Cranberry Bread with Fresh Cranberries

Here is an easy recipe for cranberry bread with fresh cranberries. Fresh cranberries help to create a dessert that is bursting with juicy cranberry flavor. In contrast, while you can make a nice cranberry bread with dried cranberries, the dried cranberries lack the natural juices & mouth “feel” of delicious fresh cranberries. Your family will love the taste of this easy cranberry bread with fresh cranberries. It is perfect as a breakfast snack or simple dessert for lunch or dinner.

Delicious Cranberry Bread – Stuffed with Fresh Cranberries!

Our cranberry 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 similar recipes, please visit Bread Dad’s section on Sweet Quick Breads. 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 Cranberry Bread Recipe

• 1 Cup – Cranberry Juice – 230 milliliters – Or you can use milk, orange juice, etc.
• 8 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (melted) – 115 grams
• 2 – Large Eggs (lightly beaten) – 144 grams – Use large eggs (not extra large eggs or jumbo eggs)
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 1 1/4 Cups – Light Brown Sugar (packed cup) – 270 grams
• 2 Cups – Flour (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 – Fresh Cranberries – 100 grams
• Optional – 1 Tablespoon – Turbinado Sugar – To sprinkle on top of the batter before bread pan is put in oven – 13 grams

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

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

Mix Batter & Then Add Cranberries

Instructions – Easy Cranberry Bread Recipe

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Grease the bread pan, line the bread pan with baking parchment paper or use a nonstick bread pan in order to prevent the cranberries from sticking to the bread pan during the baking process.
• Wash the cranberries. Shake off any excess moisture. Set aside until batter is mixed.
• Soften butter in a microwave. FYI – I like to semi-melt the butter for better “mixability”.
• Lightly beat eggs.
• Mix the cranberry juice, butter, eggs, vanilla extract & sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Stir 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 cranberries after the batter has been completely mixed. Stir them into the batter with a wooden spoon. Make sure the fresh cranberries are evenly spread throughout the batter.
• Pour the finished batter into the bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
• Optional – For a sugary top to the cranberry bread, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar on top of the batter before you place the bread pan in the oven.
• Bake in the oven at 325 F 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 (as this completes the baking process). Use oven mitts as the bread pan will be very hot coming out of the oven.
• After the 10 minute cool down, 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 1-2 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 & to avoid common cranberry bread problems.

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Other Bread Dad Sections

• Bread Machines – My favorites!
• Bread Machine Cookbooks
• Bread Mixes – Ingredient kits
• Bread Tools – Bread slicers, etc.

Optional – Sprinkle Large Sugar Crystals On Top of Batter

Tips – Cranberry Bread with Fresh Cranberries

• The tips below are designed to help sweet “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.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Quick Bread Recipes (such as walnut banana bread, pumpkin bread and blueberry bread).

• 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 them to the batter.
• The use of fresh cranberries (versus dried cranberries) in this recipe helps to create a “juicier” & moister cranberry bread.
• Do not cut up the fresh cranberries (i.e. cut in half) or you can release excess moisture into the batter. This can result in the middle of the cranberry bread sinking/collapsing.
• Visitors – What extra ingredients do you like to add to your cranberry bread to make it even more special or unique? Chopped nuts? Orange zest? Extra spices? Please leave your tips & recipe variations in the comment section below.

• Be careful about adding any extra cranberries (beyond what is called for in the recipe). Too many cranberries can make the cranberry bread more fragile because there will be a relatively smaller “bread” portion (versus cranberry portion) binding the cranberry bread together.
• In addition, you should make sure the cranberries are spread throughout the batter and not concentrated in one area (or there could be less “structural integrity” where the cranberries are concentrated).
• If you are worried about the structural integrity of your quick breads (i.e. cranberry bread or banana bread), consider using baking parchment paper to line your bread pan. Baking parchment paper makes it easier to gently lift a quick bread from a bread pan.

• Optional – If you want a greater cranberry “appearance” to your cranberry bread, you can gently press a few cranberries into the top of the batter before you place the bread pan in the oven.
• Optional – I 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.
• This recipe is for a cranberry bread without orange juice. There are lots of orange cranberry bread recipes but I wanted to create an easy cranberry bread where the delicious flavor of cranberries is not overwhelmed by the taste of oranges. Nevertheless, please feel free to use orange juice (instead of cranberry juice) if you prefer to make an orange 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. See picture above. You can find turbinado sugar in most large supermarkets (in the baking supplies section next to the “regular” sugar products).

• Make sure to grease the bread pan, line the bread pan with baking parchment paper or use a very good nonstick bread pan. 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 avoid a potential sticky “bottom” problem.
• Be gentle when removing the cranberry bread from the bread pan because it is stuffed with cranberries. Consider using baking parchment paper if you want the least potential for any baking mishaps when removing a baked good from a bread pan. 
• Wait for this easy cranberry bread to completely cool down (i.e. 1-2 hours after being removed from the oven) for better “sliceability”. A still warm cranberry bread will crumble/break more easily when cut (when compared to a cooled down cranberry bread). It is also better to use a sharp serrated knife when cutting homemade cranberry bread.
• While some people think cranberry bread is only a Thanksgiving dessert, I think it is perfect for any occasion because fresh cranberry bread is so delicious.

• 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 overmix the batter (as overmixed cranberry breads & other quick breads turn out gummy & tough). This is why I never use electric mixers to mix my quick bread batter as there is a greater chance of overmixing the batter.
• 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 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 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.
• 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 homemade cranberry bread.

• Cranberry bread is a type of sweet “quick bread” (similar to banana bread) because it uses baking powder and/or baking soda to rise and does not use bread yeast. This results in a faster rising baked good that tastes more like a muffin or cake and not like a sandwich bread. FYI – Cranberry bread is also known as cranberry loaf bread, cranberry quick bread or cranberry bread cake.
• If you like desserts & snacks made with fresh cranberries, you should also try out our Cranberry Banana Bread, Pumpkin Cranberry Bread, Applesauce Cranberry Bread and Cranberry Banana Muffins recipes.
• Or if you are looking for a cranberry quick bread made with dried cranberries, you should try our Cranberry Bread with Dried Cranberries recipe.

• 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 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 bread pan to make this recipe. If you start using different sized pans, there is a greater potential for bread top collapses (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), etc.
• Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked.
• 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).
• Do you have a problem with your “quick breads” (i.e. cranberry bread & banana bread) sinking in the middle? Then check out my Why Does My Banana Bread Sink In The Middle? page for reasons & potential solutions.

• If you have a problem with a homemade cranberry bread 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 other delicious quick bread recipes (i.e. banana bread, pumpkin bread or cornbread), please visit Bread Dad’s main section for Quick Bread Recipes.

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Questions & Answers – Cranberry Bread with Fresh Cranberries

What is cranberry bread?

Cranberry bread is a sweet “quick bread” that is used for desserts and snacks. It is not a sandwich-type bread. Cranberry bread is loaf shaped, muffin-like and can be made with fresh cranberries, frozen cranberries or dried cranberries. Quick breads are made with baking powder and/or baking soda and not with bread yeast. Other types of quick breads include banana bread, pumpkin bread, strawberry bread, applesauce bread, etc.

Can I use frozen cranberries in cranberry bread?

Yes. You can use frozen cranberries in cranberry bread if you do not have fresh cranberries. Just make sure that you are not adding any extra ice with the frozen cranberries. Otherwise, you will adding too much moisture to the recipe and the cranberry bread could come out undercooked or soggy. In addition, frozen cranberries should not be used to replace dried cranberries (if dried cranberries called for in a cranberry bread recipe) because the frozen cranberries might add too much moisture and cause the cranberry bread to be soggy.

Can I use dried cranberries to make cranberry bread?

Yes. You can use dried cranberries to make a delicious cranberry bread. Quick breads that use dried cranberries tend to be a little sweeter because the manufacturers of dried cranberries often add extra sugar to the dried cranberries. For details on how to make cranberry bread with dried cranberries, please take a look at our Cranberry Bread with Dried Cranberries recipe.

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Reference Sources

• Wikipedia, Cranberry
• Wikipedia, Dried Cranberry
• Wikipedia, Quick Bread

If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below & give us a 5 star rating. Beginning bakers learn a lot from your baking suggestions, ideas & recipe variations. We also LOVE to hear from people who have enjoyed our recipes!!!

Related Recipes

• Applesauce Cranberry Bread
• Cranberry Banana Bread
• Cranberry Banana Muffins
• Cranberry Walnut Bread (Sandwich Bread)
• Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
• Strawberry Quick Bread

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