This Easy Fruit Soda Bread combines mixed dried fruit and a touch of spice with a classic white soda bread recipe, to create a delicious fruit bread that’s super quick to make – with no kneading or proving required. Perfect for St Patrick’s Day… or any day when you need a deliciously simple fruity soda bread recipe! (Buttermilk and no buttermilk options included.)
How to make soda bread even more delicious!
How do you make soda bread even more delicious? Add fruit and spice!
If you are a regular reader, you’ll know I LOVE soda bread – it’s so easy to make and so delicious, I just can’t get enough of the stuff!
You’ll find loads of delicious soda bread recipes on my website – everything from the basics like White Soda Bread and Wholemeal Soda Bread, to ‘fancier’ flavours like Guinness and Treacle Soda Bread, Cheese Soda Bread and Buckwheat Soda Bread – even Soda Bread Rolls!
But this Easy Fruit Soda Bread is next level!
Honestly, it’s one of those recipes that I just could not stop eating… and then dreaming about when it was all gone… it is just so ridiculously delicious!
How to make fruity soda bread…
Like all my soda bread recipes, this fruity soda bread is super simple to make.
All you need to do is mix together flour, salt, baking soda, brown sugar, spices and mixed dried fruit in a bowl. Then, in a jug, mix together milk and lemon juice. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Next, bring the dough together into a ball using your hands, and place on a prepared baking tray. Flatten the ball a little and then cut a deep cross into it. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until cooked all the way through and golden on top.
Ideally, serve warm – straight out of the oven!
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
Why this fruit soda bread tastes so good…
I spent a long time tweaking this recipe to make it taste this good!
The first ‘trick’ is the mixed fruit. A lot of fruit soda bread recipes call for just raisins, but using a mix of sultanas, raisins, currants and candied mixed peel really makes this Easy Fruit Soda Bread ‘next level’. And the best bit? You can buy this ready mixed from the supermarket – it’s the same dried fruit mix they sell for making Christmas cakes! (I use this one or this one.)
The second ‘trick’ is to add a touch of spice. Adding 2 teaspoons of mixed spice and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon makes ALL the difference!
The third ‘trick’ is the sugar. Most fruit soda breads call for white sugar, but I’ve found using light soft brown sugar gives this soda bread a lovely extra dimension – a sort of caramel richness that you just don’t get from regular white sugar.
And the fourth ‘trick’ is the lemon juice. This is a good trick for two reasons – firstly because it means you don’t have to use buttermilk, which can be hard to get hold of and expensive (see below). But it also adds an extra boost of citrus which brings out all the other flavours and makes them really sing.
No need for buttermilk
Traditional Irish Soda Bread recipes usually call for buttermilk, but buttermilk can sometimes be hard to get hold of and quite expensive. Fortunately there is a super easy substitute – simply use milk plus lemon juice. It works just as well and tastes even better IMHO!
You can use regular cow’s milk, or you can use plant based milk if you want this to be vegan.
Alternatively, you can use plain yogurt or buttermilk, if you prefer. Instructions for all 3 methods are given in the recipe card below.
Can you use baking powder instead of baking soda in soda bread?
No! It won’t work. You need to use baking soda (AKA bicarbonate of soda) in soda bread. It is the reaction between the acid in the lemon juice and the baking soda which helps the soda bread to rise.
Why is there a big cross in soda bread?
Cutting a deep cross in the middle of the soda bread helps the heat to penetrate right to the centre of the bread really fast, so it cooks through properly.
Because soda bread cooks quickly, if you don’t cut a big, deep cross, you are likely to find the outside of the soda bread is cooked before the middle of the soda bread.
So be brave and cut a really deep, clean cross – it should go almost to the bottom of the dough!
(Some people also cut a cross in soda bread for superstitious reasons, as they believe the cross in the top of the soda bread will let the fairies out and/or ward off evil and bring good luck.)
What to serve with fruit soda bread
Fruit Soda Bread is delicious just as it is – but it’s even better slathered with butter!
You can also have it with jam… or even a chunk of mature cheddar cheese if you like that sweet/savoury vibe.
Ideally serve it warm, straight out of the oven.
When to serve fruit soda bread
This Fruit Soda Bread makes a great breakfast or brunch. It also makes a delicious mid-morning snack or afternoon tea.
And of course, thanks to its Irish heritage, fruit soda bread is a brilliant option to serve on St Patrick’s Day!
How long does fruit soda bread keep for?
Fruit soda bread does not keep especially long. (Mostly because it is so delicious!) It is best eaten on the day you make it. The day after it tastes OK, but it’s usually starting to go a little dry.
If you do have some left over the next day, I recommend that you toast it – toasted fruit soda bread is very delicious!
Can you freeze fruit soda bread?
Absolutely! Fruit soda bread freezes really well. Just make sure you freeze it on the day you bake it and that it is completely cool and well wrapped (wrapping should be airtight – e.g. a freezer bag) before putting it in the freezer.
You can freeze it as a whole loaf or cut it into slices first. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature and either eat it at room temperature or toast it.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Fruit Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 450 g plain white flour (see Note 1)
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste (see Note 2)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (see Note 3)
- 3 tablespoons light soft brown sugar
- 150 g mixed dried fruit (see Note 4)
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 250 ml milk (see Note 5)
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice (roughly 1 lemon – see note 5)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 160C fan / gas mark 4 / 350F. Dust a non-stick baking tray with a little plain white flour.
- In a large bowl, mix together thoroughly the flour, salt, baking soda, sugar, mixed spice and cinnamon. Add the mixed dried fruit and stir again.
- In a jug, mix together the milk and lemon juice.
- Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Bring the dough together into a ball using your hands. The dough should just come together into a ball, but shouldn’t be wet and sloppy. (If it doesn’t all come together, add a splash of water. If it’s too wet and sloppy add a touch more flour.)
- Roll the dough into a ball and place on your prepared baking tray. (Try to avoid having too much fruit on the outside as it has a tendency to burn before the bread in the centre is fully cooked.)
- Flatten the ball a little and then cut a deep cross into it. The cross should go almost to the base of the loaf – but not quite!
- Sprinkle the loaf with a little plain white flour.
- Bake the loaf in your pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes, until cooked all the way through and golden on top.
- Ideally, serve warm – straight out of the oven!
Notes
- Be sure to use plain (all purpose) white flour NOT white bread flour or white self-raising flour.
- Salt is a very personal thing. I find ½ teaspoon is about right for my own personal tastes, but feel free to adjust to suit your own personal preferences.
- Be sure to use baking soda (which is the same as bicarbonate of soda) DO NOT use baking powder, which is a different thing entirely!
- Hands down the best option here is to use a ready mixed dried fruit and candied peel mix. Ideally you want the dried mixed fruit to be a mix of sultanas, raisins, currants and candied mixed peel. You can usually find this in supermarkets. (I use this one or this one.) If you can't find it ready mixed, buy the ingredients individually and go for these proportions: 40% sultanas / 30% raisins / 20% currants / 10% candied mixed peel. (Alternatively you can use any mix of dried fruit you like, or just stick to a single dried fruit, such as raisins or cranberries.)
- Traditionally soda bread uses buttermilk, however buttermilk can be hard to get hold of and expensive. Regular milk plus lemon juice works just as well, and means you don’t have to go out and try to find buttermilk for this recipe. However, if you prefer, you can use 300ml/1¼ cup buttermilk or natural yogurt in this recipe, in place of the milk AND lemon juice. Any milk will work in this recipe. I use regular cow’s milk, but you can use a plant-based milk, if you prefer.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Pin Easy Fruit Soda Bread for later
FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan
Have you got your hands on a copy of my meal plan yet? If not CLICK HERE to download a copy of my FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan today!
David Squires says
When its my cooking week I use many of your recipes but I have to say the easy fruit soda bread recipe is the best of all. I made it with sultanas and Nashi Pears of which we have an abundance in our garden. My wife thinks it is the best ever so many thanks and keep up the good work.
Eb Gargano says
I am so happy to hear you and your wife liked this recipe so much 😀 (It’s one of my all-time favourites too… I just can’t stop eating this every time I make it!) Thanks for this lovely review and especially the 5* rating! Eb 🙂
Sheila Dryden says
Could you bake this in an air fryer?
Eb Gargano says
I’ve never tried this in an air fryer, so I can’t say with 100% certainty, but I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work. Let me know how you get on if you try it!