Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread (Dairy-Free, Vegan)

Crusty and golden outside, soft and tender inside, this easy gluten-free Irish soda bread has a dense, tight crumb and is perfect for spreading with jam. No yeast or rising time is required to make this delicious gluten-free bread, which is completely dairy-free and vegan too! Bake a loaf or two and freeze to enjoy homemade bread anytime!

Jump to:

• Homemade Bread is the Best
• What is Irish Soda Bread?
• Why This Recipe Works
• Ingredients You’ll Need:
• Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:
• How to Make Irish Soda Bread
• Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:
• Recipe FAQs:
• Other No-Yeast Bread Recipes You’ll Love:
• Bread Recipes to Enjoy:
• Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread (Dairy-Free, Vegan)

Homemade Bread is the Best

There’s just something about homemade bread that makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Nothing beats pulling out a freshly-baked loaf of bread from the oven and slicing into it, and then taking a big bite of bread that you’ve baked with your own hands.

While I certainly love baking yeast breads – from my soft, fluffy gluten-free bread, to soft gluten-free dinner rolls, and our recent favorite buckwheat bread, I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t always have the time or patience to wait for the dough to rise.

Sometimes, I just want to mix the dough together, and put it into the oven to bake. Which often means making a quick bread that doesn’t require any yeast.

What is Irish Soda Bread?

If you aren’t familiar with the term “Irish soda bread”, it basically refers to a type of quick bread that uses baking soda (or “bread soda” as the Irish call it) for leavening instead of the traditional yeast.

Fun fact: Soda bread is most famously attributed to the Irish, but it was in fact first developed by the North Americans, but later replicated and adopted by the Irish.

Here’s a quick chemistry lesson for those interested: Since baking soda is alkaline in nature (sodium bicarbonate), it is necessary for an acid to be present in the ingredients so that upon reaction with the baking soda, tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide will be formed, and these bubbles are what will result in the leavening of this soda bread.

Traditionally, buttermilk is used as the liquid in making soda bread because it contains lactic acid that will react with the baking soda. However, any acid will work too.

Soda bread may take on many forms, but one of the most common forms has a rounded shape with a cross cut on the top to allow the bread to expand as it bakes. I just love how artisan it looks – feels like it’s fresh from a bakery!

Why This Recipe Works

I wanted to create a gluten-free Irish soda bread recipe that was both dairy-free and vegan, and in turns out that it’s actually easier than it sounds!

Instead of using normal buttermilk, I’ve used a combination of non-dairy almond milk and lemon juice. I’ve also added a bit of baking powder in addition to the baking soda to help give the bread a bit more rise.

I’ve sweetened the bread slightly with just a bit of sugar in this case, but if you prefer to leave the sugar out for a non-sweet bread, that will totally work too!

This recipe results in a beautiful, golden brown and impossibly crusty exterior, with a soft and tender inside that has a tight and dense crumb (similar in texture to quick breads). Some say that Irish soda bread has a scone like texture and flavor, and I have to agree. It can feel like you’re eating one extremely big scone.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:

• Gluten-Free Flour Blend: I highly recommend using a good quality gluten-free flour blend that is made up of lighter flours and starches such as rice flour, corn starch, potato starch and tapioca starch (this will ensure you get a lighter texture). I do NOT recommend using a flour blend that includes heavier flours such as garbanzo bean flour as that will result in a denser final texture.

• Xanthan Gum: If your gluten-free flour blend does not include xanthan gum, make sure to include this in the mixture as xanthan gum replaces gluten in gluten-free flours.

• Sugar: I like having a bit of sweetness in this bread, but if you prefer your bread not to be sweet, you can simply leave it out.

• Coconut Oil: I like using refined coconut oil for baking as it has a neutral taste and flavor (as opposed to extra virgin coconut oil that has a more pronounced coconut smell and taste). Make sure your coconut oil is solid before incorporating it into the flour mixture. If your coconut oil is liquid, let it sit for 15 minutes in the freezer and it will turn solid. If you are not lactose-intolerant or vegan, feel free to use normal dairy butter instead.

• Almond Milk: I like using my 5-minute homemade almond milk. You can also use other non-dairy milks such as cashew milk, rice milk, soy milk, or sunflower seed milk. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, you can use normal dairy milk.

• Lemon Juice: In this case, lemon juice is required as an acid to react with baking soda to form bubbles of air that will create the leavening effect. If you don’t have lemon juice, you can also use another acid such as apple cider vinegar or white vinegar in equal quantities.

How to Make Irish Soda Bread

1. Preheat and Line

Preheat oven to 375F and line a cast iron skillet with parchment paper. Arrange oven rack to the middle position.

2. Combine Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum (if using), sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk well.

3. Incorporate Coconut Oil

Add the solid coconut oil to the flour mixture and press it into the flour with the back of a fork until all the coconut oil is incorporated (it will look like the texture of sand).

4. Form Dough

Add the almond milk and lemon juice, mixing until you get a shaggy dough that you can shape into a ball (the dough will be wet and shaggy but it’s completely fine).

5. Transfer Dough to Pan

Place the ball of dough on parchment paper-lined cast iron skillet.

6. Cut a Cross on the Dough

Use a knife to make a cross on the top of the bread.

7. Bake Till Crusty

Bake bread for 55 minutes to 1 hour until golden brown and crusty on top and the loaf sounds hollow when you knock on it.

8. Cool Before Slicing

Allow the Irish soda bread to cool completely before slicing into it.

Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:

• Cast Iron Skillet: I highly recommend baking the loaf in a cast iron skillet because it ensures that the bottom of the loaf turns out crust and brown too (since cast iron can retain heat very well).

• Cool Completely: Gluten-free bread requires cooling down so that it can finish cooking with the retained heat, and if you slice into it too early, it may have an unpleasant gummy texture. Make sure you allow the gluten-free soda bread to cool completely before slicing into it, even though it may be hard to resist slicing into the still-hot loaf. It’ll be worth it.

• Additional Add-Ins: Feel free to add a handful of raisins or golden sultans or even caraway seeds to the dough and mix well until thoroughly combined before baking.

• Make a Non-Sweet Version: If you don’t like sweet bread, simply leave out the sugar from the recipe.

• Make a Savory Version: If you like a savory bread instead, leave out the sugar and add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Recipe FAQs:

Other No-Yeast Bread Recipes You’ll Love:

• Gluten-Free Naan Bread (Dairy-Free, No-Yeast)
• Easy Honey Oat Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Option)
• Low Carb Almond Flour Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Low Carb Coconut Flour Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Flaxseed Coconut Bread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

Bread Recipes to Enjoy:

P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!

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