Cranberry Orange Bread
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Sweet, orange-scented, and packed with cranberries and walnuts, this cranberry orange bread is the perfect festive treat for the holidays.
Sweet, orange-scented, and packed with tart cranberries and walnuts, this cranberry orange bread recipe is tailor-made for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. As a classic quick bread, it’s incredibly easy to throw together. The trickiest part? Chopping up the fresh cranberries—they tend to roll everywhere! But don’t be tempted to use dried cranberries; the fresh ones burst as they bake, mingling with the batter to create jammy, tart-sweet pockets throughout.
Since cranberries are abundant during the holiday season, be sure to check out my Nantucket cranberry pie, fresh cranberry sauce, and cranberry chutney for even more festive inspiration.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need to Make Cranberry Orange Bread
- Buttermilk: Adds a tangy flavor and keeps the bread super moist.
- Orange zest: Brightens up the bread with a fresh citrusy kick.
- Orange juice: Enhances the sweet orange flavor and adds natural sweetness.
- Unsalted butter: Makes the bread rich and tender.
- Egg: Holds everything together and gives the bread structure.
- All-purpose flour: The foundation of the cranberry bread. Always measure flour using the spoon-and-level method to ensure accuracy.
- Sugar: Sweetens things up and balances the tart cranberries.
- Salt: A pinch to bring out all the flavors.
- Ground cinnamon: Adds warmth and coziness that pairs perfectly with the orange and cranberries.
- Baking powder & baking soda: Give the bread a nice rise, making it light and fluffy.
- Fresh or frozen cranberries: Bursts of tart, juicy flavor in every bite.
- Chopped walnuts or pecans: Add a bit of crunch and a delicious nutty flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the buttermilk, orange zest, orange juice, melted butter and egg in a small bowl.
Since the recipe calls for only 2/3 cup of buttermilk, you might not want to buy a whole carton. It’s easy to make your own by combining regular milk with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar (see recipe below for exact quantities). Whisk well to combine and set aside.
Next, combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Whisk well.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture.
Stir gently with a rubber spatula until just combined.
Add the halved cranberries and nuts.
Mix again to incorporate.
Scrape the batter into a greased loaf pan.
Bake for about one hour, then cool in the pan on a rack for ten minutes.
Turn the cranberry loaf out onto the rack to cool completely.
Slice the cranberry orange bread, serve and enjoy!
Freezer-Friendly Instructions
After the bread is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
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Cranberry Orange Bread
Sweet, orange-scented, and packed with cranberries and walnuts, this cranberry orange bread is the perfect festive treat for the holidays.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup buttermilk (see note)
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest, from 1 orange
- ⅓ cup orange juice, from 1 orange
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, halved (see note)
- ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and set an oven rack to the middle position. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together buttermilk, orange zest and juice, melted butter and egg. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just moistened. Gently stir in cranberries and nuts. Do not overmix.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350° F. Continue to bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45 minutes longer. Cool the loaf in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack and cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Note: If you’d like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
- Note: Cranberries are a bit tricky to chop because they roll all over the place. I cut them in half one at a time -- seems tedious, I know, but there aren't that many so it doesn't take long. If you're using frozen cranberries, be sure to slice them while they're still frozen.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 227
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Sugar: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 224 mg
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Just made it with almond flour came out perfect.
I use my kitchen scissors and just snip the cranberries in half.
This is delicious! I made a double batch and got 4 mini loaves and one regular sized. 😋
How long did you cook the mini loaves?
My sister-in-law made this yesterday and we had some after dinner. Reminds me of our mothers. DELICIOUS and moist. He sent me the recipe right then.
Patty
This is an excellent recipe for a fruit/nut loaf. Very moist and flavorful. I added a generous sprinkling of turbinado sugar before baking which gave it a sweet crunchy top. Will make this often!
Hello; Silly question?? What is the extra 2 tablespoon of sugar for? I couldn’t find it anywhere to add.
Thank you,
Michele
Hi Michele, not a silly question and sorry if it was unclear! All of the sugar (so the one cup plus the 2 tablespoons) get whisked together with the flour and other dry ingredients. Hope that clarifies that you enjoy! 🙂
Thank you for the quick reply. I just made four loaves with the 1 cup sugar and they turned out delicious! I made three for a client I cook for. Good thing I made an extra one because the kids said it smelled so good they hoped I made one for them!
Thank you! Great recipe.
Made this yesterday. Lost bread pan in my recent move, so used a large muffin silicon mold. They were fabulous and the house smelled oh so good! Only made 6 large muffins, and my sister thinks there will be some left tomorrow for her to taste… haha. NOPE! Best with tea in the morning or at night during a Hallmark Christmas movie. Ha. Thx again Jen for another winner. Only use your recipes!,
Thank you for such a delicious recipe! I had tried another one last week that I ended up tossing, so I was prepared to accept that maybe it was just me and my difficult relationship with cranberries. But your recipes are always so perfect that I gave the dear cranberries another go. And now I’ve found my go to seasonal bread. It was almost worth baking it just for the the wonderful aroma that filled the house. I prefer to make a recipe exactly as written the first time, but since I don’t like nuts, I omitted them and added just a hint of turbinado sugar on top. The bread was perfect!
I made a double batch and froze one loaf today, 12-4-2020. Delicious. Substituted half the flour with whole wheat flour, and exchanged 1/3 of sugar with Lakanto, I also reduced sugar amount by the extra Tablespoons. I will make this again. Thank you.
Jenn,
I made this today as three mini loaves with my almost 12 year old granddaughter since it was a day of asynchronous remote learning. We had a fun time making it and she is ready for our next baking time together. I completely forgot to start at a higher temperature and lower it and I’m so used to many of your other baked goods recipes so I ended up baking it for about 30/35 min. at 350 degrees. They seem fine; I’m curious why they are baked at a higher temp and then reduced. Also on my holiday mini loaves baking list are you lemon blueberry pound cake, which is a fan favorite, and the chai banana bread. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your recipes and cookbook.
Hi Ilene, so glad you like the recipes and use them as a way to spend time with your granddaughter! The reason that some of my baked goods indicate that the oven temp should start out higher and then be reduced is that it helps to give certain ones an extra boost in their rise. Hope that clarifies and that the cranberry bread was good!