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Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread Recipe
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This sweet cream cheese bread compliments the tart cranberries it’s loaded with resulting in an amazing Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread! If you are looking for a new quick bread recipe that is perfect for the fall and Thanksgiving you have found it. It’s so amazingly soft and tender, plus quick and easy to make. I love a big slice with butter and a mug of coffee or for a quick snack in the afternoon!
Cranberry Bread
Cranberries. Love them or hate them? I’m kind of love them one time, pass on them another time. I love this Crock Pot Cranberry Pork Loin because of the savory flavors that don’t over power and then we have this every popular Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip that is HOT on Pinterest right now! And, let’s get real, we are never going to turn down some cookies.
Why don’t we turn down cookies? Because they make everything better. For example when you are going through a funk like me right now. It’s bad. Real bad.
I don’t know if I’m stressed, overworked, or what, but I just can not find my groove. Maybe it’s just a serious case of PMS? Lovely lady things like that rock don’t they? I’m feeling tired, cranky and unmotivated to do pretty much anything and I’m hoping it changes real fast like.
It does not help winter is coming because that always makes things dull and dreary in my opinion!
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bread
So what do you do when you get in these funks? We all have them.
I’m envisioning a spa day with one of my best girlfriends, lunch out, coming home to a clean house and a full bank account. Ok, maybe that last part was just a little bit to hopeful! It would be nice though wouldn’t it? It would relieve a lot of the pressures we all face in our lives. I could totally make the spa and lunch day happen though couldn’t I?
Grocery List for Cranberry Bread
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Sugar
- Vanilla
- Eggs
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- Pecans (optional)
Then I enter the Mom guilt into the equation. That battle is a battle. I work full time so I don’t see the kiddos much during the week and then to think of leaving for a day on the weekend or heaven forbid the entire weekend like I’m doing this coming weekend I have anxiety.
First of all my hubs is left with the kids all weekend and he needs a break too so is that fair? Then, of course, the kids miss me, but really do they? Well, obviously a little bit but they are resilient and let’s face it sometimes Dad’s more fun!
I’m guessing there’s going to be a whole lot of pizza and hot dogs and mac and cheese in their future this weekend. Along with Ranger rides and going to Grandpa’s house for a sleepover with Auntie since she’s home. Really, I don’t think they are going to miss me at all!
So maybe I think it’s far more of a big deal than it actually is! Apparently, I need to get my undies out of a wad and enjoy my weekend away at my photography workshop. Let’s focus on that!
How to make Cranberry Cream Cheese Bread
- Preheat the oven
- Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
- With your mixer cream together butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after you add each egg.
- In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients
- Slowly mix into wet batter until combined. Fold in cranberries and nuts.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 30 minutes
And maybe I need a few more slices of this delicious Cranberry Cream Cheese Bread in my life to sweeten it up. I adore quick bread recipes and this one is delicious. The cream cheese adds a richness to it and it’s not crumbly at all due to this. It’s pretty much perfectly sweet and delicious with the addition of the tart cranberries bursting in your mouth!
Love cranberries? Here are more delicious cranberry recipes to try!
WATCH THE STEP BY STEP VIDEO FOR THIS CRANBERRY BREAD RECIPE BELOW:
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Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread Recipe
This sweet cream cheese bread compliments the tart cranberries it's loading with resulting in an amazing Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread! If you are looking for a new quick bread recipe that is perfect for the fall and Thanksgiving you have found it. It's so amazingly soft and tender, plus quick and easy to make. I love a big slice with butter and a mug of coffee or for a quick snack in the afternoon!
Ingredients
- 1 c. butter softened
- 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 c. cranberries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 c. chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In another bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly mix into wet batter until combined. Fold in cranberries and nuts.
- Pour into two greased 9 in. x 5 in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes if using two loaf pans. You can also use 4 mini loaf pans for 40 minutes.
- *THIS RECIPE USED TO HAVE YOU USE ONE LOAF PAN AND BAKE IT FOR 90 MINUTES. AFTER MANY COMPLAINTS WE ADJUSTED THE RECIPE TO TWO LOAF PANS. WE HAVE HAD SUCCESS WITH ONE LOAF PAN, BUT WE FOUND THE MOST FOOL-PROOF WAY IS TO USE TWO LOAF PANS.*
Notes
There are many comments about this not baking through etc. I have retested the recipe and it will bake through in one 9x5 loaf pan, but you can also use two if you'd like. Adjust baking time to about 50-60 minutes. It also works great in four mini loaf pans!
Nutrition
Calories: 381kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Is it baking powder or baking soda? The recipe and video state baking powder; however, in the comments you insist it’s always baking soda??? Please clarify and thank you for a great recipe. I used baking soda the first time, per another website recipe and was very good.
Also, for those of you that have trouble with the center not baking, same happened to me with 2 loaf pans. Use an instant read thermometer in the center of bread to the temperature of 205 degrees. I didn’t the first time, checked with toothpicks that came out clean every time and it was raw inside.
I have always used baking powder and always had that listed in my recipe and on my video. The other site copied this recipe and changed it to baking soda. I have never tested it like that so I have no idea how it compares.
I bought frozen cranberries but when I was ready to used them, the cranberries were sour. What can I do now to help make them sweet?
Thank you
Were you just eating them plain? They are usually tart and that might make them taste sour to you. The sweetness of the bread with the tartness of the cranberry makes this bread delicious!
Do you need to defrost the fruit or fold it in frozen?
Fold them in frozen is fine.
Hi great recipe my husband loves it but I’d like to know if you can you freeze this cranberry loaf.
Yes that should work great!
I am going to try diced rhubarb in place of cranberries and for flour use one cup all purpose and one cup whole wheat flour.
That sounds delicious. Let me know how it turns out!
This looks really good and I would love to try it. Would it work with dried cranberries?
Hi Joy! I haven’t tired it with dried cranberries before but it should work as a substitute. You could always soak the dried cranberries in some hot water for 5-10 minutes to plump them up a little bit 🙂 Enjoy!
Can I substitute fresh strawberries and if so should I adjust baking powder and add some baking soda to recipe?
Hi Rose – you could substitute with fresh strawberries – it sounds delicious! Let me know how it turns out.
Way too much batter for my 5 x9 loaf pan and I cooked it the whole 60 minutes! What a disaster!
And what a disappointment and waste of expensive ingredients! And of course, I am totally anal about following directions! My bad!
I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you Margaret. I haven’t had that problem before. The recipe does state to use two greased 5×9 loaf pans – did you happen to catch that or did you try to put all the batter into one pan?
ive made this 3-4 times now but today when i made it- i had the batter ready and NO CRANBERRIES YIKES SO I USED FROZEN CHERRIES WHOO HOO A NEW FAVORITE LOL
What I’ve made this several times as written and love it but the cherries sound great too. Im going to have to try that because I can only get fresh or frozen cranberries around Thanksgiving.
How would I adjust this recipe for high altitude?
Thank you for this recipe, the only thing I had some issue with is that the quantity of the batter is too much for an 5×9 loaf, maybe dividing them into to smaller loaf is better.
Hi Helen, I haven’t had that problem but I’m glad that you were able to trouble shoot and make it work for you and your kitchen!
The fam really enjoyed this Cranberry bread. I added the zest of one orange into the batter to give it a little extra somethin’ somethin’. I also made an orange glaze and spread it over the loaves while they were still warm. (A quick tip: Chop the cranberries coarsely instead of leaving them whole, they will be more evenly distributed throughout the loaves.)
Our super yummy orange glaze:
1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Caroline, these adaptations to the recipe sound amazing! Thank you for your comments!
Very easy to make and love the tart flavor of the cranberries with the sweetness of the bread. This time I put the crushed pecans on the top and it turned out nice, giving it a crunchy top. Goes great with a hot cup of coffee or even on a bowl of hot cereal with some butter and brown sugar.
What a great idea to put the crushed pecans on top Mario! Sounds delicious!
Can you use something besides cranberries? We do not like cranberries and this sounds so good
Yes! You can use blueberries or I bet even raspberries would work!
Turned out great in two loaf pans. Do I need to refrigerate it because of the cream cheese?
No this can sit on the counter but you can also refrigerate if you’d like. I’m glad you loved them!