The Best Cranberry Orange Bread
on Dec 17, 2020, Updated Mar 04, 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.
This is one of my all-time favorite holiday treats. I make batches and batches of it to put on my friend and neighbor goodie plates, take to parties, have for dessert when friends come over for mom dates, and every other excuse I can think of.
I’m planning on having an intentional Christmas this year. Doing things because they mean something and because I want to and not just because I should or can. I know it might be crazy, but I just love making dozens of goodie plates for neighbors every year and that is for sure on my list for this season. This bread has made the list to go on them again, too! That’s saying something!
Tips and Tricks for Making Cranberry Orange Bread
- Isn’t it pretty? I got the tea loaf pan from King Arthur Flour last year for Christmas and I just love it.
- Plan on buying a few extra cranberries for your cranberry sauce recipe. When they are hanging out in the fridge after Thanksgiving, you’ll be obligated to make this bread.
- 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. Best trick ever!
- Feel free to double this recipe; it works great.
You can make this bread in just about any pan you have (including muffins)
I have made this recipe as traditional loaves, tea loaves (which are pictured), muffins, and mini loaves as well. It always turns out well and it always gets rave reviews. There’s something magical about those bright little pops of tart cranberry mixed in with all that sweet bread. Adding a little orange glaze to the mix really puts this bread over the top. You will love it!
How long to bake Cranberry Orange Bread based on pan size:
- 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).
Here’s a video on how to make the bread if you need some extra help!
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 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 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).
- This bread freezes great. Just cool fully, wrap up well, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Love Cranberry Orange Bread?! You might also enjoy these recipes:
- Soft Gingerbread Cookies
- The best banana bread recipe
- Creamy Cranberry Salad (we call it cranberry fluff) from my friend Mel at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
I’m totally wishing I had some of this Cranberry Orange Bread in the house still, but it sure didn’t last long. I can’t wait to make another loaf. Every time I make this and give it as gifts, I’ll have multiple people ask me for the recipe. It’s just so good. Enjoy from my kitchen to yours!
This bread it so delicious and easy to make. Directions were perfect! I’m going to make 2 batches tomorrow. One tea loaf gor my famy and 4 mini liaves to gift. Thank you so much a d Merry Christmas!
Glad to find this recipe! I was going to try it today, but I only have clementines on hand. Will those work for the zest and juice?
You know, I don’t know… I’d love to hear what you think if you try it!
I made this bread today and it was absolutely delicious! I like it with or without the glaze. Such a great find! I’m going to hold on to this recipe!
So glad you like it as much as we do and I’ll make it often without the glaze too, still delicious and plenty sweet for sure!
This Cranberry Orange Bread has a wonderful taste as a pudding. I made this bread, followed the directions exactly, yet the bread came out wet like a pudding. Do you have any suggest as to why this happened? I even purchased new baking powder. My goal is to have Cranberry Orange Bread and NOT Cranberry Orange pudding.
Sent you an email! I bet there was just a mismeasurment or maybe you under-baked! Hopefully we can figure it out because it’s awesome as a bread!
Hi! Any idea how long these keep? I plan on making ahead of time and giving out as gifts but want them to taste fresh!
I give them as gifts a lot. I’d pop them in the fridge, uncut for up to three days (cooled and wrapped up well in plastic warp) and then slice and serve and if it’s going to be more than 3 days I stick it in the freezer, uncut, then thaw overnight before cutting and serving. Works great!
Hi Melissa,
I am going to make Cranberry loves following your recipe. It sounds sooooo good. I do have a question? I just sent my husband out to go buy me the 4 mini loaf pans. Do I just need to double the recipe to fill those pans? Do I fill each loaf pan to the top? Thanks sooooo much.
Diane
Mini loaves still vary a little and I bet you could get 4 loaves out of 1 batch. You’ll want to fill them about 2/3’s of the way full too, if you fill to the top it’ll overflow and make a mess in your oven. If you find that you have too much batter, just add it to a muffin tin and bake as to not waste any since I’m not sure on the size of your mini tins! Hope it works great, can’t wait to hear how you like it!
My daughter and I made your recipe today for our Christmas baking day. And it was SO good. Thanks for sharing!
Happy Christmas Baking to you friends! I hope it’s a regular this time of year for years to come!
It is the best! I made it yesterday and it was yummy ❤️
I’m making it today too to take to neighbors! Such a loved treat, I’m glad you liked it too!
Is it okay to use frozen cranberries?
Yes, I have with great success before though they are harder to chop!
Can’t wait to try this, I had a great cranberry tart recipe but lost it. I plan to bake this as gifts for neighbors. I am also going to try as muffins, maybe it will keep me from eating the whole loaf, ?
This makes an excellent gift and people will be knocking on your door to get the recipe too. Thanks for sharing the love!