Published: Nov 16, 2022 by Kathy Carmichael‘>Kathy Carmichael · This post may contain affiliate links.

Cranberry orange bread is oil-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free. Made with whole-food ingredients, each piece of bread is full of fresh cranberries that pop in your mouth with fresh orange flavor in each moist bite. You’ll love this cranberry orange bread recipe.

When I have leftover cranberries, I make Orange cranberry bread! I love fresh cranberries, and nothing pairs better with cranberry than oranges. During the holidays, I always stock up on fresh cranberries for a variety of festive recipes, because a holiday isn’t a holiday without cranberry orange Bread.

I always buy too many fresh cranberries, because I’m afraid of running out during the holidays. If I end up with extra cranberries, which I always do, I make cranberry with orange sauce or my daughter’s favorite vegan cranberry bars.

Fresh Fruit and Juice

Even though bottled orange juice works, I prefer fresh-squeezed orange juice and fresh cranberries when I bake. Depending on the size of the oranges, 1 cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice is approximately 4 oranges. 

Also, I added fresh orange zest for added orange flavor, which is optional. 

Sometimes, when I can’t find fresh cranberries, I bake with frozen ones, but the flavor isn’t as profound as the fresh berries. 

Bread Ingredients

• Whole Wheat Flour:
• Baking Powder:
• Baking Soda:
• Salt:
• Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice:
• Unsweetened Apple Sauce:
• Orange Zest:
• Fresh Cranberries:
• Vanilla Extract:
• Cinnamon:
• Maple Syrup:

Bread Ingredient Substitutions

• Instead of using coconut sugar for this recipe, I substituted maple syrup. Similarly, I substituted apple sauce for a flax egg. Flax egg, however, can be used if you don’t have unsweetened apple sauce. 
• I prefer unsweetened apple sauce whenever I bake, like in my Vegan Oil-Free Cornbread Recipe. So I buy single-serving, unsweetened applesauce cups for kids’ lunch boxes.
• Use bottled orange juice, but I suggest using pulp-free juice.
• Substitute frozen cranberries for fresh cranberries, but do not thaw the berries.
• Any combination or type of flour works with this cranberry orange bread recipe. This includes gluten-free flour.
• Since I only cook with applesauce, each single-serving cup is ½ cup or equivalent to 1 flax egg. 

How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
• Stir the dry ingredients, and combine the baking powder, soda, and salt with the flour.
• Now add the apple sauce, orange juice, maple syrup, zest, vanilla, cinnamon, and stir by hand, focusing on incorporating the flour mixture at the bowl’s bottom. DO NOT OVER-STIR. Make sure all the dry and wet ingredients create a thick and lumpy batter.
• Now, fold in the cranberries, making sure to fold gently to keep the berries intact.
• Using a silicone bread pan or a pan lined with parchment paper, pour the bread batter into the pan, scraping down the bowl’s sides to get all the batter.
• Then, place some individual cranberries on top of the bread, randomly placing them. This adds more cranberry flavor and makes the bread pretty,
• Cook for 50-55 minutes. If using a silicone bread pan, check the bread 45 minutes in, as silicone pans generally take less cooking time.
• To check to ensure the bread is cooked, place a knife through the middle. It should come out clean. If there is batter on the blade, cook for 5 minutes.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• First, DO NOT use an electric mixer. Instead, stir the batter by hand, and DO NOT overmix. One of the biggest mistakes people make when baking is overmixing, which results in flat, dry bread. 
• Another tip when vegan baking is to ensure you stir the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the flour so it is equally distributed before adding the wet ingredients. 
• Because I didn’t use vegan butter and flax egg, the wet ingredients are added to the same bowl once the dry ingredients are stirred. 
• Folding the cranberries into the batter after the batter is stirred allows the berries to stay whole and the juice to stay inside the berries. 
• Since I don’t cook with oil, there are two tricks to making orange cranberry bread that won’t stick. 
• Use a non-stick silicone bread pan. 
• Line a bread pan with parchment paper before pouring the bread batter into the pan. 
• Additionally, allowing the bread to cool completely enhances the flavors and keeps the bread from crumbling. Although my family wants the orange cranberry bread immediately, waiting until it is completely cooled or covering the bread and waiting until the next day is even better. 

But the only way that happens at my house is if everyone is gone, and I hide it until the next day.

The smell of fresh-baked Cranberry Orange Bread is difficult to conceal. 

Try this delicious cranberry orange bread for breakfast, dessert, or holiday bread!

Other Great Vegan Recipes to Try!

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