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
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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.
I forgot about this deliciousness…I gotta get some cranberries asap and extra for the freezer!
Made this last year for christmas gifts ! Was so delish ! i’m making it again this year. i have 4 mini loaves in the oven now . and i have enough cranberries for another batch. thank you for this recipe. <3 its a good one folks !
can I make this in a bread machine?
Can you make things like banana bread, pumpkin bread, or zucchini in your bread machine (is there a quick bread setting?) if so, yes, I think it would work great. If not, I wouldn’t.
Can I use dried cranberries in this recipe?
Yep! They won’t be as bright and tart, but it will still work.
Yep, that would work great!
I made this tonight. Turned out well considering I didn’t have all the proper ingredients like baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, eggs. I decided to try it anyway. It was amazing. I used applesauce unsweetened, some fresh lime juice, & a little extra orange juice from the orange I zested with my knife. I added 12 oz frozen bag of cranberries. Honestly it was pretty tart. But my husband loved it. And he rarely eats sweets. Thx for the recipe.
mandy s
hope you’ve found some proper baking ingredients by now. That experiment must have been like a brick lol
Baking is a science that requires the right ratio of dry to wet. No leavening to make it light isn’t how one bakes.
Delicious! Thank you.
have you ever substituted blueberries for the cranberries? Would you have any suggestions for adjusting the recipe for blueberries?
I have! I didn’t change anything and it worked great.
I make mini loaves of this deliciously moist cranberry orange bread every year for Christmas for my loved ones! They love it and look forward to it. Thank you for this recipe! It is THE BEST.
My mom just made them in mini loaves too! I need to get some pans, how cute is that! ENJOY!
I have made this cranberry bread a few times now and nothing is as moist and delicious. I love the use of fresh cranberries and orange zest and the buttermilk gives it a real tang. My only issue is that even after 1 hour and 10 minutes, my 9 x 5″ bread still isn’t cooked in the middle! I had to cook it 1 hour and 20! I will buy a tea loaf pan and give that a try — it’s a prettier shape anyway. Thanks for the great recipe.
Do you have issues with other things taking longer to cook? I make this often in a 9×5 loaf pan and have never had that issue before, that’s so odd!
what part of the oven did she bake it in?