Cranberry Banana Bread

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Take a regular banana bread recipe to the next level this holiday season with this cranberry banana bread. Every bite of this moist yet fluffy and flavorful bread includes bursts of cranberry and walnuts.

Close-up of a slice of cranberry banana bread.

I love making quick bread recipes to give away. They make the perfect little gift and are always appreciated, especially at Christmas time. A few years back, I decided to try tossing some dried cranberries into our super moist banana bread recipe and this was born. My mother instantly fell in love and it has been a regular holiday recipe ever since.

The combination is sublime and perfect for the holidays! Those little party treat bags I always talk about are the perfect size for packaging this and I used the inexpensive bows I told you about in my homemade caramel corn recipe for a quick and easy packaging option.

I really like mini loaves of bread and seldom make full-sized ones. In this recipe, you can make two full-sized loaves or eight minis! That means eight lucky folks can get this delicious bread from you as a special holiday treat.

Fortunately, this cranberry banana bread recipe really couldn’t be easier to make. First, assemble the ingredients: sugar, milk, self-rising flour, vanilla, eggs, butter, dried cranberries, ripe bananas, and nuts (optional). Then all we’re going to do is slowly mix the ingredients together. It will take less than 10 minutes and your loaves will be ready for the oven.

I tell ya, if you love banana bread, you’re going to want to give this cranberry walnut banana bread recipe a go this fall. The tart burst of flavor from the cranberries combined with the crunchy nuts and the moist yet fluffy banana bread is a taste sensation! I just know you’ll love it! 

Labeled ingredients for cranberry banana bread.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Granulated sugar
  • Milk
  • Self-rising flour
  • Vanilla extract
  • Eggs
  • Margarine or unsalted butter
  • Dried cranberries
  • Ripe bananas
  • Chopped walnuts, pistachios, or pecans (optional)

How to Make Cranberry Banana Bread

Grease loaf pans.

Grease and flour your loaf pans. 

Place bananas in mixing bowl.

Now, what I like to do for my banana bread is beat my bananas using my hand or electric mixer first until they’re liquefied.

Mash bananas until liquefied.

Like so.

This will only take a minute or two but it truly makes a huge difference in the flavor, with banana flavor infused in every single morsel.

Mix together sugar and bananas in same mixing bowl.

Now add your sugar and mix that up a bit with the mashed banana.

Add butter and beat again.

Next, mix in your butter.

Add vanilla to mixing bowl.

Then add the vanilla…

Add milk to mixing bowl.

Milk…

Add eggs to mixing bowl.

Eggs…

Add flour to mixing bowl.

And flour. Now beat those ingredients together until combined.

Fold in cranberries and pecans.

Then fold in the cranberries and walnuts.

Cranberry Tips!

I roughly chop up my cranberries on a large plate beforehand but you don’t have to. I just like having more pieces to disperse in my bread.

To keep these from sinking in your bread, I suggest sprinkling a tablespoon or so of flour over them and tossing them lightly with your hands. I didn’t do that for this bread and it turned out fine, but I normally do.

Pour banana bread batter into prepared loaf pans.

Pour into prepared loaf pans and add a few leftover pieces of cranberry and walnuts to the top if you like.

This recipe makes two large loaves or eight small loaves.

Fill them about halfway full and bake at 350 for 30 minutes for small loaves or 1 hour for full-sized loaves.

Baked cranberry nut bread.

Let the loaves cool in the pan for 10 minutes or so before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Slices of cranberry banana bread.

Yum!

When I was making this bread, Brady was being positively tortured by its delicious smell. I told him as soon as it was done he could have some. So I baked the loaves, turned them out onto the counter, walked away, and a few minutes later, here comes Brady holding an entire loaf, just munching away! He ate the whole loaf, though! At least he likes his Mama’s cooking.

Slices of cranberry banana bread.

Just one more photo to show off how good this cranberry banana bread looks. Enjoy!

Storage

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  • This banana bread also freezes really well. Double-wrap individual slices and store them in the freezer for up to 5 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

Recipe Notes

  • If your bananas are a bit brown, that’s a good thing! The darker the peel, the sweeter the banana, and the better the banana bread. Another thing you can do if your bananas are getting brown is to go ahead and mash them up with a fork (after you peel them!) and place them in a zipper bag and put them in the freezer. Make a note on the bag with a permanent marker as to how many bananas are in there and the next time you want to make banana bread, simply put the bag on your counter and let it thaw then toss them right in there! Works out perfectly!
  • If you like, you can top your banana cranberry bread with a simple vanilla glaze. Mix together 2 cups of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk, and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and pour it over the cooled loaves. You may need more or less cream/milk until it reaches your preferred consistency.
  • You can also use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries in your cranberry bread. If you do, you’ll probably need 1.5 to 2 cups. Coarsely chop them by hand or in a food processor. Frozen cranberries don’t have to be thawed beforehand. It’s worth noting though that dried cranberries are sweeter than fresh or frozen.
  • For a little burst of citrus flavor, fold in 2 teaspoons of orange zest or lemon zest.
  • If you like, substitute the nuts for white chocolate chips instead.

Check out these other quick bread recipes:

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread With Caramel Glaze

Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread

Sweet Potato Bread With Cinnamon Swirl

Cinnamon Apple Bread

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

Strawberry Bread With Pecans

Two stacked slices of cranberry banana bread.

Cranberry Banana Bread

Take regular banana bread to the next level this holiday season with this cranberry banana bread. Every bite of this moist yet fluffy and flavorful bread includes bursts of cranberry and walnuts.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana, bread, cranberry

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 6-ounce package dried cranberries
  • 1 cup chopped nuts, optional
  • 3 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 stick unsalted butter or margarine
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 bananas
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Place peeled bananas in a mixing bowl with sugar. Mix until bananas are liquefied.
    2 cups sugar, 3 bananas
  • Add margarine and mix until creamed together with the banana mixture.
    1 stick unsalted butter or margarine
  • Add all other ingredients and blend well.
    1 cup milk, 1 6-ounce package dried cranberries, 1 cup chopped nuts, optional, 3 cups self-rising flour, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans and bake for one hour at 350.
  • If using mini loaf pans, this will make eight and they will need to cook for about 30 minutes.
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

Similar Posts

43 Comments

  1. Thanks for the recipe 🙂 I especially like that you gave times for the mini loaves, I’m going to try those for my neighbors…. I bought the disposable mini pans, but I’m hoping that I can reuse them… anyone know?

    1. I think you could re-use them so long as they wash ok. I have some of the larger ones that I have re-used a couple of times. Once they get a little ragged looking or get a whole in them I replace them but they work great up until that point.

  2. I am definitely trying this today!!! Christy, where did you buy your loaf pans, I have never seen any like this? Also, I put a bug in Santa’s ear for your cookbook for Christmas. I just love your recipes. Whenever I try anything new now, my family knows it comes from you. Have a great day!!!

  3. i made this recipe this morning to get a jump on my Christmas gift baking and the smells are driving me nuts! I hope it tastes as good as it smells.

  4. Making this right now, with blueberries instead of dried cranberries. I don’t have any mini-loaf pans, but I have a “jumbo” muffin pan. These look so delicious and I am impressed with the great reviews from the above posts.

  5. I’m new to your site! This looks so yummy! Where did you get the loaf pan with the 4 mini sized pans in it? I love your giving the bread as gifts 🙂

  6. Hey Christy!
    I plan on making some of these to give as gifts along with some crock pot apple butter and I was wondering how long will they keep? Thank you for everything you do 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe or Post Rating