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 this loaf stays moist for a few days (in case you needed a homemade Christmas gift idea).
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Cranberry Bread Recipe
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 make it truly special. As a copycat recipe, I think it’s even better than Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bread. You’ll love every bite.
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! P.S. You can also change it up and add nuts to make it a cranberry nut bread, as I did with my famous Banana Bread.
Cranberry Orange Bread Ingredients
- Baking Basics – All-purpose flour gives the bread structure, baking powder is the primary leavening, and salt balances the sweetness.
- Milk – I use whole milk, but skim milk will work. It’s best at room temperature.
- Orange zest and juice – In case it’s not intuitive for everyone, use a zester 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
- Fresh Cranberries – rinsed and dried, then tossed in 1/2 Tbsp of flour to keep them from sinking in the batter. You can use frozen cranberries and add them frozen (do not thaw) and bake a few minutes longer, or substitute 2/3 cup dried cranberries and reduce the sugar in the recipe to 2/3 cup since dried cranberries aren’t as tart. Soak dried cranberries in very warm water for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry before using.
When Shopping for Cranberries…
Cranberries are only available for a season in grocery stores, so buy extra and store them in the freezer so you can enjoy cranberry bread year-round. To Freeze Cranberries: Set the original bag inside a freezer-safe bag to protect them from freezer burn. I rinse frozen cranberries right before using them. If you’d rather rinse before freezing, just dry them really well first.
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 with an electric mixer, 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 wire rack to cool completely.
Natasha’s 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.
To Bake Mini Cranberry Loaves
If you want to gift mini cranberry loaves. Divide into 3 mini loaf pans (5.5 x 3-inch each). Divide evenly among the pans, filling them 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake at 350˚F for 22-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Glaze once fully cooled.
The Best Glaze for Cranberry Bread
Orange and cranberry are complementary flavors, 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.
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
- 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.
This sweet bread is total comfort food. All you need is a steamy mug of tea or coffee to go with a thick, fresh slice of homemade Cranberry Bread.
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 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
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 Cookies
The recipe is juicy and good. Leaving four stars because the prep wasn’t 10 minutes long. Prep is about 30 minutes by the time you fresh squeeze the oranges, zest them, and hand prepped the cranberries. Make sure to set out ingredients like eggs, milk, and butter to reach room temp about an hour before you begin baking.
This cranberry bread is absolutely delicious. I’m doing it for the second time.
I do lots of your recipes and it’s always perfect
Thank you from Montreal Québec
Diane
I’ve made it twice in one week. Everyone wants their own loaf.
I’ve made this three times already. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing this great recipe.
I can’t wait to make this for Christmas gifts. I’m in the process of making cranberry vanilla orange extract which will be fabulous in this recipe
I love all your recipes
That sounds amazing, Joann!
I can’t wait
I hope you love it, Bennett!
This is absolutely scrumptious! I’ve tried many orange cranberry recipes…. none to this satisfaction! I followed the recipe to a tea using frozen cranberries (except without the glaze) and I couldn’t stop eating it. It was deliciously tangy and sweet and perfectly moist. I will be using this recipe from now on, but I might make muffins this week out of it instead of the loaf.
Hello! Thank you for following the recipe as writte, great to hear that it was a huge success!
Just amazing! No notes. Even my picky toddler tore it up!
Thank you so much for trying the recipe, Lisa! I’m glad you and your toddler enjoyed it.
Love this bread. I wonder how many servings this recipe is so I can calculate how many calories im eating… I can’t stop. So yummy!
Hi Angelina, this recipe serves 8 slices. I hope that helps.
I have this before and it is delicious! I wanted to make it again today and noticed I have not enough butter, Can this be made with olive oil?
Hi Dora, butter is preferred for best flavor and texture, however, oil can work too. If you’re using olive oil, I would use light olive oil, which is neutral in taste, or another neutral oil.
I made this bread around New Years, took it to work, and it was great. I thought I would take it once step further by turning them in to muffins. I doubled the recipe, placed the batter in 2 jumbo muffin tins I had, and baked them at 400 for about 30 minutes. This worked very well. I would definitely make it again.
Thanks for sharing, Annette! I’m glad to hear you love the recipe!
Second comment! Yesterday I tried it with blueberries and lemon juice. WOW! Such a flavor bomb!
I’m so glad you found it flavorful and loved it, Brenda!
Everyone went crazy over the taste of this bread. The only tip I would add is to place parchment paper under the cooling rack when glazing the bread. After I did the first glaze I scraped the remaining glaze and reglazed the bread.
I’ve made it two times and my family loves it! i still have some leftover ingredients and i wanted to try to make them like muffins instead of a loaf. how should i bake them?
Hi Gabriela! You can reference my Blueberry Muffins recipe for baking time, which is similar.
Love love love this bread.
I have made this recipe three times since Christmas. Everyone loves it.
It really is the best, especially this time of year. I’m so glad you loved it, Mary!
Truly delicious! I used frozen cranberries (did not thaw) and they worked perfectly. Not overly sweet and the cranberry orange combo is amazing. It’s a keeper!
Love made it for my sis she likes it too. I did find it dry so I add little milk
Hi Ria! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Dry bread is often a result of too much flour or over-baking. Be sure to measure correctly. I have a How to Measure Ingredients (Wet and Dry) VIDEO here.
Yummy! My whole family loved it! I will definitely make again.
Is it possibly to use cranraisins or frozen cranberries if found? Im here in southern florida and cant find fresh cranberries.
You can use frozen cranberries and add them frozen (do not thaw) and bake a few minutes longer, or substitute 2/3 cup dried cranberries and reduce the sugar in the recipe to 2/3 cup since dried cranberries aren’t as tart. Soak dried cranberries in very warm water for 10 minutes, then drain and pat dry before using.
Delicious. Just made it and placed it in a 8×8 square. Also used fresh orange juice from a friend’s orange tree. It’s just delightful.