Cranberry Orange Bread is full of sweet orange flavor, tart cranberries and drizzled with the most incredible orange glaze! Perfect for a holiday breakfast or dessert.
Orange + cranberry is one of the best flavor combinations, sort of like peanut butter and chocolate. This bread is sweet with plenty of orange flavor, but also has a bit of tang from fresh cranberries. The result is a completely addicting quick bread that everyone will love!
If you love this combination, you could easily turn these scones into orange cranberry by swapping the blueberries for cranberries and adding some orange zest. Top with the orange glaze from this recipe and you’ll be in heaven!
Fresh or frozen cranberries
The good news here is that you can freeze cranberries when they are in season, and make orange cranberry bread any time of the year!
Fresh or frozen are fine to use. If using frozen cranberries, simply toss them in a tablespoon of flour, and then very gently fold them into the batter right before baking. This will help them not discolor the bread as much. You can use this same technique for blueberry muffins!
How to make orange cranberry bread
This is simply an overview with photos, see the recipe card below for the complete, printable recipe.
First, make your flax “eggs” in a small bowl by combining ground flaxseeds and water, then set aside for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, soy milk (or other plant milk), orange zest, orange juice, oil, flax eggs and vanilla until well combined. Now add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) and stir until just combined.
Fold in the cranberries, tossing first in a little flour if frozen.
Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan, and bake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Whisk or stir all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl (powdered sugar, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla) until smooth. Once the loaf has cooled, drizzle or spread it over the top, serve and enjoy!
Helpful tools
- Zester – This is an essential kitchen tool I use regularly for zesting oranges, lemons and limes, as well as grating vegan cheese.
- Citrus juicer – I love this citrus juicer, it makes squeezing citrus a breeze.
- Standard loaf pan – Use a standard size loaf pan; I used 9 x 5 inches. I use this size in all my quick breads as well as vegan meatloaf recipes.
Want more quick bread recipes?
- 1 Bowl Vegan Banana Bread
- Vegan Zucchini Bread
- The Best Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf
Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 5 tablespoons water
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup soy milk*
- zest of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1/2 cup canola oil*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
Orange Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- zest of 1/2 orange, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a standard loaf pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches or 9 x 5 inches). You can also line the pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the sides for easy removal.
- In a small bowl, combine the ground flaxseed and water. Set aside to thicken for 3-4 minutes. These are your flax "eggs".
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, soy milk, orange zest, orange juice, oil, flax eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- To the bowl with the wet ingredients, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix or your bread may be dense or rubbery.
- If the cranberries were frozen, toss them with a tablespoon of flour; this will help them not make the entire loaf red or pink. Gently fold the cranberries in the batter.
- Pour into the prepared pan, place in the center rack of the oven and bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: In a small-medium bowl, add the powdered sugar, orange juice, zest and vanilla, and stir with a spoon until smooth. You can use a whisk if you powdered sugar is clumpy.
- Once the bread has cooled completely, spread or drizzle the glaze over the top. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Milk - You may use another milk, such as cashew, almond, coconut, oat or hemp milk.
- Oil - I used canola oil, but you can use another vegetable oil such as avocado, melted coconut oil or even melted vegan butter. I haven't tried it oil free, but applesauce may work in place of oil.
- Gluten free - I haven't tested it, but a gluten free mix would likely work here. Don't sub with almond or coconut flour, it will not work.
- Storing - Cover leftovers and keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Or freeze for longer.
I made this for Christmas morning. We all love it! I opted for applesauce instead of oil. And I used frozen cranberries tossed with flour. The orange and cranberry flavors are wonderful together. Thanks for the great recipe!
So delicious!! It is easy and turns out great each time. This bread has become our Christmas morning treat for the past 4 years!
Hi Nora,
This bread is fantastic…the only downside I’m experiencing is that it comes out too crumbly to slice. It basically just falls apart and I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong as I’m following all the directions to a tee. Any suggestions? It’s not dry, it’s very moist.
Hi there! Are you waiting for it to cool before slicing? It should not be crumbly if you let it cool first. Also, make sure to use a sharp knife, serrated if possible.
Have you ever tried adding nuts to this?
I haven’t, but you definitely could!
Perfect! I made this for our Thanksgiving breakfast, used dried cranberries, so 1 cup as you suggested—just right! Added a tad extra orange juice and zest to the glaze, omg was delicious still warm, and later my husband had a slice after the gym, and raved about it. Wants it again at Christmas! Thank you for the lovely, easy recipe.
You are welcome, Jo Anna! Your bread sounds amazing, and I’m glad you both loved it! This is a perfect holiday bread! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review and feedback! Happy holiday baking!
Can I sub maple syrup, agave or honey for the sugar? Will it change the texture of the bread since it’s a liquid instead of powder?
It will change the recipe a lot because you’re adding liquid. You could try it, but I’m not sure how it will turn out. You might need to take away some liquid elsewhere. I’d have to play around and do some testing to know what works.
Sadly, I can’t get fresh or frozen cranberries where I live. Would dried work? How much would you recommend using?
Yes, dried work. I’d use about 1 cup or so. Enjoy!
I baked the cranberry orange bread and the lemon blueberry bread as muffins and adjusted the baking time. They are fabulous! No one guessed that they were vegan, they were that delicious.
Thank you, Nora! I’ll be trying more of your recipes.
You bet, Irene. Welcome to my site! I’m so glad you enjoyed the breads! Thank you for your wonderful review and feedback! Please reach out with any questions, and I wish you lots of happy cooking!
Hi Nora,
I recently came into an ABUNDANCE of cranberries and subsequently dried them myself. I love cranberry and orange baked things so I’m super excited to try this recipe! A few questions:
Have you made this with dried cranberries?
Do you think they would dry out too much with the bake time?
Is the recipe dependent on the hydration from fresh berries?
I also love cranberry and orange baked goods! You can use dried cranberries instead of fresh if you’d like, it’s perfectly yummy! Enjoy!
Nora, your recipes are truly the best! I made this for Thanksgiving and it was absolutely perfect. The only change I made was that I reduced the cranberries to 1.5 cups, as my mother can be sensitive to bitter foods. Thank you for an excellent recipe!
You are welcome, Sally. It’s great to know that you and your family loved the bread! I appreciate your positive review and wonderful feedback!
What can be substituted for the oil?
Perhaps applesauce or unsweetened vegan yogurt.
Love every recipe I’ve ever tried of yours and excited to try this one. Wondering if you have any specific tips on freezing this in loaf or muffin form and serving later?
Thank you! I hope you love this one, too. 🙂 To freeze, I let it cool all the way, then wrap it well and place in some sort of freezer safe bag or container. Then thaw and serve when ready.
Hi Nora,
I made this in a glass loaf pan. It needed extra time to bake and even still when I sliced it, it was gummy inside. Not inedible and didn’t seem raw but definitely not cakey, just around the edges where it did get a nice crust. Any idea what could have caused this? My only possible thought was maybe I over stirred the dough.
Still a tasty recipe, just wish I could get better texture next time.
Thanks for your feedback!
It sounds like it just didn’t cook through all the way. I’m not sure why it was taking longer, but ovens can vary and using a glass pan is a bit different than metal. Next time, be careful not to over mix the dough (that will make the loaf rubbery and not cakey) and check with a toothpick in the middle of the loaf. When it comes out clean with no wet batter, you know it’s done.
Nora,
Absolutely delicious 😋!
Thank you
I made this with a high-end, excellent gluten-free flour (Caputo 1924 Fioreglut). We have two vegans and one gluten allergy in our family, so family get-togethers are challenging, especially Thanksgiving. Everyone LOVED this bread, and it disappeared rapidly. The only down side I would say is that with both the flax “eggs” and the GF flour mix, it was very crumbly, so hard to slice. Did not affect the taste, and as I said it disappeared instantly. I will definitely make it again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jane! Thanks for your wonderful review 🙂
Hi Nora,
This is another perfect summer dessert! I made it many times with frozen cranberries and many times with dried cranberries. We could not agree on which version was better, so now I use a mix of frozen and dried cranberries 🙂
Hi Kate. I love it! I’m thrilled you are loving the bread! Thanks for your fabulous feedback and review!
Could you make this recipe as muffins??
Hi Lisa. This bread would make muffins! Try baking them for 18-22 minutes. Enjoy!
I made this last night. It was delicious. I did not have any granulated sugar so I used raw sugar. I did not make the glaze. I did not need it.
Hi Michelle. Thanks for your great feedback! I’m so glad you loved the bread!
This was fantastic. Thank you. I made half the glaze, which was perfect for my taste (slightly thinned too). I really commend you for the crumb and especially the “crust,” which I really love in a bread/cake like this and vegan recipes almost never achieve, whatever their other merits.
Hi Bill. You are welcome! I appreciate your uplifting words! I’m really glad you loved the bread! Thanks for your terrific feedback and review! Happy cooking!
your blueberry lemon version is one of my favourite recipes so i had to try this one too. i love it! super wintery/christmassy flavours and so easy to make 🙂
I’m so glad you tried this one! I love it as well! Thank you for your terrific feedback and review! Happy cooking to you!
LOVE this recipe. I made the loaf last year and have been thinking of it since. This time made mini Muffins and baked 350 for 25 mins. They’re perfect! Husband’s mini muffin addiction has been fulfilled!
Excellent