Is it time for holiday baking yet? It’s okay if it’s too early! I mean, personally could bake holiday goodies all year long, but I get that it’s not for everyone. This vegan cranberry bread is a great recipe to start your holiday baking with. That’s because it doesn’t have to be for the holidays. Its really a fall recipe if you think about it! With seasonal cranberries, warming spices, and a hint of orange, it’s festive enough for holiday gifting, but also just for enjoying yourself with a big cup of tea during the first few chilly days of the year. I you happen to be buying a bag of cranberries for Thanksgiving, perhaps to cook up a batch of my spiced wine cranberry sauce, just grab a second bag to make this bread. They’re usually discounted if you buy two anyway!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Flour. We’re using plain old all-purpose wheat flour (otherwise known as white flour). Whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour should also work just fine.Sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.Brown sugar. This also needs to be organic.Baking soda.Cinnamon.Cloves.Salt.Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that’s unflavored and unsweetened will work fine. Try almond milk, cashew milk, or oat milk. If you use a higher protein variety like soy milk it might separate a bit when you mix it with the orange juice, but this won’t affect the outcome of the recipe.Vegetable oil. Feel free to use your favorite baking oil, such as canola oil or melted coconut oil.Orange juice. Be careful, as some brands or orange juice contain animal derived ingredients. I know, right?! Get some guidance on what to look out for in this article, or just buy an orange or two and squeeze your own (you’ll need it for the zest anyway).Vanilla extract.Orange zest. See, I told you you’d need this!Fresh cranberries. These are available in most supermarkets during the fall months.Pecans. You can leave these out or substitute another type of nut, such as walnuts, if you’d like.Powdered sugar. Again, buy organic to keep the recipe vegan.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Whisk your dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl: flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
Stir your wet ingredients together in a separate container, milk, oil, orange juice, vanilla, and orange zest. A large liquid measuring cup works great for this.
Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir everything up just until combined. Avoid overmixing the batter, even if there are some lumps. This will ensure your loaf has the best possible texture.Fold in fresh cranberries and chopped pecans.
Pour the batter into a loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spoon or spatula.Pop the pan into a preheated oven and bake your vegan cranberry bread until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean of batter.
Tip: Placing a strip of parchment paper along the center or your loaf pan like I’ve done in the photo below will help you to remove the loaf after baking.
Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and allow the bread to cool before removing it from the pan.Meanwhile, stir some powdered sugar together with a couple tablespoons of orange juice to make the glaze.Slice your loaf and drizzle it with glaze when it’s cool.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Vegan cranberry bread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days, in the refrigerator for about a week, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
More Vegan Quick Bread Recipes
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