If you’re looking for a cozy, fruit-packed quick bread that’s a little sweet, a little tart, and full of fall flavor, this Cranberry Apple Bread is it. It's filled with cinnamon, diced apples, applesauce, and fresh cranberries for the PERFECT fall/winter flavor combination.
The apples keep the bread soft and moist, while the cranberries add bursts of bright, tart flavor in every bite. Then, it's topped with a crisp, crumb topping and a sweet glaze. It's the kind of loaf that feels right at home on a holiday dessert table or just toasted with a little butter on a chilly morning.

After hosting many parties, I have come to realize that the best hostess gift, especially in the holiday season, is food! And this cranberry apple bread is the ultimate hosting gift come Thanksgiving and Christmas. It looks festive, smells AMAZING, and tastes even better!
This bread is ultra simple and easy to make. There is no need to worry about yeast or rising times - just mix ingredients in a couple of mixing bowls and pour into a loaf pan! If you end up with extra fresh cranberries, save them for these Cranberry Brie Crostini for the best holiday spread, from start to finish.
To keep the texture of this loaf just right with the addition of the moisture-rich cranberries and apples, I make sure to add plenty of all-purpose flour. We also bake it low and slow (low temp for a longer amount of time) to give the apples enough time to soften, for the cranberries to burst, the batter to form a tender crumb, and to ensure the outside doesn't burn or dry out. Just make sure to use the toothpick test before pulling it out of the oven! To be certain that it's fully cooked on the inside, look for a mostly clean toothpick with just a few crumbs.
For the apples, I recommend using something crisp and slightly tart like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. They hold their shape well in apple-filled baked goods and balance out the cranberries beautifully. You can use fresh, frozen, or dried cranberries, but if you’re using frozen, don’t thaw them first, just fold them into the batter straight from the freezer to avoid any excess moisture.
This cranberry apple bread is cozy, perfectly moist, lightly spiced, and just sweet enough that it works well for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert. It also freezes wonderfully, just like this Blackberry Lemon Bread, so feel free to bake up a few extra loaves for future snacking. And as an added bonus, it also provides an excellent way to use up any leftover apples and cranberries from the holidays!
Ingredients

Instructions
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 8x4x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper and allow it to hang over the long sides for easy removal.

- Step 2: Make the crumb topping: Add ingredients to a mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it forms a crumb.

- Step 3: Make the bread: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

- Step 4: To the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter and sugar. Beat together until pale and combined, about 3 minutes.
- Step 5: Beat in egg until combined. Add applesauce and vanilla extract. Beat again.

- Step 6: Pour flour mixture into the wet batter. Beat until just combined and there is no dry flour remaining.
- Step 7: To a medium bowl, add cranberries, diced apples, and 2 tablespoons flour. Stir to coat the fruit in the flour.
⭐️ Quick Tip! Coating the apples and cranberries in flour helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the bread. When the flour mixes with the batter, it acts as a glue, securing the fruit in place.

- Step 8: Add diced apples and cranberries to the bowl with the rest of the batter. Fold them into the batter.

- Step 9: Scoop batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle cold crumb topping evenly over top.

- Step 10: Bake for 85 to 90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with just a few crumbs. You may need to tent the bread with foil if the crumb topping starts to get too brown.
- Step 11: Allow bread to cool for 30 minutes in the pan before using the parchment paper sling to remove it and placing it on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Step 12: When the bread is cool, prepare the glaze: Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour glaze on top of the bread. Let sit a few minutes for the glaze to firm up before slicing and serving.

My Top Tips!
⭐️ Because of the moistness from the cranberries and apples, this bread has a slightly longer baking time than others. Make sure to watch it carefully so the crumble on top doesn’t burn! Check after about 30 minutes and tent with foil to bake covered for the remainder of the time once the crumb topping looks perfectly golden.
⭐️ If you don't have fresh cranberries available, you can use dried cranberries instead!

Related Recipes
Looking for more sweet, quick bread recipes? Try these:
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know. Leave a comment with a rating at the bottom of this page!

Cranberry Apple Bread with Crumb Topping
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Oat Topping
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Apple Bread
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons extra for coating the apples
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
- ½ cup peeled and diced honeycrisp or granny smith apples (about ½ an apple)
For the Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk of choice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 8x4x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper and allow it to hang over the long sides for easy removal.
- Make the topping by adding cold cubed butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a pea-sized crumb. Set in the refrigerator to keep cold until ready to use.
- Make the bread: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- To the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter and sugar. Beat together until pale and combined, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in egg until combined. Add applesauce and vanilla extract. Beat again.
- Pour flour mixture into the wet batter. Beat until just combined and there is no dry flour remaining.
- To a medium bowl, add cranberries, diced apples, and 2 tablespoons flour. Stir to coat the fruit in the flour.
- Add diced apples and cranberries to the bowl with the rest of the batter. Using a rubber spatula, fold them into the batter.
- Scoop batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle cold crumb topping evenly over top.
- Bake for 85 to 90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with just a few crumbs. You may need to tent the bread with foil if the crumb topping starts to get too brown.
- Allow bread to cool for 30 minutes in the pan before using the parchment paper sling to remove it and placing it on a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the bread is cool, prepare the glaze: Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour glaze on top of the bread. Let sit a few minutes for the glaze to firm up before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Because of the moistness from the cranberries and apples, this bread has a slightly longer baking time than others. Make sure to watch it carefully so the crumble on top doesn’t burn! Check after about 30 minutes and tent with foil to bake covered for the remainder of the time once the crumb topping looks perfectly golden.
- If you don't have fresh cranberries available, you can use dried cranberries instead!
Nutrition
Want more recipes like this delivered right to your inbox? Be sure to subscribe above and never miss a thing!










Comments
No Comments