Description
This Healthy Cranberry Orange Bread is moist and loaded with juicy cranberries, fresh orange zest, and topped with a delicious orange glaze. It’s made with 100% whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, and it’s naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup.
Ingredients
Units
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For the bread:
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 heaping tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use 2% Greek yogurt)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar), sifted
- 1/2 tablespoon butter, softened (optional)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons orange juice or milk, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a 8.5″ x 4.5″ loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the inside of the pan to prevent sticking.
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter (or oil if using), maple syrup, freshly squeezed orange juice, orange zest, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the eggs and whisk again until smooth.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir the dry and wet ingredients together just until combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the fresh cranberries and spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs. Every oven is different, so keep an eye on your bread.
- If the top of the loaf is starting to get too brown, you can cover it with foil for the remaining bake time to prevent it from getting browner. I usually check on the loaf at the 30-minute mark.
- Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove the cranberry orange bread from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before glazing. Once cooled, drizzle the orange glaze on top.
- For the Orange Glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, softened butter, freshly squeezed orange juice (or milk if using), orange zest, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add more orange juice or milk to thin it out or more powdered sugar to make it thicker. Drizzle over the cooled bread.
Notes
- Butter substitute: Use melted coconut oil, vegetable oil, sunflower, or canola oil.
- Cranberries. If using frozen cranberries, do not thaw before folding them into the batter. You can substitute with dried cranberries, but fresh or frozen have better texture and flavor.
- Zest the orange before juicing: It’s much easier to zest the orange before juicing it.
- Sift the powdered sugar before using: This will ensure that you’ll get an extra smooth glaze.
- Spoon and level the flour: Adding too much flour will result in a dense and dry cranberry orange bread. I recommend spooning the flour into a measuring cup, then using a knife to level it off.
- Nutrition information is a rough estimate based on 8 servings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 281
- Sugar: 26.2g
- Sodium: 334mg
- Fat: 7.5g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.1g
- Trans Fat: og
- Carbohydrates: 49.2g
- Fiber: 3.9g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 53mg