You know those mornings when you crave something warm, fragrant, and totally satisfying, but you don’t want to fuss with yeast or long proofing times? That’s exactly where this incredible Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread swoops in to save the day! Seriously, this quick bread is my current obsession because it hits that perfect sweet spot: bright citrus from the zest, a little tart pop from the cranberries, and just the right amount of dense, unbelievable moisture. I swear, it took me three tries to nail the exact amount of orange zest versus juice—too much and it gets bitter, too little and it’s just… fine. But now? It’s perfect! This recipe proves you don’t need dairy or eggs to achieve that satisfying, bakery-quality crumb. Trust me, once you start testing for that perfect baked center, you won’t look back!

Why This Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread Recipe Works So Well

What makes this loaf stand head and shoulders above other quick breads? It’s engineered for maximum flavor with minimum fuss, even without traditional baking stabilizers. We focused like a laser beam on that moisture factor, which is always the biggest challenge when baking vegan!

Key Benefits of Our Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

It’s truly minimal effort; grab two bowls and you’re halfway done.
The applesauce binder keeps everything incredibly moist without any fancy egg replacers.
That flavor balance is spot on—that bright orange cuts through the sweetness perfectly.
It holds up beautifully for gifting or packing for breakfast later in the week!

Essential Ingredients for Your Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

Okay, let’s talk groceries! The beauty of this recipe is that it relies on simple things you probably already have, or can easily grab. We aren’t calling for obscure vegan products here; just good pantry staples working overtime. Remember, the quality of your orange zest really makes the flavor sing, so use a fresh one!

Flour: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose
Leavening & Salt: Just 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Sweeteners: We use 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar for depth.
Moisture & Binder: 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 cup neutral oil (I prefer canola), and 1/4 cup plant milk.
Flavor Burst: 1 tablespoon of bright orange zest and 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice—don’t skip that zest! Make sure you grab some freshly squeezed orange juice for the best impact.
Extras: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 beautiful cup of cranberries.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions for Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

A couple of quick pointers before you start! The applesauce is doing crucial heavy lifting here, acting as our egg and fat replacer, so don’t try to skip it. And here’s a big one: If you’re using frozen cranberries, toss them in straight from the freezer—do not wait for them to thaw! Thawed cranberries bleed all over the batter and make things runny. If you don’t have soy milk, almond milk works just as well; the flavor is pretty neutral in this loaf!

Step-by-Step Instructions for Perfect Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

Getting this loaf right is all about the order of operations. It’s a quick bread, which means we spend more time mixing than waiting, but the small steps we take up front make a huge difference in the final, lovely texture. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) right away, and make sure that 9×5 inch loaf pan is greased and floured well. I’ve used silicone sprays before, but for a sticky loaf like this, I always go with the classic butter/oil and flour dusting for insurance! This process is honestly easier than making something like my easy banana bread recipe, I promise!

Mixing Wet and Dry Components for Optimal Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread Batter

First things first: combine all the dry stuff—flour, baking soda, and salt—in your big bowl and whisk it until it looks happy and uniform. In the medium bowl, take your time mixing the two sugars, applesauce, oil, plant milk, orange juice, zest, and vanilla until they look really smooth. Now, here comes the warning: Pour the wet into the dry and mix *gently*. Seriously, stop mixing as soon as you see the last streak of flour disappear. Overmixing makes this Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread tough, and we want tender!

Baking and Cooling Your Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread Loaf

Once you fold in those beautiful cranberries—and remember, frozen is fine—pour the batter into your waiting pan. Slide it into that hot oven for 50 to 60 minutes. You have to test it! Don’t believe the timer blindly. Stick a toothpick right in the center—it needs to come out clean or maybe with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Let it rest in the pan for a full 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Trying to slice it too early turns it into a crumbly mess!

Tips for Success When Making Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

Baking is science, but quick bread baking is part intuition, and I’ve learned a few tricks over the years to make this the best Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread loaf possible. These little adjustments bumped my loaf from just ‘good’ to ‘I need to hide half of this so my family doesn’t eat it all in one sitting!’

First, let’s talk about the zest. When you’re zesting your orange, you only want that bright orange part—that’s where all the essential oils and flavor live. If you go too deep and scrape up any of that white bitter stuff underneath, called the pith, your bread will taste slightly soapy. Use a microplane if you have one; it catches only the thin, colorful layer. If you only have a standard zester, just take your time and be gentle!

Secondly, preventing that dreaded cranberry sink! Nobody wants a bread loaf that’s just plain bread for the first half and a cranberry brick at the bottom. The solution is SO easy. Take your cup of cranberries (whether fresh or frozen) and toss them in about a teaspoon of your dry flour mixture *before* you fold them into the batter. That light coating acts like a tiny flotation device, helping them suspend evenly throughout the loaf while it bakes.

Finally, temperature control is huge, even for a simple quick bread. Make sure your plant milk and oil aren’t fridge-cold when you mix them with the wet ingredients. Room temperature ingredients emulsify better, which means you get a smoother wet mixture, which leads to a more uniform final texture. If your oil is straight from the cold cupboard, it can sometimes cause the batter to look a little curdled when you add the liquids. Just let everything sit on the counter for about 20 minutes before you start mixing!

Serving Suggestions for Your Flavorful Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

This loaf is amazing on its own, obviously, but dressing it up just a tiny bit takes it from breakfast staple to weekend treat. I love to serve a slice of this Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread slightly warm. Nothing beats the way the aroma fills the kitchen again when you gently reheat it!

If you want something extra decadent, try spreading a thin layer of vegan butter on a warm slice—it melts right in! Sometimes, I just dust the top lightly with powdered sugar right before serving for a snowy effect. Honestly, the best pairing is a hot cup of coffee or maybe even one of those fun drinks, like a classic Orange Julius if you’re feeling festive. Simple is best here!

Storage and Reheating Instructions for Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

Don’t you hate when you bake the perfect loaf and realize you can’t possibly eat it all in one sitting? Luckily, this Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread holds up really well! The moisture we worked so hard to build into the loaf means it doesn’t dry out instantly, which is a huge win for quick breads.

For leftovers, keep it simple: wrap the entire cooled loaf (or whatever slices you have left) tightly in plastic wrap first, and then pop it into an airtight container or a zip-top bag. Keeping it tightly sealed is the trick to stopping air from getting to it. You can absolutely keep it out on the counter at room temperature for up to three days. Since we used applesauce and oil instead of eggs, it’s really stable!

Now, if you’ve had it wrapped up for a day or two and you’re ready for a slice, reheating is key to bringing back that ‘just-baked’ gooey feeling. My preferred method is super quick. I wrap a single slice in a slightly damp paper towel—just damp, not soaking wet—and give it about 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave. That little bit of steam from the towel softens the crumb right up and warms those cranberries perfectly.

If you happen to have a toaster oven, that’s even better! Pop a slice in for just a minute or two, watching carefully, until the edges are just warmed through. Skip the wide-open microwave if you want it crispy on the outside, but if you just want it soft, the damp paper towel method is unbeatable for regenerating that wonderful moisture!

Frequently Asked Questions About Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

I know you might have questions buzzing around, especially when tinkering with vegan baking formulas. Trust me, I’ve tested everything under the sun trying to make sure this Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread works perfectly every single time, whether you’re a seasoned vegan baker or just trying to cut back on eggs. Quick breads are forgiving, but substitutions always require a little bit of know-how!

Can I substitute the applesauce in this Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread?

Oh, absolutely! The applesauce is my go-to binder because it keeps things really light, but if you don’t have it, you have options. You can swap it out 1:1 with mashed ripe banana—that will add a lovely extra hint of flavor, which pairs surprisingly well with the orange. Or, if you want to use a commercial egg replacer, you can make a ‘flax egg’ equivalent for the binding power: that means mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water, letting it sit for five minutes until it gels up, and using that in place of the applesauce measurement. You might need another teaspoon of liquid somewhere else if your batter seems too thick, though!

What is the best plant milk to use for this quick bread?

Honestly, you’re looking for something with a bit of body to help the structure develop in this dairy-free loaf. Soy milk or oat milk are my favorites here. They tend to be richer and thicker than rice milk, which can sometimes be too watery and result in a slightly flatter loaf. Almond milk works great too, especially if you use the unsweetened variety. Since we’re using strong flavors like orange and cranberry, you won’t really taste the milk base anyway, so pick whichever carton you have open!

For those who want to explore more great baking ideas, check out my roundup of 4 healthy bread recipes!

Estimated Nutritional Information for Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

Look, I’m a baker, not a nutritionist, so take these numbers with a grain of salt—or maybe a tablespoon of sugar, knowing how I bake! But just so you know what you’re getting when you slice into this delicious Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread, here are the general estimates based on the ingredients list. It’s really a pretty solid choice for a treat, considering how much fruit is packed in!

Calories: About 220 per slice
Total Fat: Just around 6 grams
Carbohydrates: A reasonable 39 grams
Protein: A small boost at 3 grams
Sugar Content: I’ll be honest, there’s about 18 grams of sugar here—that’s the payoff for deliciousness!

A quick disclaimer, please! These figures are calculated approximations based on standard ingredient measurements. If you swap out the oil for something heavier, or if your cranberries are super large, the numbers will shift slightly. I always recommend using this as a guideline rather than a strict dietary tracker. Enjoying treats is part of life, and this one tastes way better than any spreadsheet!

Share Your Experience Making This Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

Now that you’ve got the recipe—and hopefully the beautiful aroma of fresh orange filling your kitchen—I really, really want to hear about it! Baking is always better when you share the results, honestly.

Did you try the trick with dusting the cranberries in the flour? Did you have to sneak slices out of the pan before it cooled completely? Tell me everything in the comments below!

If you loved how moist and perfectly balanced this Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread turned out, please take a second to leave a quick star rating right on the recipe card. It truly helps other folks see that this is the keeper recipe they need for their holiday baking or just a boring Tuesday morning!

And if you made any little tweaks—maybe you added a dash of cardamom or used lemon zest instead—don’t keep those secrets to yourself! Share your modifications for the next batch. I’m always looking for fun ways to switch things up, even though this recipe is already perfect in my book. Happy baking!

Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread

Author: ferecipe.com
Total Time: 70 min
Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Description

A simple recipe for moist, sweet bread flavored with orange zest and tart cranberries, suitable for vegans.

Ingredients

Scale

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup neutral oil (like canola or vegetable)
1/4 cup plant milk (like soy or almond)
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a standard loaf pan (about 9×5 inches).
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate medium bowl, mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, oil, plant milk, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract until combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix gently until just combined; do not overmix.
Fold in the cranberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

If you use frozen cranberries, do not thaw them before adding them to the batter.
For a sweeter top, you can sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coarse sugar over the batter before baking.
Store leftover bread tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to three days.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 55 min
Category: Baking
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 220
Sugar: 18g
Sodium: 150mg
Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Unsaturated Fat: 5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 39g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 3g
Cholesterol: 0mg

Keywords: vegan, orange cranberry bread, quick bread, cranberry loaf, dairy free, egg free