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Cranberry Walnut Bread

Cranberry walnut bread is a classic American quick bread with bright red cranberries and toasted walnuts. It bakes up golden with a clean-toothpick center and fragrant orange zest throughout.
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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: 280
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
Add-ins
  • 1.5 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped
  • 0.75 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Preheat and prep the pan
  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F, then grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Mix dry ingredients
  1. Whisk all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest until evenly combined and no dry pockets remain.
Mix wet ingredients
  1. Whisk orange juice, large egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth and fully blended.
Combine wet and dry
  1. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture just until moistened; keep the batter slightly lumpy to stay tender.
Add cranberries and walnuts
  1. Fold in roughly chopped cranberries and toasted chopped walnuts, then spread the batter into the loaf pan.
Bake
  1. Bake at 350°F for 55-60 minutes, until the loaf is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool and slice
  1. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then move the bread to a rack to cool fully before slicing.

Notes

For best texture, mix wet into dry only until moistened—overmixing can make quick bread tough. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze slices up to 2 months. For a dairy-free swap, use a 1:1 melted plant-butter alternative, keeping the same bake time.