Ocean Spray Cranberry Nut Bread Recipe with Orange - Restless Chipotle (2024)

This moist quick bread has all of the flavors of the holiday season! Fresh cranberries, pecans, and bright orange wake up your mouth with every delicious bite!

❤️ Why you'll love it

• This is the original Ocean Spray Cranberry Bread recipe that's been a favorite for generations (with just a few tweaks of my own).
• It’s an incredibly easy recipe that comes out right every time - even for a beginning baker and it stays moist for days!
• Like most quick bread recipes, this cranberry pecan bread can be frozen for up to 3 months - great for making it ahead of time for the busy holidays.

Orange-glazed cranberry bread is such a pretty, festive bread for winter and the holiday season! It's a fantastic homemade gift for Christmas and if it's not a tradition in your house it should be!

Did I mention how good it is with a cup of this spiced tea?

🧾 Ingredients

📖Variations

• Cut the cranberries in half instead of chopping them up. It gives a bigger blast of that tart cranberry flavor and makes for a more festive bread.
• Try substituting chopped macadamia nuts for the pecans.
• Add 1 cup white chocolate chips.
• Add 1 cup milk chocolate chips.
• Use lemon juice and lemon zest instead of orange.
• Use a vanilla glaze.
• Try using half brown sugar and half granulated sugar.
• Just leave the glaze off and dust the cooled bread with powdered sugar.
• Use walnuts instead of pecans for the classic cranberry walnut bread. I just happen to like pecans better!

🔪 Instructions

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in orange juice, orange peel, butter and egg. Mix until well blended.
2. Stir in cranberries and nuts.
3. Mix well but don't overmix.
4. Pour batter into the prepared bread pan, spreading evenly. Bake in the preheated oven according to the instructions in the green recipe card below.

1. Mix all glaze ingredients together in a small bowl
2. Blend well.
3. Pour the glaze over the cooled bread.
4. Enjoy.

🍴 Equipment

• mixing bowls
• mixing spoons
• loaf pan
• wire rack for cooling

🥫 How to store leftover cranberry bread

Wrap this cranberry nut bread tightly with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days.

You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.Wait until it is completely cooled and then wrap it in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil.

💭 Tips

Expert Tip: Toss cranberries in a little flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter. You can cut the cranberries in half or fourths rather than chop them if you prefer bigger chunks of cranberry.

• Let your cranberry pecan bread cool completely before adding the glaze or storing it.
• Make this Ocean Spray cranberry nut bread recipe 2 days in advance, leaving the glaze off until just before serving.
• Most bread recipes are done baking when they register 200℉ using an instant-read thermometer but you can also insert a toothpick in the center. If it comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it it's done.
• You can use dried cranberries if you want - just soak one cup in the orange juice for 30 minutes or so before making the bread.
• For mini cranberry bread loaves, pour the mixture into muffin tins or mini loaf pans and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes. Oven temperatures can vary so begin checking at 15 minutes.
• If you're going to freeze the bread leave the glaze off. Slice it and freeze it with parchment paper between the slices. You'll be able to remove just a slice or two at a time rather than having to thaw the whole loaf.
• Buy cranberries when they are in season then put the entire bag of fresh cranberries in the freezer to use as desired all year long.

👩‍🍳 FAQs

• We love this crunchy peanut butter banana bread!
• During the summer there's nothing better than a slice of peach bread.

📞 The last word

I've always loved quick breads but I never tried cranberry orange bread until I was married to my first husband. It was a delicious tradition in his family during the holidays and now it's one of my favorite recipes.

I've tried others but I keep going back to the original from the Ocean Spray cranberry bag. It's the perfect combination of tart cranberries, sweet citrus, and buttery nuts. My preference is pecans.

It's a keeper!

I like to get a couple bags of cranberries during the holiday season and freeze them for use during the year.

We also love this buttery, moist cranberry pound cake!

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.

If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

Originally Published November 20, 2007. Last updated December 7, 2023 for editorial improvements.

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