Cranberry banana nut bread is a fun twist on classic banana bread, with fresh cranberries, crunchy walnuts and a little orange zest. The tart cranberries add a pop of flavor that pairs perfectly with the sweetness of ripe bananas. It's a delicious change of pace when you're ready to give your usual banana bread recipe a makeover!
I look forward to fresh cranberries showing up in the stores each year so I can make this cranberry banana nut bread and my Grand Marnier cranberry sauce. Fresh cranberries are one of those seasonal ingredients I always get excited to see, and I make sure to pick up a few extra bags while they're available. If you've ever wondered whether fresh cranberries stay hard when baked, they don't! They soften as the bread bakes, giving you little pops of soft and tart berry flavor that balance the sweetness of the bananas. I love them for the festive bursts of red color throughout every slice too!
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Ingredients
- Fresh cranberries
- White sugar
- Orange zest
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Bananas
- Eggs
- Neutral oil
- Walnuts
- Sugar in the Raw for optional topping
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step 1: Optional, but I like to get my chopping out of the way all at once! Chop the cranberries and walnuts. Zest the orange and set aside.
Step 2: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray. Mix chopped cranberries, ½ cup of white sugar and 1 teaspoon of orange zest together and set aside.
Step 3: In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside. In a medium bowl, mash bananas. Then add eggs and neutral oil and mix well until fully integrated.
Step 4: Add the banana mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Don't over-mix.
Step 5: Fold in the cranberry mixture and chopped walnuts and mix until evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.
Step 6: Make the optional topping and sprinkle evenly over the batter. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Substitutions and Variations
- Fresh cranberries - you can substitute frozen cranberries. Add them straight without thawing or chopping them. If you're using frozen cranberries, you may want to add up to ½ cup more since you won't be chopping them. I don't really recommend dried cranberries though. They are sweeter and chewier, so they won't give you quite the same contrast in taste and texture.
- Walnuts - I love using walnuts for this recipe, but you could substitute pecans or another favorite nut. You could also leave out the nuts if you don't like nuts.
- Orange zest - you can substitute dried orange peel for orange zest if you already have it at home. Otherwise, zest is best! Zest goes a long way. Or if you're not a fan of orange, you can leave it out.
- Sugar in the Raw - you can substitute another sugar like organic sugar or white sugar. For bread toppings, I like to use sugar that has larger crystals as those will give you the nicest crunch on top.
Equipment
A 9x5 bread loaf pan is needed for this recipe. If you use a smaller loaf pan, take care not to overfill it. Also, a smaller loaf pan may require more baking time.
Storage
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 7 days in the refrigerator.
Next Level Tips
- Cranberry and orange is such a great flavor combination. The sweetness and brightness of the orange perfectly balances the tartness of cranberries. You can also find this flavor combination in my white chocolate and cranberry orange cookies and Grand Marnier cranberry sauce recipes.
- Nuts can be expensive, so I like to buy big bags at Costco because the price per ounce is so much better. For walnuts, I eat them almost every day for breakfast in my berry yogurt parfait. You can also make Carmelitas cookie bars, peanut butter fudge and peppernut cookies to use up extra walnuts.
- For the optional topping, you don't have to buy a large box of Sugar in the Raw. You could buy a box of Sugar in the Raw packets and save the rest of the unused packets for your next camping trip. Or ask to borrow a few packets from a friend.
FAQ
Fresh cranberries bring a tart, bright berry flavor that balances the sweetness of ripe bananas. Although they are firm when raw, they soften as the bread bakes, creating little pockets of tender fruit with a pop of tartness. They also add a bit of moisture and beautiful bursts of red color throughout the bread.
To zest an orange, first wash and dry the orange. Then, use a zester or a fine grater (microplane) and hold the tool over a cutting board or small board. Run the unpeeled orange back and forth over the microplane, taking care to stop once you reach the white layer underneath. Keep rotating the fruit to grate new spots.
This recipe only uses the zest of the orange, but don't throw away the rest of the orange. Eat it! Or save it for another recipe like Grand Marnier cranberry sauce, bourbon sweet potatoes or white chocolate cranberry orange cookies.
Yes, you can add up to ½ cup more cranberries. If you are substituting frozen cranberries, you may want to add more as you won't be chopping them up.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Cranberry Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients
- ¾ cup fresh cranberries chopped
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup mashed bananas
- ⅓ cup neutral oil
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
Optional topping
- ¼ cup walnuts chopped
- 2 teaspoons Sugar in the Raw
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x5 bread loaf pan with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, mix the chopped cranberries, ½ cup of the white sugar and 1 teaspoon of orange zest until the zest is evenly distributed. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk (or sift) together the all-purpose flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add the eggs and neutral oil and mix until well incorporated.
- Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Don't over-mix.
- Fold in the cranberry mixture and the chopped walnuts until evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Optional topping: In a small bowl, add ¼ cup chopped walnuts, 2 teaspoons of Sugar in the Raw and ½ teaspoon of orange zest. Stir until the orange zest is evenly distributed. Sprinkle evenly over the batter.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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