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Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Quick Bread

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I’m so happy to share this gluten-free Cheddar Cheese Quick 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.

This gluten-free Cheddar Cheese Quick Bread complements any meal, especially soup or salad. Sized for two, this quick bread can be baked in a toaster oven. From Gluten-Free Cooking for Two. [featured on GlutenFreeEasily.com]

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 Quick 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.

Gluten-Free Cooking for Two by Carol Fenster Cookbook Cover Photo [featured on GlutenFreeEasily.com]

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 Quick 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 Quick 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 Quick Bread!

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

Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Quick Bread Mini Loaves. Yes, you can double the recipe but I still recommend using mini loaf pans so your quick bread will be ready sooner. Plus, you can keep one and give on away if you'd like! [featured on GlutenFreeEasily.com]

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 Quick Bread Recipe

Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Quick Bread cooling on wire rack.

Yield: 6 slices

Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Quick Bread

Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Quick 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
  • 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

  1. 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).
  2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour blend, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and onion powder until well blended.
  3. Add the egg and butter and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well blended, about 30 seconds.
  4. 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.)
  5. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan on top.
  6. 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.)
  7. 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 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.

© Shirley Braden
Category: Breads
Originally published June 12, 2018; updated January 20, 2020.

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Comments

  1. Susan C says

    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

      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

        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

          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

      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

  2. [email protected] A-Z Blog says

    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

      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

  5. Nancy French says

    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

      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

  6. Cindy says

    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

      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

  8. Carissa Armstrong says

    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

      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

  9. Kelly Smith says

    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

      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

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