How to Make Fresh & Moist Orange Cranberry Bread

When I have leftover cranberries, I make orange cranberry bread! I love fresh cranberries, and nothing pairs better with cranberry than oranges. 

During the holidays, I always stock up on fresh cranberries for a variety of festive recipes. This year, however, I realized I didn't make my orange cranberry bread. 

Instead, I focused on Cranberry with Orange Sauce and my daughter's favorite Cranberry Bars. Needless to say, when I looked in the refrigerator after the holiday and noticed a half bag of cranberries, I started baking. 

Fresh fruits and juices make the best orange cranberry bread.

Even though bottled orange juice works, I prefer to use fresh-squeezed orange juice and fresh cranberries when I bake. Depending on the size of the oranges, 1 cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice is approximately 4 oranges. 

Also, I add fresh orange zest for added orange flavor, which is optional. 

Sometimes, when I can't find fresh cranberries, I bake with frozen ones, but the flavor isn't as profound as the fresh berries. 

What ingredients are needed for orange cranberry bread?

Instead of using coconut sugar for this recipe, I substituted maple syrup. Similarly, I substituted apple sauce for a flax egg. Flax egg, however, can be used if you don't have unsweetened apple sauce. 

Whenever I bake, I prefer unsweetened apple sauce, like in my Vegan Oil-Free Cornbread Recipe. In fact, I buy the single-serving, unsweetened apple sauce cups for kid's lunch boxes.

Since I only cook with apple sauce, each single-serving cup is 1/2 cup or equivalent to 1 flax egg. 

• All-purpose flour (or whole-wheat flour; gluten-free flour can be used as well
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Freshly squeezed orange juice
• Unsweetened apple sauce (or flax egg)
• Orange zest
• Fresh cranberries
• Vanilla
• Cinnamon
• Maple syrup (or coconut sugar)

Tips for making the perfect orange cranberry bread

First, DO NOT use an electric mixer. Instead, stir the batter by hand and DO NOT overmix. One of the biggest mistakes people make when baking is overmixing, which results in flat, dry bread. 

Another tip when vegan baking is to make sure you stir the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the flour so it is equally distributed before adding the wet ingredients. 

Because I didn't use vegan butter and flax egg, the wet ingredients are added to the same bowl once the dry ingredients are stirred. 

Also, folding in the cranberries after the batter is stirred allows the berries to stay whole and the juice to stay inside the berries. 

Since I don't cook with oil, there are two tricks to making orange cranberry bread that won't stick. 

• Use a non-stick silicone bread pan. 
• Line a bread pan with parchment paper before pouring the bread batter into the pan. 

Additionally, allowing the bread to cool completely allows the flavors to enhance and keeps the bread from crumbling. Although my family wants the orange cranberry bread immediately, waiting until it is completely cooled or covering the bread and waiting until the next day is even better. 

But the only way that happens at my house is if everyone is gone, and I hide it until the next day 🙂 

The smell of fresh-baked cranberry orange bread is difficult to conceal. 

If you love cranberries, try these other cranberry recipes. 

• Cranberry with Orange Sauce
• Cranberry Bars

Yield: 12 servings

Orange Cranberry Bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Orange cranberry bread is oil-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free. Made with whole-food ingredients, each piece of bread is full of fresh cranberries that pop in your mouth with fresh orange flavor in each moist bite.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups All-purpose flour (or whole-wheat flour; gluten-free flour can be used as well
• 2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened apple sauce (or flax egg)
• 1/2 Orange zested
• 1 1/2 cups Fresh cranberries
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Maple syrup (or 3/4 coconut sugar)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Stir the dry ingredients, combine the baking powder, soda, and salt with the flour.
4. Now add the apple sauce, orange juice, maple syrup, zest, vanilla, cinnamon, and stir by hand, focusing on incorporating the flour mixture at the bowl's bottom. DO NOT OVER STIR. Just make sure all the dry ingredients and wet ingredients create a thick and lumpy batter.
5. Now, fold in the cranberries, making sure to fold gently to keep the berries intact.
6. Using a silicone bread pan or a pan lined with parchment paper, pour the bread batter into the pan, scraping down the bowl's sides to get all the batter.
7. Then, place some individual cranberries into the top of the bread, randomly placing them. This adds more cranberry flavor and makes the bread pretty,
8. Cook for 50-55 minutes. If using a silicone bread pan, check the bread 45 minutes in, as silicone pans generally take less cooking time.
9. To check to make sure the bread is cooked through, place a knife through the middle. It should come out clean. If there is batter on the knife, cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Silicone Bread and Loaf Pans - Set of 2 - SILIVO Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mold for Homemade Cakes, Breads, Meatloaf and Quiche - 8.9"x3.7"x2.5"
• 
  365 by Whole Foods Market, Organic Pure 100% Grade A Maple Syrup, Dark Color Robust Taste, 32 Fl Oz
• 
  McCormick All Natural Pure Vanilla Extract, 1 fl oz
• 
  The Spice Lab Himalayan Salt - Coarse 2.2 Lb / 1 Kilo - Pink Himalayan Salt is Nutrient and Mineral Dense for Health - Gourmet Pure Crystal - Kosher & Natural Certified
• 
  Argo Baking Powder-12 OZ

Nutrition Information

Yield

12 servings

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 175Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 215mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 3gSugar 12gProtein 5g

Nutrition facts may not be 100% accurate.

Did you make this recipe?

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Kathy Carmichael

Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂

www.kathysvegankitchen.com/about-me