Orange-glazed Cranberry bread has a moist and tender crumb and is loaded with juicy cranberries. It has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy and just like our famous Banana Bread, this loaf stays moist for a few days (in case you needed a homemade Christmas gift idea).
This is a copycat version of my favorite bakery’s cranberry loaf and this one turned out even better – more cranberries and the orange glaze makes it truly special. You’ll love every bite.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
We love cranberry recipes during the holidays like Sugared Cranberries, Cranberry Bundt Cake, and of course this Cranberry Bread recipe. If you love tangy and juicy cranberries, this recipe is a must-try!
Cranberry Bread Video Tutorial
If you enjoyed this video for Cranberry Bread, please subscribe to our Youtube Channel (P.S. Click the BELL icon so you can be the first to know when we post a new video). Thank you for subscribing!
Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Bread
- Flour – use all-purpose to give the bread structure
- Baking powder – leavening to make the loaf rise
- Salt – balances the sweetness
- Milk – best at room temperature
- Orange zest and juice – be sure to zest the orange before juicing it. Reserve a teaspoon of zest for the glaze.
- Butter – Adds moisture to the loaf. Use unsalted butter softened at room temperature.
- Sugar – to balance the tanginess of the cranberries
- Eggs – give the bread a moist, tender crumb
- Cranberries – rinsed and dried then tossed in 1/2 Tbsp of flour to keep them from sinking in the batter (see substitution options in common questions section)
How to Make Cranberry Bread
- Whisk dry ingredients – whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Combine wet ingredients – in a measuring cup, stir together milk, orange juice and zest.
- Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl then beat in eggs until well combined.
- Combine batter – Add flour mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the milk mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Flour cranberries – rinse and dry cranberries then toss them with 1/2 Tbsp flour to coat. Fold in cranberries just until incorporated. Spread batter into buttered and floured 8.5×4.5 bread pan.
- Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Pro Tip: Tossing cranberries in a little flour coats them lightly and prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf as it bakes. This ensures cranberries are evenly disbursed in the finished loaf.
The Best Glaze for Cranberry Bread
Orange and cranberry are complimentarily flavored just like peanut butter and jelly. Topping the cranberry bread with orange juice and the orange zest-infused glaze makes this bread irresistible. I’m not sure if it’s breakfast or dessert but I’ve served it both ways. All you need for this easy 3-ingredient glaze is:
- Powdered sugar – I spoon it into the cup and level the top for a consistent measure.
- Orange juice – Freshly squeezed is best and don’t worry about straining. A little pulp won’t hurt the bread.
- Orange zest – do not skip the zest. It adds deep orange floral notes to the glaze.
Common Questions
Yes, you can use frozen cranberries in the same quantity and add them frozen (do not thaw). You may need to bake just a few minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
You can substitute with 2/3 cup dried cranberries and reduce the sugar in the recipe to 2/3 cup since dried cranberries aren’t as tart. The dried cranberries will be juicer if you soak them in very warm water for 10 minutes then drain and pat dry before using.
You can make this a cranberry nut bread by folding in 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans when adding the cranberries to the batter.
This sweet bread is total comfort food. All you need is a mug of tea or coffee to go with a thick, fresh slice of cranberry bread.
Make-Ahead
- Room Temperature – wrap cranberry bread loosely in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerate – you can cover and store the loaf in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezing – cool the loaf completely to room temperature then place in a freezer-safe zip bag, removing any excess air. Freeze up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Pro Tip: Cranberries are only available for a season in grocery stores so buy extra and store them in the freezer so you can keep enjoying this cranberry bread year-round.
More Cranberry Recipes
These are our best cranberry recipes using both fresh and dried cranberries.
- Cranberry Sauce
- Sparkling Cranberry Pineapple Punch
- Cranberry Orange Scones
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Cranberries
- Cranberry Apple Danish
Cranberry Bread with Orange Glaze
Ingredients
Cranberry Bread Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup milk, room temperature
- Zest of 1 large orange, divided
- 1/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and patted dry
- 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Orange Glaze Ingredients:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice, or to reach desired consistency
- 1 tsp orange zest, reserved from the orange above
Instructions
How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter a 6 cup (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 bread loaf pan)* then dust with flour, tapping out the excess flour.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a measuring cup, combine together milk, zest of 1 orange (Reserve 1 tsp zest for the glaze), and orange juice. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar on medium/high speed (2-3 minutes on high speed). It won’t be smooth, just combined. Beat in 2 large eggs, mixing until well incorporated.
- Add flour mixture in 2 parts, alternating with the milk mixture and mixing on medium/low speed just until incorporated with each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
- Toss cranberries with 1/2 Tbsp flour then fold them into the batter just until incorporated. Spread the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 45-50 min at 350˚F until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10-15 minutes then run a cake release tool or knife around the edges and transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
To Make the Glaze:
- In a separate bowl, stir together powdered sugar, orange juice and reserved teaspoon of zest. Stir until smooth. It should have a drizzling consistency. Add more orange juice to thin it out or powdered sugar to make it thicker.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
This is an excellent recipe. What I am curious about is can it be used for possible muffins?
Hi Annette, I have not tested this but I think it could work. You may also like my blueberry lemon glaze muffins which are similar.
This bread is excellent! I used blood oranges and added home-made vanilla extract and a large cap of dark rum. I skipped the glaze to cut down on the sugar. Definitely, I’ll make it again, but thought maybe I’d add a few more cranberries into the mix…
Hi Wyatt! I’m glad you love this recipe. Thank you for your feedback.
Delicious! This is the second time I made this recipe in a month. Was craving for more. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Hi Sharon! I’m glad you love this recipe. I can definitely relate, it’s hard to stop making this one!
This bread was delicious. It was very moist and easy to make. The sweet glaze balanced out the tartness of the cranberries. My co-workers loved it 🙂 Thank you for a great recipe
That’s great, Eva! You’re very welcome. I’m glad it was a hit.
Hey Natasha! I’ve made this exclusively as a Thanksgiving special and was wondering if I could substitute the milk with buttermilk.
Would that change the density of the bread? Would heavy cream work as well? Or would it best be kept to milk (I use 2% reduced-fat)
Thank you…
Hi, I haven’t tried that substitution to advise on the outcome, baking is such a science and you may need to make other adjustments to the recipe to make it work. I wish I could be more helpful.
I made this loaf today but it wasn’t as moist as the video. The edges were a little hard. It also took 55-60 minutes to bake. I followed recipe except used dried cranberries instead of fresh. Would this make a difference?
Hi Liz! Did you use a different size pan? It could also be over-baked or you used too much flour. I recommend watching my tutorial on how to measure your flour correctly HERE. If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend using an internal oven thermometer to check your oven temperature. You may need to make adjustments if it runs hot. Also, be sure to let it fully preheat before you start baking, if not it can affect both the rise and texture of the cake. I hope that helps!
Common sense should tell you it most definitely makes a difference; not only will the dried cranberries pull moisture from the batter, but the batter itself will already be lacking all the juice it normally gets from the fresh cranberries.
I rehydrated my cranberries by using hot cranberry juice. Strained most of the liquid out, but reserved some to keep the moisture. Next time, I will buy a few bags of cranberries and put them in the freezer.
I’ve lost count how many recipes of yours I’ve tried and have been amazing. This one did not disappoint. It is absolutely delicious!!! Its not overly sweet and the tang from the cranberries is perfection. Definitely recommend!
Thank you, Sandra! That’s wonderful to hear. I’m so glad you have been enjoying my recipes.
Hello! I am going to make this today but unfortunately do not have milk in the house. Could I use half and half instead? Also, do you notice a big difference between salted and unsalted butter? Thank you!
Hi Stephanie! I think the half-and-half would be fine to use. We prefer to use unsalted because it allows us to control the salt level in the recipe. If you use salted butter, I would omit the 1/4 tsp of salt.
Excellent recipe. As a senior I’ve tried many over the years and I know preferences are a personal thing. For me this was perfect.i doubled the recipe as I made it for the holidays . My DiL loved it so much she asked to make it while she was here, so we made another doubled recipe so they could take it home. Christmas eve there were 2 more loaves to share as dessert. Need I say more? Yes, thanks for sharing!!
Hi Nan! I’m so glad it was a hit! Thank you for your feedback and review!
Absolutely fabulous! Very moist and tasty. Just the right amount of sweetness once the glaze is added. A big hit with my family as a holiday bread/dessert 😋 It’s a keeper recipe!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
I’ve made this bread a couple of times and it is so delicious!! I can’t figure out where to post the picture of it. ?
Hi Toni! So glad you love this recipe. You can tag me on Instagram or Facebook. #natashaskitchen
I have made this loaf several times. I have never tasted any loaf that was so moist and flavourful. I do make more glaze, though. I love the sweetness! Thank you, Natasha! This is my favourite recipe of yours. I have made several meals.
Great to hear that you loved it, Robin! Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us.
Made recipe as directed, came out abit dense and not very moist, we loved the flavor and taste but was disappointed by the results, what went wrong ???
This recipe has always turned out moist and should be moist and not dry. Were there any changes made in the recipe or perhaps any substituted ingredients? Also, be sure to measure by fluffing the flour first with a spoon, then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour. Also, do not tap the flour down in the measuring cup. I hope this is helpful!
We were short on time this year and had trouble finding candied fruit last minute, so we couldn’t make my Grandmother’s Christmas Stollen. I had some cranberries I needed to use and remembered seeing this recipe, so I volunteered to make it instead. It was AMAZING!!! Everyone loved it so much, we’ll be making it next year too! I actually have a second loaf baking now because the first one disappeared so quickly Christmas Day, Mom and I only had one small piece! Followed the recipe exactly and made no changes.
That’s wonderful, Tammy! Thank you for the feedback. So glad you fried this recipe.
why do u use bp instead of bs?…I thought bs is for items that have acid in them like oj or buttermilk…other recipes use both?
Hi Malcolm, this recipe works great with just baking powder. I hope you love it.
My third time making this is in the oven for a New Year’s Eve get together. I made some for gifts for Christmas and put them in small loaf pans and everyone raved about it. It is so delicious and moist, tastes even better the next day. I didn’t change a thing, it was perfect.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Liz!
I made the Cranberry bread for Christmas dinner and it was wonderful all enjoyed
Can I use this recipe for blueberry and lemon?
Hi Sandra! I think you could, but you’ll have to experiment with it. This is our go-to recipe for lemon blueberry bread.
I soaked dried cranberries in Grand Marnier. Oh my!!!
Pat dry. And use some of the liqueur in the bread and in the icing/glaze.
Sounds delicious!
I agree with others who have already commented. Do not change a thing with this recipe. It is absolutely spot on as written!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
THE BEST cranberry bread ever! I will make this every Christmas!
Don’t change a thing in this recipe. It has just the right amount of tangy sweetness and touch of orange zest. Bet you can’t eat just one slice!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Amazing cranberry bread! Made this day before Christmas, with your banana bread, for family to snack on while opening presents Christmas Day before we had brunch. Moist, light & the glaze really makes it decadent.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Stephanie!