This cake-like and moist peach quick bread comes together with a simple batter, juicy peaches, and a brown sugar crumb topping. Mix the peaches with cinnamon and sugar before layering and swirling into the batter just like you do when making peach Bundt cake. While there’s a few bowls to dirty, you just need a handful of basic ingredients and there’s no mixer required.
Is it bread? Crumb cake? Dessert cake? This recipe dances a few lines because it tastes satisfying alongside coffee, as an afternoon treat, or warmed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to finish off a meal. I always appreciate a versatile baked good and know you do too!
Peach Bread Details
There are 3 components to this peach bread recipe: Quick Bread Batter, Cinnamon Sugar Peaches, & Crumb Topping.
- Flavor: If you need a recipe where your freshly-picked peaches will shine, bake this bread. Sweet peaches and cinnamon ripple the center, but even the bites without peaches stand out. I wanted the entire slice to be equally delicious and exciting, so I flavored the bread with vanilla and a touch of almond extract and topped it all with brown sugar cinnamon crumb topping. (It gives peach crumble pie and peach crisp vibes!)
- Texture: In terms of texture, this peach quick bread is nestled somewhere between banana bread and white cake. I’d say it’s closer to apple cinnamon bread and zucchini bread. It’s not particularly dense, nor is it too light. You’ll enjoy its wonderfully soft crumb that holds up to the heavy peaches inside. The crumb surrounding the peaches is certainly moist and could become wet overtime, so I recommend storing the bread in the refrigerator after day 1.
- Ease: If you’ve ever made peach pie, you know that peeling and chopping slippery peaches can be tricky. But besides that, this is an easy summer baking recipe that bakers of any skill level can complete. A pastry cutter is helpful for the crumb topping, but you can use a fork or even your hands. Take your time putting the different components together and you’ll be rewarded with a loaf of success.
Recipe Testing This Peach Bread
Before you begin this peach quick bread recipe, let me explain how I put it together. I started testing this recipe with my peach muffins batter as the base, a recipe similar to this blueberry muffin bread. The bread portion was fine, but anywhere there was a peach, it was heavy and wet—not moist, wet. I assure you it was baked through, too. It’s a thinner batter, which did no favors for the heavy peaches.
I switched directions and took a closer look at this peach Bundt cake, which is oil-based and a scaled up version of cinnamon swirl quick bread. The crumb is light, but still strong enough to hold up the fruit. I played around with the leaveners and 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon baking soda produced a lovely springy crumb. Sour cream adds moisture without thinning out the batter. The peaches stay elevated and while the crumb around the peach chunks is moist, it’s not wet. (As long as you bake the bread long enough.)
In the printable recipe below, I recommend making the crumb topping first and placing it in the refrigerator until you need it. The colder it is, the more likely it will hold its crumbly texture. If the crumb topping is warm going into the oven, it will melt and virtually disappear into the bread’s top crust. After that, prepare your quick bread batter and peaches, and then assemble the bread before baking.
The most important step of this peach bread recipe is layering and swirling in the peaches. As noted in the printable recipe below, mix the peach chunks with some sugar and cinnamon. Spread half of your quick bread batter into the prepared loaf pan, all of the peaches (with any liquid they produced), and then the remaining batter. Swirl everything together so you have this delicious ribbon of cinnamon, sugar, and peaches throughout. This is exactly how we assemble apple cinnamon bread, too.
Feel free to skip the crumb topping (or leave it!) and top the baked and cooled bread with vanilla icing. We use the same icing for peach bars, too. If you love the idea of fresh peaches, streusel topping, and sweet vanilla icing, you must give peach bars a try next!
Extra fresh summer strawberries on your hands? Strawberry bread is another excellent way to enjoy seasonal fruits in quick bread form.
Peach Quick Bread Success Tips
Peach Quick Bread Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Make the crumb topping first. Mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Add the cold butter and using a pastry cutter or fork, cut butter into the brown sugar mixture until pea-size crumbles form. You can also use your hands to mix it together. Refrigerate (or freeze) until ready to use in step 5. (The colder it is, the less likely it will sink down into the bread and lose its crumbly texture.)
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and granulated sugar together until combined. Whisk in the oil, sour cream, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk to completely combine. Avoid over-mixing. You will have about 3 cups of batter.
- Mix the peach layer ingredients together.
- Pour/spread half of the batter into prepared loaf pan. Spoon/spread the peaches (and any juices) evenly on top. Carefully pour/spread remaining batter evenly on top. Using a knife, swirl the batter down the center of the loaf pan. Evenly sprinkle crumb topping on top.
- Bake the bread for 60-65 minutes, covering loosely with foil about halfway through to prevent the top from over-browning. Poke the center of the bread with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. Oven times will vary between ovens. My bread usually takes 1 hour. Cool bread completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Once completely cooled, slice and serve. The portions of bread around the peaches can taste gummy since peaches are so wet, but warming a slice up in the microwave for 10 seconds helps. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
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