This cranberry orange bread is sweet, moist and bursting with fresh cranberry and orange flavor. It’s the perfect festive loaf to bake at the holidays, and you can even make mini loaves for gifts.
Cranberry Orange Bread is a Holiday Favorite!
Over the past few weeks I’ve baked loaf after loaf of cranberry orange bread, perfecting this quick bread recipe to share with you in time for the holidays! I just love to bake cranberry-orange treats this time of year (see also my Cranberry Orange Muffins and Cranberry Orange French Toast Casserole). The bright, fresh flavors really shine, and you can’t beat those festive red cranberries!
The trick to getting bright citrus flavor into every bite of this cranberry orange bread is to rub the orange zest together with the granulated sugar before mixing in the other ingredients. This releases the essential oils from the zest, infusing the sugar (and your bread) with orange flavor. A drizzle of sweet orange glaze is the perfect finishing touch for this festive bread.
Ingredient Notes
Here’s a look at a few of the key ingredients, with notes and tips for success.
- Fresh Cranberries: I highly recommend using fresh (not frozen) cranberries in this recipe. I tested the recipe with frozen cranberries and it took much longer to bake through (70-75 minutes and it was difficult to tell when the center was no longer gooey). The longer bake time caused the edges to brown more than I’d like while the center baked through.
- Orange Zest + Orange Juice: A full tablespoon of orange zest brings lots of orange flavor to the bread, plus we add 1/2 teaspoon to the glaze. I use a microplane to zest the orange. With one large orange I get just enough zest for the batter and glaze. If your oranges are smaller you’ll need two.
- Butter: After trying multiple batches of this bread with melted butter, I discovered that creaming together softened butter and sugar produces a lighter loaf with a more cake-like texture, which my family loved.
- Milk: I used whole milk, but low fat or nondairy milk should also work.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour in this recipe. To get an accurate measurement, use a kitchen scale and the weight measurement provided in the recipe, or lightly spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off.
- Orange Glaze: For the glaze you’ll need powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. I make the glaze on the thicker side so that most of it stays on the bread, rather than dripping down the sides and off of the bread.
You’ll also need granulated sugar, eggs, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread
Before beginning, let the butter, eggs and milk come to room temperature. Don’t skip this step, or your batter won’t come together as well.
Make the batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate large bowl, use your fingers to rub the orange zest and sugar together. Then add the softened butter and use an electric mixer to cream them together. Mix in the eggs, followed by the milk, orange juice and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix with a rubber spatula until barely combined, then fold in the fresh cranberries. Be careful to not over-mix the batter. The batter will be thick. Pour the batter into a greased, parchment paper-lined 9×5-inch loaf pan. Press a few extra cranberries into the top.
Bake at 350°F for 55-60 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the bread comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Let the bread cool before glazing.
Add glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Drizzle the glaze over the bread, let it set for 5-10 minutes, then slice and enjoy!
To Make Mini Loaves
You can use this recipe to make three mini loaves of cranberry orange bread. My mini loaf pans are 5.75 x 3 inches. If yours are significantly different in size you’ll need to adapt the bake time and possibly number of mini loaves you can make. The mini loaves took 32 minutes to bake in my oven.
A Few More Tips + Notes
- When you’re zesting and juicing the orange for the batter, reserve 1/2 teaspoon of zest and a few tablespoons of juice for the glaze. I just set them aside in a small container in the fridge until I’m ready to mix up the glaze.
- I like to press a few whole cranberries into the top of the batter in the pan before baking. This makes it look extra pretty and festive.
- Let the bread cool before adding the glaze, otherwise the glaze will mostly soak into the bread.
- You can double this recipe to make two full-sized loaves or six mini loaves.
Did you make this recipe? I’d truly appreciate if you leave a comment and star rating below! Your review will help others who want to try this recipe. Thank you! 💛
Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest, plus reserve more for the glaze
- 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (60mL) milk, at room temperature, I used whole milk
- 2 tablespoons (30mL) fresh orange juice, plus reserve some for the glaze
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (170g) fresh cranberries, roughly chopped, reserve a few whole cranberries for the top of the bread
For the Glaze:
- ¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ½ teaspoon fresh orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving a small overhang on the two long opposite sides.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar and orange zest. Use your fingertips to work the zest into the sugar until fragrant and the zest is evenly distributed throughout the sugar with no clumps.1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- Add the softened butter to the sugar/zest mixture, and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy. Then beat in the eggs until combined. Add the milk, orange juice and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until just combined.6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup (60mL) milk, 2 tablespoons (30mL) fresh orange juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and use a rubber spatula to mix until barely combined. Add the cranberries (set a few aside to press into the top of the bread) and use the rubber spatula to gently fold them into the batter. Do not overmix.1 ½ cups (170g) fresh cranberries
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Press the reserved cranberries into the top of the batter in the pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the bread comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. If the top of the bread is browning too quickly, loosely tent it with foil during the last 10-15 minutes of the bake time.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then use the parchment overhang to lift it out of the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once bread is completely cool, make the glaze: In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Drizzle glaze over the cooled bread. Then slice and enjoy!¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar, 1½ tablespoons fresh orange juice, ½ teaspoon fresh orange zest
Notes
- To Make Mini Loaves: This recipe will make 3 mini loaves baked in 5.75 x 3-inch (or similar) mini loaf pans. Divide the batter evenly between the 3 mini loaf pans and bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Store leftover cranberry orange bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
