Cranberry Orange Bread | made with fresh cranberries
This delicious cranberry orange bread recipe is super easy to make. Made with just 10 basic ingredients this orange cranberry bread is perfect for the holiday season! Featuring fresh cranberries, and chopped walnuts this quick bread recipe is sure to a be hit!
Me and this homemade cranberry bread go way back, I first made it when I was little at a friend’s house. We all loved it so much that she sent us home with the recipe!
Over the years we’ve lost touch with that friend, and I have to admit I have not a clue what happened to the recipe she gave to us. Or where the original recipe came from.
But over the years this cranberry nut bread has become my bread recipe. There was just something about the combination of tart cranberries, fresh orange juice, and chopped nuts that I can’t help loving.
Over the years I’ve tweaked and made some slight adjustments to this recipe to create in my opinion the best cranberry bread recipe ever!
This easy quick bread has even made its way to our Thanksgiving table! I love making this bread during the Autumn, and especially at Thanksgiving.
But it also makes a delicious breakfast, perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. It’s a great recipe for the holiday season, as it’s perfect for bringing to dinner parties, get-togethers, brunches, potlucks, and more. It can even be given as a gift!
Plus this cranberry orange bread is a great way to use up fresh cranberries, and it couldn’t be easier to make!
What if I don’t have fresh cranberries?
I love making this bread with fresh cranberries, and they have always been readily available at my local grocery stores. Especially during the holiday season.
That being said, however, I have made this recipe it pretty much every type of cranberry imaginable. And I’m happy to report that they all work well!
When cranberries are in season, I love to buy a few extra bags and keep them in the freezer. Over the past ten years, I have made this bread with frozen cranberries lots of times, and I can safely say they work perfectly fine.
If you are planning on using frozen cranberries, I would recommend thawing them, for at least an hour before making the bread. But if you are in a pitch you can use them straight from the freezer!
You can also make this recipe with dry cranberries. I would recommend using unsweetened dried cranberries, but any kind of dried cranberries will work just fine for this easy cranberry bread recipe.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients
- white sugar
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- sea salt
- melted butter
- egg
- orange juice
- chopped walnuts
- fresh cranberries
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan,(I used a 9×5 glass loaf pan) and set aside until ready to use.
In a large bowl combine the wet ingredients,(melted butter, egg, and orange juice.) and mix well.
Add the sugar and stir. Next, add the dry ingredients(flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.) and mix. You should have a thick batter with no lumps.
Fold in the chopped walnuts Then add the fresh cranberries and fold just until combined. Scoop the batter into your prepared pan, and be sure to scrap the bowl out to get as much of the batter as possible!
Place the bead into the oven and back for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. As soon as the bread is out of the oven run a knife along the edges of the bread, this will make it easier to get out of the pan!
Allow the bread to cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan. Place the bread on a wire rack to finish cooling. Allow the bread to cool to room temperature before slicing.
Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Any leftover cranberry bread can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days!
I like to make this bread in a regular sized loaf pan, but you can also make it in mini loaf pans!
If you are looking to add some extra flavor, you can add 1 tsp fresh or dried orange zest to the bread batter.
I find that greasing and flouring my loaf pan works best for this recipe. But if you like you can line your loaf pan parchment paper instead.
Be sure to check out these cranberry recipes too!
Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad Bites
Easy Homemade Cranberry Relish Recipe
Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan,(I used a 9×5 glass loaf pan) and set aside until ready to use.
- In a large bowl combine the wet ingredients,(melted butter, egg, and orange juice.) and mix well.
- Add the sugar and stir. Next, add the dry ingredients(flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.) and mix. You should have a thick batter with no lumps.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts Then add the fresh cranberries and fold just until combined. Scoop the batter into your prepared pan, and be sure to scrap the bowl out to get as much of the batter as possible!
- Place the bead into the oven and back for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. As soon as the bread is out of the oven run a knife along the edges of the bread, this will make it easier to get out of the pan!
- Allow the bread to cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan. Place the bread on a wire rack to finish cooling. Allow the bread to cool to room temperature before slicing.
- Enjoy!
This looks delicious!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
This recipe looks so good, I am sure my kids will love it. Thanks you for this great recipe!
Cranberries are such a healthy but under-utilized food source, I’m glad to have more options than cranberry sauce, haha