Desserts that can easily be served for breakfast are my favorite. Especially when it regards a not too complicated holiday recipe. This cranberry orange bread is the perfect dessert, but also makes a great snack/treat/breakfast.
This bread is fluffy with the right balance between sweet and tart, the warmth of cinnamon and subtle orange tones. All plant-based, and with easy to find ingredients.
Are you also a fan of sweet bread during this time of the year? Sweet breads are delicious for a more festive breakfast. But it also makes a great afternoon snack. Oh and of course this cranberry orange bread is also perfect to serve for dessert as an after dinner treat.
Last year I had no luck finding fresh cranberries, and this year I have too many! I have been experimenting with cranberry recipes to work my way through the batch I have managed to collect. I made for example a cranberry chia jam (I followed this recipe for cherry chia jam).
This cranberry orange bread recipe is the easiest and most festive baking recipe with cranberries.
Cranberry Orange bread with a twist
I decided to make this cranberry orange bread a little bit with a twist. It is very light, vegan, oil-free, flavorful, but I didn’t go crazy with the amount of sugar and I didn’t use white refined sugar. This recipe is also very easily adjustable to make it gluten-free as well. So this bread is a bit less sweet than what you might be used to when making a festive holiday treat.
If this is not your cup of tea, feel free to add more sweetener in the batter, as a topping or use less cranberries.
Cranberry Orange Bread
This bread comes together in about an hour (45 minutes in the oven) and you will not need hard to find ingredients. Oh and you will only need one bowl and a loaf pan for baking. A holiday recipe couldn’t get any more easy than this vegan cranberry orange bread!
This bread is not too sweet and not too tart. There is a perfect balance between the sweet orange juice and the juicy cranberries to balance it all out with its amazing tartness.
In case you prefer to also bake oil-free during the holiday season, I got you covered. This recipe completely oil-free, vegan and I am also not using vegan butter. Only the good simple plant-based ingredients. But don’t be fooled, these ingredients together create a beautiful and delicious bread for the holiday season.
Last week I also made this bread for a friend and together we ate almost the whole bread in one afternoon. I think the fact that we had a lot of tea at our disposal and quite a bit of catching up also played a role. And the combination of flavors is also so delicious.
Why cranberries & oranges together are a superb combination
Cranberries have a bitter taste, so traditionally they are used in sweet recipes. Sweetened and cooked they will lose some of the tartness. The dried version is therefore also almost always sweetened and also great to use in (baking) recipes.
I referred back to this flavor bible* to see what the possibilities are with cranberries in terms of the flavor combinations. Orange seemed to pop up multiple times, as well as ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, walnuts and apples. I picked a few of these flavor combinations to make this delicious cranberry orange loaf.
How to make cranberry orange bread?
You will only need one bowl, so there is no need to use a bowl for the dry ingredients and a bowl for the wet ingredients.
I start with adding in the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl. After that, I will add the wet ingredients. Stir to combine, add in the cranberries and stir again. Like I said, it can’t get any more easy than this.
After that you will only need to pour the batter in a loaf pan (lined with parchment paper) and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.
Let it cool and you have a delicious festive holiday bread to enjoy, share or give to your loved ones.
In case you don’t happen to have all the ingredients, you can probably still make this cranberry orange bread. I have listed the optional add-ins ingredients in the recipe. But the recipe of course only gets better if you add vanilla and cinnamon.
A few final tips
I used fresh cranberries, but you can use frozen cranberries as well. Let the cranberries thaw a bit before adding them to the mixing bowl.
Once you have poured the batter in the loaf pan, drop the loaf pan a few times gently on the counter. This will prevent empty holes and corners in your bread.
You could make your own apple sauce, but for quick recipes I love to use the store bought unsweetened apple sauce in a jar. They often sell the small size jars too so that is perfect for oil-free baking during the holiday season.
It is a must to let this bread cool. As a matter of fact, this bread is even better the next day. If you don’t give this bread some time to rest, it will be much more difficult to slice and the flavors didn’t get the chance to develop.
You could make muffins with this recipe. Pour the batter in a muffin tin and bake for about 30 minutes.
You could serve the bread just as it is, but for the holiday season I love to decorate it just a little bit. A simple sprinkle of powdered sugar will make this bread look much more festive. I don’t use regular white sugar in my kitchen, but instead (for the white color) I will use for example xylitol*.
You can read more about my pantry and what sweeteners I use in my e-cookbook.
If you’re looking for more loaf- or bread recipes, you’ll also love this buckwheat bread or this chocolate banana bread.
Can I make this cranberry orange bread gluten free?
You can use different kind of flours. I love to use light spelt flour, whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour as I sometimes don’t mind baking with gluten. I also like to use a combination, such as whole spelt flour with whole wheat flour.
You could instead also use a gluten-free flour, such as oat flour or a gluten-free flour blend. I wouldn’t recommend buckwheat flour or coconut flour since that is too heavy for this recipe. Simply replace the flour with the same amount of the gluten-free flour option.
If you make this cranberry orange bread, I’d love to know! Leave a comment and rate it below and share it on Facebook or Instagram. Don’t forget to tag me @thegreencreator #thegreencreator.I look forward to seeing your creations!
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Cranberry Orange Bread
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6-8 slices 1x 1x
- Category: dessert, snack, breakfast
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan cranberry orange bread is a great recipe for the holiday season. You will only need one bowl to make this delicious treat. This bread is vegan, oil-free and made with the most delicious ingredients. This recipe is made with fresh cranberries and orange juice and makes the ultimate, easy holiday recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 grams) flour ( I used a combination of spelt flour and whole wheat flour)
- ½ cup (100 grams) organic coconut sugar*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200 ml) fresh orange juice
- ½ cup (125 grams) unsweetened apple sauce or apple puree
- 1 ½ cup (150 grams) fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Optional add-ins
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- xylitol*
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line a (9×5) baking loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, add in the flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
After that add in the apple sauce/apple puree, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon and vanilla. Combine until all is well incorporated. You don’t need to over mix is.
Add in the cranberries too and stir just a few more times.
Pour batter into the lined loaf pan.
Optionally add in a few cranberries on top.
Place in the oven, and bake for about 45 minutes or until a fork comes out dry.
Let cool.
Optional:
Sprinkle with powdered sugar/xylitol* /fresh oranges /dried oranges/cranberries.
Notes
- Coconut sugar can be substituted with a syrup such as date syrup or maple syrup.
- For a sweeter bread, add in more coconut sugar and/or less cranberries.
- The bread will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Store in a freezer safe container.
- This orange cranberry bread will stay fresh when covered in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
- When you use frozen cranberries, let thaw on the counter a few hours before using.
