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Cranberry Orange Bread is a delicious and festive twist on my Sweet Bread recipe. The addition of cranberries and orange zest elevate it into an elegant Christmas Bread for breakfast, brunch, snacks and gifting.
These little loaves make your home smell like Christmas and quickly disappear! It takes just 10 minutes to prep this quick bread recipe.
I couldn’t let the holiday season go by without sharing my Cranberry Orange Bread! So many of you mentioned on my Cranberry Bread Recipe and Orange Bread on Pinterest how you’d like to blend the two, so of course I obliged with another pretty, giftable quick bread recipe.
This easy Cranberry Orange Bread is perfect for holiday entertaining. Cranberry Orange Bread is the perfect addition to Christmas brunch and makes a delicious snack. It also makes a beautiful hostess gift, neighbor or coworker gift.
I love using cranberries in our cooking and baking! Don’t skip Cranberry Salsa, Cranberry Quick Bread, this Cranberry Cheeseball, and this Cranberry Cheeseball in the shape of Santa’s hat!
Table of Contents
To Make This Cranberry Orange Bread, You Will Need:
- Sugar, flour, baking powder and salt
- Eggs: Free run / organic if possible.
- Milk and vegetable oil
- Orange zest
- Fresh Cranberries
How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread
It’s so quick to make this sweet bread!
- Combine sugar, flour, baking powder & salt. Set aside.
- Beat eggs, milk & oil.
- Gradually add dry mixture to wet until just moist. Fold in orange zest and cranberries.
- Grease 6 miniature baking dishes and pour mixture an inch below to the top to compensate for rise.
- Garnish with orange slices, a few additional cranberries and a little sugar. Bake and enjoy!
What is a Quick Bread?
Quick breads are breads that don’t require yeast which makes them a no fuss, foolproof bread that’s moist and made primarily with staple ingredients.
This easy Cranberry Orange Bread recipe is no exception! It takes less than 10 minutes to bake one large 1 1/2 pound loaf or 6 miniature loaves to share!
Classic Christmas Flavors Make This Bread Perfect For The Holidays
Cranberry Orange is a classic Christmas pairing. Typically bitter cranberries sweetened with sugar and balanced with orange zest makes a delicious holiday combination you’ll come to crave!
Can You Make This Quick Bread Ahead Of Time?
Once the bread has baked and cooled to room temperatures, store it in an airtight container and it will be good for about 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze the bread; wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Can I Substitute Dehydrated Orange Zest?
Zesting the outer, colorful skin of unwaxed oranges (clementines or mandarins also work) adds a lot of flavor and aroma. Simply use a zester to zest the orange. Reserve the orange to slice and garnish the top of your bread.
Use fresh zest for the best results, but you can use dehydrated orange zest. It’s not a 1-1 substitution because it is more concentrated, so start with 1/3 of the amount and add to taste.
Top Tips To Make This Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe
- Bake this sweet bread in a pre-heated oven for the best results.
- Grease your baking dish before adding the mixture.
- You can also bake in a loaf pan lined with parchment, just increase bake time and use toothpick to test. When it comes out clean, the bread is ready to remove from the oven.
- Let cool to room temperature before storing.
Gifting this Sweet Bread for the Holidays?
This quick bread recipe makes for a great holiday gift, wrap the dish with a ribbon or place in cellophane with a gift tag.
Are you on the list? Subscribers receive access to my free printable library that includes “Wishing you a sweet Christmas” gift tags. You can join here!
If you try this cranberry orange bread recipe, please come back to share using my 5 star rating in the comments below! Not only do I appreciate it, but I know readers do, too! For more easy recipes and simple living ideas, subscribe to my newsletter!
More Easy Bread Recipes
- Easy Bread Recipe with Sprinkles
- Sweet Bread
- Brown Sugar No Yeast Bread
- Apple Cinnamon Bread Recipe
- Cinnamon Bread
- Almond Bread
Did you make this? Rate the recipe and tag me on social @julieblanner!
Cranberry Orange Bread
Cranberry Orange Bread is a delicious and festive twist on my Sweet Bread recipe. The addition of cranberries and orange zest elevate it into an elegant Christmas Bread for breakfast, brunch, snacks and gifting. These little loaves make your home smell like Christmas and quickly disappear!
Yield
Ingredients
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 1/2 cups cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Beat eggs, milk and oil.
- Gradually add dry mixture to wet until just moist.
- Fold in orange zest and cranberries.
- Greast 5 minuature baking dishes pour mixture an inch below to the top to compensate for rise.
- Garnish with orange slices, cranberries and sugar.
- Bake 40 minutes.
Tips
- Bake this sweet bread in a pre-heated oven for the best results.
- Grease your baking dish before adding the mixture.
- You can also bake in a loaf pan lined with parchment, just increase bake time and use toothpick to test. When it comes out clean, the bread is ready to remove from the oven.
- Let cool to room temperature before storing.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 107kcal (5%), Carbohydrates: 17g (6%), Protein: 2g (4%), Fat: 4g (6%), Saturated Fat: 3g (15%), Cholesterol: 8mg (3%), Sodium: 56mg (2%), Potassium: 80mg (2%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 9g (10%), Vitamin A: 28IU (1%), Vitamin C: 1mg (1%), Calcium: 36mg (4%), Iron: 1mg (6%)
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
Suzanne says
Delicious and simple! My new go-to holiday hostess gift.
Becky says
Absolutely delicious! I added cream cheese glaze. Sharing with friends – it’s great for gifts.
Julie Blanner says
Thank you, Becky!
Alice says
Where do you get mini baking dishes? Are they disposable?
Julie Blanner says
The ceramics are available at Michael’s and I believe on clearance right now. I use them to gift because they’re so inexpensive, yet beautiful. You can also use disposable or wood chip loaf pans.
Anonymous says
Superb !
Katie says
I know you say in the comments that it’s our preference as to whether we use dried or fresh cranberries in this recipe. But preferences aside, do you use dried or fresh when you bake it?
Julie Blanner says
Both – it just depends what I have on hand.