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.
Print
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
This is a wonderful recipe. My problem was that the cranberries all came to the top. What did I do wrong? My batter seemed a little on the thin side. I want to make it again.
Hi Carole! Sounds like your batter was a little too thin. Did you make any changes to the recipe? So glad you love this recipe!
I almost didn’t make this bread, wow I am glad I did! I wanted to try this with the fresh cranberries, I nornally use dried. I had a bit of a time finding the fresh, but my search paid off. This bread is everything holiday in one beautiful bite. The fresh cranberries were a game changer for me. This bread is soft, moist, not overly sweet & very yummy in all possible other ways.The streusel topping was such a lovely finishing touch. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!!
Another outstanding recipe. Thanks!
Cupcakes with this recipe?
Hi Mary, you can definitely do that. Bake them for about 20-22 minutes for standard size muffins.
Can we replace buttermilk with full fat plain yogurt
Hi Nm, yogurt will be too thick of a substitute for buttermilk. See Notes after the recipe for details on making a buttermilk substitute if you don’t have any.
This bread is SOOOOO tasty. Thank you for the recipe. I make this every holiday
Amazing! I didn’t have cranberries so I used raspberries. It ended up being the loaf that saved my marriage. Thanks again Sally.
this was delicious
I’ve been following Sally’s recipes for months now, I’ve also been tweaking them to make them a little more custom for different things I liked. So here’s my tweaking: added a tablespoon of cinnamon to the dry mix, instead of buttermilk I did 1/3 cup of honey vanilla Greek yogurt (Greek God’s brand) with 2/3 cup of milk, I added 1/4 cup of squeezed orange juice (may as well use them if you’re zesting them), used sunflower oil instead of vegetable oil, and I did cranberries AND peaches (both frozen). It came out like a masterpiece!! Thank you so much!
Forgot to add the stars!
Delicious, easy-to-follow recipe. I needed to bake mine about 1 hour 15 minutes and there’s still a soft spot right in the middle that looks like it could have used a bit more baking time. I was afraid that the prolonged bake time would mean a less moist cake but thankfully I was wrong! It’s very moist. I made both the struesel and the glaze and agree with some others that it would be best with just the struesel. The glaze is a bit of overkill. A great way to use up some frozen cranberries left from Christmas.
I made this last fall and substituted 1 to 1 gluten free flour. It got raves and was requested for Easter this year as well. A new family favorite.
This was delicious! I made it withou the glaze and it was perfect! Everyone loved it!
Made this last night, it was absolutely delicious. I skipped the Streusel and Glaze.
This recipe is a keeper! Soooo yummy!
I made this for my team at work. They loved it and said it tastes like Christmas.
My bread had a deeper gold color which was different from loaves (other recipes) I have made before. Maybe the streusel melted into bread? I would add more cranberries as well.
Good Morning! I used three (5.25″ x 3.125″ x 2.24) USA Mini Loaf Pans – Aluminized Steel with Americoat® Nonstick Silicone Non-stick Coating with great success. Baking time: tested it at 30 minutes and added 5 more minutes. We gave our granddaughter the baking credit, because she squeezed the oranges and made the icing! Absolutely delicious! I served it to our pastor who made a home visit during the holidays, and he raved about it! Thank you, Sally!!!
Another fabulous recipe! This was loved by everyone at a holiday get together. Super moist, tons of flavor and easy to put together. My mixer was out for service so I used my food processor to put it together. Another winner from Sally!
I received so many compliments when I brought this loaf over for a Christmas dinner! I made it without the icing and streusel but followed the recipe for the bread itself exactly as written. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Love the recipe and it came out like a winner but few lessons learnt on the way that I would like to share with the rest:
– Use parchment paper to line the tin, makes it easier to take it out. Mine got stuck and part of it broke
– Use fresh cranberries instead of dried ones. Much better colour and flavour
Thank you so much for the tips.
Can this recipe be made into mini loaves and how long should they bake? How many mini breads can you get from one recipe?
Hi Kathy! That would depend on the exact size of your mini loaf pans (there are so many varieties!). Keep a close eye on them in the oven and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Can you add chocolate chips to this?
Definitely!
Making to send to my daughter so can’t taste it. Streusel was a fail for me. Just melted into the cake. Will have glaze to hid it. I guess I did something wrong????
Hi Sharon! Make sure to start with very cold butter with the streusel, and be careful not to over-work it. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Freeze your strudel until ready to bake. It will be perfect.
Hi Sally, I just took my loaf out of the oven and it smells fantastic! However, the streusel seemed to rise up mostly in the center of the loaf. I tented it at the 30 mins mark as instructed. When I kept checking for doneness ( I had to keep adding on more time), the sides and most of the loaf were already done so I finally took it out of the oven so as not to over bake. I did bake the loaf in an 8 1/2 × 5 1/2 load pan. So, I am wondering what I did wrong. Yikes!
Hi Sally,
In lieu of buttermilk, how much sour cream would I substitute instead?
Thank you,
Brenda
Hi Brenda, 1/3 cup sour cream and 2/3 cup whole milk here.
I baked this in an 8” round cake pan for 35 min and it came out great! Turned it out after it was cool and then glazed. Looked beautiful!
I made this with the streusel, but without the glaze. I’m not a cinnamon fan so I replaced with ground cardamom. EXCELLENT. I will be making more and freezing for later enjoyment.
hello can you tell me how to make this in small loaf pan for gifts, and how long to bake as well.
thank you so much!
Hi Dj, mini loaf pans vary greatly in size so we can’t say for sure what the exact bake time will be. Use the same oven temperature and you will know they are finished when a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the loaves comes out mostly clean!
Delicious! I found that covering the bread half way – the bread was done but the strudel topping was not – so I uncovered and baked another 5 or so minutes and it was perfect!Total baking time was 1hour 5 minutes. So easy!