I’ve eaten about 4 pints of cranberries this week and the result is an orange cranberry bread recipe I feel good about sharing. Of course I couldn’t have driven myself into a baking marathon without some trusted recipe testers, so I owe Comfy Belly testers/bakers/adventurers a big thanks.
This cranberry bread recipe has been tested across three countries, and it made it’s first public appearance last week in a “Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”. One person, who I’m hoping feels well soon, tested it despite being in a Crohn’s flare.
It’s also been taste-tested by the most honest and discriminating group of humans—kids—and received two thumbs up. It’s had chocolate chips added to it, of course, and it’s been modified by testers to fit their needs and likes. One change-up you might enjoy is adding one very ripe banana and swapping out the maple syrup or honey for the equivalent amount of coconut sugar. They also make great muffins—see the headnotes for yield and baking time.
And if you’re looking for a recipe using just almond flour, here’s my original orange cranberry muffin recipe.
Orange Cranberry Bread
11/26/13: Soon after I posted this recipe a few readers said their bread was soggy, so I adjusted the amount of orange juice a bit and increased the baking time.
I prefer to use fresh cranberries with this bread, but feel free to use what you wish, either frozen or dried will work as well. I chop the cranberries in a food processor, or you can chop them by hand. I chop all the cranberries except for a hand-full that I save to add to the top, which is optional.
One medium orange will usually yield enough zest and juice for this recipe.
Testers really like this moist, but if you’re finding it too moist reduce the orange juice by half.
I used an 8 x 5-inch (20.3 x 12.7-cm) loaf pan for this recipe and lined the bottom and long sides with parchment paper (see photo). I would at least line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper to make clean-up easier.
These also happen to make great muffins. They will yield about 8 to 10 muffins and finish baking in about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (72 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (57 g) coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup (79 ml) maple syrup or honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/4 cup (59 ml) fresh orange juice
- 1 cup (75 g) fresh cranberries (frozen or dried work also), lightly pulsed in a food processor or chopped by hand
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).
- Line a 8 x 5-inch (20.3 x 12.7-cm) loaf pan with parchment paper, and grease any exposed sides.
- Add the almond flour, coconut flour, salt and baking soda together and blend well.
- Add the eggs, maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, orange zest and juice to the dry batter and mix until well blended.
- Add the cranberries and gently blend until they’re distributed evenly throughout the batter.
- Let the batter sit for 5 minutes or so to give the coconut flour time to absorb the liquids.
- Scoop the batter into the baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until the top begins to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Cool fully and slice. Store covered for a few days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a few weeks, or seal and freeze for a few months.
Makes one loaf
No need to cook the cranberries first? Just chop them in the food processor and add them in?
No need, unless you prefer dried. The berries will bake well in the bread, although dried cranberries will be less tart. Up to you 🙂
What would be a good substitute for orange juice? I do not like oranges at all. Orange seems to crop up in a lot of things.
You can leave out the orange zest and juice and it will still taste great just no orange flavor but you’ll have to replace the 1/4 cup of orange juice with water or coconut milk (or other milk). Or try swapping with lemon zest and some coconut milk to replace the orange juice.
Baked two batches today, one for breakfast and a second for a friend’s birthday. The first batch was gone so quickly I had to bake the second! Delicious! In the past I’ve made flour blondies this way, but these are just as wonderful and much healthier. Thank you!!
a double-batch is a great idea!
Just wanted to say hi and THANK YOU for all the beautiful recipes you post. What a gift; I’m very grateful that people like you are out there creating and modifying these amazing recipes.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Aw, thanks Lise! Happy Holidays to you as well 🙂
This bread was delicious! Made 6 mini loaves and everyone was so impressed. I cut the OJ in half like you suggested. You really do have the best recipes! Thanks for all you do!
What a great idea—mini loaves, I love it! thanks 🙂
This was so amazing, it tastes like cake! I used cashew meal instead of almond just for giggles and it was so good! Making more soon. Thanks for ANOTHER great recipe.
Nice! Yes, cashew flour/meal makes a great cake batter 🙂
This was yummy! I set slices out on a plate for pre-thanksgiving meal munchies. I used agave instead of honey/maple syrup (I know) and my kids kept sneaking more pieces of it! That’s a true sign of a winner. I had some for breakfast today – toasted and slathered with butter. YUMMY! thanks!
Awesome! I’m eating it now with my morning green smoothie 🙂
This was a big hit for weekend company brunch. I did add a handful of coarsely chopped walnuts, otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Definitely added to my “make-again” collection!
good to hear! walnuts are a great (and healthy) add-on.
I found your site a week or so ago, made the bread – LOVED IT, forgot to save your site… Panicked this morning, googled extensively, found you and not letting go of this recipe! It’s phenomenal. Thank you!
I made muffins today and they’re just as amazing as the bread. I also used agave as sweetener.
Thanks again and Happy Holidays!
so glad you found me! Happy holidays to you as well 🙂
This bread looks delicious! I love fresh cranberries in baked goods!
Can I substitute the coconut flour with king Arthur’s flour and I have a lot of homemade cranberries with a little to much liquid could that be used for the cranberries and juice?
Just made this, as in just took it out of the oven. I plan to make another version next time, subbing lemon for orange and blueberry for cranberry! So excited!!
Made with lime and raspberries as cranberries not available. Still yum. Thanks for my brekky.
This was so delicious! Thanks for sharing!
This was so easy and absolutely delicious, a new favorite that will be on our regular dessert rotation 🙂 Thanks for an amazing recipe!
you’re welcome! happy new year
Thank you so much for sharing this scrumptious recipe. We’re in snowy MA where I feel like staying inside and baking. This bread really hit the spot and adheres to my nutrition rules.
You’re welcome! I bet your house smells wonderful 🙂 Stay warm!
Thank you. Made muffins tonite. Great flavour! I don’t like things sweet so I only added 1/4 c of honey and it was perfect for me.
Could you substitute ground almonds for almond flour? If not, how can you turn ground almonds into almond flour? Is that even possible?? Thanks!! 🙂
see my post on baking with almond flour 🙂 It is possible, but may not yield the same texture
Just made the muffins. Very tasty! I love the citrus flavor in them. I thought the texture was perfect. You may want to use foil liners to prevent sticking. Mine stuck a little. But maybe if I had let them cool a bit it would have been better. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks! Try parchment cupcake/muffin liners. They’re great: http://astore.amazon.com/comfybelly-20/detail/B000FAIR96
Delicious! I bought unsweetened dried cranberries and used a cup after simmering them in 1/2 cup of water. I also added a cup of chopped walnuts. This is so good and keeps so well I make two loaves at a time
Great idea, making two loaves at once. I do the same to save time (and have more food). Thanks for sharing your tip on soaking the dried berries.
Thanks for the recipe, Erica; it’s a winner!
When fresh cranberries are available in the fall I will try this with them to see if I want to freeze several bags so I have them when they’re no longer available.
Any other breads like this you know of? I was considering substituting dried cherries…
Just wanted to thank you for a great recipe. My husband has been on the SCD for two years and this is the first bread that he has really enjoyed. I liked it, too, which explains why the first loaf disappeared so quickly! I went ahead and made a double batch and froze one loaf for later. Thanks again!
Good thinking on the double batch! Thank you 🙂
So, I made a loaf of this to have around for breakfasts while my Thanksgiving company is in town. Let’s just say I’m going to have to make another one as I ate about 1/4+ of the loaf I made last night! It was SO GOOD! Plus it smells like the holidays to me. My mom used to make a similar loaf when we were kids and the smell just brought back so many memories for me!
So, I made a loaf of this last night to have on hand for breakfasts/snacking while my Thanksgiving guests are in town. But it was so freaking good, I ate about a quarter of the loaf and will have to make another one or two! It not only tastes good, but smells just like the holidays to me. My mom used to make a very similar loaf (with white flour!) when we were kids and it brought back so many memories. Great recipe!
Great to hear. Thanks, Nancy 🙂
We still are toasting this under the broiler and eating it four or five mornings a week. Two tips: The maple syrup/honey can be omitted and replaced with a low-carb sweetener. I use a powdered erythritol/stevia blend which I make with 1 cup erythritol and 2 teaspoons of stevia. Also I now make three loaves at a time. When refrigerated wrapped in a paper towel inside a sealed plastic bag it keeps very well. In fact because of a recent trip we had some that was a month old and it tasted perfect! Finally, consider adding some lemon zest, too.
Thank you for sharing what worked for you! Yes to lemon zest 🙂
Once again another brilliant recipe from you Erica! I have tried it as is, subbing date syrup, decreasing the honey to 1/2 cup, and baking in an 8×8 pan. All worked great. Looking forward to trying this as blueberry lemon. Another Comfy Belly classic for me!
Aw, thanks for trying it so many ways! Love the idea of lemon and blueberry 🙂
One more note – if chopping cranberries in food processor, I recommend not over-processing – I liked it better when I chopped them by hand as they came out coarser and more recognizable with the great cranberry flavor.