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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Would you think this recipe can be made into muffins?
Sure! I’d keep the oven temp the same and start checking them for doneness at 20 to 25 minutes. Please LMK how they turn out!
I made this with dried cranberries and walnuts leftover from Christmas baking plus I had an orange in the fridge. It was a big hit with my husband and neighbours. Thank you!
My favorite recipe! Perfect for Thanksgiving!
I made this yesterday. Great flavor BUT when slicing it falls apart. I reviewed the recipe and the only thing I can think of is the pan I used. A nordicware braided bread pan. Anyone else experienced this ?
Hi Colleen, did you chop the nuts? If they’re too big, it can be challenging to get clean slices. Also, was it fully cooled?
Yep chopped. Just slightly warm when sliced. Only other thing that came to mind is I didnt spoon flour into measuring cup. Just scooped flour into cup and leveled off. I looked up possible reasons and it said too much flour
That may have been the case. Also, next time you make this, or any quick bread, I’d let it cool completely before slicing. Using a serrated knife with a sawing motion works well.
Can you use half brown sugar half regular sugar
Hi Mariann, While it may work, it may impact the texture of the cake. For the most predictable results, I’d stick with white sugar.
This was very good. Super moist and flavorful! I doubled the recipe and froze one of the loaves 😊
I would like to try this recipe using grain free flour, but don’t particularly care for just almond flour alone as I think it makes for a texture that’s too crumbly/gritty. Do you or other reviewers have any recommendations for a grain free flour mix–maybe adding coconut flour or cassava flour to almond flour so that it stays moist and not crumbly–and if so, what proportions would I use for the flour mix?
Hi Diane, I don’t have experience working with grain-free flours so don’t have wisdom to share – I’m sorry! You could always use gluten-free flour. If you’d like to use almond flour, this article has some good suggestions for adjustments you need to make. Scroll down to the bottom. Hope you find it useful!
Hi Diane, I’ve made this many times with Cup 4 Cup gluten-free flour. This stuff is amazing. No-one ever guesses that my baked goods are GF. FYI: Depending on the application, leftover baked goods don’t have quite the same texture as non GF flours. But in this case, with the cranberry bread– you’ll never know for the duration of the loaf! (Also fyi, Bob’s Red Mill GF flour with a similar name is not even close to the same. In the blue bag, Cup 4 Cup is the one and only!)
Delicious results made dairy free and GF! I have some dairy free and GF people in my circle so I made this with Bob’s Redmill 1:1 GF Baking flour and some almond flour (1.5C flour to .5C almond flour) + some extra baking powder just because I find that all of my GF baking requires a little bit of extra umpf! I curdled my almond milk in the orange juice to mimic the buttermilk and used oil instead of butter … which sounds sacrilegious— however the result was delicious and a treat for my peeps that usually have to say no to all the treats! Thank you Jenn! Your recipes have become some of our family standbys— the table is such a special place for people to connect with one another and your work has made our gatherings more delicious and less stressful! Thank you!!!
In the words of my son-in-law: This is insanely delicious! (and he doesn’t even like nuts, lol). Made this exactly as written for Christmas brunch. Such a hit! Wouldn’t change a thing. It will now have a permanent place on my Christmas brunch menu. Thanks, Jenn!
This bread made a lot of people happy this holiday season. I gave it as gifts, served it to guests and it was universally praised. It’s easy to make, has a great texture and is DELICIOUS.
Thank you, Jenn — wish you a wonderful New Year.
Made 7 small loaves from one recipe. Did not change baking temp as suggested but they still came out perfectly anyhow after 22 minutes. Plump little loaf to share with any guest. I substituted pecans due to friend’s walnut allergy but lots of flavor packed into a tea-compatible snack
Thank you for this delicious recipe! This one is going in my holiday cookbook. I accidentally added 1 cup of buttermilk instead of the 2/3 cup but still is very good. Next time I’ll be sure to do the 2/3 cup.
Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Jenn,
Can this recipe be doubled?
Thank you!
SF Ana
Sure!