This savory quick bread is a flavorful and cheesy herbed quick bread, which means it’s made without yeast. You’ll cut cold butter into dry ingredients, which is the same technique used to make scones, pie crust, and biscuits—this helps promise a deliciously flaky exterior. I usually make it with asiago or parmesan cheese and fresh basil and parsley. Use your favorite cheeses, herbs, and even swap out the sun-dried tomatoes for corn, olives, bacon, and more. See flavor options below.
I originally published this recipe in 2021 and have since added new photos and more success tips.
A savory bake, but without a big time commitment! You’ll appreciate that this versatile recipe delivers big as a bread and that there’s no dough rising or overly complicated steps required.
One reader, Megan, commented: “This might be my favorite bread recipe of yours! All of your recipes are so good so it’s a tough call, but this bread is delicious!! It was so quick and easy to make. And heavenly to eat! I am making this again! ★★★★★”
Savory Quick Bread Details
- Flavor: The flavor in today’s bread can really be whatever you make it. The batter is very forgiving and we’ve tried it with plenty of add-ins including bacon, olives, feta cheese, and more. The base flavor is buttery and savory, with a hint of fresh pepper and garlic (feel free to add more!). Nutty parmesan or asiago cheese fits right in if you want to try either of those first.
- Texture: It may be difficult to wrap your head around a savory quick bread, especially when you’re used to banana bread and orange cranberry bread. But despite its loaf shape, this quick bread isn’t really like either. The bread’s crumb is more similar to cornbread—though there’s no cornmeal in the batter—and its exterior reminds me of biscuits or scones. It’s soft, moist, and slightly dense.
- Ease: This is a quick and easy recipe, but the butter step could be new to some beginner bakers. A pastry cutter or food processor makes this step quicker and more manageable.
Plus, it’s wonderful as a side dish for most dinners including soup, chili, chicken meatballs, lemon salmon, and more.
Recipe Testing This Savory Quick Bread
When I began working on this recipe back in 2021, I started by using olive oil as the fat in the batter. The resulting texture was too cake-like—honestly, it was just a confusing piece of bread because the texture screamed “sweet!” but the flavor was salty. It didn’t go over well with many taste testers, either. I tried melted butter, but the results were mediocre at best—still a lot of that contradicting flavor and texture.
Like a salty piece of cake. It was odd!
*Cut in Cold Butter: Using the same amount of butter but adding it in a different way was the fix the bread (and all of us!) craved. The texture had an instant improvement. Oh, the magic of butter. Make sure it’s extra cold and work the butter into the dry ingredients until coarse crumbs form, just like we do with pie crust and biscuits.
Here are all of the ingredients you need for the pictured loaf:
After you cut the butter into the dry ingredients, mix in the cheese and add-ins (I use sun-dried tomatoes), then mix in your wet ingredients. The batter is thick, chunky, and sticky. You cannot bake this batter on a baking sheet because it’s quite loose. For a savory drop biscuit with similar flavors, try my zucchini biscuits.
(And for other pan options, see the recipe Notes below.)
Since first publishing the recipe in 2021, one tweak I’ve added is pouring a bit of melted butter over the batter before baking. This is something I picked up after working on a beer bread recipe for my cookbook Sally’s Baking 101.
It adds the most delightful crisp-crunchy exterior:
You can bake this bread in a 9×5-inch loaf pan or an 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan (what I used here).
Flavor Options
Think of this bread as having 3 add-ins including (1) cheese, (2) herbs, and (3) extras like sun-dried tomatoes. You can swap and substitute your favorites as long as you stick with the base recipe including buttermilk, eggs, flour, baking powder & soda, sugar, salt & pepper, and cold butter. Here are some variations:
- Herbs: I recommend 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil and parsley here, but feel free to substitute your favorite herb. If you’re using a fresh herb that isn’t leafy (such as rosemary or thyme), reduce the amount to 1 Tablespoon. If using dried herbs, reduce to 1 teaspoon.
- Shredded Cheese: Asiago cheese is a favorite here (and in asiago-crusted skillet bread), but I also love this batter with parmesan cheese, crumbled feta cheese, sharp cheddar, white cheddar, gouda, and pepper jack. Avoid super-soft cheeses. You can leave out the cheese if you’d like, but you’ll lose some flavor. If skipping the cheese, add extras like another few Tablespoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes or any of the other options described in Extras next.
- Extras: I stick with 1/3 cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes because this amount adds enough flavor without overpowering the bread. If you want to use other extras, you could definitely increase that amount to about 3/4–1 cup and use chopped or sliced olives, corn (cooked or canned, and if using frozen, thaw first), finely chopped pepperoni, or chopped cooked bacon. 1 finely diced jalapeño is another great option and would pair wonderfully with cheddar cheese and 1 Tablespoon of fresh oregano as the herb. I haven’t tested this with wetter additions like roasted red peppers, but if you do, use about 1/2 cup chopped and pat it dry with a towel before adding to the batter.
Any of these extras would be great in these savory ham and cheese scones, too!
For a yeasted bread using similar flavors, try this rosemary garlic pull apart bread or this homemade cheese bread. Both have been extremely popular.
Print
Savory Cheese Quick Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is a cheesy savory quick bread made without yeast. We usually make it as written, but you can use your favorite cheeses, herbs, and even swap out the sun-dried tomatoes for corn, olives, chopped cooked bacon, and more. See flavor options described above.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) cold buttermilk*
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup (6g) chopped fresh basil or parsley (or 2 Tbsp each)
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) shredded asiago or parmesan cheese*
- 1/3 cup (50g) chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes*
- optional for topping: 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5-inch or 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan with butter or nonstick spray.
- Whisk the buttermilk and eggs together until combined.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder, sugar, salt, pepper, and basil/parsley together in a large bowl or pulse together in a large food processor. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the processor. Cut/pulse until coarse crumbs form. If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl.
- Stir in the cheese and sun-dried tomatoes until combined, then pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine. Batter is thick, chunky, and sticky.
- Pour/spread batter into prepared pan. Pour melted butter evenly over the top, if using. (Adds wonderful flavor and texture on the final bread.)
- Bake for about 50–60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Start checking at about 45 minutes. If using an 8.5×4.5-inch pan, the bake time is closer to 60 minutes. Halfway through bake time, if you notice the top is quickly browning, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the loaf pan to help the bread bake more evenly.
- Cool bread in the pan set on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving, or cool completely in the pan.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store bread at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled bread freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan or 8.5×4.5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Food Processor | Pastry Cutter | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute by measuring 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring glass. Add enough milk (whole milk is best—lower-fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch, but the baked good won’t taste as moist or rich) in the same measuring glass to reach 1 cup. Stir it and let sit for 5 minutes. The soured milk will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in your recipe.
- Garlic: Feel free to skip the garlic powder and replace with 3 cloves of minced garlic.
- Do not leave out the sugar. You really need it to balance out the robust salty and savory flavors; the flavor is quite flat without it.
- Cheese & Herbs: For other flavor options such as a replacement for the asiago cheese or if you want to use dried herbs or other fresh herbs, see details above.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Use sun-dried tomatoes that are packed in oil. Drain before using. No need to pat dry, but try to avoid getting a lot of excess oil in the batter. We found dry sun-dried tomatoes dried out the texture of the bread.
- Muffins or Other Size Pans: Feel free to bake this batter in a greased or lined muffin pan to yield about 12 muffins. Prepare batter as directed, then use the same baking instructions as banana muffins. (Steps 1 and 3.) You can also bake this batter in a greased 9-inch square baking pan or a seasoned 9-inch or 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Bake time at 350°F (177°C) is at least 25 minutes, but use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Yum!! I’ve made a similar recipe to this with roasted pumpkin & feta in it and its delicious!! Can’t wait to this recipe though…flavour combo sounds perfect!
Delicious! Bread intimidates me, so it was great to have a savory quick bread recipe that was so easy. My four year old even help We made ours with parsley and Asiago cheese. Will definitely make again.
So wonderful! Easy to bake and so tasty!!! Got lots of MMMMMs when serving to our guests! Another winner Sally!
This bread came together quickly with the aid of the food processor. I am excited for all the savory flavors of this month’s recipe!
Made exactly according to directions as far as add-ins (tomatoes, basil, Asiago)… wow! It was like a Tuscan flavor explosion! Very moist with a nice crumb, almost biscuit-like. I definitely want to try this again with different add-ins.
I was on the fence as I read this recipe. But I dived in, and, oh my goodness! My family thinks I’m a genius. Very tasty. Thank you for encouraging me to make something I would never do otherwise.
Made this bread this week – it was easy and delicious.
This was so easy and so delicious! It’s so good served warm with butter. I used fresh minced garlic and basil in mine and sprinkled a bit of parmesan on the top because I ran out of asiago. I made one loaf for me and my husband and one to give away. Can’t wait to share this delicious loaf!
Wow, this loaf is SO GOOD! I didn’t have fresh herbs so I used dried basil leaves and it worked perfectly. This recipe was very straightforward to follow and super simple to put together. The combination of flavors is seriously to die for. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
I made this last night and divided it between two different size loaf pans.
My add ins:
~ mix of freshly grated cheeses: Red Leicester, Double Gloucester, English White Cheddar. Mozerella and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
~ Antipasti veggies in herb garlic oil chopped – Artichokes, Chargrilled Bell Peppers, Green and Black Olives, Sun dried Tomatoes – patting them dry with a paper towel.
~ 1/4 cup Fresh basil and 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning.
~ 1tsp garlic powder + 1/2 tsp onion powder + freshly ground black pepper + 1/2 to 3/4 salt.
Taste cheesy like a cheese scone and pizza but is spongy so it’s kinda hard to describe but it’s good – I like it with cream cheese and my family and friends like it plain or with butter. We plan to have it for dinner to dip into Minestrone soup or your easy Alphabet soup. A delicious hit – unlike anything had before.
Thanks Sally for a fun, easy, delicious, innovative and easy to adapt recipe.
All your notes and video as always were very helpful!
I would like to bake it as mini muffins next time chopping the add ins smaller of course – please can you advise how long to bake it for? Thanks!
Yum! Those add-ins all sound delicious. For mini muffins, we’d recommend baking for about 12-14 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Let us know how they turn out for you!
I made this last night to accompany the pan roasted sea bass and fresh minted peas for dinner. I added a combo of Asiago, parmesan and Romano cheeses, fresh garlic scapes, rosemary and thyme to the batter. Wonderful. I will be taking the leftovers to our son in Charlotte who requested it when he found out what I was baking during his daily FaceTime call. . Thanks for all the great recipes, so glad I stumbled across your site during the pandemic.
I made this bread for my daughter who has IBS and can’t enjoy garlic bread when we have spaghetti and meatballs. I made this bread without the herbs, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic so she could eat it. I put in some parmesan cheese, some shredded mozzarella and some shredded mild cheddar. It was very good! Still very flavorful and savory. She was so happy to have something that replaced the garlic bread that she can no longer eat. And my husband thought this bread might make a really interesting PB&J sandwich:) Thanks for the recipe. It’s another keeper for us!
Love this bread! It was super easy to make and was a huge hit as a savory summer bread. I will definitely bring this one back out for my next dinner party!
I made this bread today, not only is it delicious, it was super easy! Thanks much for the great recipe!
This was my first Sally’s Baking Challenge and I loved it! Followed the recipe as is, but I used a cheese blend of asiago, fontina, parmesan, and provolone cheeses. It turned out great!
I was on the fence about making this because I don’t usually eat bread with my meal. However, when the urge to have a vegetable forward meal for dinner came over me I knew that this would be the perfect accompaniment!
The recipe was simple to follow and the only ingredient I had to buy was the Asiago (so glad I did). Oh, the smell hmmm. It was delicious. Just the right amount of savory to balance out the meal. Thank you.
THIS IS HEAVENLY!! FOLLOWED RECIPE EXACTLY… HAD REQUEST FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY SO MADE 4 MORE !!! SO EASY TO MAKE!!
This was really delicious! Also pretty simple to make. I followed the ‘standard’ recipe other than using parmesan in place of asiago, and it was really good. I found it a little fragile to cut while still warm, but so yummy it was worth it. I might try muffins next time to avoid having to slice the warm bread. I am excited to try some other variations, did anyone try using jarred mushrooms as a mix-in? If so, did you alter the spices, too?
I made this tonight with Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potatoes and it was such a wonderful combination! I added a bit of parmesan with the Asiago and threw in some roasted garlic as well. So good! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Delicious! Made it with parmesan cheese, because that’s what I had on hand, and it turned out great! Will definitely be a repeat recipe–can’t wait to try some of the other flavor combinations as well!
We really liked the flavor and texture of this bread. I had been looking for a sun-dried tomato basil bread. I made exactly as written-did not need to cover. I might check at 45 minutes next time.
Oh my GOSH this is so insanely good!!! I made it exactly as directed with fresh basil. I did put a little sprinkle of more cheese on top. It’s beautiful and it tastes incredible! This might be one of my all-time favorite recipes I’ve tried. Can’t wait to try another variation!
I sprinkled extra cheese on top as well – SO GOOD!!
This bread came together quickly and doesn’t compromise on flavor. I substituted chopped bacon for the sun-dried tomatoes to fit our liking and it was delicious, the Asiago and bacon complimented the basil flavor beautifully. The texture of this bread is so light and fluffy! It would be wonderful to serve on a weeknight with soup or as a fun side dish for just about any meal, change up just one of the ingredients and you’ve got countless possibilities for a fast, flavorful, and fluffy bread.
Can’t wait to make this. My book club ladies are my guinea pigs. They loved the Chocolate Sweet rolls. What would be a good spread for on top other than good ole butter? Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hi Kimberly! What about an herbed cream cheese or a garlic parmesan olive oil dip? We would love to hear what you try!
I love this bread! So moist and full of flavour! Will for sure make again! Looking forward to playing around with the add ins too!
Hey Sally, how do you think this recipe would do with a whole wheat, white whole wheat, or a 1/2 AP and 1/2 WW blend?
Hi Khara, you could definitely try 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 whole wheat or use all white whole wheat flour. The bread will taste heavier. I do not recommend using all whole wheat flour.
Made this today. I just halfed the amount because I’m making this kind of bread for the first time so was a bit skeptical about it at first,but the end result was so tasty so soft, beautifully crisp outside and absolutely perfect. Only thing I didn’t have was the cheese you mentioned so I substituted it with mozzarella because that was all that I had,still the end result was fabulous. Me and my husband just loved it.
What a wonderfully aromatic recipe; my kitchen smelled amazing!! I followed the recipe as written and made it into 3 mini loaves so that I could gift two to friends. They’re in for a savory treat!
Thank you for another delicious recipe!
This was very tasty! My husband and I enjoyed it with some tomato soup and it was a great combination of flavors. I was initially hesitant to put so much shredded cheese in the bread but it really adds some amazing flavor and even some moisture to the bread. I grated the cheese myself and used fresh basil and I think it made a difference.
Can I use mozzarella cheese to give it a caprese flavor?
Hi Ayla, I actually didn’t test mozzarella cheese, but I’m sure that would be great.
I loved this! Followed the recipe exactly and turned out great!