This festive cranberry bread is so easy to make! It’s got a hint of bourbon and is just sweet enough, punctuated by tangy cranberries.

When it comes to festive recipes, cranberry bread is near the top (right there with Christmas pudding and mulled cider). But here’s a confession: I’ve never been a cranberry bread person. Until this bread! Something about the astringent orange and sweet moistness rubbed me the wrong way. But this cranberry bread: it’s got the right crunchy sugar outside and fluffy interior. It’s not too sweet, punctuated with tart cranberries. The best part? A hint of vanilla and bourbon seals the deal. (No orange here, folks.) There’s a bit of a healthy spin, but it’s every bit a holiday treat!

The secrets to this cranberry bread

What makes this the best cranberry bread? I’ve been scarred by cranberry breads of Christmas past that are too oily, too sweet, or too bitter orange-y. This one makes it all right again, in a culmination of holiday sweet bread perfection. Here’s what makes this cranberry bread uniquely delicious:

• Oat flour. To infuse nutrients, this bread uses ground oats or oat flour along with the all purpose flour. You can make your own oat flour by blending the same amount of rolled oats in a blender or food processor. This makes the bread heartier and gains the nutrition benefits of oats.
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. This cranberry bread is without orange: instead, spices carry the way.
• Bourbon (optional)! Adding a splash of bourbon gives this cranberry bread a nuance to the flavor that’s irresistible.
• Crunchy sugar topping. This bread has a nice crispy exterior, both from the recipe itself and from adding a sprinkle of glittery turbinado sugar.

How to store cranberry bread

What’s the best way to store a quick bread like cranberry bread? Here are a few different ways:

• Room temperature (2 to 3 days): If you think you’ll eat the bread quickly, store it at room temperature and cover it with aluminum foil. The benefit of this method is that it keeps the crunchy texture on top and is easy to eat.
• Frozen (up to 3 months): To extend the life further, pop your sliced bread into the freezer wrapped in foil and in a sealed container or plastic bag. It can last at least 3 months, or maybe more. Consider doing this with half of the loaf, and keeping the other half out at room temperature.

Add a sparkle: use turbinado sugar!

It’s optional, but this cranberry bread is complete with a sprinkle of sparkly turbinado sugar on top. What is it? Turbinado sugar is raw sugar with large, light brown crystals. It’s less processed than refined white sugar, because it’s boiled only once to remove the molasses (refined sugar is boiled multiple times). It has a more complex, caramel-y flavor than refined sugar. Because its crystals are large, they add a nice texture to the top of muffins, cakes and breads.

What is a substitute for turbinado sugar? For this cranberry bread, you can use a light sprinkle of light brown sugar or refined sugar in its place. While it doesn’t have the signature large crystals, it has a similar flavor.

Ways to use up whole cranberries!

The reason Alex and I made this cranberry bread was…we were looking for ways to use up whole cranberries ! We bought cranberries as a garnish for making festive Poinsettia’s: a cranberry champagne cocktail. With almost an entire bag left, we weren’t sure what to do with the rest! Here are a few ways to use up whole cranberries:

1. Cranberry bread. Go to the recipe below!
2. Cocktails. Use them as a garnish for our Cranberry Champagne Cocktail, or any of our other cranberry cocktails: the Cosmo, Madras, and Cape Codder.
3. Muffins. Use them instead of blueberries into our Healthy Blueberry Muffins, or add 1 cup to our Best Blender Muffins.
4. Salsa. Make our Fresh Cranberry Salsa as a holiday appetizer.
5. Sauce for baked brie. This Baked Brie with Roasted Cranberry Sauce is so satisfying! Perfect for Christmas dinner or winter entertaining.
6. Jam. This sweet tart Cranberry Jam is fantastic on biscuits.
7. Crisp. Make a Cranberry Crisp as a wintery dessert.

Can you make it vegan or gluten free?

Good questions! We have not tested variations here, but here’s what we recommend:

• Vegan: For vegan, plant-based and dairy-free, we’ve made quick breads vegan (like our vegan zucchini bread) with this formula and it works well. Try using flax eggs for the eggs, any non-dairy milk for the milk, and coconut oil or neutral oil for the butter.
• Gluten free: It’s already halfway there with the oat flour! Try substituting 1-for-1 gluten-free flour for the all purpose flour.

This cranberry bread recipe is…

Vegetarian.

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A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes