20 Sweet Quick Bread Loaves

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
June 01, 2012

Quick bread loaves are easy to make, easy to freeze and easy to serve with just about any meal. Try our recipes for classic banana bread or variations like peach bread, triple-chocolate bread, blueberry-lemon bread, pumpkin bread and more.

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Peach of a Bread

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Peaches add moistness to this quick bread.

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Triple-Chocolate Bread

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What goes best with chocolate? More chocolate. What goes best with our Triple-Chocolate Bread? Whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a glass of cold milk.

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Almond-Cranberry Bread with White Chocolate Glaze

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Sweet bread balances tangy cranberries in this winning recipe from the Wisconsin State Fair. Wrap and store it overnight to make it easier to slice.

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Triple-Spiced Pear Bread

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Oats, walnuts and nuggets of chopped pear give this loaf a toothsome heartiness, while buttermilk keeps it moist and tender.

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Banana Bread

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Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger flavor this moist banana bread. Make banana bread when your bananas get brown polka dots on them.

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Blueberry-Lemon Loaf

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Make this loaf on a Sunday night so it's ready for a quick weekday morning meal.

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Streusel Apple Bread

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A touch of lemon, chopped cranberries and walnuts make this quick bread seem like coffee cake. Norma Hendricks of Hopedale, Illinois, likes to serve this for dessert. "I made this by combining a couple of recipes," Norma says. "I think I started with a cranberry bread, but most of my kids don't like cranberries. Then I saw an apple bread recipe, and I thought streusel would be good on top."

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PB&J Banana Bread

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Banana bread gets a school-lunch spin in this moist and sweet quick bread.

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Honey-Zucchini Bread

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Zucchini, raisins and walnuts pack nature's harvest into a sweet and crunchy quick bread.

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Nutty Carrot Bread

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A sweet-tart lemon glaze tops this quick bread, which won a blue ribbon at the Elkhart, Indiana, County Fair. Stir ingredients gently just until combined -- overbeating leads to airholes and tunnels in any quick bread.

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Very Cherry Nut Bread

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Maraschino cherries and almonds fill this quick bread loaf with color and flavor. It's a favorite from the National Cherry Festival cookbook.

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Easy Banana Nut Bread

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Make a couple of these easy nut-filled banana bread loaves; like most quick breads, they'll keep up to a month in your freezer. Overwrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezerproof bag. Thaw at room temp.

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Lemon Thyme Tea Bread

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The intense flavor of this tiny-leafed herb teams up with lemon peel for the lemony scent in this sweet quick bread moistened with cream cheese. Another lemon option: Lemony Quick Bread, from Midwest herb specialist Rosemary Divock of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Any lemon-flavored herbs will work in her cakelike quick bread.

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Pumpkin Bread

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The innkeepers at Burchell's White Hill Farmhouse Inn in Minden, Nebraska, make this moist spiced bread using homegrown heirloom pumpkins, but this version of their recipe uses canned puree.

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Maple Date Nut Bread

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Chopped and pitted dates stand out beside the hint of maple syrup in this dark brown, nutty quick bread. This recipe is from Ruth Smiley of Smiley Brothers maple syrup producers in Indiana.

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Pineapple Zucchini Bread

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At Mooselips Java Joint in Seeley, Wisconsin, this bread is made with zucchini from the owner. Customers can buy individual loaves to eat like a muffin.

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Cran-Banana Bread

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Blend mashed bananas with a box of cranberry quick bread mix for this easy-to-make double-fruit treat.

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Cherry and Golden Raisin Bread

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Choose your favorite dried fruit to add to this lemon-glazed loaf.

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Pumpkin-Banana Bread

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Lisa Johnson of Gardner, Kansas, added banana to pumpkin bread for a new twist on quick bread treats. "This pumpkin bread is a favorite with our family," she says. "It's easy to make, and my two girls enjoy helping me. They especially enjoy when it's done baking. It makes the house smell wonderful."

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Cranberry and pumpkin breads

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Fresh cranberries, orange juice and chopped walnuts flavor Crazy-About-Cranberry Bread, while snipped dates and walnuts add chewiness to moist slices of Spicy Pumpkin Bread. Both recipes come from the Inn at Pinewood, near Eagle River, Wisconsin.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com