This Cranberry Walnut Bread is the kind of cozy loaf that feels right at home from fall through the holidays. Studded with tart cranberries, crunchy walnuts, and bright orange flavor, it bakes up tender and bakery-worthy with very little fuss. If you love a simple homemade loaf like this Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread, this is another one to keep on repeat.
Cranberry Walnut Bread At A Glance
- 🕒 Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes (20 min prep + 1 hour bake)
- 🍽️ Servings: 12 slices
- 🍞 Cuisine Type: American / Holiday Baking / Breakfast Bread
- 🍊 Flavor Profile: Bright orange, tart cranberries, buttery streusel, and crunchy walnuts with a sweet citrus glaze
- 📖 Dietary Info: Contains dairy, eggs, gluten, and nuts; can be made without walnuts if needed
- 📦 Storage Notes: Keeps at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week; freezes well for up to 3 months
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: This cranberry walnut bread is soft, tender, and packed with fresh cranberry-orange flavor. It's the kind of loaf that works for breakfast, brunch, snacking, or holiday baking without feeling overly fussy.
Save And Summarize This Recipe
Cranberry walnut bread is especially nice to have around during cooler months because it fits somewhere between breakfast, snack, and simple dessert. If you love having a few cozy baked treats on hand, recipes like these Pumpkin Muffins, Zucchini Muffins, and Banana and Pumpkin Muffins are just as easy to bake ahead and keep around for the week.
Jump to:
It is also a great recipe to make when you have extra cranberries on hand and want something a little more special than the usual holiday side dish. If cranberry season is your thing, you might also love this Apple Cranberry Torte, or these Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Cookie Bars for delicious way to use them up.
Key Ingredients
- Cranberries - Fresh or frozen cranberries both work well in this recipe and give the bread its tart, bright flavor. I tested this with whole cranberries, and they baked up beautifully without turning mushy, but if you want smaller pieces throughout the loaf, you can give them a rough chop first. If you have extra on hand, they're also great in this Homemade Cranberry Sauce.
- Orange Zest - Orange zest and juice are what give this cranberry walnut bread its fresh, citrusy flavor and help balance the tart berries. I found the loaf tasted much more vibrant and complete with both the zest in the batter and the glaze on top rather than relying on orange flavor in just one part of the recipe.
- Buttermilk - Buttermilk helps keep the crumb soft, tender, and moist without making the bread heavy. In testing, the loaf had a better texture and more balanced flavor with buttermilk than with regular milk, though a homemade substitute will still work in a pinch.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Do You Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from A Sweet Thyme
Variations
- Muffins - you can make the loaf into glazed mini muffins for bite-sized treats or 12 large ones. If you don't want to serve them as dessert, just make cranberry muffins and leave off the glaze and streusel.
- Mini loaves - you could also make this cranberry orange bread into mini loaves using a mini loaf pan as well. Know that cooking times will be slightly different.
- Citrus switch - cranberry lemon bread is just as delicious if you enjoy a tart, uplifting flavor. Switch it up even more and make it lemon blueberry!
How To Make Cranberry Walnut Bread: Step-By-Step
You'll be making this cranberry bread in three separate parts and assembling it. Know that the bread itself can be made ahead of time to save some effort in the kitchen!
Step 1: Make the Streusel:
Whisk together 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 the mixture is pea-sized.
Place the bowl into the refrigerator.
Step 2: Make the Sweet Bread:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set the flour mixture aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and brown sugar together.
Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and orange zest to the wet ingredients and stir well before pouring all of it into the dry ingredients.
Step 3: Combine but don't overmix the batter and then fold in the cranberries (and nuts if using).
Pour the cranberry bread batter into a prepared 9x5 loaf pan. Top it with the streusel pressing the streusel down into the top of the bread gently so that the topping sticks.
Bake for 45-60 minutes until a toothpick placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean and it is golden brown.
Let it cool on a wire rack.
Step 4: Make the Glaze:
In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice and powdered sugar until thick.
Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bread and serve.
Hint:
- Light or dark brown sugar will work in the bread so use what you have on hand.
- Depending on how thick you like your glaze, add more or less orange juice.
- If you love the look of cranberries dispersed throughout the bread evenly, toss the cranberries in a hint of flour before adding them to the batter. This ensures that they don't sink once you pour it into the loaf pan.
Gwen's Pro Tips
Halfway through baking the cranberry orange bread, cover it loosely with foil. This will ensure that the top browns evenly without burning.
Do a toothpick test at 45 minutes of baking. Oven times vary and you don't want to overcook your bread. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's done. My cranberry loaf normally takes one hour.
Cranberry Walnut Bread FAQ's
Fresh or frozen cranberries will work to make cranberry bread. If using frozen ones, make sure you don't thaw them first though or they will bleed into the bread.
Though you can use dried cranberries in the cranberry orange bread, it will alter the flavor. Dried cranberries aren't as tart so the bread will be sweeter. Likewise, you won't have as much of a pop of color as you would with whole cranberries.
Other Baked Goods
Let me know your thoughts on this Cranberry Walnut Bread by leaving a star rating below or by sharing it on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Thank you!
Gwen
Cranberry Walnut Bread With Orange Glaze
Do You Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from A Sweet Thyme
Equipment
- 1 Loaf Pan
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- ¼ c all purpose flour
- 2 tbsps sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsps unsalted butter cubed and kept cold
Bread Batter
- 2 c all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ c light brown sugar
- ½ c sugar
- 1 c buttermilk room temperature
- ⅓ c vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tsps orange zest
- 1 c cranberries fresh or frozen (do not thaw)
- ½ c walnuts chopped (optional)
Glaze
- 1 c powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsps orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
Streusel
- Make the streusel first.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
- Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture with either a pastry cutter, two forks, or your hands. The mixture should resemble pea-sized crumbs.
- Place the streusel into the refrigerator to keep it cold until ready to use.
Batter
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In another medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg, brown sugar, and sugar together until combined.
- Whisk in the buttermilk, oil, vanilla and orange zest.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine. Avoid over-mixing.
- Fold in the cranberries and the nuts, if using.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
- Top evenly with the streusel, pressing down gently so it sticks.
- Bake the bread for 45 minutes to an hour. If a toothpick poked into the center of the bread comes out clean, the bread is done. To avoid an overdone streusel topping, place a loosely fitted piece of aluminum foil over the top during the last half of the baking, this is optional depending on your oven.
- Cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of the orange juice to form a glaze. Use more juice if the glaze is too thick.
- Drizzle over the cooled bread.
- Slice and serve. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for one day or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Anonymous says
Delicious for Thanksgiving!