Cranberry Orange Bread
This moist Cranberry Orange Bread recipe is bursting with tangy tartness from cranberries and a citrusy zip from fresh oranges. It is a fabulous quick bread for the holidays!
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Why You’ll Love This
- Taste and Texture – Our cranberry orange bread has a moist and tender crumb. The blend of tangy cranberries and the bright citrus notes of fresh oranges create a flavor burst with every bite.
- Seasonal Perfection – This bread brings the warmth and coziness of fall and winter to your taste buds. It makes a great holiday gift for friends and neighbors!
- Quick and Easy – Quick breads are one of the easiest recipes to make. They come together in under 20 minutes. And you don’t need an electric mixer either!
Some of our other favorite cranberry recipes to make are Buttermilk Cranberry Orange Muffins, Jellied Cranberry Sauce, White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti, and Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars.
Key Ingredients
Please see the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients, instructions, and notes for this orange cranberry bread.
- Fresh Cranberries – You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. Do not thaw the frozen cranberries.
- Bread Base – All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. The baking powder and baking soda work together to give the bread a light and airy rise, resulting in a fluffy and well-textured loaf.
- Granulated Sugar – We like the bread a little more on the sweet side to help with the tartness of the cranberries. But you can adjust the sugar to your taste.
- Eggs, Unsalted Butter, and Buttermilk – Eggs act as a binder and contribute to the moisture and structure of the bread. Buttermilk adds moisture to the bread and reacts with the leavening agents to ensure a tender crumb. The butter adds richness as well as moisture.
- Fresh Orange Juice and Orange Zest – Infusing the bread with these ingredients brings a refreshing and bright flavor profile.
- Orange Glaze – Powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest add a final layer of citrusy sweetness, complementing the flavors in the bread.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread
Tips
- Use room-temperature eggs and milk. This will help the batter ingredients incorporate more easily.
- Measure the flour properly. Aerate, spoon, and swoop level in a dry measuring cup. Too much flour and the cranberry orange quick bread will be too dry.
- Do not overmix! When adding dry ingredients to wet, mix until just combined. Overmixing can result in a loaf of tough bread.
- Be sure to let the melted butter cool slightly before adding it to the eggs. Hot melted butter will partially cook the eggs.
- The bake time may vary because not all ovens are exactly the same. So start checking for doneness around 35 minutes. If the top is browning quickly loosely tent it with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Variations
- You can also add in some chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts.
FAQs
You can but I highly recommend soaking them in warm water for at least 10 minutes. I would dry them and them toss with a teaspoon of flour. I would also recommend reducing the amount of dried cranberries to about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup. Dried cranberries are not as tart as fresh.
Place the cranberry orange bread in an airtight container or wrap it with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or store it in the refrigerator for up to one week.
I suggest cooling the bread completely and freezing it unglazed. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, place it in a freezer safe bag, and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, bring it to room temperature, and then glaze the bread.
More Quick Bread Recipes
Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange Bread
- 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon, divided
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups Cranberries fresh or frozen not thawed
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup Buttermilk room temperature (or whole milk)
- 1/4 cup Unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
- 1/4 cup Orange juice fresh squeezed
- 1 tbsp Orange zest
Orange Glaze
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp Orange zest
- 1-2 tbsp Orange juice
Instructions
Bread
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with baking spray. Or butter and flour the pan. I like to line the pan with parchment paper leaving over hang to easily remove the bread from the pan.
- Toss the cranberries with 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt.1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour, 1 tsp Baking powder, 1/2 tsp Baking soda, 1 1/2 cups Cranberries, 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, orange juice, and orange zest. Gently fold in the flour mixture just until combined.1 cup Granulated sugar, 2 large Eggs, 1/4 cup Buttermilk, 1/4 cup Unsalted butter, 1/4 cup Orange juice, 1 tbsp Orange zest
- Reserve about two tablespoons of the cranberries for the top of the bread. Then carefully fold in the remaining cranberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly.
- Sprinkle the reserved cranberries over the top. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove it from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze
- In a small bowl stir the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of orange juice, and zest together. Add more orange juice until your desired consistency is achieved. The glaze should be pourable but not too runny.1 cup Powdered sugar, 1-2 tbsp Orange juice, 1/2 tsp Orange zest
- Drizzle or spread the glaze over the top of the bread.
Notes
- Measure the flour properly. Aerate, spoon, and swoop level in a dry measuring cup.Â
- Do not overmix! When adding dry ingredients to wet, mix until just combined.Â
- Be sure to let the melted butter cool slightly before adding it to the eggs.Â
- Storing and Freezing – See the FAQ section in the post.