Cranberry Banana Bread Recipe

This cranberry banana bread recipe is delicious & simple to make. You will love the taste of sweet bananas combined with slightly tart cranberries. Cranberry banana bread is fantastic as a breakfast snack or a lunch/dinner dessert.

My recipe calls for fresh or frozen cranberries. However, you can also use dried cranberries if you want a sweeter banana bread. Nevertheless, whether you use fresh, frozen or dried cranberries, cranberry banana bread is the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving, autumn harvest festivals or any special occasion.

Cranberry Banana Bread – Stuffed with Juicy Cranberries!

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Recipe Rating 5 from 25 votes Featured Comment Theresa “Just made this banana bread. It was very easy to make and the frozen cranberries worked perfectly. I like how the cranberries didn’t collapse in the finished bread and stayed as whole round berries.”

Key Ingredient – Fresh or Frozen Cranberries

FYI – This cranberry banana bread recipe takes me about 5-10 minutes to prepare before placing it in the oven. Please be aware that this is an oven-baked banana bread recipe. It is not made with a bread machine. You will also find a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients – Cranberry Banana Bread Recipe

• 1 1/2 Cups – Mashed Bananas (ripe) – 345 grams
• 8 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (sliced & softened) – 115 grams – You can also replace the butter with 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) of a neutral flavored vegetable oil such as canola oil or corn oil
• 2 – Large Eggs – 114 grams – Not extra large or jumbo eggs.
• 1 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 200 grams
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• 1 Cup – Cranberries (frozen or fresh) – 110 grams

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

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

You Can Even Turn This Recipe Into Delicious Cranberry Banana Muffins!

Or You Can Make Mini Cranberry Banana Bread Loaves

Instructions – Cranberry Banana Bread Recipe

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C).
• Mash bananas with a fork.
• Soften butter in a microwave. FYI – I semi-melt the butter for better mixability.
• Stir bananas, butter, eggs and sugar together. Stir until completely mixed.
• Mix in remaining ingredients (except the cranberries). Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
• Stir in the cranberries after the batter has been completely mixed. Make sure the cranberries are evenly spread throughout the batter.
• Pour the 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 at 325 F (163 C). FYI – I usually bake for around 67 minutes because this banana bread can be a little extra moist due to juice “leakage” from the cranberries.
• Take out of oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Use oven mitts. Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period.
• After 10 minutes, remove the banana bread from the bread pan. Place the banana bread on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1-2 hours.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common banana bread problems.

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Cranberries Being Mixed Into Batter

Helpful Tips – Cranberry Banana Bread Recipe

• The tips below are designed to help banana bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
• Click on this “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.
• You can also easily turn this recipe into muffins. Check out my Cranberry Banana Muffins page for all of the steps.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Banana Bread Recipes such as no butter banana bread, blueberry banana bread and chocolate chip banana bread.

• You can use fresh or frozen cranberries to make this cranberry banana bread recipe. However, fresh cranberries can be harder to find in the supermarket (versus frozen cranberries).
• Frozen cranberries do not have to be thawed before baking the banana bread. They can be added directly to the banana bread batter and will thaw during the baking process.
• However, you need to make sure that you remove any ice attached to the frozen cranberries (or you will be adding too much liquid to the recipe and the banana bread could come out undercooked). I like to wash off the ice off of the frozen cranberries & then dry the frozen cranberries (in order to make sure there is no extra moisture).
• You can also use fresh cranberries. Fresh cranberries have a key benefit over frozen cranberries. Frozen cranberries can sometimes rupture during the freezing process & “leak” unwanted juice into the banana bread during the baking. This extra juice can throw off recipes and cause the banana bread to sink in the middle or come out underbaked. Fresh cranberries do not suffer from this potential freezing/rupturing issue.
• Do NOT chop up the cranberries. Chopped up cranberries will release excess & unplanned juice into the batter and this will cause your banana bread to be too wet. Overly wet banana breads will come out underbaked and/or suffer from a middle that collapses.
• You can also use dried cranberries if you want a sweeter cranberry banana bread. However, your cranberry banana bread might taste a little drier because it will lack the natural “juice” contained in fresh or frozen cranberries.
• Visitors – Do you prefer to use fresh cranberries, frozen cranberries or dried cranberries to make your cranberry banana bread? Post your cranberry “preference” & reason why in the comment section below. Your cranberry thoughts & tips are a great help to beginning banana bread bakers.

• Use RIPE bananas for the best taste. Ripe bananas are soft and the yellow peel is covered with many small black spots. Hard yellow/green(ish) bananas are too starchy and have much less banana flavor. FYI – A banana with picture perfect yellow peel is not fully ripe yet!
• Use 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas for the best & most consistent results. This will help to prevent the banana bread from being too dry or too wet. Measure your mashed bananas with a measuring cup or kitchen scale in order to get the most consistent results (as bananas vary in size). Using 3 or 4 “bananas” (versus using a measuring cup or metric measurements) leads to more moisture variability which can throw off a recipe.
• Optional – You can replace the butter in the recipe with a NEUTRAL-flavored vegetable oil such as canola oil or corn oil. However, I would recommend avoiding strong-tasting oils (such as extra virgin olive oil and peanut oil) because they can negatively impact the flavor of the banana bread. This vegetable oil option is useful for people who want to make a dairy-free cranberry banana bread.
• If you want to use olive oil, I would recommend using a “mild” or “light” olive oil as it would have the least impact on the taste of the cranberry banana bread. Unfortunately, extra virgin olive oil has a stronger flavor and is more likely to negatively impact the taste of your banana bread.
• Visitors – What extra ingredients do you add to cranberry banana bread in order to make it more unique or special? Do you add chopped walnuts? Chocolate chips? Extra spices (e.g. ground cinnamon)? Please post your ingredient suggestions in the comment section below. Your recipe variations & comments are a great help to beginning banana bread makers.

• Optional – If you want a more interesting top to your cranberry banana bread, you can sprinkle some cranberries on top of the batter before placing the pan into the oven. However, you should use baking parchment paper to line your bread pan so you can gently lift the banana bread from the pan. This prevents the cranberries on top of the banana bread from being crushed if you use the traditional “flip over the pan” method to remove the banana bread from the bread pan.
• Do not add too many cranberries on top of the cranberry banana bread or the weight of the berries can cause the top of the banana bread to sag/sink.
• Optional – You can also turn this recipe into cranberry & blueberry banana bread by replacing the 1 cup of cranberries with 1/2 cup of cranberries & 1/2 cup of blueberries. A nice combo of blue & red colors and different flavors. If you want to see what a banana bread with blueberries & cranberries looks like, you should check out my Berry Banana Bread Recipe.
• Optional – You can also turn this cranberry banana bread recipe into mini banana breads. Please visit my Mini Banana Bread Recipe page for details on how to create 4 or 8 mini cranberry banana breads.

• Use FRESH ingredients (e.g. flour) for the best results. Ingredients that have been sitting in the pantry for months can become stale or pick up weird smells & flavors. T
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life.
• Airtight containers also help to prevent ingredients (e.g. flour) from absorbing moisture from the air. This extra moisture can throw off recipes (as it can disrupt the liquid-to-dry ingredient ratio in the recipe) and shorten an ingredient’s shelf life.
• You know there is a problem when the flour looks “lumpy” and pours out with many clumps of flour. FYI – Sometimes, even new flour can have an excess moisture problem if the paper package is not tightly sealed. I occasionally have this problem with “generic” supermarket brand flour.
• This recipe uses all purpose flour. Do not use bread flour to make banana breads or they are more likely to turn out dense and/or gummy. Banana bread recipes work best with all purpose flour.
• Problem with a sunken or collapsed middle in your banana bread? Then check out my Why Does My Banana Bread Sink In The Middle? page for reasons & potential solutions.

• Do NOT use an electric mixer to mix your ingredients (when combining the wet and dry ingredients). Stick to an old fashioned wooden spoon. An electric mixer can overmix the ingredients and the banana bread will turn out rubbery & gummy.
• To prevent your banana bread from sticking to the bottom of the bread pan (especially if you are using “sticky” ingredients such as cranberries), you should consider either “greasing” the bottom of the pan with butter or vegetable oil, using a cooking spray, using a nonstick bread pan or lining the interior of the bread pan with baking parchment paper.
• Baking parchment is probably the safest method for preventing sticking problems. It also allows you to lift the banana bread out of the pan without disturbing the top of the banana bread… in case you have added any special ingredients (such as chopped nuts or chocolate chips) to the top of the banana bread.
• FYI – Baking parchment paper is NOT regular paper. It is a specialty paper designed for use with baking.

• You should always try to use relatively fresh baking soda & powder for the best results. For example, 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 banana bread with cranberries.
• Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this banana bread could come out undercooked. I like to use a hanging oven thermometer to check my oven’s internal temperature.
• It takes roughly 10-20 minutes to preheat most ovens with variability due to the size of the oven, planned baking temperature (hotter takes longer), etc.
• A hanging oven thermometer is also useful to see if the internal temperature of your oven matches the temperature you set on your oven dial. Some ovens (especially older ovens) have dials that can be off by 25-50 degrees F versus the temperature “reality” inside the oven. Temperature differences (versus what is called for in a recipe) can lead to baked goods being over or underbaked.

• Please use the suggested 9 x 5 inch metal 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 time lengths), smaller pans are more likely to overflow, etc.
• My recipes are based on using a metal bread pan and NOT a glass bread pan. Glass bread pans bake faster than metal bread pans. If you use a glass bread pan for my recipes, you are more likely to overbake your banana bread (e.g. burnt crust).
• Place your banana bread in the middle of your oven. If you place it on the top or bottom racks, the banana bread may be too near the oven’s heating element and bake faster than expected.
• If you like similar “harvest” type dessert/snack recipes, you might like to try Bread Dad’s recipes for Sweet Potato Bread, Pumpkin Pie Bread, Pecan Banana Bread, Blueberry Banana Bread, etc.

• This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the banana 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 cranberry banana bread again with a tooth pick.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people like to use a bread thermometer to test if their banana bread is done. Generally, a “quick bread” (e.g. banana bread or pumpkin bread) is done when the internal temperature reaches 200-205 degrees F. Just make sure to measure the temperature in the center of the loaf for the most accurate reading.
• For long-term storage of banana bread, you should freeze them. For more information, please read Bread Dad’s page on How To Freeze Banana Bread.

• In case you are interested, here are some interesting cranberry facts. Cranberries are a decent source of vitamin C, antioxidants and magnesium. In addition, according to Wikipedia, the United States, Canada, and Chile account for roughly “98% of the world production of cranberries” and “95% of cranberries are processed and used to make cranberry juice and sauce”. Juice & sauce? Well, we prefer them in banana bread!
• If you have a problem with a banana bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (e.g. using the correct oven temperature), using the correct amounts of ingredients (e.g. 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 (e.g. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with hot ovens, baking trays, etc.
• For more easy banana bread recipes (e.g. blueberry, cranberry, chocolate chip, vegan, oatmeal, etc.), please visit Bread Dad’s main Banana Bread Recipes section.

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Main Recipe Sections

1. Bread Machine Recipes – 90+ recipes for banana bread, soft white bread, sourdough bread, pizza dough, cinnamon raisin bread, etc.
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3. Bread Recipes – Buttermilk bread, French bread, bagels, Italian bread, soft whole wheat bread, etc.
4. Banana Bread Recipes – 60+ recipes for chocolate chip banana bread, banana nut bread, eggless banana bread, cranberry banana bread, etc.

Related Recipe Sections

1. Grilled Cheese & Panini Sandwich Recipes – Turn your homemade bread into air fryer grilled cheese sandwiches, ham & cheese paninis, etc.
2. Muffin Recipes – Chocolate chip banana muffins, eggless banana muffins, cranberry banana muffins, etc.
3. Quick Bread Recipes – Easy desserts such as pumpkin bread, cranberry bread, sweet potato bread, etc.
4. Cookie Recipes – Soft oatmeal cookies, M&M cookies, etc.

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Questions – Banana Bread with Cranberries

What is a quick bread?

Quick breads use baking soda and other types of leavening agents. They do not use yeast as a leavening agent (unlike traditional breads used for sandwiches). Quick breads also tend to be moister, sweeter, denser and have a muffin-like consistency. Types of sweet quick breads include banana bread, beer bread, carrot bread and zucchini bread.

Of course, cranberry banana bread is a delicious example of a sweet quick bread!

What is a ripe banana?

A ripe banana generally has a yellow banana peel with some brown spots. The ripe “interior” banana will be sweeter & softer than unripe hard bananas. As a banana ripens, natural enzymes coverts the banana’s starch into sugar. Therefore, unripe green or yellow bananas have more starch and less sugar than ripe bananas. This results in a lower quality banana bread.

For more on the banana ripening process, please read this Wikipedia article.

What is aluminum free baking powder?

Baking powder is used as a leavening agent in some bread recipes (e.g. banana bread). However, some baking powder brands have ingredients like sodium aluminum sulfate. If you would rather not add aluminum into your family’s meals, you should consider using aluminum free baking powder. Aluminum free baking powder is sold in stores or online.

What are dried cranberries?

Dried cranberries are dehydrated fresh cranberries. The reduced water content in dried cranberries makes them sweeter than fresh or frozen cranberries. In addition, many commercially produced dried cranberries have added extra sugar. FYI – Banana cranberry bread can be made with frozen cranberries, fresh cranberries or dried cranberries.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Banana
2. Wikipedia, Banana Bread
3. Wikipedia, Cranberry
4. Wikipedia, Quick Bread

Related Recipes

1. Applesauce Cranberry Bread
2. Blueberry Banana Bread
3. Cranberry Banana Muffins
4. Cranberry Bread with Dried Cranberries
5. Cranberry Walnut Bread – Sandwich bread
6. Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

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