Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Bread

Name: Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Bread
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ½ cup Carol’s Gluten-Free Flour Blend (see recipe in notes; or use your favorite gluten-free flour mix); 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; ¾ tsp baking powder; ½ tsp xanthan gum (see notes); ½ tsp onion powder; 1 large egg, at room temperature; 2 tbsp unsalted butter, buttery spread, or coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled; ½ cup (2 ounces) coarsely shredded or diced cheddar cheese or Daiya cheddar-style shreds; 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese or soy Parmesan, divided evenly; Milk (dairy or dairy-free), if needed (see notes)

Shirley Braden

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I’m so happy to share this gluten-free Cheddar Cheese Bread recipe from the great Carol Fenster with you today! I promised I’d be sharing this recipe later with you when I shared her Gluten-Free Crepes and I’m finally getting to it.

For years, I’ve had plans to convert a favorite standby recipe for cheddar cheese quick bread to gluten free but somehow that recipe has remained in the back of my recipe box, “as is”—i.e., gluten full.

Yes, I still have a recipe box and no, thankfully, I did not throw away all my old favorite recipes because 15 years after going gluten free, I am still converting my old gluten-full recipes to gluten free. It’s one of my favorite things to do but obviously, it does takes time and things can easily be pushed to the back burner.

So needless to say, I was thrilled when Carol sent me a complimentary review copy of her latest cookbook Gluten-Free Cooking for Two: 125 Favorites and I found her recipe for gluten-free Cheddar Cheese Bread inside! As there are only two of us at home, Carol’s recipe for a smaller loaf was a godsend. By the way, that’s a photo of it on the cover of Carol’s cookbook below.

Carol says this savory quick bread complements soups and main-dish salads — a nice way to add a bit of heft to an otherwise light meal. She points out that extra-sharp cheddar produces the most pronounced flavor, but the bread is delicious with mild cheddar as well. As she says, shredded cheese melts right into the bread, while diced cheese produces cheesy pockets.

Everything Carol says is spot on! I’ve made this recipe numerous times since then and in numerous ways and they’ve all resulted in delicious gluten-free Cheddar Cheese Bread.

Sometimes just seeing that I have a small amount of cheddar cheese to use will inspire me to make a loaf! I’ve used more cheese than the recipe has called for when I didn’t want to bother with saving only a tablespoon or two for another use later and that has worked out just fine.

I mean … extra cheese. Who complains about more cheese? Nobody that I know!

This bread is the perfect complement to a bowl of chili or soup but really can “dress up” any meal. I also like a combination of a meat or seafood entrée, a small salad, and this bread. Such a great combination!

Or as Carol says, even a tasty salad and this bread. Salad and bread is always a lovely combo.

I also like the fact that this recipe is made in a mini loaf pan, which allows you to easily bake this gluten-free Cheddar Cheese Bread in a toaster oven. That’s a really great option during the summer when we often forego baking anything because we want to keep the heat out of the kitchen.

At least that’s the way it is in my house. My baking efforts are greatly reduced during the heat of the summer.

But if you’re using a toaster oven, you’re not really raising the temperature in your home and you still get to enjoy homemade cheddar cheese bread. Now that’s a win!

On occasion, I’ve even doubled this recipe. I still used mini loaf pans because I wanted the shorter baking time. There’s no need to wait longer than you have to for delicious gluten-free Chedder Cheese Bread!

Plus, you can always gift one and keep one if you make two loaves. I do like sharing goodness with others!

Incidentally, I also noticed that other gluten-free Amazon reviewers have enjoyed this recipe. One reader called it “small loaf wonderfulness.” Exactly! (p.s. You can even get Carol’s Bing Cherry Clafoutis recipe on the Amazon page. It’s the perfect time of year for recipes made using fresh Bing cherries and her dessert looks delicious. There’s also a chocolate version shared. Yeah, baby.)

Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Bread Recipe

Yield: 6 slices

Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Bread

Carol says: "This savory quick bread complements soups and main-dish salads—a nice way to add a bit of heft to an otherwise light meal. Extra-sharp cheddar produces the most pronounced flavor, but the bread is delicious with mild cheddar as well. Shredded cheese melts right into the bread, while diced cheese produces cheesy pockets."

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Inactive Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

½ cup Carol’s Gluten-Free Flour Blend (see recipe in notes; or use your favorite gluten-free flour mix)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp xanthan gum (see notes)
½ tsp onion powder
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tbsp unsalted butter, buttery spread, or coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
½ cup (2 ounces) coarsely shredded or diced cheddar cheese or Daiya cheddar-style shreds
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese or soy Parmesan, divided evenly
Milk (dairy or dairy-free), if needed (see notes)

Instructions

Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375F. Generously grease a 3 ¼ x 5 3/4 -inch nonstick loaf pan (gray, not black).
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour blend, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and onion powder until well blended.
Add the egg and butter and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well blended, about 30 seconds.
Gently stir in the cheddar and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan. The dough will be somewhat stiff. (Shirley here: If you’re using a more absorbent flour mix like my flour mix, which predominantly features rice flour and cornstarch, you may need to add milk at this point to make the mixture spreadable. See specifics in notes.)
Spread the batter evenly in the pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan on top.
Bake, rotating the pan halfway through baking until the top is browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. If necessary, cover with foil after 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning. Shirley here: This is important. If you’re using a more absorbent flour mix such as one which predominantly features rice flour and cornstarch like my flour mix, baking time can be far less, only about 20 to 25 minutes in my experience.)
Cool the bread about 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove the bread from the pan and cool for up to 20 minutes on the rack. Serve slightly warm.

Notes

Makes 4 slices (one 3 ¼ x 5 3/4-inch loaf).

Carol’s Gluten-Free Flour Blend

1 ½ cups brown rice flour (or sorghum flour)
1 ½ cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour

Whisk together until thoroughly blended. Store, tightly covered, in a dark, dry place for up to 3 months.

Shirley’s Notes:

Add additional milk (dairy or non-dairy) if needed to make dough spreadable if using another flour blend (e.g., my Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free Flour Mix) that is more absorbent. Start with ¼ cup and increase by a tablespoon until you have the right consistency for pouring/spreading into loaf pan.

I omitted the xanthan gum and saw no difference in my results at all. However, note that the Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free Flour Mix that I use may be better at binding ingredients than other flour mixes.

I don’t use a mixer. I simply mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon.

I also cool this bread far less time for us—because we’re always ready to eat it as soon as it comes out of the oven---and have never had an issue with it falling apart.

When I’ve made this recipe dairy free, in addition to using non-dairy cheese options in place of the cheddar cheese, I’ve used nutritional yeast in place of the Parmesan.

Text and image from GLUTEN-FREE COOKING FOR TWO by Carol Fenster and Tom Hirschfeld. Copyright © 2017 by Carol Fenster and Tom Hirschfeld. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Originally published June 12, 2018; updated May 24, 2020.

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Comments

Susan C says
June 12, 2018 at 6:32 am
Have you doubled the recipe before? I just don’t know that one small loaf is enough. It looks so good!!!
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  June 12, 2018 at 7:03 am
  Hi Susan–It’s good to see you here at gfe again! While Carol cautions against thinking you can simply double all her recipes (or as she learned when creating the recipes for this cookbook, simply halving recipes either), I *think* you could double this one with success. If you have mini loaf pans, I’d try doubling this recipe but then baking it in two loaf pans. No matter what you try, please let us know how it goes, Susan. Fingers crossed!
  Shirley
  Reply
  - Kay Niedenthal says
    November 8, 2019 at 6:05 pm
    Apparently this recipe is pretty darn versatile. I just made a big batch (8 times this recipe.) I replaced half the butter with fat free Greek yogurt because I ran out of butter. I omitted the xanthan gum entirely, no sub. And I only let it cool about 2 minutes before slicing off a taste. Worked great! Tastes great! Next time I’ll try 3/4 butter and 1/4 yogurt.
    Reply
    - Shirley Braden says
      November 8, 2019 at 7:59 pm
      That’s great news, Kay! I had wondered about the xanthan gum as I leave it out in my pumpkin bread and other quick bread recipes and muffins. Anyway, I love a super versatile recipe so I really appreciate you sharing your experience with all of us! Btw, tomorrow is National Greek Yogurt Day. 🙂
      Shirley
      Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  June 16, 2018 at 9:34 pm
  Hi again, Susan–You’ll get a chuckle out of this follow-up comment. I didn’t remember doubling the recipe before when I was replying to your question but I was going through photos after that and came across a photo I’d taken when I had actually doubled this recipe! LOL I had the photo and the photo jogged my memory. I’ve even added the photo to this post with notes that doubling the recipe works fine and I recommend using two mini loaf pans.
  Shirley
  Reply
[email protected] A-Z Blog says
June 12, 2018 at 7:08 am
Shirley-
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. I like gluten free quick breads that have easy to find ingredients like this one. I always stock some xanthan gum for gluten free baking but the rest of the ingredients are just good real food.Perfect and easy!! I can’t wait to try it with a bowl of homemade tomato soup!!
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  June 16, 2018 at 9:36 pm
  You are welcome, Judee. 🙂 This bread will be the perfect accompaniment to homemade tomato soup!
  Shirley
  Reply
Tessa Simpson says
June 12, 2018 at 1:57 pm
Yum!1 I imagine this with a cup of chili!! Looks really tasty!
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  June 16, 2018 at 9:56 pm
  I can tell you from personal experience that it’s wonderful with chili, Tessa! 🙂
  Shirley
  Reply
Ina Gawne says
June 14, 2018 at 10:00 am
Shirley this sounds yummy! I love salads with a nice bread – makes a perfect lunch!
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  June 16, 2018 at 9:57 pm
  I agree, Ina, and we’ve been a big salad kick lately. Summer tends to do that to us. 😉 Time to stock up on greens and other salad ingredients tomorrow. So this bread might get made again very soon!
  Shirley
  Reply
Nancy French says
June 15, 2018 at 8:16 am
I made this up last evening to go along with chili, but I made the recipe as muffins instead. It worked great, and it only required 18 minutes to cook. Added 2 Tbsp. of almond milk, and used a lactose free cheddar cheese and 2 Tbsp. of nutritional yeast in the batter. They were easy to whip up and excellent!
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  June 16, 2018 at 10:10 pm
  What a terrific idea, Nancy! Like you, I love the shorter baking time that comes with muffins and I really enjoy nutritional yeast in this recipe, too. So glad you had success with your variation and I really appreciate you sharing it here!
  Shirley
  Reply
Cindy says
July 28, 2018 at 8:52 am
Can’t wait to try this recipe and was so excited when I realized it’s from the cookbook I won from your blog! 🙂
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  July 30, 2018 at 4:53 pm
  How about that, Cindy! That cookbook is a real treasure for anyone who is gluten free who is single or part of a couple. 😉 I think you’ll love this bread recipe!
  Shirley
  Reply
  - Cindy says
    July 31, 2018 at 9:34 pm
    I’ll let you know how mine turns out!
    Reply
aleta jones says
December 25, 2018 at 3:48 pm
Can you use this recipe in a bread maker
Thanks aleta
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  December 25, 2018 at 5:01 pm
  Hi aleta–Welcome to gfe! This recipe makes one small mini loaf. If you want to make it in your bread maker, you’d need to double the recipe to get a regular-sized loaf. I’ve never made this recipe in a bread maker but I know quick breads can be made in one. I’d suggest looking at the directions for making quick bread in your bread maker’s instructions booklet. Here’s another gluten-free quick bread recipe that was made in a bread maker. You might find those instructions helpful as well.
  Please report back to let us know how things go. Fingers crossed.
  Shirley
  Reply
Carissa Armstrong says
December 30, 2019 at 12:41 pm
This recipe turned out great! I doubled it and added 1 Tblsp. Caraway seeds (as well as milk and buttermilk to make it spreadable). Lovely and delicious!
(I also used a mixture of Einkorn and Namaste gf flour blend for it, and extra cheddar instead of parm).
Passing it along for others to try! Yummm:)
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  December 30, 2019 at 1:12 pm
  Hi Carissa–I’m glad that the recipe turned out well for you (and I’m sure this recipe is lovely with caraway seeds and extra cheddar instead of Parmesan) but please know that einkorn is NOT gluten free and therefore, not safe for anyone who eats gluten free for medical reasons.
  Shirley
  Reply
Kelly Smith says
February 17, 2020 at 10:05 pm
I made this with colby jack cheese instead of cheddar. I think because of the mildness of colby jack, I should have added some salt and cut back on the sugar. The texture was great. I have a little cast iron skillet (6-7 inches) and used that to bake the bread. It gave it a nice crust and baking took about 15-17 minutes.
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  February 18, 2020 at 12:30 am
  Hi Kelly–I can see why using Colby Jack would require some adjustments. I love that you used a small cast iron skillet. That would definitely crisp it up nicely and quickly! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
  Shirley
  Reply
CATHERINE says
October 26, 2020 at 12:34 pm
Hello Shirley! Thank you so very much for this great recipe….instead of small loaf, made 4 muffins for my Mother-in-Law who is on a gluten free diet. I never used any xanthan gum, as I found it difficult to find today- used your recipe to the line except for using the ‘freee’ brand of gluten free flour, and added a tiny bit of buttermilk into the dough mix once all done- these turned out wonderfully! About 20 minutes in a 200 degree fan assisted oven. These are so moist and lovely tasting! Thank you, feel happy giving my Mother in Law something tasty instead of the very dull breads that are generally found on the shop shelf! She’s having my homemade chilli tonight, so these muffins will be a delightful addition to her dinner!
If this goes down well with my Mother in Law, will be sure to return to your great site for more inspired recipes! I thank you! (my Daughters and I tested one of the muffins and we all found them delicious!) Never would think they are gluten free! Must be the mature cheddar that helps….
WILL DEFINITELY MAKE AGAIN! MANY THANKS!
Catherine
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  October 27, 2020 at 1:05 am
  Hi Catherine–Welcome to gfe! I love that you are baking safe food for your mother-in-law! And using this recipe to make muffins is a fantastic idea. 🙂 I’m so glad they turned out well for you! Thanks for sharing your slight changes also. I bet the combo of your chili and muffins was a winner for sure! I’ll be making this recipe as muffins next time, thanks to you.
  Hope to see you here on gfe again soon!
  Shirley
  Reply
Isibeau d'Aquilla says
January 17, 2021 at 12:02 am
OMG, Shirley, the loaves are in my little oven right now, they’re so pretty!! I can’t wait to eat them with dinner! ❤️ Thank you for being such a wonderful person to provide these recipes. They are so SO helpful and delicious.
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  January 17, 2021 at 12:18 am
  I agree, Isibeau! They really are such pretty loaves! I hope you really enjoy them and what an awesome thing to say on all the recipes I share on gfe. Thank you so very much! I’m truly glad I can help! 🙂
  Have a wonderful weekend and I hope 2021 treats you (and all of us!) well!
  Shirley
  Reply
Jo O’Donnell says
February 26, 2021 at 6:53 pm
Can you use a Pyrex glass baking pan?
Reply
- Shirley Braden says
  March 1, 2021 at 7:34 pm
  Hi again, Jo–I’m so glad we were able to connect via email while I was without a working computer! For others reading who may have the same question that you did, I’ll repeat my answer to you. Yes, Pyrex glass loaf pans work fine for this recipe. However, I do find that recipes bake more quickly in a glass baking dish so I check them earlier to make sure they don’t overcook. Finally, it looks like this is your first official comment here on gfe. Welcome! 🙂
  Shirley
  Reply