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.

A slice of cranberry apple bread on a plate.

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.

Crumble ingredients mixed together in a bowl.

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.

Dry ingredients whisked together in a mixing bowl.

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

Butter and sugar beaten together in a bowl.

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.

Flour mixture added to the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl.

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.

Apples and cranberries added to the bowl with the batter.

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

Raw crumb topping and batter in a loaf pan.

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

Baked cranberry apple bread in a loaf pan.

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.

Sliced cranberry apple bread on a wood serving board.

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!