Skillet Irish Soda Bread
This easy skillet Irish soda bread is baked in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Flavored with orange zest and studded with dried fruit, serve warm from the oven with a side of butter and jam. Recipe yields 10 servings.

Let’s start with the obvious: this is not a traditional Irish soda bread recipe. Instead, this is an effortless skillet Irish soda bread, with a buttered and sugared topping that gives way to a tender center studded with dried cranberries and golden raisins.
Perfumed with orange zest, this skillet bread is irresistible still warm from the oven and makes a fine breakfast along with butter and jam.
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What this recipe lacks in tradition, it makes up for in sheer deliciousness. If you’ve never made soda bread before, I encourage you to start here and never look back – you’ll be devouring this bread all weekend long.


Skillet Irish Soda Bread
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 1 10-inch loaf, 12 servings
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
Description
This easy skillet Irish soda bread is baked in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Flavored with orange zest and studded with dried fruit, serve warm from the oven with a side of butter and jam.
Ingredients
Bread
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp aluminum free baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 3/4 cups low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
Topping
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a seasoned 10-inch cast iron skillet.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl; make a well in the in the center of the mixture. Whisk together buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and orange zest in a medium bowl. Add to flour mixture and fold in just until almost incorporated; gently fold in cranberries and raisins.
- Pour batter into prepared skillet and smooth with an offset spatula. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, until top and edges are golden and set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes in the skillet before using a thin spatula to loosen bread from skillet and invert onto a cooling rack. Let cool to slightly warm before serving.
Notes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Keywords: Skillet Bread, Soda Bread
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This bread was delicious! My dad absolutely loved it. It stayed moist for a good week. I kept it in a ziplock bag and sliced it off. It was delicious plain but as it got a little older we loved it toasted with orange marmalade. It was just fantastic. Thanks for such a great & fun recipe to bake in a cast iron skillet.
Thanks so much, Debbie! Glad to hear such great feedback! 🙂
Delicious treat, Laura! I will definitely give it a try!
Oh, this looks so delicious, Laura. I’d love a slice right now!
What a brilliant idea to make this in a skillet!