A healthy Cranberry and Orange Bread made with almond flour, sweetened with maple syrup, and bursting with cranberries and orange flavor! Gluten free recipe.
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I cannot get over how delicious this moist cranberry orange bread is. Sometimes I surprise myself with just how amazing my almond flour bread recipes are…
I’m going to toot my own horn here and say I really nailed it with this one!
The texture is unbelievable. And BONUS – it’s easy to make .
The cranberry orange flavor is a holiday classic and you MUST add this recipe to your baking list STAT.
Ingredients Needed
- Super Fine Almond Flour – I’ve been using Bob’s Red Mill almond flour for years and it never disappoints. Make sure to use “super fine” from *blanched* almonds, not almond meal here.
- Tapioca flour – Helps act as a flour binder in this muffin recipe. You can also use arrowroot, or cassava flour. You can also sub with 3 tablespoons coconut flour if necessary, but I prefer the texture with tapioca flour.
- Baking soda, baking powder & salt – To get the best rise, you’ll need both baking soda and baking powder. If looking to just use baking soda, you’ll need 1 full teaspoon and the bread won’t rise quite as much.
- Maple syrup – This bread isn’t super sweet, but with the orange zest and cranberries bursting, I think it has great flavor. If you’re making for those with more of a sweet tooth, you might want to add 3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar (like coconut sugar to keep paleo, or cane sugar if not strictly paleo).
- Eggs – You’ll need 3 large eggs for this recipe. Sounds like a lot but trust me – it helps with the structure of this bread. And it won’t make this bread “egg” like in texture.
- Oil – I used light olive oil but avocado or melted coconut oil works too. If using melted coconut oil, make sure it has been cooled and the rest of your ingredients (i.e. maple syrup and eggs) are room temperature, or the coconut oil will solidify when mixing the batter.
- Orange Juice & Orange Zest – use a microplane grater or zester to easily get the zest from the orange. I also swear by this juicer (will work with a small orange).
- Vanilla Extract and orange extract– I like both here for optimal flavor, but you can omit orange if you’d like. Almond extract would also be a delicious addition; I recommend just 1/4 teaspoon here.
- Cranberries – the tart cranberries in combination with the orange is a classic flavor combination that really makes this bread amazing.
Ready in 1 Hour
Making this gluten free cranberry orange bread takes just about one hour and no fancy kitchen gadgets needed – just something to mix the ingredients, a bowl and a medium loaf pan.
- Start by mixing the almond flour with tapioca flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon and orange zest.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract and orange juice. Then whisk in eggs until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to bowl of wet – your batter should be wet and somewhat thick.
- Bake for about 50 minutes.
BAKING TIP:
Cover pan with foil around 25 minutes. This will help keep the top of the bread from browning too much. Then remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of baking.
Check with inserted toothpick for wet batter to make sure it’s done in the middle.
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Coconut Butter Glaze
This moist cranberry orange bread is topped off with melted coconut butter, which acts as the glaze. Coconut butter is naturally sweet on its own so there’s really no need for additional sugar for the glaze.
Using melted coconut butter is a great healthier alternative, but if you’re looking for the more traditional route, confectioners sugar mixed with a little bit of orange juice works too.
Almond Flour Bread FAQs
- Can I use a different flour, other than almond flour? – This cranberry and orange bread was specifically developed using almond flour, so I am afraid I cannot give a good recommendation for subbing in other flours.
- What if I don’t have tapioca flour? – This recipe can still be made if you don’t have tapioca flour on hand. You can use 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (if you don’t need bread to be gluten-free), OR 1:1 gluten free baking flour. You can also sub with three tablespoons coconut flour.
- Can I use coconut sugar instead of maple syrup? – The maple syrup in this recipe makes up for some of the liquid, so it cannot be subbed with a dry sweetener. It can be subbed with honey, but the bread will brown more.
- Can this be made without eggs to be vegan? – The eggs provide this cranberry orange bread with structure and helps hold things together. I do not recommend subbing unless you’re okay with a different (more wet) texture.
- Can I use frozen cranberries? – I haven’t tested that myself but it should be fine. Your bread might just need a few extra minutes of baking time.
More Almond Flour Quick Bread Recipes to Love:
- Gluten free Lemon Blueberry Bread
Let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley
Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups super fine almond flour, weighed 295g
- ⅓ cup tapioca flour, see notes
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional but adds a nice hint
- zest of 2 medium oranges
- ⅓ cup light olive oil, or avocado, melted/cooled coconut oil
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 2 small/medium oranges
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon orange extract, optional
- 3 large eggs
- 1 heaping cup fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line medium loaf pan (8×4) with parchment paper; set aside.
- In medium bowl combine almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and orange zest; set aside.
- In large bowl whisk together oil, maple syrup, orange juice, vanilla and orange extracts. Add eggs, whisking until combined. Add in dry ingredients, mixing with large spoon, then fold in cranberries until combined – batter will be somewhat thick.
- Transfer batter to lined 8×4 loaf pan. Bake cranberry orange bread for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and continue baking another 25-30 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. My bread took about 50 minutes, with the foil off for the last 5 minutes.
- Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Slice bread once cooled; enjoy!
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