This moist & flavorful orange cranberry bread is packed with orange zest and tart cranberries, topped with cinnamon streusel, and finished with orange glaze. It’s one of my favorite quick bread recipes to prepare because it always draws a crowd!
When I think of the fall season, many flavor duos come to mind, but no flavor combination is more delicious than orange + cranberry. I love tart cranberries paired with sunshine-sweet orange. Over the years I’ve shared recipes for cranberry orange muffins, cranberry orange Bundt cake, cranberry orange icebox cookies, and cranberry orange scones… and my classic cranberry sauce and these cranberry brie puff pastry tarts both contain a pop of orange flavor, too. All incredible, but nothing rivals today’s quick bread. It’s the original and I recommend making two loaves because trust me, it will disappear quickly!
3 Parts to Orange Cranberry Bread
- Bread: I use buttermilk and vegetable oil here to ensure a supremely moist and flavorful bread.
- Streusel: Homemade cinnamon streusel comes together with simple everyday ingredients and is a welcome addition to this quick bread. You’ll love the textural variation in each bite. While I believe streusel is never optional, this bread is still dazzling without!
- Orange Glaze: A drizzle of orange glaze on top heightens the bright orange flavor of this orange cranberry bread.
Craving plain cranberry bread? You can leave off the streusel and/or orange glaze. Same bake time and temperature. Or if you want to add some sparkle, try adding some sugared cranberries on top before serving.
Cranberry Bread Ingredients
Don’t be overwhelmed by the ingredient list below—you’ll notice most of the ingredients are repeated in each part of the recipe.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of this quick bread recipe. Because we’re loading it up with lots of add-ins, we need a sturdy flour.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the bread rise.
- Salt + Vanilla Extract: Salt and vanilla extract add flavor. (Try using homemade vanilla extract.)
- Cranberries: We use 1 cup of chopped cranberries. I recommend using fresh or frozen cranberries, though dried cranberries will also work. If using frozen cranberries, do not thaw. If you have leftovers, try my cranberry cardamom spice muffins next!
- Pecans or Walnuts: While optional, chopped nuts are a wonderful addition and complement the flavors of the bread. I always use them! If you love the combination of cranberries and pecans, you must try my cranberry cake as well.
- Egg: One egg binds everything together.
- Sugar: We use both brown sugar and granulated sugar to sweeten this bread.
- Buttermilk: We use buttermilk for added moisture, but also because the lactic acid in buttermilk is what helps the baking soda do its job. Want to use sour cream and milk instead? You definitely can. See my cinnamon swirl quick bread, which is another favorite recipe of mine. This bread batter recipe is similar and you can use 1/3 cup sour cream and 2/3 cup whole milk here too.
- Oil: While butter provides unbelievable flavor, nothing beats the moisture that oil brings. We use oil in this quick bread recipe to produce a moist and soft bread, and also because the flavor of butter would get lost with all of the other flavors.
- Orange Zest: Orange zest adds a lovely punch of flavor to the bread. Save the juice for the orange glaze!
How to Make Orange Glazed Cranberry Bread
- Make the streusel. Use your hands, two forks, or a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the other streusel ingredients. The colder the butter, the less likely the streusel will sink down into the cooking bread.
- Make the batter. Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl and the wet ingredients together in another. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until no lumps remain. No electric mixer needed!
- Pour into prepared pan. Top with streusel.
- Bake. This bread can take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour in the oven. Why the huge gap of time? All ovens are different. Oven air flows, oven hot spots, etc. Quick breads are thick and having the center baked through properly takes time.
- Make the glaze. Combine ingredients together and drizzle over cooled bread.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Similar to banana bread and carrot cake, this bread was even more flavorful and moist on day 2. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it warm out of the oven, but I especially enjoy it the next morning. It’s a perfect treat to serve guests because you can make it the evening before.
Two Baking Tips
- Buy an oven thermometer. Unless you have a brand new or regularly calibrated oven, your oven’s temperature is likely inaccurate. Incorrect temperature ruins baked goods and you waste hours spent on the recipe and money spent on ingredients. The inexpensive remedy to this mess is an oven thermometer. While cheap, they’re irreplaceable in a baker’s kitchen. Place it in your oven so you always know the actual temperature.
- Cover your bread with aluminum foil. I note this in the instructions below as a reminder. About halfway through baking, loosely cover the loaf with aluminum foil. This will allow your bread to bake evenly on all sides and prevent the top from getting too brown before the center bakes through.
If you’re looking for another fall quick bread recipe, this apple cinnamon bread is a tried-and-true favorite, and so is this versatile savory quick bread.
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Orange Glazed Cranberry Bread
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is moist and tender orange cranberry bread with buttery streusel and a zingy orange glaze. It’s perfect for guests or with a warm cup of tea in the early morning or afternoon. See notes for freezing instructions.
Ingredients
Streusel
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Bread
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (105g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
- 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 cup (110g) cranberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw)*
- optional: 1/2 cup (65g) chopped pecans or chopped walnuts
Glaze
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1–2 Tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Make the streusel first: Whisk the flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter, your hands, or two forks until mixture resembles pea-size crumbs. It’s important to keep the streusel cold, so place in the refrigerator (covered or uncovered) until ready to use in step 4.
- Make the bread: Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and orange zest. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk to completely combine. Avoid over-mixing. Fold in the cranberries and nuts (if using).
- Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan. Top evenly streusel, pressing the streusel down gently into the top of the bread so it sticks.
- Bake the bread for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cover loosely with foil about halfway through to ensure even browning. Poke the center of the bread with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. Oven times will vary between ovens. My bread usually takes 1 hour. Cool bread completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice together. Add more orange juice depending how thick you want the glaze. Drizzle over cooled bread.
- Slice and serve. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, you can freeze the glazed or unglazed bread for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before glazing (if needed) and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Pastry Cutter | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Cranberries: 1 cup dried cranberries may be used instead of fresh/frozen. You can slice the cranberries in half, if desired. I leave them whole.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk (an acid) is required for this quick bread recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 cup. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the bread won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe. Another option is to use sour cream and milk instead of buttermilk. See my cinnamon swirl quick bread. This bread batter recipe is similar and you can use 1/3 cup sour cream and 2/3 cup whole milk here too.
- Muffins: Grease a 12-count muffin pan or line with liners. Prepare streusel and batter in steps 2 + 3. Spoon the batter evenly into each liner, filling each to the top. Press streusel into the tops of each. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20-22 minutes, give or take. Cool muffins for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Makes 18 muffins.
Quick Bread Recipes
I welcome easy recipes around the holidays. What I love most about quick breads is that they’re universally delicious and, best of all, they’re QUICK! Here are a few seasonal quick bread recipes to make next:
See all of my quick bread recipes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I use one cup oat flour and one cup all purpose flour?
Hi Bev, we haven’t tested the recipe with oat flour, so are unsure of the result. If you try it, please let us know how it goes!
We loved this recipe. It was so good that my husband couldn’t stopped eating it
Absolutely delicious and so easy! I made this for my husband’s breakfast this week. It was so good that I’m making and freezing another for my FIL to take home and enjoy after thanksgiving.
I love this recipe! I did freeze the remainder of my cranberries and I see you say not to defrost them before using. However, they aren’t washed. Is it ok to use them without rinsing? Thank you!
I have made this dozens of times. When cranberries are not available, I use the same recipe, but change the orange to lemon and the cranberry to blueberry. I also make it in four mini loaf pans. It is always a hit with friends and family.
I can’t wait to try your recipes!
Your instructions are great.
Awesome recipe! I made it just as written but used a springform pan to make more of a coffee cake. Office friends loved it! Actually had it well wrapped in my freezer for a few weeks, needed an emergency birthday treat. Thawed it overnight and glazed in the morning. Nice and moist and tasted fresh baked!
I made this ahead for Thanksgiving and ate a small piece before I put it in the freezer and it was soo good. I can’t wait until Thanksgiving to have another piece! I used the sour cream and milk instead of the buttermilk as suggested since I did not have buttermilk on hand and it turned out delicious and moist!
Hi Sally, Can I bake this recipe in small loaf pans and are any adjustments needed for high altitude (6500’)
Hi Mo, you can make mini loaves, definitely! Bake time will vary. We have no experience baking at high altitude, but some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
This is the best recipe I have found for cranberry Orange quick bread.
I would like to make one and put one in the freezer. Can the recipe be doubled?
Hi Cynthy, for best taste and texture, we recommend making two separate batters for 2 loaves.
Im surprised that the does not have any orange juice added to the bread ingredients. Can orange juice be added for more orange flavor? Or is the zest enough to give it orange flavor?
Hi Zoe! The zest really packs much more flavor than juice, but we do use juice in the icing. We recommend sticking with the recipe as written!
This looks so yummy, was wondering how to make it Gluten Free
Hi DJ, we haven’t tested it with gluten free flour, but let us know if you do.
I’ve made this with Bob’s Red Mill one-2-one GF flour, and it comes out moist and perfect!
You have a lot of nice recipes. We learning a lot from your site
My family has milk allergies. What do you think about adding lemon juice or vinegar to coconut milk?
Hi Linda, you can make the DIY buttermilk using a non-dairy milk. Enjoy!
Make your recipes every weekend. Make my table look like I went to a bakery. Had a problem with this bread. Think I know what I did wrong. Inadvertently added sugars to flour mixture not liquids. When I cut it, i didn’t look like a bread, more like raw dough. Did my error cause this?
Hi Barbara, that certainly could be the cause. Sugars should be added with the wet ingredients to the combine properly. Also make sure the loaf is baked through by using a toothpick to test for doneness.
I made this today and it was so good. We loved it. I’m trying to decide which quick bread to make for Thanksgiving, so I made this one so I could get familiar with the recipe. We are having Thanksgiving at our son and daughter-in-law’s house, and I wanted to make a quick bread.
Awesome!! A great recipe. Plenty of compliments whether giving to friends or serving after dinner with ice cream. Over the years I have made a version of this recipe making scones. Thanks Sally for sharing
I got twelve perfectly domed muffins out of this recipe. I chopped the (frozen) cranberries and added toasted walnuts to the batter and the top of the muffins. Took them to the office the next morning and they tasted like fresh out of the oven. Perfect!
Can you make in a bundt pan?
Hi Laurie, You can use this recipe for a smaller Bundt cake, yes. Or, here is our cranberry orange Bundt cake recipe instead.
100% keeper recipe.
I ended up substituting dried cranberries in place of the fresh/frozen. I steamed them with a bit of water and drained off the liquid before adding. So delicious and light!
Loved the Cranberry nut bread!
Cannot wait to bake your cranberry bread. I was always told mine was the best ever. Thank you for sharing .
I make my own Greek yoghurt and often use the whey as a buttermilk substitute. Can I do that here?
Hi Gloria, we haven’t tested that exact buttermilk substitute, but let us know if you do. If you’re interested, here’s more about what we’ve learned about different buttermilk substitutes over the years!
I’ve never been able to develop mastery of the toothpick test – the stupid thing just doesn’t speak to me of doneness at all. Can you tell me the internal temperature the bread is done at please?
Hi Sheila, it should be about 200 degrees F.
Cranberry bread, MY favorite!!! I’d love to make this recipe into small loaves for Christmas gifting. Any ideas on pan sizes that work? Maybe 3 x 6, 5 x 3, would make be a lovely gift size. Thanks for your ideas.
Hi Peggy, you can certainly make these in any smaller size loaf pan. Exact bake time and yield will vary, so keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
Instead of adding fresh cranberries could you add a cranberry jam as a cranberry swirl?
Hi Laura, we haven’t tried it, but we imagine that should work! Please do let us know how it goes for you.
can i use unsalted butter instead of oil?
Hi Aida, you can try using melted butter, but the bread won’t be as moist.
Can you use dried cranberries
Hi Pauline, they won’t taste as fresh and tart, but will work just fine. Use 1 cup of dried cranberries.
How do you keep all of the cranberries from coming to the top of the loaf. There was not one in the body of the loaf.
Hi Connie, Try lightly chopping the cranberries before folding them in, this should help prevent them from rising to the top.
How fine do you chop the cranberries? When you get an oven thermometer, where is the best place to place it? I always see pictures of them hanging near the front oven door center.
Hi M, you can chop the cranberries if desired. We’ll often leave them whole for big bursts of flavor, but chopping in half (especially if they’re large!) works great, too. Yes, we find it helpful to hang the oven thermometer in the front center so you can easily see the temperature without having to open the door. Hope you enjoy this bread!
This bread is so delicious. I live at high altitude and the middle sunk somewhat. Any suggestions , because every thing I bake sinks in the middle? I cut slices in half and disguised the sunken middle. It was wonderful.
Hi Edie, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I would like to try this using buttermilk this looks delicious and I wonder if i could use “buttermilk blend” you blend it with water- do have experience with using this in place of buttermilk?
Hi Lorraine, we have some helpful information about this in this post on buttermilk substitutes.