Cranberry Banana Bread
Moist banana bread with slightly tart, fresh cranberries dispersed throughout is what makes Cranberry Banana Bread so good! Makes great muffins too!
Mother Nature is playing a trick on us Southern Californians! The calendar says that it’s fall, but it sure doesn’t feel like it outside.
Fall, autumn, or what I call, “soup & candle weather”, is when I stock up on flour, sugar, vanilla, and all those other baking necessities because from now until spring, I love turning on the oven and whipping up something baked from scratch!
However, with recent temperatures ranging from 73-89 in San Diego, I’ve resisted making all my soups, casseroles, and baked goods…but I’m not waiting anymore!
Today I bring you one of my favorite fall recipes – Cranberry Banana Bread.
This is probably the oldest recipe I have. I have been making it multiple times every single fall and winter for as long as I can remember.
As soon as late October rolls around and the bags of fresh cranberries start popping up in the grocery stores, my season of Cranberry Banana Bread making commences!
Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Very ripe bananas
- Fresh cranberries
- Butter
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Baking powder
- Walnuts
Not only does this recipe make a wonderful loaf of bread, I also use it to make regular-size muffins and mini muffins for ease of portability and my kids’ lunch boxes!
My husband chooses to spread butter on warm slices of this bread, but I refuse to alter it when it’s so perfect as is.
I will say that if you eat it the next day, I recommend you put it in the microwave to heat it up a little bit, as it is always best when warm.
Another great option for using up ripe bananas is this 4 ingredient banana bread!
How long is homemade banana bread good for?
This bread can be stored in an air-tight container or wrapped tightly in foil at room temperature for 3-4 days.
It will last up to 6-7 days in the refrigerator if properly stored in either tightly wrapped foil or an air-tight container.
Looking for more baked treats? Here are some favorites:
- Cinnamon Pumpkin Mini Muffins
- Double Chocolate Banana Muffins (pictured below)
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
NOTES:
- A 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries will make two batches of this recipe.
- Cranberries freeze really well, so feel free to throw the other half of the bag in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.
- Instead of trying to hand-chop a million little cranberries, I pulse them in my food processor. You don’t want to obliterate the cranberries, their texture is great in this bread.
- The darker the bananas, the better and sweeter the banana bread! I wait until they have very little yellow left.
- Since there is only a small window to buy fresh cranberries, I sometimes buy extra bags of them to stash in the freezer for when I crave this bread is summer.
Cranberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 very ripe bananas mashed
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mix sugar and butter together in a large bowl until completely blended. Add banana, vanilla, milk, and eggs. Combine.
- Add to the wet ingredients: flour, baking powder, walnuts, and cranberries. Mix until fully incorporated (without over-mixing) and pour batter into a greased loaf pan, muffin pan or mini muffin pan.
- Follow times below depending on pan used:(Loaf pan) 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean or with a normal crumb.(Muffin pan) 27-29 minutes(Mini muffin pan) 16 minutes
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥
I also have a fun Facebook group for us foodies to share recipes and talk about food. I’d love to have you! Request to join HERE. Cheers!
loved this recipe super moist