Soft cranberry orange bread with the most tender crumb topped with a sweet orange glaze and full of juicy cranberries, simply delicious! Make this sweet treat for breakfast, snack or dessert.

Cranberry orange bread with glaze sliced from the end to show the cranberries inside. on a platter from the end.

Table of Contents

Why We Love Cranberry Orange Bread

Delicious For Breakfast Or Dessert– I could honestly enjoy a slice of this bread for breakfast or dessert, and sometimes mid-afternoon for a snack!
Perfect For The Holiday Season – This delicious sweet bread is a delicious combination of sweet oranges and slightly tart cranberries, and is one of my favorite recipes to make when cranberries are in season. This treat is always welcome on a holiday table, and is a great recipe when you are making treats for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Use Those Seasonal Cranberries– Cranberries are only in stores for a short amount of time! You can freeze extras while they are fresh and in season to make this delicious bread all year long.
Sweet Glaze Makes This More Of A Treat– The sweet glaze is packed full of orange flavor and truly makes this loaf feel extra special.

Ingredients For Cranberry Orange Bread

Cranberry Orange bread ingredients in bowls on a counter from overhead with ingredient text labels.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.

Ingredients For The Bread

oranges zest plus juice
granulated sugar
butter unsalted, softened
eggs beaten
milk two percent or whole
vanilla extract
all purpose flour plus a little extra for cranberries
baking powder
salt
cranberries fresh or frozen

Ingredients For The Glaze

powdered sugar
orange zest plus juice
milk two percent or whole milk

Make another easy quick bread recipe with the cranberry orange bread too! Bright green pistachio bread or snickerdoodle bread is such a festive combo with the cranberry orange bread. Also try blueberry muffin bread, glazed lemon zucchini loaf, pumpkin bread, or sweet glazed strawberry bread. All of these quick breads can be stacked with this cranberry orange bread for the MOST delicious breakfast or dessert platter!

How To Make Cranberry Orange Bread

Making The Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a metal loaf pan with parchment paper or grease the pan generously with oil.
Zest one orange to make about 1 tablespoon of zest. Place the zest and the sugar into a large mixing bowl together. Stir zest into sugar, helping to release the orange flavor into the sugar.

Orange zest being mixed into sugar in a bowl from above with a zester and an orange nearby on the counter.

With an electric mixer in a large bowl, cream the sugar with the butter.

Butter and sugar creamed in a mixing bowl from above with vanilla and beaten egg in small bowls nearby on the counter.

Crack the egg and beat it. Add the egg and vanilla, then mix into the butter mixture until smooth. Add the milk and orange juice and mix until combined.

Wet ingredients for cranberry orange bread mixed together in a bowl from overhead on a counter.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt into a second medium bowl and mix until the flour mixture is well combined. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well until a batter forms and is fully blended.

Mixing together flour and other dry ingredients for cranberry orange bread.

Toss the cranberries with a teaspoon of flour to remove any excess liquid on the outside. See notes below about using fresh versus frozen cranberries.

Cranberries being tossed with flour in a large mixing bowl with a second boil containing batter and a loaf pan lined with parchment paper nearby on the counter.

With a silicone spatula, fold the cranberries into the batter. Pour batter carefully into the prepared pan.

Cranberries being folded into an orange cake batter in a bowl from above on a counter.

Cranberry orange batter in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper from above on a counter.

Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Baked cranberry orange bread in loaf pan from the side on a counter.

Cool the loaf for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool loaf completely on a wire rack before glazing.

Making The Glaze

In a medium-sized bowl, add powdered sugar, one tablespoon orange juice, one teaspoon orange zest and milk. Whisk together until a smooth glaze forms. Place a piece of parchment paper or a cookie sheet under the loaf for easy cleanup.
Drizzle glaze over the cooled bread and let glaze set for at least 30 minutes. The longer you wait the less sticky the glaze will be, which will give you prettier loaf slices – especially for the top of the bread. Enjoy!

White colored glaze being drizzled on a loaf of cranberry orange bread on a wire rack with a spoon from the end of the loaf..

What Kind Of Pan Should I Use?

You can use an 8-inch by 4-inch loaf pan or a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan for this recipe. A metal pan is preferred. If you use a glass loaf pan expect it make take a few additional minutes to bake all the way through in the center.

How Long Does Cranberry Orange Bread Last?

This orange cranberry bread can be stored for about 3 days at room temp covered if stored in an airtight container.

You can also refrigerate the cranberry bread in an airtight container, and it will taste best for about 4-5 days. The glaze after a while will start to become a little wetter if stored in the refrigerator.

Cranberry orange bread on a wire rack from the end with a glaze drizzled across the entire loaf on a counter.

Can You Freeze Cranberry Orange Bread?

You can freeze the cranberry orange bread for up to 3 months in a freezer storage container. I recommend using a freezer zip-top bag.

The glaze is a little stickier if you try to freeze it. I prefer to freeze this cranberry orange bread without the glaze, and then glaze after defrosting. The glaze is a little stickier if you try to freeze it.

I also prefer to freeze in individual slices on a cookie sheet, then wrap in freezer paper or plastic wrap and aluminum foil together before placing in a freezer bag or container. You can also wrap the whole loaf in freezer paper or wax before placing in a freezer bag.

To defrost leave the bread or loaf on the counter for about an hour, then enjoy.