Fresh, tart cranberries and orange juice fill this Orange Cranberry Bread with bright fall flavors that makes each bite perfectly sweet. It’s so easy to make and great for a snack or breakfast.
Apples and pumpkin are the most popular flavors of fall, but this Orange Cranberry Bread has become a fall tradition in my house too! I’m kind of obsessed with this recipe, which was adapted from my viral Cranberry Orange Muffins, a recipe that went crazy on Pinterest a few years ago. Like my Blood Orange Poppy Seed Bread, it’s super moist and brightly citrusy. Such a treat!
Why You Need to Add Orange Cranberry Bread to Your Fall Baking List
Once you give this recipe a try, I think it’s going to be your family’s fall tradition too. (It’s nice to take a break from apples and pumpkin once in a while!) Here’s why you’ll love it.
- Extra moist. Fresh cranberries, orange juice, and coconut oil (which is SO good for baking) help keep this orange cranberry bread moist, with a fantastic tender crumb.
- REAL cranberries. The cranberries are bright and tart, unlike dried cranberries, which tend to be heavily sweetened. I love the tanginess they add to this quick bread recipe. (Also, dried cranberries suck the moisture out of the bread, so they also keep it moister.)
- Enjoy it all day long. We’ve been known to have this orange cranberry bread for breakfast, a mid-day snack, or even dessert!
What You’ll Need
The ingredients for this orange cranberry bread recipe are simple! Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- All-purpose flour – You can swap in a 1:1 gluten-free flour for baking to make this a gluten-free orange cranberry bread recipe.
- Sugar – This is necessary for balancing the tartness of the cranberries.
- Baking powder and baking soda – For lift.
- Salt – To balance and enhance the flavor.
- Fresh cranberries – If you can’t find fresh, you can use frozen cranberries. Just don’t use dried!
- Orange – You’ll need both the zest and the juice.
- Coconut oil – You can use another oil you like to bake with, but coconut oil really does a great job making the crumb moist and tender.
- Vanilla extract – Aromatic vanilla adds some complexity to the flavor of this loaf.
- Egg – Let this come to room temperature before you start the recipe.
How to Make Orange Cranberry Bread
If you’ve made other quick bread recipes, you’ll be familiar with the method here!
- Prepare. Grease a loaf pan and preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest in a mixing bowl.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk together the coconut oil, orange juice, vanilla extract, and egg until the egg is mixed in completely.
- Finish the batter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold in the cranberries.
- Bake. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool and serve. Let the bread cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tips and Variations
Here are a few more pointers for this orange cranberry bread recipe.
- Don’t overmix. Stir just until the dry and wet ingredients are incorporated. Overmixing can make your bread dense and affect how much it rises when baked.
- Add some crunch. Fold chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter with the cranberries.
- Top it. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with Demerara sugar before baking or drizzle the top of the loaf after it’s done baking with a simple glaze made with powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest.
What to Serve With Orange Cranberry Bread
To make this a dessert, you can add a dollop of whipped cream or even serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For breakfast, have it with Overnight Oats with Yogurt or something savory like Egg in a Hole with Pesto.
How to Store
- Room temperature: Wrap the loaf in plastic and store it at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Wrap the loaf tightly in plastic followed by a layer of foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw on the countertop before serving or heat individual slices in the microwave until warmed through.
More Quick Bread Recipes
Orange Cranberry Bread
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Tart cranberries and fresh orange juice fill this Orange Cranberry Bread with fall flavor! Easy to make and perfect for a snack or breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Grease a 8″x 4″ loaf pan. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Gently stir.
- In a medium bowl, add coconut oil, fresh orange juice, vanilla extract and an egg.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
- Stir to combine everything together.
- Add cranberries to the bowl and mix together.
- Scrap the batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf.
- Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 177
- Sugar: 11 g
- Sodium: 164 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 16 mg
29 comments on “Moist Orange Cranberry Bread”
Any suggestions on how to adjust this for altitude? I’m new to cooking/baking and I’ve read there are many things to try to adjust a recipe for altitude, I just don’t want to make 15 failed breads to find the right one 🙁 Cranberries are hard to come by in the off season. The ends of the first one I made were delicious but the middle was soft/spongy, like a bread pudding. The second one I made I increased the flour, increased the baking temp and dropped the baking time. That time the middle was like soup. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Hey Patricia, I don’t do a ton of baking. But you could try a few of these altitude baking tricks.
Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon decrease 1/8 teaspoon.
Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 1 tablespoon.
Increase liquid: for each cup, add 1 to 2 tablespoons.
Hope that helps! Happy Baking!
Hi Krista,
Can I use oat flour on this one?
I’m not sure. If I’m honest I’ve never baked with oat flour before, but if you try definitely let me know how it turns out.
Nutritional value?
hey! I just updated the nutritional info.
Can you use regular all purpose flour instead of white whole wheat flour?
yes, you definitely can!
The picture shows a bread loaf but the recipe calls for an 8×8 pan?
ugh… typo. Sorry about that. Yes, a loaf pan which is 8×4 or 9xx5. Thanks Carol
Hi, can I use dried cranberries for this recipe?
sure, you definitely could will just change nutritional content (increasing the sugar)
I used this recipe to make bread — very delicious and bursting with flavor!! I added an extra handful of cranberries and also added about a half cup of walnuts. I used olive oil and the recipe came out just fine.
Lumberjack party – what a cute idea! It sounds as though the kids had a ball. This bread needs to land on my brunch table this weekend.
haha … I know right! Seriously so fun! And yes to the bread… gimme all the bread!
That is beautiful! I love the whole cranberries bursting out. Totally making this for Christmas morning!
A burst of cranberries is pure perfection during this time of year! 🙂 Hope you enjoy Angie!
I have this is the oven…..I followed the recipe, but I think you made a mistake on loaf pan size. No biggie there, but there was no ‘pouring’ the finished batter. It was more like cookie dough?
hmmm… loaf pan size is normally 8×4 so I don’t think I made a mistake there but I did change the “pour” to scrape. It is a thicker batter but definitely still moist!
Orange and cranberry is one of my VERY favorite combinations – especially in bread! This looks absolutely delicious and gorgeous to boot!
It’s one of my all time favorites of the fall. Hope you get a chance to try this bread girl! 🙂
What a beautiful loaf! I love the orange-cranberry combo and also the coconut oil, my favorite oil for baking!
Mine too! It adds so much moistness and I love how sometimes you can taste a hint of coconut. 🙂 Thank you Kimberly!
I spy breakfast, right there. YUM!
Wise Woman! 🙂
I just made banana cranberry bread, but I’ll have to try this one with my leftover cranberries! Sounds amazing!
Ohh.. banana… That sounds so interesting! I’ll have to try yours! 🙂
This bread looks absolutely perfect! I am always looking for new ways to use up fresh cranberries!
Thank you so much Des! 🙂