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Cranberry Bread

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Cranberry Bread – quick and easy sweet bread with whole cranberries. Delicious along with a cup of coffee or tea or a wonderful holiday gift! 

If you enjoy baking with cranberries, you may also like my Homemade Cranberry Sauce and use it to make Christmas Wreath Pavlova.

cranberry bread A Cranberry Bread

CRANBERRY BREAD

One of my first and favorite things to bake as soon as cranberries show up in the store is this sweet bread. It’s quick, easy and so so delicious! I love a slice with my afternoon tea or coffee. It’s great to pack in lunchboxes, wrap with festive ribbon and gift give for the holidays or bake a couple of loaves for friends. This Cranberry Bread is sweet, the crumb is soft and can be jazzed up with orange zest, pecans or chocolate chunks. One loaf is never enough as this treat disappears quickly!

Cranberry Bread Ingredients (your shopping list):

  • fresh or frozen cranberries
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • buttermilk ( see recipe notes for homemade version)
  • vanilla extract
  • vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • granulated sugar

How to make Cranberry Bread?

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add chopped cranberries and stir to distribute.
  • In another mixing bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, vanilla, oil and sugar. With a rubber spatula, fold in wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Few flour lumps are okay.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake bread until the top is golden brown and the toothpick inserted in few places in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Cool completely in the pan.

cranberry bread B Cranberry Bread

How to store Cranberry Bread?

You can keep cranberry bread at room temperature for up to 2 days. It will last longer (up to 1 week) in the fridge, wrapped in saran wrap or placed in a freezer-safe bag.

Can you Freeze Cranberry Bread?

You can freeze un-glazed bread for up to 3 months. Wrap completely cooled bread in saran wrap, then place in a freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Place in the freezer.

What if my bread sunk in the middle?

Any sweet quick bread, or muffins for that matter, that sink in the middle is undercooked and had too much liquid added in the recipe. I’ve made this bread many many times over the years and it never sunk in the middle. It’s a fail-proof recipe!

More Recipes with Cranberries:

pin it button Cranberry Bread

If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀

5 from 11 votes
cranberry bread A 150x150 Cranberry Bread
Print
Cranberry Bread
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 

This cranberry bread recipe is quick and easy sweet bread with whole cranberries. Delicious along with a cup of coffee or tea or a wonderful holiday gift!

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cranberry bread
Servings: 5 people
Calories: 484 kcal
Author: Anna
Ingredients
  • 2 c all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 c fresh cranberries chopped
  • 3/4 c buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 c vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 large egg slightly beaten
  • 1 c granulated sugar
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
  1. Line a 9" x 5" loaf pan with aluminum foil. Butter the bottom and sides of the foil. Set aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  4. Add chopped cranberries and stir to distribute.
  5. In another mixing bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, vanilla, oil and sugar.
  6. With a rubber spatula, fold in wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Few flour lumps are okay.
  7. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  8. Bake bread for 33 to 38 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the toothpick inserted in few places in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  9. Cool completely in the pan.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes
  1. Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate.
  2. To make homemade buttermilk, add 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to a cup and add enough half and half to make 1 cup of liquid.
  3. You can use frozen cranberries in this recipe. No need to thaw them.
Nutrition Facts
Cranberry Bread
Amount Per Serving
Calories 484 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 37mg12%
Sodium 582mg25%
Potassium 283mg8%
Carbohydrates 83g28%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 43g48%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 119IU2%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 119mg12%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe was originally published on November 26th, 2013 and updated on October 19th, 2019.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  8. Pamela says

    Hello just want to say a BIG THANK YOU!!
    I MADE 4 LOAVES!! 1 for my husband and 1 for my mother in law. And both was crazy about it. I did put a glaze on it made with orange juice.
    Thank you so very much love it will make more.

    Pamela

    Reply

  10. Jessica says

    I just made this- WOW. I had a big bag of cranberries leftover from thanksgiving and didn’t know what to do. I made fresh cranberry juice this morning, but that in turn left me with a lot of cranberry pulp. I used a cup of the cranberry pulp instead of a cup of diced cranberries, and I also threw in a third of a bag of white chocolate chips. Instead of one big loaf pan, it went into four mini loaf pans. After 24 minutes the toothpick came out clean and they taste INCREDIBLE. One for me, three as gifts! Will make again

    Reply

  11. Esther says

    This is a great recipe!! I am hooked and will be making it again and again. My uncle sends us Maine cranberries every year and this is the perfect recipe for them! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  14. Lisa says

    Made this today as muffins. They were quite nice. Next time I would increase the amount of cranberries and skip the butter and sugar on top.

    Reply

  15. April says

    This is the best recipe I have ever come across in my life. I’m not joking. This bread taste like some kind of coffee cake. It’s amazing! I’ve made this exact recipe (except for using almond milk and vinigar to make buttermilk) and it’s amazing. I’ve even tweeked it by only using 1/4 cup of sugar and it’s STILL amazing. It really doesn’t need all that sugar to be good. I’ve even gone further and replaced some of the flour with cocoa powder then added nuts and cherries to make chocolate cherry bread and it’s STILL amazing. This is the best recipe in the world and the best tasting bread (cake to me) in the world. I’m soooo happy I found this recipe. I live for making food and I’m so shocked that the best I’ve come across does not have tons of eggs or tons of butter. Just 1/4 cup of oil. I don’t feel very guilty when eating this. I just feel happy! Thank you for this recipe! I seriously never write glowing review like this. I just REALLY love this so much!

    Reply

    • Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says

      Hi April! This comment just made my day!! THANK YOU! Thank you for trying my recipe, loving it, playing with it ( I am always so happy to see my readers experimenting with the recipes!) and for coming back to let me know. That means a lot! I absolutely love your chocolate cherry version – so so delicious! 😀 Have a beautiful day! -Anna

      Reply

  17. CrunchyCreamySw says

    Sí, pero yo recomiendo sumergiéndolos en un zumo de naranja calentado primero antes de añadir a la masa. ¡Gracias!

    Reply

  18. Emily says

    Giving baked gift is the best. We just moved and I am totally using Christmas and baked goods to win over the neighbors.

    Reply

  19. Nancy says

    Happy Thanksgiving, Anna! I hope your weekend is full of good food and lots of cranberries 😉 This bread looks fantastic. I love the pop of red against the white bread. I’m definitely adding this to my must-bake list this year, especially since I’ve never baked with fresh cranberries before (shocking, I know).

    Reply

  20. Jessica says

    Your bread looks perfect, Anna! I love making these kinds of breads as Christmas gifts, and this looks like the perfect one to make this year!

    Reply

  21. Kate says

    This bread looks so good! I adore cranberries and quick breads are so easy to make, especially for a holiday brunch. Pinning!

    Reply

  22. Laura says

    This looks delicious, the crumb looks so tender, I’ve just baked my first cranberry recipe of the season and I’m so excited there here at last. I’m featuring this recipe on my blog on a feature I do called Baking News.

    Reply

  25. Donna says

    Perfect holiday gifting pairing with your luscious Cranberry Jam!! What sort of plate or container would you “give” it in?

    Also..in France it is often QUITE difficult to obtain fresh cranberries…could I possibly use frozen in this recipe?…Perfect brunch-worthy fare for these chilly days!

    Reply

    • CrunchyCreamySw says

      I love giving the jam in little Weck jars. They are adorable and perfect for it!
      I think frozen cranberries would be great in this bread too. Let me know if you give it a try, Donna!
      Thank you so much!

      Reply

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