Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread Recipe
Sweet, tangy, and perfectly soft, this Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread Recipe is what holiday dreams are made of. Studded with bright cranberries and rich chocolate chips in every bite, it’s so good you’ll be making it all year long!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread
Nothing says the holiday season like fresh cranberries! They’re always so pretty in the store but can be pretty intimidating to cook with beyond making cranberry sauce.
However, if you’re willing to get a little brave, cranberries make a lovely addition to a variety of recipes like muffins, cakes, and bread! Their sweet, tart flavor pairs fabulously with citrus, chocolate, and nuts, making it a super festive option that packs in a punch of nutrients, too.
Naturally, we paired them with chocolate, and the combination could not have been any better! Even better, this cranberry bread recipe is super quick to make and bakes in an hour. It’s great to serve as a breakfast, snack, or dessert, especially when paired with bone broth hot chocolate. However, we also love to wrap it up and give it away as gifts!
Recipe Ingredients
Below is an overview of the ingredients and instructions for this cranberry bread recipe. Please be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the complete details!
- Flour – All-purpose flour forms the base of the bread. If needed, feel free to use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour to keep this bread gluten-free.
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Egg – We haven’t tested this recipe with egg substitutes and can’t guarantee your results if you do!
- Vanilla Extract
- Sugar – We use regular granulated sugar for this recipe, but you can substitute a monk fruit sweetener if you want to reduce the refined sugar.
- Buttermilk – Use store bought or homemade buttermilk.
- Light Olive Oil – Avocado oil will also work.
- Cranberries – Feel free to use fresh or frozen cranberries! Do NOT thaw frozen cranberries if that’s what you choose. If you do, they’ll become mushy, and the red color will bleed into the bread. Not appetizing.
- Chocolate Chips – We use mini chocolate chips to ensure we get a little chocolate in every bite but regular-sized will also work. We use milk chocolate, but semi-sweet, dark chocolate, or even white chocolate will taste great!
Helpful Tools
How to Make the Best Cranberry Bread Recipe
Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a bread pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl, and whisk to combine.
2. Whisk the wet ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla, and sugar until well combined. Then, add the buttermilk and oil, and whisk until smooth.
3. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients, and whisk just until smooth. Be careful not to overmix, or your bread will be tough! Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips, distributing them evenly throughout the batter.
4. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle more cranberries and chocolate chips on top. Transfer the bread to the oven, and bake until it’s very lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Pro-Tip: Cover the bread loosely with foil about halfway through baking to ensure even browning.
5. Cool. Let your bread cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before serving.
Flavor Variations
Feel free to get creative with different mix-ins and toppings to make this cranberry bread your own! For instance, chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans or orange juice and orange zest make great mix-ins.
You can also add a vanilla powdered sugar glaze, lemon glaze, orange glaze, or powdered sugar on top. Or add a sprinkle of brown sugar on top of the bread before baking for extra sweetness.
Common Questions
We haven’t had any issues with floating cranberries in this recipe. However, if you want to be extra sure, feel free to toss the cranberries and chocolate chips for that matter in a small amount of flour before adding them to the batter.
Store cranberry bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to one week.
Yes! You can freeze homemade cranberry bread for up to 3 months. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil to keep it fresh. Then, thaw in the fridge overnight, and bring the bread to room temperature when you’re ready to serve.
More Quick Bread Recipes
Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup light olive oil or any neutral oil
- 1 1/4 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw), divided
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×5 bread pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla, and sugar together until combined. Then whisk in the buttermilk and oil until smooth.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup light olive oil
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined (do not over-mix).
- Fold in 1 cup cranberries and ¼ cup chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the top of the bread with ¼ cup cranberries and ¼ cup chocolate chips.1 1/4 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw),, 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips,
- Bake the bread for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil about halfway through to ensure even browning. Cool the bread in the pan for at least 1 hour then remove to a wire rack.
- Store leftover bread, wrapped in plastic wrap or in a plastic bag, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did you enjoy this Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread Recipe? We’d love it if you left a rating and review to let us know, and don’t forget to tag us in your recreations on Instagram!
This Christmasy bread is one of our favs during the holidays. The cranberries and chocolate chips pair so well together in this recipe!
Fresh cranberry is not so abundant in my part of the world; but your cranberry bread looks so amazing that I have to get my hands on some frozen ones and bake this asap! Mind-blowing pictures!
Priyanka,
Hello! Don’t worry, frozen cranberries work just as well in this recipe 🙂 Thank you for your compliments on the photos! I was just scrolling through your blog and completely blown away by your fabulous images. GORGEOUS!!
I can not WAIT to try this bread and loved it on sight! Thanks so much for linking up to the You Link It, We Make It Party last week and congrats on the feature. 🙂 We hope to see you again!
It’s an amazing bread recipe! Sammi made it for me a few weeks back and I was shocked at how delicious it was. She’s my “healthifying hero”!!!
This will be one of our features tomorrow at You Link It, We Make it! If you’ll send me an email at [email protected] with your Pinterest email address I’ll send you an invite to our group board.
Oh wow! Thank you so much, April! We can’t wait to see how you like the recipe 🙂 I just sent you an e-mail!
This looks amazing! Pinned it. Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Savoring Saturdays linky party. Hope you’ll join us again. Have a great weekend!
I love the flavour of cranberries and I love that they are so good for you too! your Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread looks wonderful. Sharing. Thank you for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Thank you April! Yes, nothing is better than cranberries and chocolate 🙂
This looks great! I’ve never done chocolate chips with cranberries before. I’ll have to give it a shot!
Thanks for sharing on the Shine Blog Hop!
Hi Tiffany! Chocolate chips and cranberries were made for each other 🙂 I can’t wait for you to try this recipe!
Thanks for sharing at #LetsGetRealSocial link party.
this bread look delicious! I am always looking for ways to use cranberries – I’m not familiar with cooking with them so this helps! thank you 😀
Thanks Tianna! Love your beautiful name btw 🙂 Try this bread and see what you think of cranberries in baking and then maybe experiment with them in savory dishes like a sauce over chicken!
Yum! This bread looks really good!
I came over on SHINE, and I’m glad to find your site.
I pinned and stumbled your post!
Hope you have a blessed evening,
Melanie
Thank you SO MUCH Melanie for stopping by and sharing this recipe 🙂 We hope to “see” you again! Enjoy this sweet treat!
I have two bags of cranberries in the freezer perfect for this recipe. Thanks for sharing on the Creative K Kids Linky Party this week. I hope you will join us again next week.
This looks awesome! Great way to use up the leftover cranberries! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Chellie! Yes, we all have those frozen cranberries in our freezer. Let’s put them to delicious use 😉