Healthy cranberry orange oatmeal bread is a quick and delicious recipe for using up fresh cranberries. Lightly sweetened with only honey and orange juice, this whole grain quick bread makes the perfect seasonal snack, breakfast, or homemade holiday gift!

Healthy cranberry orange oatmeal bread with a few slices cut off the loaf on top of a napkin.

Anyone else always end up with half a bag of cranberries after the holidays? It never fails that there are some stragglers left after all the cranberry sauce has been made and Thanksgiving dinner has long since passed. That's where this healthy quick bread comes in.

Why You'll Love This Cranberry Orange Bread

This bread is a perfect morning snack or breakfast, and it's great for using up any spare cranberries. Made with real, healthy ingredients, and filled with tart cranberries and crunchy walnuts, it's not too sweet. That is - it's actually bread and not cake disguised as bread. It's just delicious with a bit of honey drizzled over the top.

What Makes It Healthy?

This bread is made with nutritious ingredients and naturally sweetened (just a little!) with honey and orange juice. Oats, whole wheat flour and flax seeds give it a good boost of fiber, and olive oil and walnuts give it a dose of healthy fat. With the combination of fiber, healthy fat, and protein and minimal sugar, it's a great snack that is filling and energizing without spiking your blood sugar.

The Ingredients

overhead view of ingredients needed to make healthy cranberry orange oatmeal bread.

Oats. I use rolled oats, but quick oats are fine, too. Measure before grinding into flour.
Whole Wheat Flour. I like whole wheat pastry flour. If you can't find it, use white whole wheat flour.
Spices. Cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg.
Baking Powder & Baking Soda
Eggs.
Olive Oil. I like a flavorful olive oil. If you don't, use a mild tasting one.
Honey.
Orange Juice & Zest. Bottled or fresh orange juice, either works.
Milk. Use any kind you like.
Cranberries. Just give them a rough chop.
Walnuts. Roughly chop these, too.

How To Make It

six image collage showing steps for making cranberry orange oatmeal bread.

Use a food processor or blender to blend the oats into a flour consistency.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk all the wet ingredients in another bowl.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until just combined.
Gently stir in the chopped cranberries and walnuts.
Pour the batter into a greased or parchment-lined loaf pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with just crumb or two.
Let the bread cool before removing it from the pan.

Tips and Recipe Variations

A metal loaf pan will bake more evenly. Ceramic and glass pans tend to dry out the ends before the center is done.
You can use dried cranberries in place of fresh. I like to soak them in some boiling water for a few minutes first to plump them up, then drain them.
While this recipe is not vegan, you could try experimenting with flax 'eggs'.
You could also try substituting your favorite cup-for-cup gluten-free flour for the wheat flour.

Overhead view of a healthy loaf of cranberry orange oatmeal bread on top of a gray and white napkin.

How To Store It

Because this bread doesn't have a lot of sugar, it is best stored in the refrigerator after the first day or two to prevent it from spoiling quickly. You can also freeze leftovers in a freezer-safe bag or container.

Try These Other Delicious Recipes:

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!

Healthy Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Bread

sliced loaf of cranberry orange oatmeal bread on a grey and white napkin.

Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.5 from 6 reviews

Author: Kaleigh
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Category: breakfast
Method: baked
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup oats, ground
1 cup white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup milk of choice
¼ cup honey
½ cup orange juice (fresh squeezed or bottled)
1 cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
Zest from 1 small orange
⅓ cup walnut pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly oil a metal loaf pan or line with parchment.
In a large bowl, combine ground oats, flour, flax, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, oil, almond milk, honey, and orange juice and beat until blended.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently stir in cranberries, orange zest, and walnuts.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool bread before slicing. Serve with a bit of honey or butter, if you want!

Notes

A metal pan works best for baking quick breads like this one. Ceramic pans don't bake as evenly, leaving the center doughy and the ends dry.
Dried cranberries can be substituted for fresh.

Keywords: cranberry orange oatmeal bread, cranberry orange bread, cranberry orange quick bread

Comments

sandra gulla-poulette says

November 16, 2022 at 12:15 pm

I am always looking for honey or maple syrup sweetened breads and cookies. This was excellent. I added additional cinnamon and I chopped the cranberries in my chopper. Next time I will just rough chop them by hand because I think you lose some of the cranberry flavor when they are chopped too finely. I am now searching for almond butter coconut cocoa cookies that are low in sugar and not with stevia. I will keep your website for future bakes. Thank you!

★★★★★

Bina says

May 12, 2022 at 7:14 pm

I made this wonderful bread today, I used 2x ingredients, I omitted honey, used instead 2 large oranges, pureed them, added the rinds of both oranges. Toasted the walnuts. I increased the baking time to 1 hour and 5 mins to achieve a clean tooth pick. Thank you Kaleigh for this wonderful recipe.

★★★★★

- Kaleigh says
  
  May 16, 2022 at 9:37 am
  
  Thanks for sharing your tips!
  
Lori says

January 02, 2022 at 2:53 pm

Modified a little. trying to eat healthier but easing my way into it. I added a tablespoon of maple syrup, only used 1/2 of milk called for and so that I could use extra orange juice and added one tablespoon of butter. Also used whole wheat flour. Very moist and filling. Not too sweet, a nice mix of flavors.

Leslie Bresnick says

December 12, 2021 at 7:17 am

This is a very easy to make moist bread. However, I did not taste the cranberries or the orange in it. Also, it lacks salt, something I realized after I finished baking it. If you like a bland oatmeal breadb, this is it. Yes, I did measure my ingredients exactly. I don't like to give a harsh review but I was disappointed.

★★

Lindsae says

December 05, 2021 at 1:22 pm

Do you think buttermilk would work okay in this recipe?

- Kaleigh says
  
  December 07, 2021 at 7:58 am
  
  Yes, I think it should!
  
Teresa says

March 28, 2021 at 1:56 pm

I love this recipe. I’ve made it 3 times now and it’s my new go-to. It’s not overly sweet and is full of flavour and nutritious elements.

★★★★★

- Kaleigh says
  
  March 28, 2021 at 2:00 pm
  
  Thanks for your review Teresa!
  
Phoebe says

February 18, 2021 at 12:48 am

Hubby and I love it! I used frozen cranberries and subbed maple syrup in place of honey (so 11 m.o. can enjoy, too) to make 12 muffins. I placed walnut halves on top of the muffins, both for garnish and so we can pick them off easily before giving to our baby. I checked the muffins at 20 mins and they were done. Hubby and I love how perfectly tasty they are without being overly sweet; they taste so healthy and I can’t wait to see how my baby will like it when he wakes up.

THANK YOU for sharing this wholesome recipe and for giving me a great way to use up the frozen cranberries and ground flaxseed that I’ve kept in storage in my freezer! 😉

★★★★★

- Kaleigh says
  
  February 18, 2021 at 10:26 am
  
  Hi Phoebe, I'm so glad you all liked it! Hope your sweet babe did, too 🙂 Thanks for your review.
  
Amy Papenhausen says

February 06, 2021 at 1:29 pm

I made these using only 3/4 C dried cranberries. I also just used reg quick cook oats, not ground. They turned out lovely,. Great fresh from the oven, not topped with anything. Seems healthy and delicious. Tried to attach picture but I don't know how.

★★★★★

Marie says

November 13, 2020 at 11:37 am

What size(s) of loaf pan do you suggest? Thanks!

- Kaleigh says
  
  November 13, 2020 at 12:12 pm
  
  Roughly 9 x 5 inches.
  
Michelle T says

March 30, 2020 at 7:36 pm

Hi! I don’t bake (or cook), but want to try this! Can I use regular flour or bread flour (it’s what I have in the pantry)? Also, can I use unsweetened coconut milk (or whole cows milk) instead of almond milk? Thank you!!

- Kaleigh says
  
  March 31, 2020 at 8:06 am
  
  Hi Michelle!
  I haven't ever tried it with regular flour, but I think it should work (you may reduce the liquid by a tbsp or 2). Any milk will work just fine!
  
Emily Boyd says

December 16, 2019 at 9:24 am

I made this - subbing wheat flour for almond flour and I love it! I am currently 8.5 months pregnant so trying to find filling things that are appealing for breakfast and seasonal but not overly filled with sugar. This was perfect, did not even need the honey on top. In the mornings with my coffee - YUM. Thank you 🙂

- Kaleigh says
  
  December 17, 2019 at 6:56 am
  
  Hi Emily,
  
  I'm so glad you liked it, and congrats on the little one!
  
sarawadams says

November 23, 2018 at 5:27 pm

No sugar?!

- Kaleigh says
  
  November 25, 2018 at 6:22 am
  
  No, just a little bit of honey!
  
- Tam says
  
  January 07, 2021 at 12:18 pm
  
  It’s not sweet at all. I think I would add some stevia next times. Very crumbly and the berries are very tart! Not a fan
  
  - Kaleigh says
    
    January 07, 2021 at 5:30 pm
    
    Sorry it didn't work for you, Tam.