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Whole grain cranberry bread is a holiday tradition I look forward to every year! A sweet, moist quick bread with bursts of tart cranberries, this loaf is perfect for breakfast, snacks, or dessert. It’s always a crowd-pleaser for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas parties!
Every fall, I have my eyes peeled for the first batch of cranberries to go on sale. I can’t wait to make all things cranberry!
As soon as I’m able to get some, I get to work making cranberry elk meatballs, cranberry French toast casserole, whole grain cranberry orange scones, and this whole grain cranberry loaf.
They instantly get me into the holiday spirit!
This cranberry bread recipe is one I keep handy all through November and December. It’s perfect for a simple breakfast, a treat to pair with coffee, or a delicious seasonal dessert.
Bring it to your Thanksgiving meal, holiday gatherings, or make it for Christmas morning breakfast! It’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser, yet it’s so easy to make.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A holiday favorite: You really can’t go wrong with cranberry bread around Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s bright and cheery, so delicious, and cranberries just scream the holiday season!
- Fresh milled whole grains: Enjoy a classic holiday treat, but get your daily serving of whole grains at the same time! This recipe uses fresh milled flour for extra nutrients and flavor, but it has the same wonderful texture you get from loaves with all-purpose flour.
- Easy recipe: I’ll never stop saying how much I love quick breads! They are so simple to mix up, but they taste as good as an elaborate dessert. If you need something easy to make for brunch, dessert, or a party, cranberry quick bread is the way to go!
- Balanced flavor: The tartness of the cranberries perfectly balances the bread batter and sugary top, making a well-rounded and delicious loaf that has just the right amount of sweetness.
Key Ingredients
- Whole grain flour: I used fresh milled hard white wheat berries. They give the bread a delicious flavor and great texture, just like an all purpose loaf!
- Butter: Butter rather than oil gives this loaf a rich flavor. Keeping some extra butter to smear on a slice of bread is highly encouraged!
- Sugar: A combination of white sugar and brown sugar makes a perfectly sweet bread!
- Egg and milk: An egg and whole milk bind the bread together, resulting in a soft texture and a moist loaf that doesn’t crumble.
- Vanilla extract and salt: These two simple ingredients make a huge impact on the flavor of your quick bread.
- Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen. Don’t substitute dried cranberries, though; save them for homemade granola bars or overnight oats topping!
- Egg wash: A wash of egg and water gives this loaf a shiny, golden exterior.
- Brown sugar for sprinkling: A sprinkling of brown sugar on top of the egg wash elevates this bread. It’s like a simpler version of the crumbly topping on my whole grain blueberry muffins recipe.
How to Make Whole Grain Cranberry Bread
Step 1. Preheat oven to 350°F
Step 2. Whisk together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, cream together the butter and sugars for about 2 minutes. Then add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
Step 4. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients along with the milk and mix well.
Step 5. Add cranberries and mix on low until evenly distributed.
Step 6. Transfer the batter to a bread pan. (see notes below)
Step 7. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. While it’s baking, make your egg wash.
Step 8. Remove the bread from the oven, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Step 9. Bake an additional 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Tips for Making Bread
- This fits perfectly in a 5×9 cast iron loaf pan. If you use stainless steel loaf pans, they are usually pretty shallow, and if so, I recommend dividing them into two loaves!
- Quick breads are easy to overmix. Be sure to stop stirring as soon as the ingredients come together, and gently fold in the cranberries.
- If whole grain flour isn’t your thing or you need something a little quicker, feel free to substitute all purpose flour in this recipe. No need to adjust the measurements!
- New to milling whole grains? I strongly recommend investing in a good mill — it will make all the difference. I use and love a Mockmill professional grain mill. Get all of my tips and expert info on milling grains in my tutorial on how to mill your own flour.
- If whole cranberries are too tart for you, you can chop them up with a knife or pulse them in a food processor. Just be careful and go slowly — you don’t want to pulverize them.
Storage
Whole grain cranberry bread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. It will last slightly longer in the fridge, but it can get a little dry and crumbly.
If you won’t eat the bread within a few days, I recommend freezing it to maintain its freshness and texture. You can cut the loaf first and freeze individual slices, or freeze the whole loaf.
Wrap the bread in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer-safe bag or container for 3-6 months. Thaw it at room temperature or in the microwave or oven, and enjoy it warm.
Christmas Morning Breakfast
There’s an art to making the perfect Christmas morning breakfast! In my opinion, it should incorporate seasonal flavors and be a little more elaborate than a regular weekday breakfast. The most important thing, however, is being able to make the breakfast a day or two in advance so you can relax and enjoy your Christmas morning!
This whole grain cranberry bread is the perfect addition to a Christmas morning breakfast because it checks all of those boxes! I like to serve it with another make-ahead dish that is more protein-focused.
These are some of my other go-to recipes for a balanced and delicious Christmas morning brunch:
- Cast iron quiche
- Cast iron breakfast casserole
- Sourdough French toast casserole
- Egg muffins with sausage
- Sausage breakfast skillet
Of course, I won’t blame you if you just want a lot of sweets on Christmas! If you do, try my whole grain cinnamon rolls and whole grain puff pancake, too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! You can add them straight from the freezer, and they will thaw as the bread bakes. Adding them frozen will maintain their texture and shape better than thawing.
Absolutely! You could do a simple glaze of orange juice and powdered sugar, or go for a richer cream cheese glaze, like the one I use on my whole grain gingerbread loaf.
No, if you want to mill a different type of wheat for this recipe, you absolutely can. I prefer hard white wheat for my quick breads, but you can certainly experiment for yourself!
If you’d rather not use cranberries, I would recommend trying my whole grain blueberry bread! It’s similar to this loaf, but the recipe is crafted with blueberries in mind.
Related Recipes
- Apple Cider Cake
- Whole Wheat Sweet Bread Recipe
- Whole Grain Pumpkin Roll
- Oreo Dipped Christmas Cookies
- Candy Cane Christmas Fudge
- Christmas M & M Cookie Bars
If you tried this Whole Grain Cranberry Bread or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Whole Grain Cranberry Bread
Equipment
- 5×9 cast iron loaf pan (other loaf pans will also work – see notes)
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 1½ cups whole grain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- Brown sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Whisk together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, cream together the butter and sugars for about 2 minutes. Then add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients along with the milk and mix well.
- Add cranberries and mix on low until evenly distributed.
- Transfer the batter to a bread pan. (see notes below)
- Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. While it’s baking, make your egg wash.
- Remove the bread from the oven, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Bake an additional 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Video
Notes
- This fits perfectly in a 5×9 cast iron loaf pan. If you use stainless steel loaf pans, they are usually pretty shallow, and if so, I recommend dividing them into two loaves!
- If using frozen cranberries, don’t thaw them first. Add them straight from the freezer into your batter.
- Quick breads are easy to overmix. Be sure to stop stirring as soon as the ingredients come together, and gently fold in the cranberries.
- If whole grain flour isn’t your thing or you need something a little quicker, feel free to substitute all purpose flour in this recipe. No need to adjust the measurements!
- New to milling whole grains? I strongly recommend investing in a good mill — it will make all the difference. I use and love a Mockmill professional grain mill. Get all of my tips and expert info on milling grains in my tutorial on how to mill your own flour.
- If whole cranberries are too tart for you, you can chop them up with a knife or pulse them in a food processor. Just be careful and go slowly — you don’t want to pulverize them.
i have all the ingredients for this! can’t wait to make it.
Me to! Let me know how it tastes!
Looking forward to making this for thanksgiving breakfast!
Great! Let me know how it turns out!