Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread is an easy quick bread recipe full of tangy cranberries and sweet cream cheese. This soft and tender loaf makes a great snack, breakfast or holiday baked good.
If you're looking for a sweet, soft and delicious Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread recipe to add to your homemade fall and winter baking rotation, you've come to the right place. We've created this cream cheese cranberry loaf to be a tangy yet sweet quick bread perfect for afternoon snacking, breakfast with a big glass of orange juice or coffee, or a dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Cream cheese cranberry bread is also wonderful as a Christmas morning breakfast, as is our chocolate cinnamon bread and apple raisin bread.
While pumpkin cookies, chocolate pumpkin cookies, cream cheese muffins and sweet pumpkin muffins make up a lot of our Fall baking, cranberry cream cheese bread recently came into the mix when looking for a new way to use up a big bag of fresh cranberries. This loaf has just the right amount of sweet cream cheese to compliment the tart cranberries and is super tender and moist.
Ingredients
To make this delicious cranberry loaf you need:
- Fresh whole cranberries
- Cream cheese: it should be softened for the best results when mixing.
- Sugar: you can use all white sugar or a combination of white sugar, brown sugar and/or unrefined coconut sugar.
- Flour: I prefer using all-purpose flour to make sweet quick breads so they are light, fluffy and tender.
- Eggs: at room temperature.
- Butter: unsalted butter is preferred but it's okay to use salted butter if that's what you have. Like the cream cheese, the butter should be softened for best results when mixing.
- Milk: milk adds tenderness and softness to the loaf.
- Vanilla extract: substitute with another extract, such as almond extract, cinnamon extract and orange extract, or use a combination of extracts for a unique flavor.
- Baking powder
- Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans.
- In a large bowl or an electric stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese, softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the milk and eggs to the cream cheese mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt (the dry ingredients).
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients. Use a whisk to mix until just combined. Gently fold in the cranberries with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top of the loaf is golden brown.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cream cheese cranberry bread has cooled, slice and enjoy this lovely sweet treat!
How To Store
To keep your cream cheese cranberry bread fresh and maintain its flavor and texture, let the loaf completely cool and then store at room temperature wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil or in an airtight container. The loaf will keep for 4-5 days. You can store it in the refrigerator as well, for 7-10 days. To freeze, slice in individual portions, then wrap in plastic or aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Chef's Tip
Make cranberry cream cheese bread ahead of time during the holiday season. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put in a freezer safe storage bag, then place in the freezer until ready to use. Defrost in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a few hours. For easy serving and quicker defrosting, slice into pieces prior to freezing.
Variations
- Bake in mini loaf pans for individual size portions or for smaller occasions. Decrease the cooking time by about half.
- Add dried fruits, such as orange peel or candied lemon.
- Add nuts, such as walnuts, pecans or almonds.
- For a more subtle flavor, use dried cranberries instead of fresh.
Recipe FAQs
Cranberry bread might be crumbly if there is too little fat or eggs in the recipe, or if the loaf was overbaked.
Cranberry bread is a combination of sweetness and tartness. The bread will become less tart after it cools and after a day or two, the cranberries will taste more sweet than tangy.
Recipe
Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 2 loaf pans 9x5 inches
- large mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
- electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup milk, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9x5-inch loaf pans.
- In a large mixing bowl or an electric stand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese, softened butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the milk and eggs to the cream cheese mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the bowl with the cream cheese mixture. Use a whisk to mix until just combined. Gently fold in the cranberries with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top of the loaf is golden brown
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Vicky says
I've never made cranberry bread, not sure why since your recipe looks so yummy! I need to make it with my twins, I know they'd love it!
Loreto and Nicoletta says
Cranberries and creamcheese always a great combination! Put it in a loaf is just brilliant! Love this great for our morning breakfast! ❤️ thumb
Megane says
The Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread was delish! We served it with butter, and it was perfect for a tasty treat with coffee. Cheers👩🍳🍞☕😋
Dennis says
I made your cranberry bread for my wife's book club, and they absolutely loved it!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
Oh what an incredible flavor combination! Loving the pairing of cream cheese and cranberries. This was perfect with my morning tea!
Brianna says
I absolutely love the combination of cranberry and cream cheese! My husband declared this bread a new favorite.
silvia says
I loved the cream cheese and cranberries combination and how easy and fast was to make. This recipe is ideal for when we need something sweet in a hurry. A delicious bread in less than an hour, that was the best part.
Jennifer says
Well, mini chefs strike again! This is such a lovely recipe. We thought the bread had a beautiful flavor, we had it for breakfast this weekend and as a snack. No crumbles left! Thank you!
Amy Liu Dong says
I love this recipe. It is so easy and delicious!
I can eat this any time of the day.