Vegan Orange Cranberry Nut Bread

I love cranberries and look forward to relish, the canned jellied sauce and of course this classic quick bread made with these scarlet gems every season. You can really make this any time of year with frozen berries but if you can get fresh berries (usually starting in November), I would use them. Did you know orange and cranberries are besties? They’re a perfect pair like chocolate and peanut butter. This recipe uses the juice and zest of a fresh orange and no special egg replacers!

This cake is pretty easy to make and I even mix it by hand with no special equipment required. I will say that one of the secrets to making a great quick bread is that you should never over-mix it. Unlike a regular cake batter that needs to mix a while to build the structure of the cake, this is best mixed until just combined and no more. I mix the wet ingredients with a whisk then fold in the dry ingredients and lastly the cranberries and nuts.

I used a standard loaf pan for this recipe but you could also make these as muffins or even in a square brownie pan if desired. I chop the cranberries and nuts coarsely and don’t suggest that you chop them too finely. You want texture and to be able to see them in the finished bake. I also toasted the nuts slightly and let them cool before chopping them just to give them a bit more flavor. I prefer pecans in this (the classic combo) but you could use walnuts or even pistachios if you like or leave them out all together.

So I said there was no special egg replacers like flax eggs or aquafaba but I did use vegan yogurt in this recipe which I guess may count as an egg replacement of sorts? I used a vanilla vegan yogurt but you could certainly use plain but I would advise against using a fruit flavor. Like when using wine when cooking, use a brand you would enjoy eating on its own. You could also use a looser vegan sour cream as well if you don’t have yogurt. You may need a few more teaspoons of vegan milk just to loosen up the batter possibly if going this route. When mixed it should be thick like a muffin batter but not too stiff.

I made a quick simple glaze for this but you can certainly leave it plain. I used a little orange extract in the glaze but some more orange zest would work as well. Vanilla would be fine to use but the extra zing of orange takes it up a notch. Gauging when a glaze is the perfect consistency can be tricky. I usually drop it from a spoon into the bowl and a thick ribbon should form that dissolves slowly. I usually use a spoon to drizzle it over randomly but you could use a pastry bag or even a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off.

• Can this be made gluten-free? Probably! I would use a 1:1 GF flour blend to ensure success.
• Do I have to use cranberries? Well, it is a cranberry bread, but I bet this would be equally as tasty with blueberries and lemon or raspberries and lime!
• Can I freeze this? Yes! After taking photos, I froze the rest to enjoy on thanksgiving. Just let it come to room temperature before serving. You also might want to just freeze the bread unglazed and add that after it has defrosted.

This is one of those quick breads that actually tastes better the day after it’s made. After it’s cooled, I wrap it well and glaze it the following day. It also slices more easily after being thoroughly chilled. I hope you enjoy this bread for the holidays or any time of year!

Vegan Orange Cranberry Nut Bread

Recipe by Kreg

5.0 from 4 votes

Servings

12

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

55

minutes

An easy and flavorful recipe for a vegan cranberry nut bread that will become a family favorite!

Ingredients

• 1 5-6 oz container plain or vanilla vegan yogurt (use your favorite)

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

• 1/3 cup orange juice (use a large orange and this should be the yield or use pre-squeezed juice)

• 1/2 cup plain vegetable oil

• 1/3 cup vegan milk (use your favorite)

• 1 cup vegan cane sugar

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped coarsely

• Optional Glaze Topping

• 1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract (or equivalent fresh orange zest)

• 1-3 teaspoons vegan milk

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375° and grease and flour a loaf pan or baking dish. In a large mixing bowl whisk the vegan yogurt, orange zest, orange juice, oil, vegan milk and cane sugar together until well blended.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder and soda together until we’ll combined breaking up any lumps. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined (a few streaks of flour is ok).
• If using fresh cranberries, I place them in a bowl of water. If any don’t rise to the top and float or if they look bruised, I discard them. I then rinse and dry them then chop them. If using frozen, you don’t need these steps. You can toast your nuts in a dry pan or in the oven for five minutes to toast them slightly. Let them cool. Fold in the cranberries and nuts being careful not to over-mix the batter.
• Scrape the batter from the bowl and add to your prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 20 minutes at 375° then reduce the oven to 350° and finish baking for up to 35 minutes or longer until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean with no batter stuck to it. All ovens are different so watch closely as you get near the time it should be finished. Mine took 55 minutes overall to bake.
• Cool completely, remove from the pan then glaze if desired.
• Glaze
• Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. You want a drippy consistency not too stiff or too loose. The glaze should pour easily from a spoon and leave a ripple on top before slowly dissolving into the rest of the glaze.
• Using a spoon or pastry bag, drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and let dry before cutting and serving.
• Cake can be frozen well wrapped for up to 6 months. Cake is best served the next day.

Recipe Video

Notes

• You can use any plain or vanilla yogurt you like but choose something you would eat on its own. I used Oui by Yoplait vegan vanilla yogurt.
  
• I used pecans (the classic choice) but feel to use another nut or leave them out entirely.
  
• I used a rasp to zest the orange (link at the bottom to my Amazon store) but you could also use a micro plane or the zesting side of a box grater (small holes).
  
• This would probably be equally as delicious with blueberries and lemon or raspberries and lime!
  
• You can also bake these as muffins or even in a square baking dish or pan if you don’t have a loaf pan. These would also be good made as mini loaves if you have them to gift during the holidays.

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