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Cranberry Walnut Bread

Cranberry walnut bread is an easy American quick bread with bright cranberries, toasted walnuts, and orange zest. Bake until golden and sliceable, with a clean toothpick test and a tender, moist crumb.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 315
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp orange zest
Wet ingredients
  • 0.75 cup orange juice
  • 1 large egg
  • 0.25 cup butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix-ins
  • 1.5 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped
  • 0.75 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and preheat
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
  2. Whisk all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest in a bowl until evenly combined.
Mix wet and combine
  1. Whisk orange juice, large egg, butter, melted, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
  2. Stir wet into dry just until moistened, stopping as soon as no dry streaks remain.
Add cranberries and walnuts, bake
  1. Fold in fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped and walnuts, toasted and chopped until distributed.
  2. Spread the batter into the greased and lined loaf pan.
  3. Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350F until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool and slice
  1. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning the loaf out.
  2. Fully cool on a rack before slicing.

Notes

Pro tip: when you stir wet into dry, stop at “just moistened” to keep the crumb tender. Store airtight at room temperature for 2-3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze slices up to 2 months (thaw at room temperature). For a lighter option, replace half the butter with an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt for moisture while keeping the quick-bread texture.