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My favorite bread of the holiday season is this Cranberry Orange Bread recipe bursting with fresh cranberries and orange. It's sweet, tangy, and topped with a delicious orange glaze.
Cranberry Orange Bread: My Holiday Obsession
Cranberry Orange Bread: My Holiday ObsessionThere isn't a year that goes by without making fresh Cranberry Orange Bread, especially because this recipe makes 2 loaves, perfect for gifting to a neighbor (or freezing for another day).
And if you love the cranberry and orange combo you should definitely check out my Cranberry Orange Muffins and Cranberry Orange Scones, too. Or, some of my other quick bread recipes, like Carrot Cake Loaf, Lemon Poppy Seed Bread, or Banana Bread.
How to make Cranberry Orange Bread:
Combine: Stir sugar and orange zest together then mix in flour, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, mix buttermilk, oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla. Slowly pour the wet ingredients in the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Slice each cranberry in half and gently fold into the batter.
Bake: Pour batter into loaf pans and bake at 350°F for 60-75 minutes. For mini loaves, adjust baking time to 35-45 minutes. Drizzle glaze over cooled bread.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Store leftovers cranberry orange bread wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: Let the cranberry bread cool completely then transfer to a freezer safe bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Holiday Recipes:
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
- Turtle Cookies
- Orange Olive Oil Cake
- Peppermint Sandwich Cookies
- Cranberry Fluff Salad
- Gingerbread Cake
- Peppermint Brownies
- Pepper Jelly
Cranberry Orange Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- orange zest, , from 2 large oranges
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup oil, (vegetable or canola oil)
- 4 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons orange juice, , fresh
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh cranberries, halved
Orange Glaze (optional):
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray two 9×5 loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- Dry ingredients: In a large bowl add sugar and orange zest and stir well to combine. Add flour, salt, and baking powder and stir. Set aside.
- Wet Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla.
- Combine: Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Fold in the halved cranberries. Pour batter into prepared pans.
- 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.
- Cool: 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.
- 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. Wrap bread well and store for 2-3 days at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Recipe adapted from Two Peas and their Pod.
I originally shared this recipe November 2015. Updated November 2019, November 2023 and November 2024.
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
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
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/
Hi, I would love to try baking this bread. Can I use frozen cranberries?
Yes that would be fine! Enjoy.
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!
Where do you buy tin foil. My grocery store only has aluminum foil. Could I use parchment paper to cover them if necessary?
Hi Bonnie, aluminum foil is what you want. Sorry for the confusion!
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!
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?
I like to squeeze the juice from real oranges, but store-bought would work. 🙂
how in the world does one half cranberries? Could they be put in a food processor? Can’t wait to bake this!!
I just cut each in half with a small knife.
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?
Hi Dianne, Isn’t that the worst? I wish stores carried fresh cranberries all year round! You can use dried cranberries as a substitute.
I buy extra bags when they are in season and stick them in the freezer!
I buy bags of them when in season and toss them in my freezer.
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.
Thanks so much for sharing! I’m happy your family loved them!
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.
Hi Betty, I typically use two 9×5 inch bread pans! I would love to know how it turned out!
Toss to dust the cranberries in flour before mixing into the batter to help prevent them “floating” to the top of the bread.