• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Bread Dad
  • Bread Machine Recipes
  • Bread
  • Banana Bread
  • Cookie
  • Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Bread Machine Recipes
  • Breads
  • Banana Breads
  • Sweet Quick Breads
  • Cookies
  • Best Bread Machines
  • Bread Mixes
  • Books & Tools
×

Home

Applesauce Cranberry Bread Recipe

This applesauce bread recipe is delicious & easy to make. It combines sweet applesauce with slightly tangy cranberries in order to create a wonderful snack or dessert.

As you probably know, applesauce bread is a type of sweet “quick bread”. Quick breads use baking soda and/or baking powder as a leavening agent (versus sandwich-type breads that use slow rising yeast). Quick breads are usually a sweeter muffin-like “bread” that is often eaten as a dessert. Other types of sweet quick breads include banana bread, cornbread, strawberry bread, pumpkin bread, etc.

Moist & Delicious Applesauce Cranberry Bread

Applesauce Cranberry Bread

Applesauce is often used as an easy substitute if someone has run out of bananas and is unable to make a banana bread. The lack of available bananas encourages people to try out applesauce bread recipes (which are very similar to banana breads… well except the banana part!). Moreover, since applesauce usually comes in a sealed container, it can be stored for far longer than fresh bananas. Therefore, applesauce is often more readily available as a pantry “backup” ingredient versus driving to the supermarket for bananas… in the middle of a snowstorm. Of course, people tend to forget about any missing bananas… after they discover how good applesauce bread tastes!

A Key Ingredient – Applesauce

Applesauce in Measuring Cup

This easy applesauce bread recipe should take you roughly 10 minutes to prepare and clean up. Please be aware that this is an oven-baked recipe. It is not made with a bread machine. For more quick bread ideas, please visit our section on Easy Quick Bread Recipes. You will also find a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of this page. If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below and give us a 5 star rating.

Ingredients – Easy Applesauce Bread Recipe

  • 8 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 115 grams
  • 2 – Large Eggs
  • 1 1/4 Cups – Applesauce – 290 milliliters
  • 2 Cups – Flour (all purpose flour) – 240 grams
  • 1 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 200 grams
  • 1/4 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed cup) – 54 grams
  • 1 1/2 Cups – Cranberries (fresh) – 150 grams
  • 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
  • 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 milliliters
  • 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder (aluminum free) – 5 milliliters
  • 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 2.5 milliliters

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment – Measuring cup & spoons, mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, 9 by 5 bread pan, oven mitts, silicon spatula, cooling rack and an oven.

** Subscribe to Bread Dad’s free recipe newsletter **

Stir Cranberries into the Applesauce Bread Batter

Cranberries Being Stirred Into Batter

Instructions – Easy Applesauce Bread Recipe

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Soften butter in a microwave.
  • Stir eggs, applesauce and butter together.
  • Mix in remaining ingredients (except the cranberries). Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
  • Add the cranberries after the batter has been completely mixed. Make sure the cranberries are evenly spread throughout the batter.
  • Grease bread pan (if necessary).
  • Pour finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
  • Bake in the oven for 65-70 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Take out of oven and let the applesauce bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Do not remove the applesauce bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period. Use oven mitts as the bread pan will be very hot coming out of the oven.
  • After 10 minutes, remove the applesauce bread from the bread pan. Place the applesauce bread on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1-2 hours. Gently slide a silicon spatula between the applesauce bread and the bread pan walls if the bread is stuck in the pan.
  • Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common quick bread problems.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below & give us a 5 star rating. It is ALWAYS great to hear from someone who has enjoyed our recipes! Jump to comment section

Other Bread Dad Sections

  • Bread Machines – My favorites
  • Bread Machine Cookbooks
  • Bread Mixes – Ingredient kits
  • Bread Tools – Baguette pans, etc.
  • Other – Sandwich books, sourdough, gluten free, yeast, etc.

Pour Applesauce Bread Batter into Bread Pan

Applesauce Bread Batter in Bread Pan

Tips – Easy Applesauce Bread Recipe

  • The tips below are designed to help quick bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
  • Click on our “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include our tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
  • Applesauce breads tend to have only a mild apple flavor. If you want more of apple flavor, you can try using a “chunky” applesauce. The applesauce chunks provide localized areas of concentrated apple flavor.
  • If you want to make applesauce bread without cranberries, you might like to try our easy Applesauce Bread recipe. It is made with applesauce, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

  • Use FRESH cranberries for the best results. Using frozen cranberries can have the problem of adding extra moisture and this can throw off the recipe (and leave it undercooked).
  • If you use frozen cranberries, you need to make sure that there is no extra moisture being added to the batter. Many frozen packaged cranberries have tons of ice crystals (and if you add the ice crystals, you will be adding too much moisture). To get around this problem, you should wash off the ice crystals, strain the cranberries in a colander and then dry the cranberries with a paper towel. Just make sure the cranberries are completely dried off before adding to the batter.
  • If you want an even sweeter applesauce loaf, you can use dried cranberries instead of the fresh/frozen cranberries. Companies often add extra sugar to the dried cranberries during the manufacturing process. According to Wikipedia, “most commercially produced dried cranberries contain added sugar”.
  • If you are looking for a sandwich-type bread recipe (not a sweet “quick bread”) with cranberries, you should try Bread Dad’s Cranberry Walnut Bread Recipe.

  • Be careful when removing this quick bread from the bread pan. Since it is stuffed with cranberries, it can be fragile especially if all of the cranberries are on one side of the quick bread (less “bread” holding the quick bread together at that section). Also cranberries can stick to the bread pan as they bake in the oven.
  • If your “quick breads” (i.e. applesauce bread & banana bread) are sticking to the bottom of your bread pan, you should consider either “greasing” the bottom of the pan with butter or vegetable oil, using a cooking spray or using a nonstick pan.
  • However, don’t grease the bread pan near the top of the pan. There will be nothing for batter to cling to as it rises. This could cause the bread top to collapse as it rises.
  • Furthermore, many bakers like to line their bread pan with baking parchment paper in order to reduce the sticking issue and to reduce any potential “breakage” when removing a quick bread from the bread pan.
  • Optional – If you don’t have cranberries, you can use blueberries as an alternative and make an applesauce blueberry bread.
  • If your family loves cranberries, you should also try our recipes for Pumpkin Cranberry Bread, Cranberry Banana Bread, Cranberry Banana Muffins, Cranberry Bread (with Dried Cranberries), Cranberry Bread (with Fresh Cranberries) and Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies.

  • This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the applesauce bread looks too moist or under cooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a toothpick (or long wooden skewer) into the top of the bread and see if any batter sticks to the toothpick. If batter is sticking to the toothpick then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread pan back into the still hot oven for another 2 or 3 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. After the 2 or 3 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the bread again with a tooth pick.
  • Use FRESH ingredients (i.e. baking soda and flour) for the best results. For example, if you use stale baking soda and/or baking powder, your quick bread will not rise properly and will be too dense. Baking soda & powder is best if used within 6 months of opening the container. Using baking soda from an open container (that has been deodorizing your refrigerator for months) may lead to subpar results. Old & hard baking soda/powder may lead to rising problems and/or leave small bitter clumps in your quick bread.

  • Please use the suggested 9 x 5 bread pan to make this recipe. If you start using different sized pans, there is a greater potential for bread top collapses (potentially less bread pan “wall” support for the quick bread as it rises), different interior batter to exterior bread ratios (thus the need for different baking lengths), smaller pans are more likely to overflow, etc.
  • If your oven does not have a built-in thermometer, you can buy an inexpensive oven thermometer that you can place inside your oven (in order to correctly gauge the temperature). Moreover, some built-in oven gauges can be 25-50 degrees different than the actual temperature inside the oven. For the best results, you should know the actual temperature inside your oven (as this reduces the potential for over or under cooked baked products).

  • Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked. Use a portable oven thermometer to check the interior oven temperature.
  • Since this recipe uses baking soda, this applesauce bread should be placed in the oven as soon as the batter has been mixed & poured into the bread pan. Baking soda activates quickly and if the batter sits around for a while before the bread pan is put in the oven, the quick bread might have problems rising properly (as some or most of the gas will have been released before the baking has commenced).
  • Do not remove the light brown sugar from this recipe because the slight acidity of the brown sugar helps to activate the baking soda. Brown sugar also adds a slightly richer taste to this applesauce loaf.

  • If you have a problem with an applesauce loaf recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (i.e. using the correct oven temperature), using the correct amounts of ingredients (i.e. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a tablespoon when a teaspoon is called for), using the correct ingredients (i.e. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
  • My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (i.e. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (i.e. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (i.e. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
  • Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with bread pans & a hot oven.
  • For more delicious quick bread recipes (i.e. banana bread, pumpkin bread, blueberry bead or cornbread), please visit Bread Dad’s main Quick Bread Recipes section.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below & give us a 5 star rating. We LOVE to hear from people who have enjoyed our recipes!! Jump to comment section

Other Bread Dad Sections

  • Bread Machines – My favorites
  • Bread Machine Cookbooks
  • Bread Mixes – Ingredient kits
  • Bread Tools – Baguette pans, etc.
  • Other – Sandwich books, sourdough, gluten free, yeast, etc.

Reference Sources

  • Wikipedia, Applesauce, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_sauce
  • Wikipedia, Cranberry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranberry
  • Wikipedia, Dried Cranberry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dried_cranberry
  • Wikipedia, Quick Bread, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_bread
Applesauce Bread Recipe
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
5 from 19 votes

Applesauce Cranberry Bread Recipe

This applesauce bread recipe is delicious & easy to make. It combines sweet applesauce with slightly tangy cranberries in order to create a wonderful snack or dessert. Visit BreadDad.com for more great bread recipes.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time1 hr 10 mins
Total Time1 hr 20 mins
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple bread, apple bread loaf, apple cranberry bread, apple loaf, apple quick bread, applesauce bread, applesauce bread loaf, applesauce bread recipe, applesauce cranberry bread, applesauce loaf, applesauce quick bread, quick bread recipe
Servings: 12 Slices
Calories: 253kcal
Author: Bread Dad

Ingredients

  • 8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (softened)
  • 2 Eggs (large)
  • 1 1/4 Cups Applesauce
  • 2 Cups Flour (all purpose flour)
  • 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
  • 1 1/2 Cups Cranberries (fresh)
  • 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder (aluminum free)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Soften butter in a microwave.
  • Stir eggs, applesauce and butter together.
  • Mix in remaining ingredients (except the cranberries). Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
  • Add the cranberries after the batter has been completely mixed. Make sure the cranberries are evenly spread throughout the batter.
  • Grease bread pan (if necessary).
  • Pour finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
  • Bake in the oven for 65-70 minutes.
  • Take out of oven and let the applesauce bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Do not remove the applesauce bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period. Use oven mitts as the bread pan will be very hot coming out of the oven.
  • After 10 minutes, remove the applesauce bread from the bread pan. Place the applesauce bread on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1-2 hours. Gently slide a silicon spatula between the applesauce bread and the bread pan walls if the bread is stuck in the pan.

Notes

This is a Bread Dad recipe and may not be copied or reproduced. This recipe is copyright protected under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
 
Legal Disclaimer
 
The nutritional information is provided using recipe widgets such as WP Recipe Maker. These figures should only be considered as an estimate. The information is provided as a courtesy to our visitors. It should not be construed as a guarantee of accuracy given visitors may use different serving sizes, ingredients, etc. See our legal disclaimer for additional nutrition disclosures.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 238mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 288IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below & give us a 5 star rating. Your comments help us to improve & clarify our recipe instructions. Moreover, beginners learn a lot from your baking comments, suggestions & recipe variations!!!

Related Recipes

  • Blueberry Quick Bread
  • Cranberry Banana Bread
  • Cranberry Bread with Dried Cranberries
  • Cranberry Bread with Fresh Cranberries
  • Cranberry Walnut Bread (Sandwich Bread)
  • Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Please a comment & recipe rating in the comment box below. Thanks!

Recipe Rating




By using this comment form, you agree to Bread Dad's legal disclaimer and privacy policy.
Recipe Rating




By using this comment form, you agree to Bread Dad's legal disclaimer and privacy policy.
15 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Primary Sidebar

Need bread making “stuff”? Then visit these Bread Dad sections:
Bread Machines | Bread Books | Bread Tools | Bread Classes | Bread Mixes

Footer

Latest Recipes

  • Banana Bread Glaze – Vanilla & Chocolate Recipes
  • Pumpkin Nut Bread
  • Pumpkin Pie Bread – Moist
  • Bread Machine Bagels – Plain Bagels, Poppy Seed Bagels, Onion Bagels, Everything Bagels, etc.
  • Golden Flaxseed Banana Bread – Fiber & Omega-3

 

I want to thank EVERYONE who leaves a comment in our recipe comment sections!! Beginners learn a lot from your tips & recipe variations. Below are some of our recent noteworthy visitor comments.

  • THarris posted some delicious ingredient additions to my Eggless Banana Bread Recipe – “Amazing,delish! Added orange rind, vanilla extract, cinnamon – all one tsp each. Used oil instead of butter.“
  • Jessica made some amazing chocolate chip bagels out of our Bread Machine Bagels recipe and kindly posted some very useful tips – “I experimented with the chocolate chips. So what I did was let the dough cool for a bit after the dough cycle, but before it started rising again was sectioned it into 8 pieces. I gently kneaded in a handful of chocolate chips into the individual pieces. I shaped my pieces into bagels. I was sure to fold in the chocolate chips so none of them were or exposed on the surface of the dough. I then boiled and baked each bagel. They came out perfect. Chocolate chips held up just fine. The bagels tasted great. I ate one immediately after they had baked, and then contemplated eating the whole batch. They were the perfect chewy consistency I was hoping for in a bagel.“
  • Dutch posted a wonderful oatmeal variation of my No Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – “I reviewed these amazing cookies a few weeks ago, easily giving them five stars, and mentioned that I planned on trying them again with oatmeal. Today is my grandson’s birthday and when asked what he’d like me to make for him, without hesitation, he asked for Bread Dad’s cookies. Just finished making them… adding two cups of regular oats with the chocolate chips, and cutting them into the batter with a spatula. The results were perfect. The cookies had a bit more heft to them AND I got a few more… about 48. Again… I was religious about chilling the dough. Thanks again for the recipe!“
  • PattiAnn posted some great tips on how to make my Bread Machine Italian Bread Recipe in her Breville countertop oven. Please visit the comments section on the recipe page for more of her comment. – “I always use the proof funtion in winter as well as summer. This gives you a constant temp when proofing. Also, most of the time I will lay a piece of foil lightly over the loaf halfway through the baking process. This prevents over browning of the loaf. This happens because your loaf is in a more confined oven and closer to the heating elements.. I also bake in CI, Romatopf, bread bowls, all works. As long as it fits you can use it to bake in. I used an Italian bread pan to bake the Italian loaves.“
  • SamanthaH posted some great “end products” that use my Bread Machine French Bread. I am going to try out her pizza bread idea tonight! – “This bread has been a staple in our home for a couple years now! I make it and freeze so it’s available when needed. Makes amazing garlic bread, bruschetta, pizza bread, or on its own with butter. So impressed with the recipe and the minimal ingredients is a huge plus!!!“

For more visitor tips, recipe variations & humorous baking stories, please visit Bread Dad’s Noteworthy Visitor Comments page.

 

Main Recipe Sections

  • Bread Machine Recipes
  • Bread Recipes
  • Banana Bread Recipes
  • Sweet “Quick Bread” Recipes
  • Cookie Recipes

Legal Disclaimer
By utilizing any of the recipes or information on this website, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions in our legal disclaimer.

Be safe when preparing, handling, consuming and storing food. Do not eat or taste raw dough or batter. Our recipes may contain common allergens such as dairy, eggs, wheat, tree nuts and/or peanuts. Always check for potential food allergies before serving food. Use caution with young children as all foods have a potential choking risk. 

Material on this website may not be copied or reproduced without the written approval of Bread Dad. All rights reserved. This website is copyright protected under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

 

About Us | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Legal Disclaimer

Copyright © 2023 · Bread Dad