Cranberry Bread made with a buttery cake and fresh cranberries is an easy festive quick bread dessert perfect for Christmas and Thanksgiving!
Readers love quick fruit breads like this Classic Banana Bread Recipe which is made in just one bowl! If you’re looking for more easy cake recipes be sure to check out the Cake Recipes Index.
CRANBERRY BREAD
Cranberry Bread doesn’t have to just be served during the Christmas and Thanksgiving season, with frozen cranberries you can make this sweet bread any time of year! Cranberry Bread is a traditional American quick bread recipe like banana bread or Pumpkin Chocolate Bread.
To keep this recipe simple and traditional with cranberry flavors, there is milk in the recipe just like in Blueberry Lemon Bread Recipe. You could use orange juice as is traditionally used in many cranberry bread recipes, but many people don’t keep orange juice on hand as they do milk. The first time you make this recipe we suggest making it the way it is written in the recipe card, it is the truly the best cranberry bread ever.
Most people make this recipe during the holiday season, so if you’re looking to make your Cranberry loaf a bit more festive you can top it with white chocolate chips, drizzle white chocolate on top or make a glaze with white chocolate. White chocolate goes great in holiday desserts like this White Trash Christmas Snack Mix – A festive mix of candies and pretzels named that way because it’s a bunch of snack items tossed together and “white” from the white chocolate. The recipe originally came from a famous department store which made it as a holiday snack treat they sold.
MORE DELICIOUS QUICK BREADS
Cranberry Orange Bread
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
Zucchini Bread
Pumpkin Bread
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Use orange juice in place of the milk and the zest of one orange when adding in the vanilla extract. If you want even more orange flavor, add chopped candied orange peel to the top of the bread with a glaze.
Bake in muffin liners for 18-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove from the muffin pan and cool on a wire rack.
Top Cranberry Bread with sliced almonds or finely chopped almonds or pecans before baking.
Mix powdered sugar with just a tablespoon of water until barely able to mix then dip the bread upside down into it. Or make an orange glaze as directed above except instead of using water use orange juice in its place for a punch of extra orange flavor along with the zest from one orange.
White Chocolate Chips is a great muted addition to the flavors of the cranberry (like in Starbucks Bliss Bars).
Yes! Use the cream cheese filling recipe in this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread Recipe.
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HOW TO KEEP CRANBERRY BREAD FROM DROPPING AFTER BAKING
- Make sure you’re measuring your dry ingredients exactly, especially the all purpose flour. If you’re using a measuring scoop, try using a butter knife to level the all purpose flour before mixing it in.
- Be careful not to over-mix the dough, stop when the flour mixture is just mixed in.
- Make sure your baking powder is fresh and not expired.
- Use an oven-safe thermometer to make sure your oven is baking true to temperature.
- It may not have been fully baked, if the middle is still raw it will sink as it cools.
MORE RECIPES FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON
Peppermint Bark
Oreo Balls (Oreo Truffles)
Award Winning Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Buckeye Balls Recipe
CRANBERRY BREAD TIPS:
- Check your fresh cranberries for any that are not ripe and for those that are overripe and mushy.
- For a deeper, more caramelized flavor you can add half brown sugar and half white sugar.
- You can bake this in one large 8×4 inch loaf pan or 2 mini loaf pans.
- If using mini loaf pans reduce your cook time to 30-35 minutes.
HOW TO STORE CRANBERRY BREAD
- Serve: You can keep Cranberry Bread at room temperature for 2-3 days, covered in plastic wrap in a cool, dry place.
- Store: Store in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature to serve.
- Freeze: Wrap individual slices or full loaf tightly first in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature to eat.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cups whole milk
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries , (frozen okay too)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour an 8×4 inch loaf pan.
- In a stand mixer cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes then add in the vanilla and eggs until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl sift together the flour and baking powder before adding it into the stand mixer on low speed, alternating with the milk until just combined.
- Stir the cranberries in by hand until just combined and pour into the pan and bake for 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
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Photos used in a previous version of this post.
I made this it was gone in one day ! I am making it again today!
I was looking for something quick to make using my dried cranberries…I made this recipe exactly but added a few handfuls of dried cranberries and made an orange glaze. It was fabulous! I will make this again for friends.
This is a simple recipe. I had a bag of older frozen cranberries I didn’t want to waste. I found this recipe and followed it because I had the ingredients in stock at home. I used salted butter instead. I also used light cream half and half because I only had skim milk and didn’t want to use that. It came out great no problem with the berries floating either. Used a regular bread pan.
Love this. Made many times. Good company n take to people
I followed the recipe using frozen cranberries. They all rose to the top. If there’s a trick to keeping the cranberries down in the bread please add it to the recipe. I’m very disappointed.
That is disappointing. I haven’t had it happen to me, but tossing the cranberries in some flour and gently folding into the batter instead of stirring should solve the problem. I will retest to see if I can recreate your floating cranberries.
Hi! I used refrigerated cranberries and folded them in. Most of the cranberries rose to the top of the bread. I love the flavor and will definitely make it again. Just want to find out how to keep the cranberries, more uniformed in the bread itself rather than on the top.
I was chatting with some Chef friends and heard this great tip for keeping any kind of fruit from “floating to the top” of your baking dishes. Coat the fruit lightly with flour! Let me know how it turns out!
I’ve heard to coat the berries in flour works to help them from rising.
Yep. There’s a quick easy fix I’ve been using for years to keep berries, frozen or fresh, from all rising to the surface of the baked bread. Before you add the berries to the rest of your ingredients, add them to an 1/8 C. of flour and coat them lightly. Sift them gently out of the leftover flour with a fork, and slowly fold them into your batter with a wooden spoon. This will create a “clinging: type of effect and keep them from moving to the top during baking. Hope this helps!
I should have read through all of the comments. I used frozen cranberries and they rose to the top. The batter was too thin (because of frozen cranberries?).
Your cranberries rose to the top during baking? I haven’t had it happen to me, but tossing the cranberries in some flour and gently folding into the batter instead of stirring should solve the problem. I will retest to see if I can recreate your floating cranberries.
Made this on the fly..used frozen berries so it needed more bake time. Incredibly moist and delicious! It had the consistency and texture of pound cake! Awesomeness!! I did add almond extract too! Mmmmm thank you for the recipe ??
QUESTION: Can buttermilk be substituted from whole milk? I rarely buy whole milk as I would be a candidate for 600 Lb life if I kept it on hand and drank it…
Great Cranberry Bread! Converted recipe to be gluten free using the Grain Exchange All Purpose Gluten free flour and it was a family hit.
I love the consistency of the bread but is it supposed to be sour? Maybe the cranberries are supposed to do that? But did you do anything with the cranberries before mixing into batter?
Yes, the cranberries are tart. If you’d like you can toss them in powdered sugar to coat them first and help tamp down the cranberry flavor? Or wet them and roll in regular sugar too.
Great Cranberry Bead! Converted recipe to be gluten free using the Grain Exchange All Purpose Gluten free flour and it was a family hit.
Will the flour stick if the cranberries are frozen?
It may have too much water content inside the frozen berries.
Can I make muffins with this recipe?
Hi, if I am using a 9×5 loaf pan, how should I edit the amount of ingredients?
I followed the recipe exactly and I did Mix the fresh cranberries with flour and it came out perfect! I will be making it again??
Linda
I love this recipe for its simplicity and delicious outcome. Will use it for blueberries next. Thank you Sabrina!
My cranberry bread has all the cranberries go to the top what am I doing wrong
Can you use dried cranberries. There were none to be found!
Yes, but you won’t need to use as much. You might only need about 9 ounces of dried cranberries. Good luck!
Can you use dried cranberries in this recipe?
Yes , though you won’t need as much.
Didn’t work for me either. Followed exactly and middle was super soggy and not baked white outer edges burned. Did the trick with the flower coating the cranberries but most still floated to top like many others. Bummed. Such a waste. ?
I always dredge fruit with flour before adding to a baked good, but this does not always work for cranberries. Apparently, this is due to how light and “airy” cranberries are. If you cut them in half and then dredge with flour you will have more success.
I would also check your oven temp by using an oven thermometer. It is shocking how off an oven temp. can be. I hope this helps. 🙂
Hello,
One suggestion for the recipe is to revise the dry ingredient step to include adding the salt. Even though it was on the ingredient list, I came very close to omitting it since it’s not mentioned in the prep steps. I ended up adding to the wet mixture.
The bread came out great though! Yum
Loved this recipe. Going to get more cranberries and blueberries so easy to make. My new go to recipe
Thanks for the 5 stars, Diane.
Just made 4 sm loaves. Cranberry Bread turned out perfect. Will keep the
Receipt “Thanks “
Yay!!
I followed the recipe to a “T” and it came out horrible. Way too many cranberries. By looking at the pics you posted, it can’t be possible that you used an entire bag! My bread looks NOTHING like the pictures, and the cranberries all went to the top, making it impossible to even cut. They are all at the top, and overflowing out of the pan. I just don’t understand how it could come out so badly. I used the right size pan and everything. Very disappointed. Won’t be making again.
Dusting the cranberries in some flour will prevent them from rising to the top or from sinking to the bottom.
Planning to bake the cranberry bread this week but want to incorporate white chocolate into the recipe. Do you know if it will interfere with the end result if I fold some into the batter? Thinking maybe 1/2 cup…not more than that because I want it to be “cranberry” bread not white chocolate.
That’ll work out wonderfully! Enjoy!
Hi. I want to bake mini loaves. What would the adjusted baking time be? Also I want to bake 6 to 8 loaves at a time.
You’ll need to reduce the bake time by 1/4 for mini loaves. I’d say your bake time will be around 40 minutes. Good luck!
Hi. Can someone help. Made this cranberry bread. Came great except all the cranberries stayed on top. What did I do wrong??
I have been making cranberry bread since my boys who are now 19 and 21 were little. It is my personal favorite holiday treat smothered in cream cheese. I hesitantly tried this recipe since it was so different than the one I have used for years. OH MY WORD! The butter makes ALL the difference! It was delicious! I used orange juice instead of milk and added pecans on the top and it was to die for good! I will say however that all the cranberries DID tend to stay in one place like was noted in other comments. Not sure why. I have never had that happen before, but I will definitely make this again!
I’m so glad you all enjoy it so much, Lisa.
Cranberries rising to the top is a common problem when adding fruit to a cake-like recipe. Just dust the cranberries or whatever fruit you’re using with flour. That will stop them from settling to the bottom or rising to the top.
OMG! HANDS DOWN the best bread…EVER. I did tweak because I love orange. I added zest from a full orange, and I added 1/2 c orange juice and 1/4 c almond milk. I only had whole wheat white flour, and it turned out GREAT. I don’t even care that a slice is 9 points on WW! I will save all my points for a slice. THANK YOU for an amazing recipe.
Haha, totally worth it! Thanks for the 5 stars, Kristen.
Kristin, I also like the cranberry/orange combination and want to add the orange juice and almond milk as you suggest. I just want to ask if those are in addition to the 3/4 cup whole milk the recipe calls for, or if they are in place of that whole milk. Thank you so much!
I made two loaves of this cranberry bread today and it received rave reviews. I did add the zest of one orange to the mix. It had such a great mix of sweetness and tartness. Tomorrow I’ll make French toast with a slice for a decadent breakfast.
Very delicious. I will be making this for neighborhood. I think muffins though next time.
i followed the recipe .exact and it is soo good, i wouldnt change anything
Thanks for the 5 stars, Sandra.
All the cranberries (dry when they went in) went to the top. This created a gooey thick top layer about a half inch deep with no cranberries in the majority of the lower layer. Yucky and very unattractive. I followed your directions and measurements exactly. Any idea on why mine cranberry bread was a failure?
I’ve made this recipe so many times and have never had that issue. You can always cut the cranberries in half next time and see if that helps. Sorry you had issues with it.
I make the recipe as noted, Loved it!
Floating Berries – there is a fix!
The way to keep fruit (like cranberries, cherries etc. that float or migrate to the top) stay in the batter is as follows: dampen them, them dust them or roll them in flour or sugar (or a mix). When batter is ready, gently mix in fruit.
Delicious! We had leftover cranberries after stringing them for the tree. I didn’t quite have 12 ounces, so I subbed in some apple. I made these in muffin tins and the house smells wonderful. The batter is just right for sweetness to offset the tartness cranberries.
Aww thank you for the great review! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Thank you very much for the recipe. This bread is delicious. The only “problem” I had is that all the cranberries went on top of the bread during the baking!! I am not sure why. Do you have any advice for next time? Thanks.
Your cranberries rose to the top during baking? I haven’t had it happen to me, but tossing the cranberries in some flour and gently folding into the batter instead of stirring should solve the problem. I will retest to see if I can recreate your floating cranberries. I’m glad the bread was still delicious! Happy Holidays!
Thank you for this yummy recipe! I wanted to try baking with fresh cranberries this year and this was perfect. My berries also rose to the top :-/
I thought for sure I would have the opposite problem so I was careful when stirring them in. But the bread is awesome! I did 1/2 brown sugar and used gluten free flour. I also added some orange zest because I was craving orange and cranberry. I will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks and Happy Holidays
That’s so odd! I’ve made this bread about a dozen times this season and haven’t had that issue. You can cut the cranberries in half next time and that will definitely resolve that issue.
I followed the recipe. It seem like an awful lot to put in an 8 x 4 loaf pan it’s been cooking an hour it’s still not cooked not sure what I should do.
A toothpick is not coming out clean after an hour? I would very gently tent it and keep cooking. I haven’t had that happy for me with this recipe and we just made it this week for holiday gifts. Let me know how this turns out for you.
Can you use skim milk.
Yes, though because it has less fat content, make sure you mix carefully as not to over mix otherwise the bread will come out tough.
We don’t need yeast to make this bread?
No, this is a quick bread recipe. Enjoy!
made this for a friend . she loved it but said it could be just a hair sweeter. she had frozen the loaf and i think she ate the whole thing before it fully defrosted!
Haha, so glad she enjoyed it!
Could dried cranberries be used in this recipe?
Yes, but you won’t need to use as much. You might only need about 9 ounces of dried cranberries. Good luck!
Haven’t eaten it yet, as I’m just now baking it but for me, I only used 8oz cranberries and it was so much that I had to use two baking pans. Anyone else experience this recipe making more than it calls for? I followed the recipe correctly…
I wonder if this could be done as mini muffins?
Yes, but you’ll need to increase the oven temp to 375 and bake for about 15 minutes. Hope you enjoy them.
Can you freeze this bread
Certainly, for up to 3 months.
I am making this bread for the first time, do you cut cranberries in half or add whole. I am using fresh cranberries.
No need to cut them 🙂
The flavor was incredible! However, the loaf itself was soggy, as if the moisture from the frozen cranberries over saturated the dough. Tried putting it back in the oven for just a bit more, but still super soggy…..any suggestions as to where I went wrong?
There could have been too much liquid released from the frozen cranberries. It definitely sounds like an imbalance of dry to wet ingredients. Next time I would pat the frozen berries down to remove any frost and extra moisture.
i had the same problem, baked it twice and it was still gooey. it was a brain issue. I put in 12 oz of milk instead of 6. Duh. it went down the disposal, second try is in the oven.
Hope it comes out better on round two! Happens to the best of us 🙂 🙂
The tart cranberries and sweet bread was such a great combo. I can’t wait to make it again.
Thanks for coming back to let me know how much you enjoyed it!
Sabrina,
If using frozen cranberries do I need to let me defrost first or can I just pour them in frozen? sorry if this was already mentioned and I just missed it.
Nope, no need to defrost them. I just rinse them with cool water and add them in. Enjoy!
Such a delicious recipe! I love the tart flavor of the cranberries with the contrast of the sweet bread.
Thanks, Steph.
What is the serving size for this delicious look bread?!?
About a 3/4″ thick slice. Hope you love it!
Love using this for neighbor gifts!
Such a great idea. I’m sure your neighbors love you for it too!
I make this all the time for my weekend breakfast.
Fantastic! So glad you love it so much.
I love cranberry bread! And this one is really perfect!
Thanks, Toni. 🙂
I love how delicious and easy this bread was – cant wait to make again!
So glad you loved it! Thanks for the 5 stars.
Will make it.
I hope you enjoy it.
I was thinking of adding some nuts. Can you tell me how much I could put in.
Thanks
Sounds amazing! I’d add 1/2 cup chopped nuts to this. Enjoy!