Cranberry Orange Bread made with fresh cranberries and a sweet orange glaze is one of our families favorite. It’s a tradition to make this easy recipe each holiday season.
I love sweet bread’s, especially when I can use fresh produce to make them like this Lemon Blueberry Bread, Lemon Zucchini Bread, and Easy Banana Bread.
I also love making holiday sweet breads for neighbors and friends. I always make a dozen mini loaves of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread in October, and I love to give this Cranberry Orange Bread around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The cranberry/orange combination is the perfect blend of sweet and tangy, and the glaze takes it over the top. It’s beautiful and completely delicious!
Easy Cranberry Bread in 6 steps:
1. Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl add sugar and orange zest and stir well to combine. Add flour, salt, and baking powder and stir.
2. Combine wet ingredients: In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
3. Fold in cranberries. Cut the fresh cranberries in half and fold them into the batter.
4. Add to bread pan. Spray two 9×5 loaf pans with cooking spray and pour batter into pan(s).
5. Bake. For regular loaf pans, bake for 60-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For mini loaves, bake for 35-45 minutes. If your loaf starts to get too brown during cooking, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top to finish baking.
6. Cool and top with glaze. While the bread is cooling, make the orange glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the bread. Cut and serve.
Storing and freezing cranberry orange bread:
To store: Wrap the fresh cranberry bread in plastic wrap and store it for 2-3 days at room temperature.
To freeze: This cranberry bread freezes beautifully. Allow it to cool completely and place it in a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Consider trying these holiday recipes:
- Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake
- Rocky Road Fudge
- Caramel and Chocolate Dipped Pretzels
- Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies
- Brownie Truffles
- Christmas Cornflake Wreaths
- Homemade Caramels
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Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- Zest of 2 large oranges
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup oil (vegetable or canola oil)
- 4 large eggs slightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh cranberries halved
For the orange glaze: (Optional)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray two 9x5 loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl add sugar and orange zest and stir well to combine. Add flour, salt, and baking powder and stir. Set aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Fold in the halved cranberries. Pour batter into prepared pans.
- For regular loaf pans, bake for 60-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For mini loaves, bake for 35-45 minutes. If your loaf starts to get too brown during cooking, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top to finish baking.
- Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides of the bread with a knife. Carefully remove loaf from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack.
- While the bread is cooling, make the orange glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the bread. Cut and serve. Wrap bread well and store for 2-3 days at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Two Peas and their Pod.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe November 2015. Updated November 2019.
Pat says
Toss to dust the cranberries in flour before mixing into the batter to help prevent them “floating” to the top of the bread.
Betty Arnal says
I am in the process of making this lovely loaf and am not sure how many loaf pans they fill. Don’t think I saw where it said more than one….yet you always refer to “loaf pans”. Thanks.
Lauren Allen says
Hi Betty, I typically use two 9×5 inch bread pans! I would love to know how it turned out!
Monika says
Wonderful recipe! I made this today, one as a bread loaf and made muffins out of the remainder of the batter. My family loved it! This was the first time I had used real cranberries versus the dried and was quite surprised at how tart the were but the glaze really bring it all together perfectly. Thank you so very much for sharing.
Lauren Allen says
Thanks so much for sharing! I’m happy your family loved them!
Dianne Paul says
This is my new favorite bread. It was very moist and had a lot of flavor. Sad part is, I made this last month and was going make some more today and can’t get fresh cranberries any more. They are out of season. Can you use dried?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Dianne, Isn’t that the worst? I wish stores carried fresh cranberries all year round! You can use dried cranberries as a substitute.
Margot says
I buy bags of them when in season and toss them in my freezer.
susan says
how in the world does one half cranberries? Could they be put in a food processor? Can’t wait to bake this!!
Lauren Allen says
I just cut each in half with a small knife.
Lisa says
Sounds delicious. Would love to make this for a church brunch. Does “fresh orange juice” mean the juice squeezed from oranges, or do you buy actual orange juice in a container?
Lauren Allen says
I like to squeeze the juice from real oranges, but store-bought would work. 🙂
Bonnie Taylor says
Where do you buy tin foil. My grocery store only has aluminum foil. Could I use parchment paper to cover them if necessary?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Bonnie, aluminum foil is what you want. Sorry for the confusion!
Nancy says
I love this bread! Made a few loaves over Christmas-it’s so pretty, too!
Wondering if you have ever doubled it and baked it in a Bundt cake pan? Think I’m gonna try!
Janis K. says
I just finished making a dozen loafs of your Cranberry Bread. They turned out perfect and so delicious! This is a recipe that I’m keeping and will definitely be making again. Great for Christmas gift giving!
Lillian Trujillo says
Hi, I would love to try baking this bread. Can I use frozen cranberries?
Lauren Allen says
Yes that would be fine! Enjoy.
Mrs Annette Coyle says
Hi Can I add walnuts to the recipe” and can I use whole milk instead of butter milk. As in London very hard to get butter milk.
Thank you
Annette
Mrs Annette Coyle says
Hi
Did the recipe for cranberry bread added half whole milk and plain yogurt to make up the amount of butter milk. Added 100gm walnuts.
Cooked beautiful. Taste great. From London England
Thank you
Annette
Lauren Allen says
Yes, you could add walnuts, and I would just add a squirt of lemon juice or vinegar to your milk to make buttermilk.https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/how-to-make-buttermilk/