cheddar herb irish soda bread in a pan fresh from the oven

St. Paddy’s Day (and the official start of spring) is right around the corner. And if you’re looking for the best Irish soda bread recipe, well, your search is over. This version is a little twist on the classic (the one with raisins or currants), but it’s still just as delicious! It’s also perfect for anyone who isn’t a fan of raisins: We’re swapping them out in this variation for some fresh rosemary and plenty of cheddar cheese!

sliced cheddar and herb Irish soda bread on a cloth

The rest of the ingredients are simple pantry staples that you likely already have on hand. This soda bread recipe couldn’t be simpler; just mix up your dry ingredients, cut in a bit of butter, stir in your egg and milk, and then bake it up! Easy, right?

close up detail of slices from best irish soda bread recipe with cheddar and herb

This bread tastes incredible served with a bowl of traditional Irish Stew or even on its own–but don’t forget to add a generous slather of salted butter! And, you must promise to enjoy this while it’s piping hot from the oven. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Did you try this soda bread recipe? Show us your culinary creation on Instagram @Lulus using #lovelulus and shop St. Paddy’s-worthy Sage green picks to wear all Spring! 

This recipe comes from our food contributor, Stephanie Simmons, of Blue Bowl. Her goal with her kitchen-tested recipes is to get you excited about cooking, show you how good food can taste, and prove that you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to make a good meal. 

  • PREP TIME: 34 MINS
  • SERVES: 8
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Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 and 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 4 Tbsp salted butter
  • 1 to 1 ½ tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • ⅔ cup cheddar cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 and 3/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

Prep:

Generously grease a 10inch cast iron skillet or another oven-safe dish of similar size with butter and then a light spray of nonstick spray on top of that. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

Make the bread:

  • Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl.
  • Cut the cold butter into chunks and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have pea and blueberry-sized pieces of butter that are coated in the flour.
  • Stir in the cheese and rosemary. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk.
  • Beat the egg in the measuring cup you used for the milk, and add that too.
  • Stir everything together until you have a dough. The dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky to move to the counter to knead, add up to 1/4 cup more flour.
  • Dump the dough onto floured counter and gently knead for 30 seconds to absorb flour. Don’t over-knead it! Gently shape it into a round loaf and set it in the greased pan. Use a knife to score an “x” on top of the bread.

Bake:

  • Bake the soda bread for 30-34 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bottom. A knife inserted into the center of the bread should come out clean or with a few crumbs–it shouldn’t have any wet dough.

Serve and store:

  • Brush with a little butter when it comes out of the oven for extra deliciousness. Enjoy warm!
  • Cover leftovers tightly with foil once cooled and store at room temp for 2-3 days. This is best enjoyed the first day, but to give it back some of its fresh-baked crispness, reheat slices in the toaster.

*Substitute for Buttermilk: Add the milk and lemon juice to a glass measuring cup and stir. Let sit for 5 minutes. (This is a sub for buttermilk if you don’t have any.)*