This addictive sweet cranberry orange bread combines cinnamon, orange, and cranberry for a tasty breakfast (or anytime) treat that is perfect for holiday baking and gifting. It's a moist loaf that provides the satisfying tartness of oranges and cranberries, along with the texture of pecans, in every bite.

Close up of several slices of cranberry orange bread.

Let us introduce you to this amazing cranberry orange bread, just in time for holiday baking and gifting! You will love the blast of orange with just a hint of cinnamon, the tanginess of the dried cranberries, and the texture of chopped pecans. This is the perfect partner with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning.

This bread was inspired by our orange craisin muffins, but this recipe is brand new. It took a few tries to get this breakfast quick bread just right, but I think we've nailed it, and we're happy to share the final result with you!

I think sweet quick bread loaves, like this banana raisin bread, maple syrup bread, air fryer banana bread, cardamom quick bread, and chocolate chip peanut butter bread, are great make ahead recipes to have on hand for those times when you want to indulge in something sweet, but don't want to settle for a donut or store-bought pastry that's loaded preservatives.

Jump to:

❤️ Reasons to Love This Recipe
🧾 Ingredients
📝 Instructions
🥣 Equipment
ℹ️ Substitutions
💡 Variations
🌡️ Storage
🤔 Top tips
🍞 Related Recipes
📖 Recipe

❤️ Reasons to Love This Recipe

It's easy. There is very little preparation that goes into this recipe, and not a lot of clean up either!
It's simple. It uses readily-available ingredients. Nothing fancy and no trips to specialty grocery stores required!
It's a crowd pleaser. It's great to serve at a brunch party or give as a gift.
It's make ahead friendly. You can bake up a loaf, slice it, and freeze it. That way you will have a sweet breakfast delight ready to go the next week!
It's a smile generator. If you want to make someone's day, bake them a loaf of this cranberry orange bread!

🧾 Ingredients

Unsalted butter. Softened.
Large eggs.
Light brown sugar. Packed. To measure, scoop the brown sugar into a dry measuring cup and press it down with the back of a spoon. Repeat as necessary until the cup is filled to the top with packed sugar.
Large oranges. Zested and juiced. Use a citrus zester to zest both oranges. Then juice them, reserving the juice.
All-purpose flour. You can substitute self-rising flour, but omit the baking powder and salt. Self-rising flour already contains baking powder and salt. However, please do include the baking soda. You can also substitute your favorite gluten free flour blend (we use and love Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour) for a gluten free version.
Baking powder. Tip: Be sure to use baking powder that has not expired. If your baking powder is more than a year old, toss it and buy a new canister.
Baking soda. Be sure to use fresh baking soda. If your baking soda is more than a month old, replace it with a fresh box.
Salt. Salt enhances the flavor of food. Please do not omit it, even though this is a sweet bread. It is a necessary ingredient!
Cinnamon.
Plain or vanilla Greek yogurt.
Vanilla extract. Adds flavor. We like to use pure vanilla extract.
Dried cranberries. You can adjust this amount as desired. The amount as written provides an abundance of cranberries in each bite, which we love. If you prefer fewer, adjust the amount down to ¾ or ½ cup.
Chopped pecans. Adjust amount as desired or omit altogether, if desired.

See recipe card for quantities.

📝 Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C). Grease and flour one 5 by 9 inch loaf pan. Set aside.

Butter, sugar, eggs, and orange zest in a large metal mixing bowl. — Add the butter, eggs, brown sugar, and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl and electric hand mixer) and mix until well-combined. Set aside.

Dry ingredients in a mesh strainer on top of a white ceramic bowl. — In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Dry mixture on top of wet mixture in a large metal mixing bowl. — Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until just combined. Don't overmix.

Yogurt, vanilla, and orange juice with batter in a large metal mixing bowl. — Add the yogurt, vanilla, and reserved orange juice and mix again until incorporated.

Chopped pecans and dried cranberries on top of batter in a metal mixing bowl. — Stir in the cranberries and pecans.

Breakfast bread batter in a loaf pan. — Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Close up of a loaf of cranberry orange bread cooling on a wire rack. — Allow to cool on a wire rack.

🥣 Equipment

Measuring spoons.
Dry measuring cups.
Stand mixer. If you don't have a stand mixer. You can use a large bowl and handheld electric mixer instead.
Large bowl. This is used if you do not have a stand mixer.
Electric mixer. Used if you do not have a stand mixer.
Medium bowl. For the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Mesh strainer. Used to sift the dry ingredients.
Loaf pan (9 by 5 inch). We recommend a pan exactly this size for the best results. If you don't have a pan this size, use a pan you already have. This helpful article by Carolyn at The Boat Galley will assist you with adjusting the baking time when you change pan size.
Citrus zester.
Citrus juicer. We use a no-frills handheld citrus reamer/juicer. It's simple, inexpensive and does a great job of getting every last drop of juice out of the oranges.

ℹ️ Substitutions

Gluten free - Substitute your favorite gluten free flour blend for the all-purpose flour. We use we use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour in our gluten free recipes, like these addictive gluten free apple cider donuts. However, you do not have to purchase a ready-made blend. You can make your own blend at home. The Gluten-Free Palate has a homemade gluten-free flour blend that you may want to try!
Sugar Free - Substitute Swerve sugar substitute for the brown sugar in this recipe. We've used this sugar substitute in many things and have found that we can't taste the difference.
Nut Free - Omit the pecans for a nut-free version.

Close up of a slice of cranberry orange bread with sliced oranges and a loaf of sweet bread.

💡 Variations

Cherry Orange Bread - Substitute dried cherries for the cranberries.
Blueberry Lemon Bread - Substitute dried blueberries for the cranberries and three lemons for the oranges.

🌡️ Storage

We recommend freezing any leftovers right away. To freeze, slice the bread into ½ inch slices. Assemble the slices back into loaf form. Wrap the loaf with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Place the wrapped loaf into a freezer bag labeled with the date. It will keep for up to six months.

To reheat, place individual slices on a microwave-safe plate and heat in the microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds to 1 minute until heated as desired.

🤔 Top tips

Be sure to use baking powder that has not expired. If your baking powder is more than a year old, toss it and buy a new canister.
Also be sure to use fresh baking soda. If your baking soda is more than a month old, replace it with a fresh box.
Bake the loaf in the recommended pan size. If using a larger or smaller pan, or muffin pan, you will need to adjust the baking time. Check out this great article by The Boat Galley for assistance with adjusting the baking time when you change pan size.

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Cranberry Orange Bread