This quick bread is a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving spread. It’s my Mom’s Cranberry Walnut Bread. It is a no knead bread recipe and has a great balance of sweet and tart flavors with a touch of citrus and the addition of cranberries and walnuts.
Each family has their holiday staples, and this is one of mine. This bread filled with cranberries and walnuts and I love to add a slathering of butter on top. It has a great outer crust and it’s filled with cranberries and walnuts on the inside. Some years I think I savor it more than the turkey itself.
It is a classic quick bread and very easy to make and Fall is really the best time of year to make this it because the cranberries, oranges and walnuts are all in season.
Ingredients for Cranberry Walnut Bread
- Dry ingredients: Flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Wet ingredients: Eggs, orange juice, orange zest, and melted unsalted butter.
- Berries: either fresh or frozen.
Can I Make Cranberry Bread Without Walnuts?
Yes. The walnuts add crunch and a nutty flavor that pairs well with the tart cranberries, but they can be omitted if you prefer. Pecans can also be substituted for the walnuts. I like adding walnuts but that is a personal preference and is not a strict tradition.
How to Cut Fresh Cranberries
When it comes to cutting fresh cranberries, the process can be a bit tricky due to their round shape and tendency to roll around. However, there are a few effective methods to tackle this task.
By hand
- Place a few cranberries at a time on a cutting board and carefully slice them in half.
- Tip: you can freeze the cranberries for about 30 minutes to an hour before cutting, which can make them firmer and easier to handle.
Food processor
- Pulse the cranberries briefly in small batches until roughly chopped. Avoid over-processing them or they can become crushed and watery.
How to Make Cranberry Walnut Bread
- Once you’ve got all your cranberries set aside, sift the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and very gently fold it all together. This will take some muscle and I have broken a wooden spoon or two doing this. But the key is to not overmix!
- Pour the (very thick) batter into a loaf pan that’s been lined with parchment paper that is overlapping the sides like pictured below. This will be used as ‘handles’ to lift the bread out.
- Bake it in the oven for approximately 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Tips for Making Cranberry Walnut Bread
- Prep in Advance: Assemble and measure all your ingredients before starting. This helps streamline the process.
- Don’t Overmix: When combining the wet and dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Overmixing can make the bread tough.
- Frozen Cranberries: If fresh cranberries are not available, you can use frozen cranberries. There’s no need to thaw them; add them directly to the batter.
- Adjust Sweetness: If you prefer a sweeter bread, you can increase the sugar slightly. Taste the batter to determine your preferred level of sweetness.
- Experiment with Nuts: If you’re not a fan of walnuts, you can substitute them with pecans or omit them altogether.
- Parchment Paper Handles: Line your loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on the long sides. This creates handles that make it easy to lift the bread out after baking, reducing the risk of sticking or breaking.
Other Holiday-Inspired Recipes
- Classic Turkey Gravy from Drippings: Elevate your Thanksgiving turkey with this classic turkey gravy made from pan drippings, ensuring a rich and savory sauce.
- Crockpot Turkey Breast: Uncover the secret to succulent and hassle-free turkey breast preparation by slow-cooking in a crockpot, a game-changer for your holiday meal.
- Easy Slow Cooker Stuffing: Simplify your Thanksgiving cooking with easy slow cooker stuffing, allowing you to focus on other delectable dishes while this flavorful side dish takes care of itself.
- Sweet Potato Casserole : Delight in a sweet potato casserole recipe that emphasizes the natural sweetness of this classic side dish without the marshmallow topping.
- Classic Pumpkin Roll: Embrace the holiday season with a classic pumpkin roll, but one that’s a little less sweet.
Mom’s Cranberry Walnut Bread
- Total Time: 1 hr 10 min
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Description
A classic cranberry walnut quick bread made with fresh cranberries, walnuts and a touch of orange.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- Âľ cup orange juice
- Zest of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Other Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, halved or roughly chopped
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and/or line it with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Stir in the orange juice, orange zest and melted butter.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix with a sturdy rubber spatula or wooden spoon just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in the cranberries and chopped walnuts.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool before removing it from the pan and slicing. Serve as-is or with butter or cream cheese.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 55 min
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
MOM’S CRANBERRY WALNUT BREAD RECIPE
Like this recipe? Pin it to your THANKSGIVING board!
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card above. Consider following me on Pinterest!
Too dry. When I got to the stage of mixing the wet ingredients into the dry, it became clear that this recipe doesn’t have enough wet ingredients to form a dough. I didn’t have more orange juice to add (but if I did, I would double it to 1 cup of juice or at least 3/4 cup juice as the Oceanspray recipe lists.) What I did was to add 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream which was a nice addition. The Oceanspray recipe also uses 1 1/2 cups cranberries which is nice if you like cranberries or a tart bread but the one cup in this recipe works also and oil instead of butter which probably makes it easier to form a dough.
Delish the best!
Plan on using cassava flour due to grain issues. But my big question is how long can I freeze this as muffins. Trying to get a jump on Christmas morning brunch.
Hi Cheryl. I’m so glad you are making my mom’s cranberry bread. I just made it again for Thanksgiving and I think I need to adjust the recipe a bit because mine turned out a little drier than i expected. With that said, cavassa flour is also drier than regular flour so in your case i would increase the liquid by adding an extra 2-3 tablespoons of liquid. And I would start with slightly less cassava flour than the recipe calls for (about 90-95%) and add more gradually, as it absorbs differently. Lastly avoid overmixing as cassava flour can over-thicken. The muffins can be frozen for 2 months – so get baking! 🙂 I hope this helps.
If I wanted to make 2 smaller loaves, how long baking?
Thx. Anxious to try.
Patty
I was leary about the fresh cranberries being too tart but it was amazingly good!
This is just like the bread my grandma used to make! I never knew what was in it, but it brings back such good memories.
Has anyone tried making this as muffins? Several times this year I’ve made a batch of muffins for a life skills group at the local high school. I’m now known as “grandma”. These sound like a nice change from the pumpkin and blueberry that I’ve made so far
Hi jackie – yes these can be made into muffins. For 12, cook at 350°F for 18-20 minutes.
Your Mom most likely got it from Ocean spray company it used to be on the package!
any one try to cut done on the sugar amount? thinking if doing half. always trying to cur back on sugar intake but unsure of the taste
Made this yesterday. It’s delicious. I just chopped the cranberries on a cutting board because I didn’t want to drag my processor out. Then added the sugar and stirred it well. If pistachios were cheaper I would have added more. Was pretty easy to make.
Very delicious bread. Better than my moms! I couldn’t find her recipe so had to try this one ad it was pretty close. Using the unbleached flour was the trick I think. Thank you!
Very good just had to add a bit more orange juice, but a 10/10
Couldn’t be more pleased with this recipe ! So easy & even tastes better than it smelled baking. My new go to !
This is a great recipe. My husband asks me to make this at least once a week.
I don’t keep fresh cranberries around so I use cranraisins.
I pass this your mom’s recipe around.
Great recipe! I did add MORE cranberries and walnuts and I did add a drizzle of confectionery sugar and orange zest which was really good!!!
Can I do this in a bread machine
I have never tried it
Did you ever make this with white whole wheat flour and honey? I vaguely remember using
Those ingredients from your website. And having to add 1/2 cup more liquid to the flour mix
in order to get it to look like the batter in one of your pictures.
I don’t remember doing that. This is my mom’s recipe which is handwritten on a recipe card from years ago which I have never altered.
My mouth is watering! This looks relish, I will try it for sure.
So, I’m surprised that the recipe calls for fresh cranberries that haven’t been, um, ‘pre-treated’ with sugar somehow, given that cranberries are (so I hear) exceedingly tart on their own. Do they pick up enough sweetness from the batter to cover the tartness? The bread looks DELICIOUS, and I will enjoy trying this recipe at some point!
it is true. These cranberries don’t need anything except to be washed and cut up. The bread is not tart at all and is delicious. I hope you give it a try.
Oh I used to make this, a lot. Haven’t in so long. Thank you for the prompt!
Luna Crone