I was SHOCKED when I asked my (part Irish) husband what he did growing up to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day and he answered, ‘Nothing in particular.’ Well, I wasn’t ok with that answer.

Growing up, my 100% Jewish Mom would make home made (kosher) corned beef and cabbage (and potatoes!) every St. Patrick’s Day! Not an ounce of Irish blood in us but my Mom made the day a big deal and it was fun (and yummy) as a kid.

We are plant based so I wasn’t about to make corned beef, and I was still recovering from a tummy bug so cabbage wasn’t going to work for me. So what did I do? I made my first ever Irish Soda bread! I have to say, it came out SO much better than I ever imagined. For full disclosure, I’ve never actually had it before but it always looked dry and tasteless to me. But this bread was crunchy on the outside, squishy on the inside and lightly sweet. It was SO yummy! We all LOVED it! (The baby even asked for 2nd’s!)

Another reason I decided on making this … I ran out of my home made challah. (My toddler & I make little vegan & gluten free challahs and keep them in the freezer and take one out every Friday for Shabbat)! I thought what better way to make hamotzi and celebrate ALL our different heritages and backgrounds? (Not exactly the ‘kosher’ way to do the bracha I know, but do I at least get points for creativity and being festive and hello… HOMEMADE warm BREAD!) 🙂

I had some inspiration from Ina Garten’s version. (From one Jewish woman to another… thanks Ina! Happy St. Paddy’s Day!) I liked that she added currants into hers. But she also had butter, egg, dairy, etc. which I don’t cook with. I wanted mine to be vegan & gluten free, but I ran out of my Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all-purpose flour at the last minute! (I know, 1st world problems, lol!) So I created my own GF flour blend in a pinch (and even impressed myself!). If you have a pre-made one, feel free to use that, but I thought this combo worked really well. 🙂 I took a cue from her version and added 4 tablespoons of sweetener mainly because I have never tried this recipe before BUT next time I will halve the amount a sugar to 2 tablespoons. I think it will be just as good but haven’t tried it yet.

I hope you enjoy this easy & tasty recipe!

What are YOUR food traditions for this lucky green holiday? 🙂

Comment and let me know below!

xo

Orange Currant Irish Soda Bread (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Homemade Gluten Free All-Purpose flour blend

• 2 cups brown rice flour
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• ½ cup oat flour
• ½ cup sourgum flour
• 1 tsp xanthan gum

Other Ingredients

• 2 cups coconut milk (or other nondairy milk)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 vegan egg (I used 1 tbsp Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer, 3 tbsp water but ground flax or ground chia in the same ratio also works)
• 1 cup dried organic currants
• 5 drops of Young Living Essential Orange Oil (or 1 tbsp orange zest – from 1 medium orange)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Prepare the vegan egg and set aside
3. Mix flour (or all the flour ingredients), coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum in a big bowl
4. Mix the apple cider vinegar and coconut
5. Add the vegan egg and milk to the flour and mix well
6. Stir in the currants and orange oil/zest
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until edges are just browned
8. Enjoy!