Irish soda bread flavored with cheese and herbs is the perfect, easy bread to serve with hearty stews or soups. It’s also perfect served simply with butter and the ultimate side dish for St. Patrick’s day.
I am a big fan of easy, no-knead bread recipes. They make great side dishes and are perfect to have on hand for snacks served with butter and jam or topped with a fried egg for a quick breakfast or lunch. This cheesy herbed Irish soda bread is my latest obsession.
Not only does this bread take all of 10 minutes to throw together, it bakes relatively quickly and you are guaranteed a loaf of bread so delicious, you’ll want to gobble the entire thing up in one sitting.
It’s also very versatile and you can flavor the bread with anything you wish. Different kinds of cheese, herbs, fried onions, roasted garlic and even sun-dried tomatoes will all work perfectly in this loaf. I have chosen to keep it simple and classic with cheese and herbs. The rest of the ingredients are all pantry/fridge staples, making this Irish soda bread recipe even better.
How to make Irish soda bread
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Whisk an egg into buttermilk then pour into the dry ingredients and slowly bring the dough together using your hands. Take care not to over-mix the dough. When the dough is just starting to come together add the grated cheese and herbs then mix to bring the dough together in a round ball. The dough will be sticky and should look quite shaggy, not smooth at all.
Transfer the dough to a cast iron pot/Dutch oven line with baking paper. Score the top with a sharp knife and place the lid on top. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when knocked on the bottom. A skewer inserted should also come out clean. Allow to cool then serve with lots of butter.
How long does Irish soda bread last?
Although it’s best eaten the day it is baked, Irish soda bread will last 3-4 days. Wrap well with wax paper and foil to keep it fresh for longer. Stale bread can be served toasted.
What to serve with Irish soda bread?
- Slow braised beef short ribs with cheesy mash
- Easy healthy chicken broccoli soup
- Quick and Easy Vegetable soup
- Irish lamb stew
Easy bread recipes
- Easy cheesy corn beer bread
- Pecorino, potato and rosemary bread
- Bacon corn bread
- Cheese and herb beer bread
Cheese and herb Irish soda bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
- 1 t salt
- 2 cups (500ml) buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- ½ cup fresh herbs, chopped (I used parsley, sage and chives)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/360ºF and line a Dutch oven/cast iron pot with baking/parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Whisk an egg into the buttermilk and pour into the dry ingredients.
- Mix the dough until it just starts to come together (there will be large lumps) then add the cheese and herbs.
- Continue mixing until the dough just comes together. The dough will be sticky and shaggy looking (not too smooth or else it will be over-mixed).
- Transfer to the prepared pot then score a cross onto the top with a sharp knife. Cover with the lid and place in the pre-heated oven.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the bread is cooked through. It will sound hollow when knocked on the bottom and a skewers inserted will come out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving with butter.
Nutrition
***** was easy an so delicious. Ready to make again ty
This is my first time making soda bread. Mine came out very dense. Is that the way it is supposed to be ?
Soda bread is definitely more dense than a yeasted bread would be. It shouldn’t be wet in the center but yes, it is quite dense.
Am I reading your instructions correctly that the Dutch oven is NOT placed in the oven to preheat while the oven is coming to temp and instead goes in cold with the bread dough?
Thanks for the clarification since all of my bread recipes calling for a parchment-lined, lidded, Dutch oven require it to be preheated and the bread lifted into the hot pot on the parchment. This is my first time trying an Irish soda bread so perhaps this style of bread bakes differently?!
No, I don’t preheat the Dutch Oven but you could, if you preferred.
Easy, Good, Tasty…. Make two loaves…… one to serve on St. Patrick’s Day and one to hide (for selfish reason after guests have gone home) …. Don’t do the dishes… Open a Guinness, sit back, put your feet up and enjoy a private slice or three…. If the doorbell rings, don’t answer it… just cut yourself another slice of deliciousness…. You have earned it! Fabulous recipe… Thanks Alida
Simple, easy, delicious! I used the freeform shape on a sheet pan and it was great! I would put a pic up but not sure how, and it really looked like yours but the shape was different! Thank you so much
Didn’t get a lot of color on top, banged like a drum, very dense, but very good. Thank you!
Hello,
Do you use normal bread flour?
You could but because there is no yeast in this recipe, bread flour could result in a bit of a tougher loaf.
If I use a cast iron skillet, should I tent with foil (no lid)? How much will it rise?
Allow it to bake and then tent if it browns too much. The bread will be considerably flatter if you use a skillet but since I haven’t tested it, I can’t say with certainty how much it will rise in a skillet.
Omgoodness this was delicious! Exactly what I wanted to pair with my leftover Christmas turkey noodle soup. Mine seem to take a lot longer to cook. Over an hour! But it was totally worth it. Moist and golden brown! I didn’t have any fresh herbs but I put some dried ones in with the dry ingredients and brushed melted garlic butter on the top when it came out of the oven. ? #drool.
Hi!
Nice recipe, liked it lots!
I’ve noticed in Lotsa internet reading that people complain that, after refrigeration, some breads change color to a grayish hue! ( doesn’t affect taste or health) !,,,
I also noticed that these breads all have some quantity of Buttermilk in them!.
I think Buttermilk is the Color Culprit!
Thanks for recipe ?
super easy and very tasty. never have buttermilk but milk + apple cider vinegar works well in place 🙂
no butter in this recipe?
Nope.
Can this be frozen? Thank you
Yes, definitely!
mine did not turn out brown on top, was I supposed to remove the lid? thanks! Melissa
You could definitely remove the lid for the last 10 minutes of baking.
My didn’t brown either. Do you uncover your bread while baking so it has that beautiful brown color
You definitely can if you want your loaf to be more golden.
Am I able to bake this in some other sort of pan ?
Yes, this will work in a loaf pan or sheet pan as well, shaped into a round loaf.
May I ask if you used regular flour or extra strong bread flour ? Also what size Dutch oven did you use ? I’ve made it with just regular flour . Many thanks for sharing this recipe ,
Yes, I use regular flour and it comes out perfectly every time.
The easiest bread recipe and it was so delicious. Will make again.
So glad you liked it.
I made this bread last weekend and it turned out perfectly! I’ve never made bread before so this was a great starter recipe and I love soda bread. My only question/comment is that when I took it out of the fridge today to have a slice to toast the colour was off…most of the centre looked greyish in colour. It didn’t smell or taste bad from what I could tell…what could have caused this? A chemical reaction due to the soda? the fresh herbs?
I’m so glad you liked it. It could definitely be the herbs (especially sage can be quite grey) and I suppose it could also be a chemical reaction but mine didn’t discolour for days after so to be honest, I’m not entirely sure?
Mine turned out wonderfully, but I saw the same grayness after a few days. The only herb I added was fresh chopped sage, and I also added way more cheese than the recipe called for. I think it is related to the sage after all. Still ate the whole loaf myself tho!
It must be the sage then, that’s so strange!
Loved this recipe. Really so easy and delicious.
Great to hear. 🙂
I’m loving this cheesy/herby version Alida. Irish soda bread is one of my favorites. My mother always made it growing up!
Thanks Mary Ann. It’s such a comfort food classic.