Soft cranberry orange bread with the most tender crumb topped with a sweet orange glaze and full of juicy cranberries, delicious! Make this sweet treat for breakfast, snack or dessert.
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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
For The Bread
- 2 large oranges 1 tablespoon zest and ½ cup orange juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter unsalted, softened
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ½ cup milk two percent or whole
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour plus 2 teaspoons for cranberries
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
For The Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 large orange 1 teaspoon orange zest and 1-2 tablespoons juice
- 2 ¼ teaspoons milk two percent or whole milk
Make another easy quick bread recipe with the cranberry orange bread too! Blueberry Muffin Bread, Glazed Lemon Zucchini Loaf, Pumpkin Bread, Snickerdoodle 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
For 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.
- With an electric mixer in a large bowl, cream the sugar with the butter.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- With a silicone spatula, fold the cranberries into the batter. Pour batter carefully into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the loaf for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool loaf completely on a wire rack before glazing.
For 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!
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.
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.
Other Easy Recipes You’ll Love
Easy Cranberry Crumble Bars – This easy recipe makes layered bars that are sweet, tart, buttery and divine! Use a sugar cookie mix layered with frozen or fresh cranberries for a quick and easy semi-homemade dessert that goes perfect with a cup of coffee.
Orange Cranberry Cookies– These sweet glazed buttery cookies use dried cranberries paired with an orange glaze for a delicious cookie!
Cranberry Orange Bread (With Orange Glaze!)
Equipment
- 1 metal loaf pan 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 standard or 9 by 5 standard also works
- 1 Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
For The Bread
- 2 large oranges 1 tablespoon zest and ½ cup orange juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter unsalted, softened
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ½ cup milk two percent or whole
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour plus 2 teaspoons for cranberries
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
For The Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 large orange 1 teaspoon orange zest and 1-2 tablespoons juice
- 2 ¼ teaspoons milk two percent or whole milk
Instructions
For 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.
- With an electric mixer in a large bowl, cream the sugar with the butter.
- 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.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt into a second bowl and mix until well combined. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well until a batter forms and is fully blended.
- Toss the cranberries with a teaspoon of flour. See notes below about using fresh versus frozen cranberries.
- With a silicone spatula, fold the cranberries into the batter. Pour batter carefully into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the loaf for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool loaf completely on a wire rack before glazing.
For 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 under the loaf for easy cleanup.
- Drizzle glaze over the loaf 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. Enjoy!
Notes
Tips For Fresh And Frozen Cranberries
Both fresh and frozen cranberries work in this recipe, but you do have to treat them slightly differently. Frozen Cranberries – If using frozen cranberries it is best to add the cranberries still frozen to the batter. Leave the frozen cranberries until right before you are ready to add them to the batter. Toss the frozen cranberries with a teaspoon of flour in a bowl, then fold them into the batter and bake right away. Fresh Cranberries – If using fresh cranberries, rinse and dry the cranberries well. Toss the cranberries with a teaspoon of flour then fold them into the batter and bake right away. Double the cranberries? Most bags of cranberries are 12 ounces which is about 4 cups of cranberries. I have on accident used the entire bag of cranberries instead of just two cups. If you really like cranberries, use two teaspoons of flour for the outside of the cranberries, and try it with all the berries. The bread will be even more moist, but has more tang than the original recipe.Tips For Orange Juice And Zest
- Zest oranges before squeezing out the juice. Zest only the orange peel, but avoid zesting too much of the white layer that surrounds the orange under the peel.
- Store-bought orange juice can be used, but don’t skip the fresh orange zest in this recipe because it adds a lot of flavor.
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
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