Rita Mitchell’s Strawberry Bread makes the Carolina Eats Recipe Sweepstakes finals

Rita Mitchell of Anderson makes loaves of strawberry bread each holiday season and gives them to friends and family.

This year, Mitchell entered her strawberry bread recipe in the Carolina Eats Holiday Homestyle Recipe Sweepstakes presented by Ingles, and it was drawn as a finalist.

This recipe makes enough to fill six small loaf pans, but you can cut the recipe to make a smaller quantity, Mitchell says. But if baking in a larger pan, make sure the middle gets done, she says.

Mitchell is one of four finalists in the Carolina Eats Holiday Homestyle Recipe Sweepstakes presented by Ingles. Each finalist receives a $250 Ingles gift card, with the grand prize winner, drawn at random, receiving a $500 gift certificate from Bob Burnett’s Appliance & Bedding Center in Spartanburg. Finalists also appeared in person or via Zoom with Jamarcus Gaston and Ingles Chef Jasmin Queen on WSPA’s Your Carolina show.

Strawberry Bread

Bread Ingredients:

• 3 cups sifted flour
• 1 tsp soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs beaten
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups thawed frozen sliced strawberries
• 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp reserved strawberry liquid

Bread Directions:

• Sift together in large bowl: flour, sugar, salt, soda and cinnamon
• In another bowl combine, mixing well, eggs, oil, 2 cups strawberries (reserve 2 tbsp liquid) and pecans
• Make well in the center of dry ingredients
• All liquid mixture, stirring just enough to moisten ingredients
• Pour into 6 greased 6x3x2 loaf pans
• Bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes
• Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes before removing from pans

Glaze Directions:

• Mix until smooth powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and strawberry liquid
• Pour over bread after you remove from oven
• Freezes well if you want to make ahead