The Best Cranberry Orange Bread
on Nov 21, 2017, Updated Nov 20, 2024
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The Best Cranberry Orange Bread is sweet, gorgeous, and perfect for giving as a gift! Made with tangy orange zest, melted butter, and fresh cranberries – it is the perfect winter treat.
There’s something magical about the bright little pops of tart cranberry mixed in with all that sweet bread that makes Cranberry Orange Bread special. Adding a little orange glaze to the mix really puts this bread over the top.
Whether you are giving it as a gift or serving it at breakfast, it pairs well with Banana Bread. You could also make a Crustless Quiche or a Bacon and Cheese Egg Bake, some Sweet Potato Hash, cut up some fruit and you have a sweet little brunch.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread
- Recipe FAQs
- Expert Tips
- How long do I bake Cranberry Orange Bread based on pan size?
- Video on Making Cranberry Orange Bread
- Other Tart & Sweet Cranberry Recipes to Try
- More Quick Bread Recipes to Consider
- Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Super easy to make with simple ingredients
- Makes a wonderful Christmas gift.
- It’s delicious in the morning with a cup of tea or coffee.
Recipe Ingredients
- Sugar
- Oranges: Used for zest and juice.
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Buttermilk: You can use store bought or make a buttermilk substitute.
- Butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Cranberries
- Powdered sugar: For making the glaze.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread
Step #1. Put the sugar and orange zest in a bowl and mix together until the sugar turns a bit orange and is fragrant. Then add the dry ingredients.
Step #2. In a separate bowl, put all of the wet ingredients and whisk to combine well. Then combine the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
Step #3. Add the cranberries and gently fold them in.
Step #4. Pour the batter into a greased pan and bake at 350F until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Recipe FAQs
I used this tea loaf pan to make the bread pictured here but I have also made it in a traditional bread loaf pan, as muffins, and in mini loaf pans. The pan you use will change your baking time so be sure to check the recipe notes.
Yes. You can use frozen cranberries instead of fresh cranberries – let them thaw for about 10 minutes while you’re mixing up the bread and then they will be thawed enough that you can chop them.
Dried cranberries would work in this recipes but they are usually sweetened so I wouldn’t recommend it because the finished product will be overly sweet. If you can find unsweetened dried cranberries, that would work the best.
Yes! It can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure that the bread is fully cool before wrapping it in plastic wrap and then putting it in an airtight container or freezer zip-top bag.
Expert Tips
- Mixing the orange zest with the sugar before you add anything is the secret of this bread. The sugar pulls the oils out of the zest and you are making orange-infused sugar which really makes the orange flavor carry throughout the bread.
- While baking, if the top is starting to brown too quickly, cover the bread with foil for the 10 minutes or so of baking.
- Plan on buying a few extra cranberries for your cranberry sauce recipe for Thanksgiving. When they are hanging out in the fridge after the holiday, you’ll be all set to make this bread.
- Feel free to double this recipe; it works great and makes it easier to give a loaf away or freeze it for later.
- If you freeze this bread, you can make and add the glaze after it thaws.
How long do I bake Cranberry Orange Bread based on pan size?
- Bake in a 9×5 inch loaf pan at 350F for about 70 minutes (1 hour and 10 minutes).
- Bake in a tea loaf pan at 350F for around 50 minutes.
- Bake 12 muffins in a standard size muffin pan at 350F for 18-20 minutes.
- Bake mini loaf pans at 350F for 30-35 minutes (depending on the size of your pan).
Video on Making Cranberry Orange Bread
Other Tart & Sweet Cranberry Recipes to Try
More Quick Bread Recipes to Consider
Breakfast Recipes
Homemade Biscuits and Gravy
From Scratch Recipes
Overnight Sourdough Muffins
Homemade Bread
Pineapple Zucchini Bread Recipe
From Scratch Recipes
The Best Banana Bread Recipe
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest of 1 large orange
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, (here's how to make your own buttermilk)
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
For the orange glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×5 bread pan or a tea loaf pan well.
- In a large bowl, add the granulated sugar and the orange zest. Stir the mixture together until the sugar starts to turn a bit orange and is fragrant. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder to the sugar mixture and whisk to combine well.
- In a separate bowl add the buttermilk, butter, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine well.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and then place the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean about 1 hour and 10 minutes for a traditional 9×5 bread loaf pan (and about 50 minutes for the tea loaf pictured). If the top starts to brown too quickly, you might want to cover the bread with foil for the last 10 or so minutes of baking.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes before removing the bread from the pan. Run a knife along the edges of the pan before you turn it upside down to remove it from the pan.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the glaze until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the warm bread and then slice to serve.
Video
Notes
- This recipe doubles well if you want to make 2 loaves.
- Bake in a 9×5 inch loaf pan at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour and 10 minutes (70 minutes)
- Bake in a tea loaf pan at 350 degree F for around 50 minutes.
- Bake 12 muffins in a standard size muffin tin at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.
- Bake mini loaf pans at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes (depending on the size of your pan).
- If you would rather use frozen cranberries in this recipe, let them thaw while you’re making the batter (about 10 minutes). Then chop the cranberries and add them to the batter.
- This bread freezes great. Just cool fully, wrap up well, and freeze for up to 3 months.
This bread it so delicious and easy to make. Directions were perfect! I’m going to make 2 batches tomorrow. One tea loaf gor my famy and 4 mini liaves to gift. Thank you so much a d Merry Christmas!
Glad to find this recipe! I was going to try it today, but I only have clementines on hand. Will those work for the zest and juice?
You know, I don’t know… I’d love to hear what you think if you try it!
I made this bread today and it was absolutely delicious! I like it with or without the glaze. Such a great find! I’m going to hold on to this recipe!
So glad you like it as much as we do and I’ll make it often without the glaze too, still delicious and plenty sweet for sure!
This Cranberry Orange Bread has a wonderful taste as a pudding. I made this bread, followed the directions exactly, yet the bread came out wet like a pudding. Do you have any suggest as to why this happened? I even purchased new baking powder. My goal is to have Cranberry Orange Bread and NOT Cranberry Orange pudding.
Sent you an email! I bet there was just a mismeasurment or maybe you under-baked! Hopefully we can figure it out because it’s awesome as a bread!
Hi! Any idea how long these keep? I plan on making ahead of time and giving out as gifts but want them to taste fresh!
I give them as gifts a lot. I’d pop them in the fridge, uncut for up to three days (cooled and wrapped up well in plastic warp) and then slice and serve and if it’s going to be more than 3 days I stick it in the freezer, uncut, then thaw overnight before cutting and serving. Works great!
Hi Melissa,
I am going to make Cranberry loves following your recipe. It sounds sooooo good. I do have a question? I just sent my husband out to go buy me the 4 mini loaf pans. Do I just need to double the recipe to fill those pans? Do I fill each loaf pan to the top? Thanks sooooo much.
Diane
Mini loaves still vary a little and I bet you could get 4 loaves out of 1 batch. You’ll want to fill them about 2/3’s of the way full too, if you fill to the top it’ll overflow and make a mess in your oven. If you find that you have too much batter, just add it to a muffin tin and bake as to not waste any since I’m not sure on the size of your mini tins! Hope it works great, can’t wait to hear how you like it!
My daughter and I made your recipe today for our Christmas baking day. And it was SO good. Thanks for sharing!
Happy Christmas Baking to you friends! I hope it’s a regular this time of year for years to come!
It is the best! I made it yesterday and it was yummy ❤️
I’m making it today too to take to neighbors! Such a loved treat, I’m glad you liked it too!
Is it okay to use frozen cranberries?
Yes, I have with great success before though they are harder to chop!
Can’t wait to try this, I had a great cranberry tart recipe but lost it. I plan to bake this as gifts for neighbors. I am also going to try as muffins, maybe it will keep me from eating the whole loaf, ?
This makes an excellent gift and people will be knocking on your door to get the recipe too. Thanks for sharing the love!