Cranberry Orange Bread is a wintertime classic. The tart cranberries and sweet citrus are both in season, and they offer such a bright and welcome contrast to the usually heavy foods of winter. In my house, this was a staple every Thanksgiving and Christmas morning, but it’s great to have a slice with coffee any day of the year. And since this Cranberry Orange Bread freezes beautifully, I can take a slice out and warm it up whenever I need a little taste of sunshine. :)
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“This was so good! Made it for Christmas day and it turned out beautifully. Thank you!!”
caitlin
Easy holiday Cranberry Orange loaf
If you love a little sweet baked treat with your homemade cup of coffee, this cranberry orange bread recipe is going to be your new fave. The loaf is sweet, rich, filled with orange essence, and dotted with fresh tart cranberries. The sweet glaze on top makes the perfect juxtaposition to the tart cranberries, and the whole thing is absolutely addictive! Whether you’re baking it for the holidays or slicing off a piece with your morning coffee, this Cranberry Orange Bread is the perfect way to brighten any winter day.
Recipe Success Tips and Variations
- Use a combination of baking powder & baking soda. Because of the acidic ingredients in the batter (sour cream, orange juice, and cranberries), I use a combination of both baking powder AND baking soda to leaven the bread.
- Fresh or frozen cranberries. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries for this bread. If using frozen, allow them to thaw before folding into the batter.
- Full or low-fat sour cream. Low-fat is an option, but don’t choose no fat. Greek yogurt will also work, here too, don’t use non-fat.
- Make mini loaves. Instead of using a large loaf pan, you can make mini loaves; just watch the bake time.
- Extend the shelf life. Once the loaf is cool, I like to freeze individual slices so I can easily enjoy this bread once the holidays have come and gone.
- Switch up the berries. If you have a hard time finding cranberries, any berry will work, so try blueberry or raspberry.
Cranberry Orange Bread
Cost $6.84 recipe / $0.68 serving
Ingredients
- 1 orange ($0.83)
- 2 cups fresh cranberries (200g, $2.64)
- 8 Tbsp salted butter (112g, room temperature, $0.99)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g, $0.96)
- 1 large egg ($0.18)
- ½ cup sour cream (120g, 0.47)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g, $0.36)
- ½ tsp salt (3g, $0.03)
- 1 tsp baking powder (4g, $0.04)
- ½ tsp baking soda (2.5g, $0.02)
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120g, $0.32)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Zest and juice the orange. You'll need about ⅓ cup juice (divided) and a ¼ tsp zest for this recipe. Wash and slice the cranberries in half.
- In a large bowl beat together the butter, sugar, and ¼ tsp orange zest with a hand mixer or stand mixer on high until the mixture is soft and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy (about 2 minutes).
- Add the sour cream and ¼ cup of the orange juice to the batter and beat again for about 2 minutes. Save the remainder of the orange juice to make the glaze later.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add about half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat with low speed until combined. Add the rest and beat until combined again. Finally, fold the sliced cranberries into the batter.
- Grease an 8½ x 4½ inch bread pan and then dust lightly with flour. Spread the cranberry bread batter into the bread pan and smooth out the surface.
- Bake the cranberry orange bread for 60 minutes in the preheated 350ºF oven, or until it is browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay, just no wet batter).
- Allow the bread to cool in the bread pan while you make the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar with just enough orange juice to create a thick glaze (about 1½ to 2 Tbsp). You can add a pinch of orange zest to the glaze, if desired.
- When the bread has mostly cooled, use a knife to loosen the edges, then remove it from the bread pan. Drizzle the glaze over top, then slice and serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread Step-by-Step Photos
Prepare the orange zest and juice: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Zest and juice one orange.
For the batter and icing, you’ll need about ⅓ cup juice (divided) and about ¼ tsp zest (or more if desired). Wash and slice 2 cups of fresh cranberries in half.
Cream the butter and sugar: Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat together 8 Tbsp room-temperature salted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and ¼ tsp orange zest on high until soft and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add one large egg and beat together until smooth and creamy (another 2 minutes).
Add orange and sour cream: Add ¼ cup orange juice and ½ cup sour cream, then beat together until smooth and creamy once again.
Combine the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp salt.
Combine wet and dry ingredients: Add about half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat them together on low speed until incorporated. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat on low speed until a smooth batter forms. Do not overmix.
Add the cranberries: Fold the sliced cranberries into the batter.
Transfer to a loaf pan: Grease an 8½ x 4½” loaf pan and then dust it lightly with flour. Spread the cranberry bread batter into the pan.
Bake: Bake the bread in the preheated 350ºF oven for about 60 minutes or until it is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (it may have a few crumbs, but should not have wet batter coating it). Allow the cranberry bread to cool in the pan.
Ice the bread: When the bread is mostly cool, prepare the icing. Stir together 1 cup powdered sugar with 1½-2 Tbsp orange juice, and a pinch of orange zest, if desired. Add just enough of the orange juice to create a thick glaze. Remove the bread from the pan, then drizzle the glaze over top.
Serve: Slice, serve, and enjoy!
How to Store Leftovers
This cranberry orange bread will keep well in the refrigerator for about five days, or you can freeze it for longer storage.
To freeze, slice the bread and then stack the slices with parchment paper between each slice. Place the stacked bread in an airtight container and then store it in the freezer. You can take out one or as many slices as needed and thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving, or microwave until warm.
In the freezer, the loaf will keep well for up to 2 months.
What to Serve With Cranberry Orange Bread
Come Christmas morning, I like to have a variety of dishes for us to chow down on. For a hearty, satisfying option, our sausage breakfast casserole is ideal to pair with the cranberry orange bread. To round things out, I’ll also make gingerbread baked oatmeal. For drinks, no one can ever resist a homemade hot chocolate or a cup of fresh steaming coffee with gingerbread coffee creamer.
This is my second year making it and it’s just as delicious! I plan on making this yearly for the holidays. My glaze ends up being too thick to drizzle so I end up using a spatula. Should I add more orange juice perhaps? Thanks!
That should do it! Or even a splash of water.
Absolutely delicious, came out perfectly on the first try!
I love how the recipe is priced out by ingredients. I always pat myself on the back for making recipes from scratch instead of from a box. It’s got to be better from scratch.
This was so good! Made it for Christmas day and it turned out beautifully. Thank you!!
I made this and it was fabulous!!! I want to make it again but now that Christmas is over, I’m having a hard time finding cranberries. Could either blueberries or raspberries be used instead? Or do you have another recommendation? Thank you!!!
Yes I think raspberries would work well!
Did you end up making it with something else than cranberries?
Hello! I’m planning to make this today and serve it on Christmas Day but I’m not sure if I should glaze it and put it in the fridge and let it rest until then or if I should just make it on Christmas Day. What would you recommend?
Hi Tori! I know it’s past Christmas now, but for future reference, you can definitely make this ahead of time!
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious :) I didn’t have fresh cranberries so I soaked some dried ones overnight in orange liqueur and they came out of the oven almost candied in texture. Not as tart as the fresh would have been but still very nice. The only thing that went wrong was that it overflowed in the oven, next time I will put a tray underneath just in case.
do you think it would adapt well to mini loaf pans?
Probably! The bake time will be different since they are exposed to more heat that way, but I’m sure it would work great otherwise.
Hello! Can we use craisins for this recipe (dried cranberries) or are they best whole (fresh or frozen)?
I would definitely suggest fresh or frozen for this one for the most flavor. :)
Hi, Beth – can you use dried cranberries for this? Thank you!
I don’t think dried cranberries would be nearly as good in this one, unfortunately. Their texture wouldn’t be quite right with the delicate bread and the juiciness of the fresh or frozen cranberries really adds a lot of flavor.
Can I freeze it?
Yes :)
I assume that it is icing sugar that you are talking about
Yes, depending on where you live it is sometimes called powdered sugar, icing sugar, or confectioners sugar. :)
Possibly silly question—how do you measure out two cups of cranberries? I’ve looked at weights and there are wildly differing thoughts on that!
Valid question! Just pile them into a dry measuring cup. It’s pretty flexible so it doesn’t need to be exact. :)
I just made this as a trial to decide if I want to make and give as Christmas gifts. It was delicious but I want to make it in mini loaves. What would the cooking time be for mini loaves??
I’d have to test it to know for sure, unfortunately. My guess is that it will be slightly shorter because there is more exposure to the heat, but it’s impossible to estimate how much.
Whwn I make mini loaves, I generally start checking after 20 minutes.
Hi there! I’ll be trying this out soon – do you think it would turn out ok if I used reduced-fat sour cream? If not, is there anything I can do? Thanks in advance!
As long as it’s not totally fat-free, I think it will work fine. :)
I used 2% fat greek yogurt (I had all the ingredients but the sour cream and didn’t want to go to the store) and it worked well! So I’d imagine reduced fat sour cream would work too.
I used Greek yogurt as well and it worked well!
I haven’t even made this yet and I already love it. Love, love, love, love, LOVE IT!!! I made a similar recipe for my mother many years ago after she was diagnosed with cancer, except the recipe I used then called for canned cranberry sauce vs fresh cranberries. My mother loved it so much that she called later, said she was craving this bread, and – of course – I made it and shipped it overnight. You can’t beat the taste of cranberries and oranges, so I can’t wait to try this recipe!