and faster rise. Did you have to bake the bread a lot longer? Also, which GF flour did you use? I always use C4C and haven’t had this issue, but you never know with other blends because they absorb liquid differently.
Best,
Melissa
A great recipe that completely depends on the GF flour. I have made this 5-6 times with success – adding herbs, drained canned green chiles, sun dried tomatoes, etc to boost the background flavor of the bread. As we all know the background rice flavor can never compare to wheat 😩. All my success was with Cup 4 Cup. Recently, I had an epic fail with another adjustment. Tried to boost the flavor by replacing 1/4 of flour with oat flour and almond flour and the remaining 3/4 with Bobs Red Mill 1:1. Absolute “glue” as described above by Liz. Thank you for stressing the use of Cup 4 Cup and this good recipe.
Thank you for all of this, Kristan! It’s greatly appreciated when people share their experiences. So helpful for others!
Best,
Melissa
The bread came out great! I used a cheese blend of cheddar, pecorino romano, and Parmesan and added some dried herbs. Will definitely make this again!
So happy to hear, Emma! That sounds like an amazing variation!
Best,
Melissa
For this recipe can I use 12oz of pop (7up or Coke)?
Hi Karissa,
The bread would take on the flavor of it, so I would stick with soda water if you don’t have GF beer.
Best,
Melissa
I made it exactly as written and after two hours in the oven the insides are still the consistency of glue. I covered with foil for second hour as the outer was getting too crusty. Major fail and an expensive waste of cup 4 cup flour and GF beer. Also I grated cheese and stuffed it very tightly into a cup even overflowing and it was nowhere near 225 grams. I went with stuffed overflowing cup not grams.
Hey Liz,
My sincere apologies for all the time, money, and frustrations. I have just made this bread again in the past week, following my recipe, so I’m not exactly sure how things went so awry. You didn’t incorporate any additional liquids besides the beer? The dough should have been very, very thick when you put it in the pan before baking because it doesn’t contain much liquid, just the beer. That’s why I’m confused by your description of it not baking through, which would indicate there was too much moisture. Regardless, I know how expensive GF flour and beer are so I’m so sorry. 🙁
Best,
Melissa
I make the GF beer quick bread. It didn’t rise at all, really dense. Did I do something wrong?
Hello Jo Ann,
I’m so sorry to hear this! I know how frustrating it is to waste time and ingredients. I’ve been there myself. Some things that could have happened is the GF flour you used could have needed more liquids or the baking powder wasn’t added or the incorrect amount?
Best,
Melissa
I used Krusteaz one 2 one. Maybe that’s the issue. I’ll look for brand you recommend. Thanks.
Very good
Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Best,
Melissa
Made this and it seemed undercooked, gummy and dense, even after putting it back into the oven for more time AFTER the knife came out of it clean. It did not rise at all in the oven and literally looks like a pale brick.
Hello,
Gosh, I am so sorry to hear this. I know how frustrating it is to waste time and expensive ingredients and understand why you’d be upset. What brand of GF flour did you use? It sounds like amount of moisture for that particular mix of GF starches was off.
Best,
Melissa
Loved! Used a bottle of Red Bridge sorghum and added some spices. It was so good! I estimate a 1/4-1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, parsley
Yum! What great additions, Laurel! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Best,
Melissa
Hi! Do I need to sift the GF flour? Most beer bread recipes I found online (non-GF) say 3 cups after sifting – same here for GF? Thanks!
Hi Lew,
No, I never sift my flour for GF bread recipes. You can gently scoop in and level. Enjoy!
Best,
Melissa
Hi I am wanting to try this but with out the cheese. In your post you mentioned to omit the cheese to increase the salt by 1/4 teaspoon. But then later on in your post you state to increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Which measurement is correct? I am loving your recipes. Thank you for sharing and helping me on my new journey of going gluten free.
Oh Andrea, thank you for catching this! Increase the salt to 3/4 tsp if you aren’t adding cheese. I fixed the mistake. I’m glad you are finding the recipes helpful!
Best,
Melissa
Just wondering if I could use this same recipe for nonGF Cheddar Beer Bread? Would I just substitute the GF Flour with regular AP Flour in the same amount? It just looks like a really good recipe. I only need GF recipes when my son comes for a visit from out of state. Thank you.
Hi Donna,
With this recipe, I think that would work fine. Enjoy!
Best,
Melissa
So good and so easy! Perfect for super bowl Sunday. I didn’t have cheddar cheese so I used a pre-shredded blend. Added the rosemary, thyme and basil. I think it would be even better with the straight cheddar but I’m already thinking of all the different variations I will try and will definitely try to make rolls. It’s even better than the no-knead buckwheat bread I make which I love not my kids won’t touch. Thanks!
Great ideas, Ellen! This can easily become a cheddar herb bread! Or cheddar garlic? Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Best,
Melissa
I have made this using ginger ale instead of beer and it is great! I wonder how it would be making 12 muffins/rolls instead? Has anyone tried it?
Hi Sharon,
Ginger ale is a great idea too! I’m not exactly sure how many muffin cups it would fill, but I would fill each greased tin to 2/3 full. I would guess they would take about 25 minutes to bake, so I would start checking around then.
Best,
Melissa