Cranberry Banana Bread

Sweet bananas and tart cranberries combine for a winter twist on an old favorite in this cranberry banana bread.

It’s finally cranberry season!

I love tart cranberries. I always try to buy extra bags during the holiday season to freeze because I never know if I’ll find them again before the next winter. 

And I never know when I’ll crave cranberry crumb bars, cranberry gooey butter bars, or cranberry orange scones!  

And now I can add this cranberry banana bread to my list of random cranberry cravings. After all, I love a sweet-tart combo, and there’s not a much better one than sweet bananas and tart cranberries.

SWEET AND TART CRANBERRY BANANA BREAD

Banana bread is one of my favorite treats to make. I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t matter how many bananas I buy – somehow we always end up with extras that my family doesn’t eat.

And since no one in their right mind likes to eat those overly ripe bananas by themselves, I toss them into banana bread. 

(Sometimes I’ll use them to make moist banana cake or strawberry banana muffins, but usually it’s banana bread!)

I love the sweetness of my favorite Dominique Ansel banana bread and decided to try adding tart cranberries to it for a wintery twist on the recipe. 

If you’re as big of a fan of both banana bread AND cranberries as I am, you’ll love this combination. The bread is sweet and moist, with plenty of banana flavor coming through, but the tartness of the cranberries cuts through the richness of the bread.

It makes for a totally lovely weekend breakfast or afternoon snack. A little bit of cream cheese on here would be *chef’s kiss*!

HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY BANANA BREAD

Aside from giving me a way to use up those extra bananas, I love making banana bread because it’s so quick to throw together. No mixer required for this one!

Ingredients you’ll need

To make my cranberry banana bread, you will need:

• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 bananas, mashed (about 2 cups)
• 14 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• Coarse sugar for topping

You can use fresh or frozen cranberries in this recipe. If you use frozen, don’t worry about thawing them before you get started. If you thaw the cranberries first, there’s a greater chance of them discoloring the batter.

My favorite coarse sugar for topping recipes like pumpkin banana bread, zucchini muffins, and this cranberry banana bread is Sugar in the Raw Turbinado Cane Sugar.

Before you get started with this recipe, make sure you know how to measure flour correctly so that it turns out perfect every time. 

Making this cranberry banana bread recipe

This recipe makes one 10×5-inch loaf. Grease a 10×5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.

Prep the cranberries: coarsely chop them, then stir them together with 1 cup of the sugar. Set these aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rest of the sugar with the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Separately, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Add the sugared cranberries and the melted butter to the batter and mix until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with coarse sugar.

Bake the cranberry banana bread for about 70 minutes (1 hour and 10 minutes). A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. 

Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to finish cooling.

STORAGE TIPS

Store cranberry banana bread well wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze the bread for longer storage.

Wrap the entire loaf in a layer of plastic wrap followed by heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to a month. Let thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours.

Alternatively, you can freeze individual slices by wrapping them in plastic wrap and storing them in a zip-top freezer bag. Freeze for up to a month. Before enjoying, unwrap a slice and microwave it for 30-60 seconds to thaw it and warm it through.

FAQS

Can I use dried cranberries instead of fresh?

This recipe is specifically designed for using fresh cranberries and has not been tested using dried. If you’re looking for recipes that use dried cranberries, check out my cranberry bliss bars or cranberry orange shortbread cookies.

I’m using frozen cranberries. Do I need to thaw them?

Nope! I actually recommend leaving them frozen until you roughly chop them. If you thaw them, there’s more of a chance that they will discolor the bread batter.

(The bread would still taste great, it just might not look as nice!)

I don’t have a 10×5-inch loaf pan. What can I use instead?

This cranberry banana bread uses a 10×5-inch loaf pan. I have several recipes that use this size pan – such as banana nut bread and brown butter pumpkin bread – so it’s a good investment to make. 

If you don’t have that size loaf pan, though, you can divide the batter into two 8×4-inch loaf pans and bake them for 65-70 minutes.