Name: FRESH CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 2 ½ cups fresh cranberries; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup brown sugar; ⅔ cup vegetable oil; 2 tsp vanilla; 4 eggs; 3 cups flour; 2 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; 1 cup milk; ½ cup chopped walnuts; 1 TBSP orange zest; 2-3 TBSP coarse sugar {optional but a lovely touch!}

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Fresh Cranberry Orange Bread made with classic ingredients like orange zest, fresh cranberries & brown sugar! Great flavor in this soft, moist cranberry orange quick bread recipe.

Cranberry Orange Bread is always on the menu during the holidays! I had some fresh cranberries on hand so I decided to bake a recipe for Cranberry bread that was in our family cookbook.

I love the fresh, tart flavor of cranberries and the added sweetness in this bread highlights them beautifully. The orange zest addition is a winner too- the two flavors pair well together in my opinion.

This bread is great for breakfast, or as a snack or dessert! Enjoy.

Making this cranberry orange bread

This recipe goes great for any size loaf pan. You can make “normal” standard-sized loaves or even make the mini loaves and give them away as gifts. Check out the awesome wrap that I crafted for my loaves before handing them out as edible holiday gifts in an image below.

Can you Freeze Cranberry Orange Bread?

Yes! I love making desserts throughout the Fall and Winter months so I am not stressed out about all of the baking that needs to be done for Thanksgiving and Christmas! To freeze wrap the bread tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in a heavy-duty freezer bag. So easy!

AVOID SUNKEN BREAD

The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!

What is orange zest?

Orange zest is a finely grated portion of the outer peel of an orange. Scraping small bits of the color orange with a zester and then adding it into a recipe can not only add a beautiful color but also add fragrance and flavor. Avoid getting too much of the white part though as that can actually be bitter.

Fresh Cranberry Orange Bread Ingredients

— Fresh Cranberries: this recipe uses 2-3 cups fresh cranberries {I used about 2.5 cups.} I just bought the Ocean Spray bag at the grocery store.

— Sugars: You’ll need 1 cup granulated sugar & 1 cup brown sugar for this bread.

— Oil: you’ll need 2/3 cup vegetable oil or canola oil

— Vanilla extract: I recommend using 2 tsp good quality vanilla

— 4 eggs

— Dry ingredients: this bread requires 3 cups flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder & 1 tsp salt

— Milk: Use 1 cup milk, either regular cow’s milk or almond milk

— Nuts: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans are amazing in this bread!

— Orange: You’ll need 1 TBSP orange zest, which is just grated orange peel. (Don’t forget to wash your orange first!)

–2-3 TBSP coarse sugar {optional but a lovely touch!}

How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray your loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix together the sugars, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add in the milk and then stir to combine.

Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold in the cranberries, orange zest, and nuts.

Divide the batter evenly between all of the loaf pans. Gently sprinkle some coarse sugar on top of batter (optional).

Bake 8″ loaves about 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 9″ loaves bake 60-70 minutes. Mini loaves bake about 45 minutes.

Cool on a baking rack prior to serving. Enjoy!

FRESH CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD

Fresh Cranberry Orange Bread made with classic ingredients like orange zest, fresh cranberries & brown sugar! Great flavor in this soft, moist cranberry orange quick bread recipe.

Print Pin Rate

Course: bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Fresh Cranberry Orange Quick Bread

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 325kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

2 ½ cups fresh cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
⅔ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 TBSP orange zest
2-3 TBSP coarse sugar {optional but a lovely touch!}

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pans with cooking spray.
Mix sugars, oil, vanilla and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add milk and stir to combine. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder and salt. Gently fold in cranberries, orange zest and nuts.
Divide batter evenly between loaf pans. Gently sprinkle coarse sugar on top of batter.
Bake 8" loaves about 50 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 9" loaves bake 60-70 minutes. Mini loaves bake about 45 minutes.
Cool on a baking rack prior to serving. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @jessicalovesbutter or tag #jessicalovesbutter!

Best Bread Pan?

I bake a lot of bread and the pans I prefer are either ceramic, glass or cast iron. These pans will bake bread more evenly and release the bread more easily after baking. I don’t like using dark or nonstick pans because the bread cooks unevenly. It darkens on the outside before the bread is cooked on the inside, so the coloring is uneven. Read more about which bread pan is the best here!

Can you substitute dried cranberries for fresh?

Yes, you can switch one out for the other when you’re in a pinch. Using dried cranberries as-is is fine, but it will result in chewy bites as a raisin would. You can rehydrate cranberries a little before baking by placing them in a pot of hot water for 15-20 minutes and then straining before adding to the recipe.

Can you use Mandarin zest instead of orange zest?

Absolutely! If you find yourself with a clementine, small cutie, mandarin or other “orange” variety, but not an actual ”orange” you can still zest them up and use them the same. The flavors are still pretty much on-point and your family will most likely never notice the difference.

More amazing quick bread recipes that we love:

Cranberry Orange Bread is an amazing quick bread recipe that brings the flavors of orange and cranberry together in every soft bite. You’re going to love it!

Fresh Cranberry Orange Bread made with classic ingredients like orange zest, fresh cranberries & brown sugar! Great flavor in this soft, moist cranberry orange quick bread recipe.

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