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
This is my first time making a savory quick bread. The recipe was easy (I opted to use food processor became I can never get consistency right by cutting). I used the flavors suggested, and it’s super yummy. My house smells like a pizzeria!
I followed the recipe except I added center cut bacon, fennel seed, cheddar jack, Monterey jack, fontina, and parmesan cheese.
Additionally I cooked the loaf at 425 for the first 3 minutes, as the stone pan takes a while to heat up and thought it would give it a nice little lift
Used half fresh basil portion and half parsely
Added 1/4 scoop of sour cream into the wet batter and 2 oz of cream cheese as well
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
Added 1/4 teaspoon coriander in the dry Batter
Used butter and bacon grease to coat the pan so the crust would be nice and flavorful, sprinkled smoked paprika and sage on the exterior of the crust.
I so wanted to love this recipe, but the flavor was bland. I followed the recipe exactly and my bread came out just like the photos. Perhaps it was the cheese I used or the herbs but for whatever reasons the flavor was underwhelming. I’ve baked other recipes from this site that came out well. What I did like about this bread was the texture. I will try once more as written but if the same, will try other flavor profiles perhaps with a good sharp cheddar and bacon.
Sally, I didn’t receive a link to all the june entries, would you please send it to me?
Hi Todd, you can see the June Sally’s Baking Challenge entries here!
I made this recipe as part of the baking challenge. It was so easy to put together and baked beautifully. Not to mention, the herbs and cheese made the whole house smell amazing!
This was a hard one to rate! I loved it, but I was the only one in my family who did. However, it was super easy to make and I think that they would have liked it with different add-ins. I think the recipe is a great jumping-off point, and it’s an easy side to any meal.
I finally made this recipe yesterday. It came together quite easily too. I have never made a savory quick bread before but I love the idea! I used a mix of Italian cheese since that’s what I had on hand as well as added an Italian seasoning blend from a local cooking store. Will definitely make this again.
Easy to put together! I haven’t tried it yet but it smelled so cheesy and delicious while baking it will have to be good!
Delicious. I’m not a huge fan of dried tomatoes, but it didn’t even really matter. It was so good and cheesy and flaky. When I make it again, I might try the suggestion of swapping bacon for tomatoes. Everything’s good with bacon!
The only thing I changed was that I used cheddar instead of asiago. This is a very fragrant bread! The flavor is very sophisticated and the bread is best eaten warm.
I don’t make many savory breads, but this one was delicious. The directions were so easy to follow for a beginner and I can’t wait to make it again!
This recipe was delish! I followed the directions to a tee. The smell that perfumed my house was enough in and of itself to make this bread! So easy to come together in a snap! I paired this with homemade ratatouille. A great meal to show off fresh summer herbs and veggies!
I loved the recipe! It was so good! Honestly, the only thing I would probably do differently is make the bread a lot thinner and smaller of a slice due to it being a little dry, but I do know that that is normal since it is like a biscuit dough.
I made this to go with meatballs and ravioli and it went very well. I used mixed herbs and white cheddar cheese, I didn’t do an additional stir-in but I wish I had. Next time I may try it with bacon!
This recipe was so easy and so delicious! Another one of your recipes the family loved!
This was amazing based on the half slice I tasted. We used fresh rosemary, and some other savory spices from Penzy. We tasted it while still warm and we were taking it to a big family gathering the next day. Unfortunately, the scent drew our two dogs who took it off the counter as it was cooling, and they ate every single crumb. We loved it, and so did our dogs! I follow all your recipes. Thanks!
I swiped out Manchego Cheese for the Asiago and used basil and sun-dried tomatoes. The bread turned out beautifully and made the kitchen smell divine. The cheese flavor is subtle and the mouth feel just melts on your tongue. It’s another winner for sure.
So easy to put together! And it looks beautiful. I made asiago cheese with bacon and it tasted fantastic!
Delicious! And so easy! Used the same flavors in the original-Asiago cheese and sun dried tomatoes and they shined together. Would definitely make this again and switch up some of the add-ins!
Smells amazing while baking!! I used basil only. LOVE the asiago cheese on top!!
Thought it was fun to cut the cold butter into the mix, never have done that before! Delicious! It did not last long in my house!
So quick and simple to throw together! The bread was the perfect texture too — lightly crispy on the outside + soft on the inside. I added about 1/3 cup of olives, along with the 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes & asiago cheese, and the bread was unbelievably flavorful. Really looking forward to making this one again with some different add-ins!
This was lovely! I swapped out the asiago for cheddar jack mix because it’s what I had on hand and used fresh garlic – so good and so garlicky! I’m planning to make grilled cheeses out of it today. 🙂
I didn’t have oil packed sun dried tomatoes (only dried) but I soaked them in oil while I prepped everything else and I think it worked perfectly.
Hi, can this be made with whole wheat flour?
Hi Tricia, you could definitely try 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 whole wheat flour. The bread will taste heavier. We do not recommend using all whole wheat flour.
This is another winning recipe from Sally! It was not technically challenging to make if you’re familiar with quick breads, but it did challenge my preconceptions about what should go in to quick breads. In the past, I’ve focused on sweet ones (I especially love Sally’s cranberry quick bread and chocolate zucchini bread), but this savory bread is fantastic! I followed the recipe just as suggested using dried basil instead of fresh because that’s what I had access to. I admit that when I read the smaller amount of dried basil, I was a little worried that the bread would be under-spiced, but it was just right. I can’t wait to make this one again!
This bread is so good, not much of a challenge, as it was very easy to put together. Smells amazing while baking! Will definitely make again.
This was really tasty! I used the fillings Sally suggested and I enjoyed them, but I may add some bacon in the future. I can definitely see myself adapting it to what I have on hand or what I am in the mood for. If you buy sun-dried tomatoes and they come sliced in half, it may be wise to cut them into smaller pieces. I wish I had done that so the tomatoes could be better distributed.
Really good. It comes together easily and with all the flavour combinations, I don’t need to buy store bought anymore.
OH MY GOD! so delicious and easy!!! I have never had success with bread before and my heart is so happy! thanks sally!
Very Easy and tasty! I’m thinking about useing part of the loaf to make some homemade croutons!
Got the urge to bake and wanted to do something savory for a change, this recipe came together so quickly and I used what I already had on hand (kalamata olives & Parmesan) in replace of the tomatoes and Asiago, perfect swap, and so many more possibilities! A cheddar and jalapeño version would be great served alongside some chili! If you’re in the mood for bread, but don’t have a lot of time this recipe is great!
I thought the bread good. It is a different bread than I would normally fix with any of my meals, so I do not see myself making it again. It was very crumbly when I cut it.