Treat yourself to this delicious Cranberry Banana Bread! This easy recipe is a unique twist on your favorite quick bread. You'll love the wonderful cranberry-orange flavor, crunchy nuts, and moist texture. The simple glaze makes it extra special, and it's perfect for the holiday season!
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Ginnie's Take
Need to use up some bananas, like yesterday? This Cranberry Banana Bread is the perfect solution, especially during the holiday season! This mouthwatering recipe pairs sweet bananas with tart cranberries (a surprisingly tasty combo) and crunchy nuts. A simple glaze makes the whole thing feel extra fancy (with very little effort on your part). It's so delicious, that you won't be able to resist a second slice!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Amazing Flavor - This quick bread is bursting with fresh, tart cranberries, sunny orange zest, and flavorful walnuts. It's also super moist, and the simple glaze makes this fun twist on classic banana bread extra delish!
- Easy to Make - The recipe is simple to prepare, and it uses basic, easy to find ingredients! You probably have most of them in your pantry already!
- Festive - With its juicy cranberries, this yummy bread is the perfect treat for Thanksgiving or Christmas! Don't save it just for the holidays though, because it makes a great fall / winter snack any day of the week.
Jump to:
Ingredients
You can find the ingredients for this homemade bread in any grocery store! Here's what you'll need:
- Cranberries - You'll need some fresh cranberries, of course! Look for them in stores starting in fall and continuing through early winter.
- Bananas - For the best banana bread, use bananas with plenty of brown spots.
- Nuts - Chopped walnuts add a wonderful texture to the loaf. You can easily replace them with other nuts, or leave them out, if you prefer.
- Orange - Cranberries and oranges are a popular combo for a reason: these two fruits taste amazing together! A little fresh orange zest is all you need to brighten all the other flavors.
- Spices + Vanilla - The bread is seasoned with a combination of cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla extract, all of which add a warm, lightly spiced flavor.
- Other Baking Ingredients - You'll need all-purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder for this recipe, along with unsalted butter and two large eggs.
- Glaze - The basic glaze recipe is made with powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract.
You'll Also Need
Get out your stand mixer (or hand mixer) and a spatula to prepare the batter. You'll also need a bread pan and a wire rack (to cool and to decorate the bread). A microplane zester (one of my fave kitchen tools) also comes in handy for zesting the orange.
How to Make Banana Cranberry Bread
This Cranberry Banana Loaf is simple to prepare! You'll find a detailed recipe card below, but here's a quick overview of the steps:
- Mix wet ingredients. Using your mixer, blend the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then mix in the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest. Stir in the bananas by hand, then set aside.
- Blend dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Combine wet + dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, then use a spatula to fold the ingredients together.
- Stir in cranberries and nuts. When the flour is about halfway mixed in, add the cranberries and walnuts. Continue folding the mixture together until everything is just combined.
- Bake. Transfer the batter to a loaf pan, then bake the bread until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Add topping. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire baking rack. When it's completely cooled, drizzle it with the glaze, then sprinkle with the nuts. Tip: Place a piece of foil or parchment paper under the rack (or place the rack on a baking sheet), before adding the glaze. It will make cleanup much easier!
Okay, time to enjoy your scrumptious Cranberry Banana Bread! Once it's decorated, you can eat the bread right away, or wait until the glaze hardens.
Variations
This recipe is pretty perfect as-is, but here are a few simple substitutions you can make:
- Cranberries - Swap out the fresh cranberries for ½ cup dried cranberries (craisins).
- Zest - Replace the orange zest with lemon zest (or use a combination).
- Nuts - Use pecans, pistachios, or other nuts instead of walnuts. You could also leave out the nuts, if you prefer.
- Glaze - For extra orange flavor, use orange juice to make the glaze. Feel free to skip the glaze if you're in a hurry.
Storage
Store leftover Cranberry Orange Banana Bread in an airtight container (I typically use a zip top bag). Because of the milk in the glaze, I'd recommend storing it in your refrigerator. The bread can also be frozen for one to two months.
Related Recipes
Looking for more cranberry treats? Try my Cranberry White chocolate Chip Cookies and Walnut Cranberry Cookies next! You'll love my other banana bread recipes, too:
- This Double Chocolate Banana Bread is a chocolate lovers dream! You won't be able to resist this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread either.
- Need to use up some berries? Make my delicious Blueberry Banana Bread or this yummy Strawberry Banana Bread.
- Craving something tropical? Then you'll love this flavorful Banana Coconut Bread!
Cranberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
For Bread:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (plus more for buttering pan)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries, halved
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
For Glaze + Topping:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (or Hand Mixer)
Instructions
Prepare Bread:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (or spray with nonstick cooking spray), then set aside.
- Mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using a stand mixer (or hand mixer).
- Add eggs, vanilla, and orange zest; mix until fully incorporated.
- Stir in bananas by hand. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Using a spatula, gently fold flour mixture into butter mixture, stopping when it's about halfway mixed in. (There should still be flour visible when you are done.)
- Add the halved cranberries and chopped walnuts. Using spatula to fold them into the batter, stopping when everything is just combined (do not over-mix).
- Transfer batter to loaf pan, then bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before adding glaze.
Prepare Glaze + Add Topping:
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla to a medium bowl, then stir in just enough milk (starting with 1 tablespoon) so the glaze thin enough to drizzle.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the cooled banana bread. (You may have a little left over.)
- Immediately sprinkle the finely chopped walnuts over the glazed bread.
- Serve bread immediately, or store in an airtight container until ready to eat.
Notes
Nutrition
