Cranberry Orange Bread
Updated Dec 02, 2025
Cranberry orange bread with citrus zest, fresh orange juice, and cranberries for a simple, quick bread topped with an orange glaze and mixed in one bowl.
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Make cranberry orange bread for the holidays!
Cranberry orange bread fits right into my winter baking routine because I always have citrus and a bag of fresh or frozen cranberries on hand. This cranberry orange quick bread comes together with simple ingredients, and the batter stays easy to work with even when you fold in the fruit. It bakes into a sturdy, sliceable loaf that keeps well on the counter.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Cranberry Orange Bread Ingredients
- Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. If you use frozen, don’t thaw them first.
- Oranges: Choose oranges that feel smooth and don’t have any blemishes. Here are my tips on how to zest citrus and how to juice citrus.
- Walnuts: The walnuts are optional, but they balance the sweet and tart flavors well. You can substitute any nut you prefer.
- Dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Wet ingredients: Unsalted butter (or a neutral oil), eggs, and vanilla extract.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread
Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe
Homemade cranberry orange bread made with orange zest, fresh OJ, and cranberries. It's an easy, quick bread that mixes in one bowl.
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest from about 1 large orange
- ¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice from 2–3 oranges
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled (or neutral oil)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries if frozen, do not thaw
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Orange Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and orange zest, and rub the orange zest into the sugar with your fingers until fragrant. Whisk in the orange juice, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Gently fold in the dry ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top.
- Bake for 55–60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If browning too quickly, tent with foil during the last 10 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
- To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth. Add an extra tablespoon of orange juice if needed for a more runny consistency. Drizzle over the cooled bread for extra sweetness.
Equipment
Notes
- My Top Tip: Toss the cranberries and walnuts in the dry mixture before you add it to the wet ingredients. This stops them from sinking to the bottom of the pan in the oven.
- Storage: Store the cranberry orange bread in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or in the fridge for about a week.
- Freezing: Wrap the loaf or individual slices in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag. The cranberry orange bread will last for up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw on the kitchen counter until room temperature.
¾ cup cane sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cranberries, sliced
½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 large egg
2 tablespoons coconut oil
¾ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the cranberries and walnuts, and stir to coat with the flour mixture.
In another large bowl, combine the egg, oil, orange juice, and orange zest. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and stir until everything is well-blended. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan
Bake for 50-55 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 284kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 51mg, Sodium: 192mg, Potassium: 100mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 24g, Vitamin A: 324IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 38mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Recipe Variations
- Add baking spices: Sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom into the batter to warm it up.
- Try additional add-ins: Enhance the flavor and texture with shredded coconut, chocolate chips, or dried fruits such as raisins and cherries.
- Top it with a streusel: For more crunch and texture, try the topping from my Apple Crisp recipe!
Recipe Tips
- Use room-temperature ingredients. Read my tips on how to melt butter so it combines easily with the rest of the ingredients. For best results, use room-temperature eggs, too.
- If you use frozen cranberries, don’t thaw them. Use them right from the freezer and fold them quickly into the batter before baking. If they start to thaw, the color will leak and turn your bread pink.
- Chop the cranberries and walnuts. Biting into a full cranberry might be too much tart flavor for some people! Chop the add-ins so there’s a little bit of flavor in every bite.
- Toss the cranberries and walnuts in the dry mixture before you add it to the wet ingredients. This stops them from sinking to the bottom of the pan in the oven.
- Freeze extra cranberries. Buy extra fresh cranberries when they’re in season and read my tips on how to freeze cranberries so you can enjoy them in recipes all year long.
FAQs
Why is my cranberry orange bread dense?
You may have overmixed the batter. When you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix until just combined for a tender, moist cranberry orange bread.
Why are the cranberries streaky?
This can happen when you use frozen cranberries. Make sure they’re completely frozen, because when they start to thaw, the color can leak into the bread.
What if I don’t have a loaf pan?
You can use a muffin tin to make cranberry orange muffins. Adjust the baking time to around 18–20 minutes and check the doneness with a toothpick.
More Cranberry Recipes
- Cranberry Cake
- Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Cranberry Lemon Muffins
- Cranberry Baked Brie
- Cranberry Cheesecake
- Cranberry Oatmeal
- Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Baked Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Salsa
- Cranberry Mocktail
Comments
Can I use dried cranberries instead of fresh/frozen?
I haven’t tried using dried cranberries but I think it would work. You can try boiling them in water to help plump them up a bit. If the dried cranberries are sweetened, you may also want to reduce the amount of sugar so the bread isn’t too sweet. Hope that helps!
If I substitute the coconut oil for butter, do I still use the same quantity? Should it be softened or melted? Otherwise, what other neutral oil do you recommend? Can I freeze this bread if I make a couple of loaves?
Yes, I would use the same quantity for melted butter! Once the bread has cooled, you can freeze the bread by wrapping it tightly in foil and placing it in a freezer bag.
Hello , can I use whole wheat flour and blueberries instead? Thank you and canโt wait to try it
I have yet to try this recipe with whole wheat flour. Blueberries should work in this recipe in place of cranberries.
Just tried it with half whole wheat and half all purpose flour with fresh blueberries and it turned out great ๐
Yay!! Thank you for letting me know!
This is a wonderful bread. I used raspberries instead of cranberry. Yum yum!
So glad to hear that! Love that you used raspberries instead ๐
Wow!! I just made the cranberry orange bread and it came out so well!!! So easy and yummy!! Thanks!! Now Iโm excited to try the lemon bread!!!
So glad to hear it. Thanks so much!!
Yumna, would like to ask the nutrition, 1g is 184kcal? Means if one slice is 20g , then it will be 3,680kcal??
The 184 calories is for once slice and the loaf is divided into 12 slices, so the whole bread would be about 2,200 calories. I hope that helps!
Hi Yumna! Thank you for the great recipe!
I would like to make this, as little New Years gifts, in mini loaves. Can you help me with the temp and time length to bake them, so they turn out as lovely as the large loaf? THANK you so much! XO Nelle
Hi Nelle! That’s such a cute idea! So you’ll want to keep the temperature at 350F, but the time will be between 30 and 40 minutes. I recommend starting to check on it at the 30 minute mark until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Happy New Year!
I just had to make this. It looks amazing. Plus, ya oddly made me remember the fresh cranberries that I had to use up, before it went bad. As well as some oranges. This recipe was easy to follow and too make. I didn’t have a zester, so grinding up the orange rinds worked. It added more flavor and texture than just zesting um. The cranberries gave it a tart burst that worked so well with the orange juice and walnuts. This was so good and really scrumptious. I made the loaf a few hours ago and it’s almost gone. Everyone loves it and wants me to make more. I can’t thank ya enough for making and posting this recipe.
You’re so sweet! Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed feedback on the recipe! I love that you were creative in creating the orange zest with the mini grinder, and I’m so happy to hear that everyone loves the bread! Thank you!!
Love it
Thank you!!