Cranberry Bread with Dried Cranberries

Here is an easy recipe for cranberry bread with dried cranberries. Dried cranberries tend to be sweeter than fresh or frozen cranberries so this recipe helps to create a delicious & sweet cranberry bread.

Be aware that this cranberry bread is NOT a sandwich bread. Rather, my cranberry bread is a sweet “quick bread” (similar to banana bread) and has a muffin-like consistency & taste.

Delicious Cranberry Bread – Stuffed with Dried Cranberries!

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Recipe Rating 4.80 from 35 votes Featured Comment Mary “This is a great recipe and I love the in-depth instructions in the recipe. Thanks for having such good a wonderful site. Also the cranberry bread was delicious!”

Homemade cranberry bread is super easy to make and is perfect as a snack or dessert. Your family will love it! FYI – This is an oven-baked 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 Bread with Dried Cranberries

• 1 Cup – Milk – 230 milliliters – If you don’t have milk, you can use cranberry juice or orange juice. The use of juice also adds a nice flavor variation to the cranberry bread.
• 8 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (melted) – 115 grams
• 2 – Large Eggs (lightly beaten) – Not extra large or jumbo eggs.
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 1 1/4 Cups – Light Brown Sugar (packed cup) – 270 grams – For a less sweet cranberry bread, you can use 3/4 cup of light brown sugar.
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• 1 Cup – Dried Cranberries – 114 grams

Optional – Replace 1/2 of the dried cranberries with chopped walnuts or chocolate chips.

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

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

Mix Batter First then Add Dried Cranberries

Instructions – Cranberry Bread with Dried Cranberries

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C).
• Soften butter in a microwave. FYI – I like to semi-melt the butter for better “mixability”.
• Lightly beat eggs.
• Add the milk (or cranberry juice or orange juice), butter, eggs, vanilla extract & sugar into a large mixing bowl. Stir these ingredients together until fully mixed.
• Then add the remaining ingredients (except the cranberries). Stir with a large spoon or whisk until the batter is fully mixed. Do not overmix.
• Add the dried cranberries after the batter has been completely mixed. Stir them into the batter with a wooden spoon. Make sure the cranberries are evenly spread throughout the batter.
• Grease a 9 x 5 inch bread pan with butter, line the bread pan with baking parchment paper or use a good nonstick bread pan in order to prevent the cranberry bread from sticking to the bread pan during the baking process.
• Pour the finished batter into the bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
• Bake in the oven at 325 F (163 degrees C) for 65-70 minutes.
• Take out of the oven and let the cranberry bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Do not remove the cranberry 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 cranberry bread from the bread pan. Use oven mitts. Place the cranberry bread on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1 to 2 hours. Gently slide a silicon spatula between the cranberry bread and the bread pan walls if the cranberry bread is stuck in the pan.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully.

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Tips – Cranberry Bread with Dried Cranberries

• The tips below are designed to help cranberry quick bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out my recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include my tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s easy Quick Bread Recipes such as sweet potato bread, applesauce bread and pumpkin bread.
• If you are looking for a cranberry quick bread made with fresh cranberries, you should try my Cranberry Bread with Fresh Cranberries recipe. FYI – My “fresh cranberry” bread version tends to be a little tarter & juicier (due to the juice inside the fresh cranberries). In contrast, my “dried cranberry” bread version generally tends to be a little sweeter (due to the sugar that is often added to dried cranberries during the manufacturing process).

• If you look in the supermarket, you can usually find sweetened and unsweetened dried cranberries. For this recipe, I like to use sweetened dried cranberries in order to create a sweeter/less tart flavor. However, please feel to use unsweetened cranberries if you want less sugar in your cranberry bread or would like a slightly tarter taste to your cranberry bread. FYI – If you want to determine if your dried cranberries are sweetened or unsweetened, you should read the ingredient label on the dried cranberries package and see if the manufacturer has added sugar.
• Be aware that dried cranberries tend to be a little more expensive than fresh cranberries due to the processing involved (e.g. dehydrating the cranberries).
• You should not soak the dried cranberries. They should be added in their “natural” dried state to the batter.

• This recipe uses light brown sugar because it adds a slightly richer taste and a little more moisture (versus using granulated white sugar). It also helps to activate the baking soda.
• Optional – If you have run out of dried cranberries, you can try dried fruit alternatives such as golden raisins, dried blueberries, dried cherries, etc.
• Optional – Or if you are feeling really creative, you can experiment and create a fruity blend by combining dried cranberries with raisins, dried blueberries, etc.
• Optional – You can create a delicious cranberry nut bread by adding 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. You will need to reduce the dried cranberries to 1/2 cup. The total amount of chopped walnuts & dried cranberries should equal 1 cup (1/2 cup of nuts & 1/2 cup of cranberries).
• Optional – If you want to create a chocolate cranberry bread, you can use some chocolate covered cranberries or use a 50/50 split of dried cranberries & semi-sweet chocolate chips. FYI – It is usually a lot cheaper to use the chocolate chip & dried cranberry method (versus using chocolate covered cranberries) in order to make a chocolate cranberry bread.
• Optional – If you want a sweeter cranberry bread, you can sprinkle 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar (a brown sugar with large sugar crystals) on top of the batter before you place the bread pan in the oven. You can find turbinado sugar in most large supermarkets (in the baking supplies section next to the “regular” sugar products).
• Visitors – What extra ingredients do you like to add to your cranberry breads? Chopped walnuts? Chocolate chips? Orange zest? A special topping? Other? Please post your cranberry bread variations & suggestions in the comment section below.
• Visitor variations – One of my visitors (thanks Diana!) likes to add a “cinnamon sugar” topping to this cranberry bread.

• This recipe uses milk because there are a billion cranberry bread recipes made with orange juice. I wanted to make something less “orangy” and use a liquid ingredient that many people have at home (milk). However, as I said above, if you don’t have milk (or can’t drink milk), you can use cranberry juice or orange juice. The use of juice also adds a nice flavor variation to cranberry bread.
• Optional – If you can’t drink dairy milk, you can use non-dairy milks such as plain oat milk and plain soy milk. Of course, you should also replace the butter in the recipe with vegetable oil or plant-based butter if you are allergic to dairy.
• Optional – I also like to use cranberry juice when making this recipe because it adds more cranberry flavor (and creates a slightly “pinker” bread interior). However, if you do not have cranberry juice readily available, you can use milk, orange juice, etc.
• Optional – You can turn this recipe into an orange cranberry bread by using orange juice as the liquid (instead of using milk or cranberry juice) and by stirring 2 tablespoons of fresh orange zest into the batter. Also check out my recipe for Cranberry Orange Muffins because it is made with cranberries, orange juice and orange zest.
• Visitors – What liquid or juice do you like to use in a cranberry bread recipe? Milk? Orange juice? Cranberry juice? Other? Please leave your milk & juice thoughts & variations in the comment section below.

• Optional – If you are out of butter or want to avoid the saturated fat associated with dairy-based butter, you can replace the butter with a NEUTRAL flavored vegetable oil (e.g. corn or canola oil) on a 1:1 basis. Stronger flavored oils (e.g. peanut oil or extra virgin olive oil) may NEGATIVELY impact or change the taste of the cranberry bread. You want to use an oil that has very little flavor.
• If you want to use olive oil, I would recommend using a “mild”, “light” or “extra light” olive oil as they would have the least impact on the cranberry bread. Unfortunately, extra virgin and virgin olive oil have stronger flavors and are more likely to negatively impact the taste of your cranberry bread.
• A number of my visitors like to use avocado oil in order to make their quick breads. Avocado oil has a neutral flavor and is high in monounsaturated fats. However, as you are probably aware, avocado oil is usually significantly more expensive than corn oil.
• Some of my visitors like to use a 50/50 blend of butter and vegetable oil. This combination provides some of the buttery flavor that their family loves plus some of the extra moistness & tenderness associated with vegetable oil.
• Other visitors prefer to use a plant-based butter versus using dairy butters or vegetable oils.
• Visitors – Do you prefer to use butter, vegetable oil or a butter/oil blend to make cranberry bread? Please post your butter & oil thoughts in the comment section below.

• Use FRESH flour for the best results. Ingredients that have been sitting in the pantry for months can become stale or pick up weird smells & flavors.
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life and reduce exposure to dust, pest, moisture, etc.
• Flour absorbs moisture from the air (if kept in an open bag and not in an airtight container). This extra moisture can throw off recipes and leads to overly wet batter and/or an underbaked cranberry bread. 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.
• Make sure to use level teaspoons & tablespoons when measuring ingredients (such as flour and baking soda). You can level off the ingredients in a measuring spoon or cup with the flat back of a butter knife or similar utensil. No “mountains” of ingredients in your measuring spoons & cups!! Adding too much of an ingredient can lead to recipe problems (such as too much flour can result in overly dry baked goods).
• FYI – International bakers often like to use a kitchen scale for even more accurate ingredient measurements (versus using cup & spoon measurements). They usually measure their ingredient weight in grams and the volume (mainly liquids) in milliliters.

• Do NOT overmix the batter or it will turn out gummy. Do not use an electric mixer because it is easier to overmix the batter.
• Make sure to grease the bread pan, line the bread pan with baking parchment paper or use a good nonstick bread pan. The cranberries can become very sticky after the baking process (especially on the bottom of the bread pan).
• Baking parchment paper might be the safest way to manage a potential sticky “bottom”.
• However, don’t grease the bread pan near the top of the pan. There will be nothing for the batter to cling to as it rises. This could cause the bread top to collapse as it rises.
• Do not over grease the pan (with butter or oil) or your cranberry bread could come out slightly greasy. Just apply a very thin layer of butter or oil (if you use this method). Baking parchment paper helps to prevent this potential issue.

• This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the cranberry bread looks too moist or under cooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a toothpick (or 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 3 to 5 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. Remove the bread pan and test the cranberry bread again with a tooth pick.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people (including me!!) like to use a bread thermometer to test if their cranberry bread is done. Generally, a “quick bread” (e.g. cranberry bread or banana bread) is fully baked 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. If you remove the cranberry bread before it reaches this internal temperature, it is likely to be underbaked and sink in the middle.
• To prevent your cranberry bread from potentially sinking, you should read my “Why does my banana bread sink in the middle?” page (as it reviews the reasons for & potential solutions to this issue). While the page looks at banana breads, the information also applies to other similar quick bread recipes (that use baking soda/powder) such as cranberry bread and pumpkin bread.

• 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.
• Place the bread pan in the middle of the oven to reduce the chance of “over browning” the cranberry bread. You do not want to place the bread pan near the oven’s heating elements (usually on the top and/or bottom of the oven).
• If you have a problem with small white flour “lumps” appearing in moist cranberry breads & quick breads, you should consider using a whisk to mix your batter. Just don’t over mix the batter.
• Since this recipe uses baking soda, this cranberry 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).

• Use a whisk if you have a problem with small flour “clumps” appearing in the batter.
• Always 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 cranberry bread with dried cranberries.
• If you do not have aluminum free baking powder, “regular” baking powder should work fine (as long as it is relatively fresh). However, I prefer to use aluminum free food ingredients when making food for my family.
• For better “sliceability”, you should allow the cranberry quick bread to completely cool. This can take 1 to 2 hours. Warm cranberry bread is more likely to crumble/break when sliced. In addition, for easier slicing, it is better to use a sharp serrated knife when cutting cranberry bread.

• In case, you didn’t see this in the “equipment used to make this recipe” section, this recipe is based on using a standard 9 by 5 inch bread pan. This means that the interior of the bread pan (not exterior) measures 9 inches in length, 5 inches in width and 2 1/2 inches in depth/height. Of course, Bread Dads are crazy about exact measurements… thus the use of measuring tapes! Ha!
• Please use the suggested 9 x 5 inch bread pan to make my 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 times – so more likely under or overbaked versus my recipe’s baking time), 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 cranberry bread (e.g. burnt crust).

• FYI – According to Wikipedia, “Dried cranberries are made by partially dehydrating fresh cranberries, a process similar to making grapes into raisins. They are popular in trail mix, salads, breads, with cereals, or eaten on their own… The most commercially produced dried cranberries contain added sugar, and they may also be coated in very small quantities of vegetable oil to keep them from sticking together.”
• Cranberry bread is great for any special occasion throughout the year. However, it is perfect as a traditional fall dessert. I especially love cranberry bread as a quick Thanksgiving snack or dessert.
• If your family loves cranberries, you should also try out Bread Dad’s recipes for Cranberry Banana Bread, Cranberry Banana Nut Bread (with chopped walnuts) and Cranberry Banana Muffins.
• Or if you are looking for a nice sandwich bread that contains dried cranberries, you might like to try my recipe for Cranberry Walnut Bread.
• Or if you like “harvest” type dessert recipes, you might want to try my recipes for Sweet Potato Bread, Pumpkin Bread, Pecan Banana Bread, Blueberry Banana Bread, etc.

• If you have a problem with a cranberry 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.
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (e.g. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (e.g. 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 (e.g. 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 other delicious quick bread ideas (e.g. pumpkin bread and cornbread), please visit Bread Dad’s main section for Sweet Quick Bread Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Cranberry
2. Wikipedia, Dried Cranberry
3. Wikipedia, Quick Bread

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