Cranberry Walnut Bread is soft and fluffy with lots of tart cranberries and a delicious crunchy streusel on top!
This quick bread takes no time at all and comes out with the perfect crumb. The sweet crumble topping is perfect with the tart berries and delicious warm from the oven.
A Favorite Quick Bread
Not only is it absolutely delicious when it’s hot and fresh, but it freezes well and makes amazing French toast with warm maple syrup and whipped cream!
So what exactly is a Quick Bread? Quick breads are so popular because the yeast is replaced with a different leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder (like when you make banana bread). It’s “quick” because there is no rising or kneading needed.
Ingredients
CRANBERRIES The signature ingredient in cranberry walnut bread is cranberries. Frozen cranberries are available year-round if fresh ones aren’t available and they can be used right from frozen.
BUTTERMILK Buttermilk gives the bread great texture and a tangy flavor plus helps it rise as it reacts with the baking soda. You can make your own buttermilk by mixing mix 2 cups of milk with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or 2 tablespoons of white vinegar.
ADD-INS Instead of walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, or pistachios are also complementary flavors! It’s easy to customize this cranberry bread.
CRUMBLE TOPPING Similar to a topping on apple crumble, this streusel is a combo of flour, oats, and brown sugar with cinnamon. For a citrusy flavor, add freshly grated orange or lemon zest to the crumble topping.
How to Make Cranberry Walnut Bread
Just a few simple steps and this delicious bread will be piping hot from the oven and ready to enjoy!
- Whisk together dry ingredients (per recipe below).
- Whisk wet ingredients together, then add to the center of dry mixture. Stir until just moistened.
- Gently fold in cranberries and walnuts.
- For the topping, combine all ingredients & mix together with your hands until mixture is moist & crumbly.
- Pour batter into prepared pan & top with crumble. Bake according to the recipe.
Baking Tips
- Do not overmix the batter. Overmixing will eliminate the air pockets that quick bread needs in order to rise properly.
- For extra crunchy nuts with a more intense flavor, toast them in a small pan until fragrant and cool before adding.
- Check the bread early to ensure it doesn’t overcook.
- Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean the bread is done.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Storing Cranberry Walnut Bread
- Keep cooled loaves at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic or in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze bread (either whole or in slices) for up to 4 months.
Quick Bread Faves
- Classic Banana Bread – extra moist and so easy
- Warm Apple Bread – tastes like apple pie
- Homemade Carrot Bread – freezer friendly
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread – sweet & moist
- Pumpkin Zucchini Bread – so fresh & flavorful
- Lemon Blueberry Bread – a 5 star recipe
- Cranberry Orange Bread – so moist & flavorful
Did you love this Cranberry Walnut Bread? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Cranberry Walnut Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
BREAD
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
Crumble Topping (optional)
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup packed light-brown sugar
- ¼ cup oats
- 2 tablespoons cold butter cubed
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add the milk and egg to the dry mixture. Stir until everything is just moist and add the butter. Stir until combined, but do not over-mix. Fold in the cranberries and nuts.
- For crumble topping, combine all the ingredients. Work the mixture with your hands, squeezing and stirring until it’s all moist and crumbly.
- Grease two 8x4 loaf pans. Pour batter evenly between two pans. Sprinkle the crumble topping on each loaf.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack. Cut each loaf into 8 slices.
Notes
- Do not overmix the batter. Overmixing will eliminate the air pockets that quick bread needs in order to rise properly.
- For extra crunchy nuts with a more intense flavor, toast them in a small pan until fragrant and cool before adding.
- Check the bread early to ensure it doesn't overcook.
- Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean the bread is done.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Nutrition information is for 1 slice.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
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I have a question. I am diabetic, can I swap out the sugar for a sweetner?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Kitty, but that should be just fine. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Does this come out moist? I have a hard time find a moist cranberry bread recipe.
It does come out moist. Check it a bit early to ensure it doesn’t overcook, if a toothpick comes out clean, it is done. Let us know how it goes!
I don’t have load pans. Can I use the foil loaf pans sold at grocery stores?
Hi Ruth, that should work well just be sure to set them on a baking tray to ensure proper cooking.
Can honey be substituted for sugar? If so, how much? I love your recipes!
We’ve only made the recipe as written, so can’t say for sure. Usually, you’d use about 3/4 of the amount of honey since honey is sweeter than sugar. It also is wet, so affects the wet ingredients, so consider that for the bread’s texture. Let us know how it goes if you try the bread with honey Patty!
I used 1/2 cup honey with 1/4cup more flour turned out great
i have dried cranberries will they work instead of fresh if so how many
I’d use about 1 cup as they will be sweeter. Enjoy Sharon!
Delish!!! My husband and I both loved it. Not the first of your recipes that we have enjoyed. Thank you!
This cake was a great sweet treat with coffee in the morning. My husband thanks you so much.
You are very welcome! Glad he enjoyed it Paula.
Can this be converted to use in bread machine?
This recipe is a quick bread, as I haven’t used a bread machine for a quick bread before, I can’t say for sure.
Have ya ever tried adding orange zest to the topping or the bread or both? We love cranberry orange bread but haven’t found a recipe we like for it yet.
We haven’t tried that yet but it would be a great pairing with the cranberries! For this recipe, you could try adding 1 teaspoon of zest to the topping mixture. Let us know how it turns out!
This was delicious. I added a chopped tart apple, omitted the topping and it was plenty sweet. Texture more like a cake than a bread. Definitely use two pans. I will reduce sugar to 1/2 cup when I make it again.
Use TWO pans! Batter will overflow just one. Otherwise it’s very good.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Sounds wonderful for a Christmas Brunch. Thank you for sharing.
Sounds and looks good. Thank you.