If you’re looking for a rich, soft, and ultra-moist bread then this Orange Cranberry Bread needs to be at the top of your holiday baking list! Packed with sweet orange and tart cranberries, the flavor in this quick bread is unbelievable.
The orange glaze adds an extra dose of sweetness, texture, and orange boost, while the bread itself has the perfect balance of orange and cranberry flavor to offset the tartness of the fresh cranberries. If you want a more luxurious sugar glaze, use the glaze from my Rhubarb Bread which incorporates heavy whipping cream!
As with most dessert bread recipes, this Orange Cranberry Bread is even more moist and flavorful the day after, which gives you the option of making it ahead of time. It also freezes beautifully and makes for a lovely home-baked gift to package and ship for your family and friends during the holiday season.
If you’re looking for more delicious sweet bread recipes, check out my Braided Sweet Bread with Apricot Filling, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, and Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce.
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Why You’ll Love Orange Cranberry Bread
- It’s a beautiful-looking sweet bread that boasts classic holiday flavors and ingredients – perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
- All you need is 15 minutes to prepare your orange cranberry bread for baking. You likely already have most of the ingredients in your pantry!
- This cranberry orange bread recipe is also ideal for making ahead of time and adding the sugar glaze just before serving.
🍊 Ingredients:
- Sugar – White granulated sugar adds a delicious sweetness and won’t darken the color of the batter. You could also use light brown sugar but not dark brown sugar.
- Orange zest – Freshly grated orange zest from orange peel provides a beautiful citrus flavor and texture to the batter without being overpowering.
- Orange juice – You’ll need this ingredient for the bread batter as well as the orange sugar glaze. I highly recommend using freshly-squeezed orange juice for maximum flavor.
- Vegetable oil – Canola oil can also be used or coconut oil (unscented). Butter is an alternative to using oil, but it will change the moisture level and texture of the bread.
- Buttermilk – This adds moisture and flavor to the batter. If you can’t source buttermilk, make your own by combining regular milk with vinegar or lemon juice.
- Orange oil – Use a high-quality orange oil. This ingredient is needed for the batter and the orange sugar glaze. It packs a potent punch of flavor.
- Eggs – It’s best to have the eggs at room temperature for easy incorporation into the other ingredients.
- Flour – I always use sturdy flour like all-purpose flour when making sweet breads that include add-ins such as nuts and dried fruits – it helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf pan.
- Salt
- Baking powder – Check the expiry date of this ingredient so that the bread rises well.
- Cranberries – I prefer using fresh whole cranberries but you can use frozen whole cranberries too.
- Powdered sugar – Add more or less to achieve the desired consistency in the orange glaze.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Demerara sugar (coarse sanding sugar) is also delicious on top of this orange quick bread. Sprinkle it on top of the batter before baking.
Substitutions and Variations
- If you want to make a batch or two of these moist cranberry orange muffins or mini loaves using this recipe, then go for it! Grease a muffin pan or insert muffin liners and fill each muffin cup with the batter. Then, bake your muffins for the first 5 minutes at 425℉ followed by an additional 15 minutes (20 minutes for mini loaves) at reduced heat of 350℉. Test with a toothpick before removing them from the oven to cool and serve.
- Add chopped nuts such as pecans and walnuts for added texture to your bread.
- You could add a homemade streusel topping to your bread which will provide an added textural dimension to this already delicious bread!
- If you’re just in the mood for plain cranberry bread then simply omit the orange glaze from my recipe. The orange zest and juice in the batter should still be used since it offers a lovely balance against the tart cranberries while not being overpowering in flavor.
- Add cinnamon to the bread batter or sugar glaze for warmth in this quick bread recipe.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf or bread pan and set aside. Alternately, line the loaf pan with parchment paper – this makes it easy to lift and remove the bread from the pan after it has baked.
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the sugar with the orange glaze, mushing the zest into the sugar to infuse the flavor throughout. I like to use my fingers to do this and find it really makes a huge difference in the amount of flavor infused into the finished bread.
Step 2: Add the buttermilk and eggs, vegetable oil, and orange oil, and whisk. Add the fresh orange juice and whisk.
Step 3: Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add them to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir just until combined – lumps in the batter is fine!
Step 4: Wash and dry the fresh cranberries and toss them in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the bread batter.
PRO TIP: It’s really important that you dry your washed cranberries and toss them in flour before gently folding them into the cranberry orange bread batter. This will help to remove any excess moisture and suspend the cranberries in the batter so that they don’t sink to the bottom.
Step 5: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes.
Step 6: Allow the freshly baked bread to cool on a wire rack while making the orange sugar glaze.
Step 7: Brush or drizzle the sugar glaze over the top of the bread.
SLICE/SERVE: Remove the bread from the loaf pan and slice to serve.
Recipe Tips for Cranberry Orange Quick Bread
- Sanding sugar can be sprinkled on top of the bread prior to baking; you could also add coarse sugar (demara sugar) for an extra bit of crunch. It’s a great option to make use of, especially if you’re planning to omit the glaze, and will hold up well if you decide to package and ship this bread to loved ones during the holidays!
- Don’t forget to coat the cranberries in flour prior to folding them into the bread batter. Tossing in some flour (a tablespoon or so) ensures that the cranberries hold their position instead of sinking down into the batter. You’ll get a much more even distribution of cranberries in the bread this way.
- The two oranges listed should be sufficient to get the right amount of orange zest and fresh-squeezed juice for this recipe. It won’t be overpowering but rather balances out the tartness from the cranberries.
- I love using orange oil to get an extra boost of orange flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, you could quite easily make use of orange, vanilla, or even almond extract instead.
Fun Fact
Today, cranberries are the star ingredient in a variety of holiday recipes from cranberry sauce, cranberry and white chocolate cookies, Christmas Punch, and this Cranberry Orange Bread I’m sharing with you today!
Long before the first European settlers arrived, this fruit (referred to as “sasemineash” and “pakimintzen” was used by Native American Indians as medicine and clothing dye in addition to being eaten!
Love the combination of cranberry and orange? Try our Cranberry Orange Mimosa or our Hot Cranberry Punch!
Recipe FAQs
You’re going to need sturdy flour to hold up the cranberries which is why I opted to use all-purpose flour. I recommend sticking to all-purpose flour, especially if you intend adding in extra ingredients to the bread such as chopped nuts.
Wrap your bread loaf in plastic wrap once fully cooled and store it for 2-3 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator. This bread is even more moist and flavorful the day after making it so it’s a great bread to make the day or night before, similar to banana or carrot bread!
You can also store your bread in the freezer (glazed or unglazed) for up to 3 months once completely cool and store it in an airtight container. When ready to enjoy, simply thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then allow it to reach room temperature before you add any glazing (if required) to serve.
Other Bread Recipes You’ll Love!
If you tried this Cranberry Orange Bread or any other great recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below..
Orange Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- ⅓ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 3-4 drops orange oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup fresh whole cranberries or frozen whole cranberries
Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1-2 drops orange oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine zest of two oranges and the granulated sugar. Use your fingers or the back of the spoon to really mash the zest into the sugar and incorporate the fragrance from the zest into the sugar.
- Beat in orange juice, oil, buttermilk,, eggs, and orange oil until thoroughly mixed.
- Sift together dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Prepare the cranberries by rinsing and thoroughly drying them. If using frozen cranberries, thaw completely, drain, and pat them dry.
- Add the cranberries to the flour mixture and toss to coat the cranberries completely in flour. This helps them to stay suspended in the bread batter and not sink to the bottom of the loaf for nice even distribution.
- Gently fold flour/cranberry mixture into the wet ingredients. Stir just until wet and dry ingredients are mostly stirred. It is fine to have some streaks of flour left in the mixture.
- Pour batter into a greased or parchment lined 9×5 loaf pan.
- Sprinkle sanding sugar over the top of the loaf if desired. (If you will be adding the glaze, skip this step or add sugar over the top of the glaze before it sets.)
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the glaze. Brush multiple layers of glaze over the bread and allow it to dry (about 30 minutes).
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Notes
- Sanding sugar can be sprinkled on top of the bread prior to baking; you could also add coarse sugar (demara sugar) for an extra bit of crunch. It’s a great option to make use of, especially if you’re planning to omit the glaze, and will hold up well if you decide to package and ship this bread to loved ones during the holidays!
- Don’t forget to coat the cranberries in flour prior to folding them into the bread batter. Tossing in some flour (a tablespoon or so) ensures that the cranberries hold their position instead of sinking down into the batter. You’ll get a much more even distribution of cranberries in the bread this way.
- The two oranges listed should be sufficient to get the right amount of orange zest and fresh-squeezed juice for this recipe. It won’t be overpowering but rather balances out the tartness from the cranberries.
- I love using orange oil to get an extra boost of orange flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, you could quite easily make use of orange, vanilla, or even almond extract instead.
Nutrition
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