Sourdough cranberry banana bread starts with a sweet classic banana bread batter and is flavored with orange and cranberries. This moist and delicious quick bread makes the perfect holiday or weekend breakfast to enjoy during the winter months.

A slice of banana bread on a white plate with a fork.

This recipe is very simple to make. You can whip it up the morning of, or start this delicious cranberry banana bread recipe the night before to long ferment it for more digestion benefits.

With bright flavors of zesty orangesweet bananas, and slightly tart cranberries, this moist quick bread makes a wonderful treat for the holiday season.

Itโ€™s divine for a weekend breakfast. Slather it with homemade butter and serve it alongside a warm cup of coffee and perfect sunny side up eggs for a delicious morning treat. You can even turn it into an amazing French toast by soaking it in custard and cooking it on a hot skillet. Yum!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Winter flavors – Next time you are in the mood to do some cold weather baking, reach for this moist banana bread recipe. It’s the best way to enjoy winter flavors like cranberry and orange that are so fun to incorporate this time of year.

Easy – This quick bread recipe is a go to in my collection of easy bread recipes. It comes together fast and makes a very impressive tasty treat.

Use up ripe bananas – If you buy bananas at the grocery store regularly, they probably get ripe pretty fast! I love recipes that use ripe bananas when I need to use them all up quick.

Ingredients

Ingredients for banana cranberry bread on the counter top.

Bananas – Ripe bananas in this recipe are ideal. The more ripe they are, the more sweetness they will add to the bread.

Sourdough Starter – Making sure the sourdough starter is stirred down gets rid of any bubbles and helps to measure it more accurately in cup measure form.

Cranberries – If using fresh cranberries, slicing them in half before you add them will help to prevent them from swelling and popping during baking.

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How To Long Ferment This Recipe

The night before, mix together orange juice, flour, maple syrup, sourdough starter, and melted butter in a large bowl. Cover and allow to ferment for 8-12 hours.

The next day, add remaining ingredients (use a stand mixer for easier mixing) and bake as directed.

How to Make Cranberry Banana Bread

Dry ingredients whisked together in a bowl.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir well and set aside. 

Banana mashed with a fork in a bowl.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana well with a fork.

Wet ingredients for cranberry banana bread whisked together in a bowl.

Step 3: Whisk in the melted butter, maple, brown sugar, orange juice, and zest into the mashed banana until combined. 

Sourdough starter added to wet ingredients bowl.

Step 4: Whisk in the eggs until combined, then stir in the sourdough starter until well incorporated.

Dry and wet ingredients mixed together.

Step 5: Fold the dry ingredients and the cranberries into the wet ingredients with a spatula until everything is just combined. Be careful to not over mix.

Banana cranberry bread batter in a parchment paper lined loaf pan.

Step 6: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Begin testing at the 55 minute mark.

A loaf of cranberry banana bread with two pieces sliced.

Step 7: Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes-1 hour before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. 

Tips

  • This recipe makes a very moist loaf. It will cook in the oven a bit longer than a typical banana bread recipe, because itโ€™s a very moist finished product.
  • Overripe bananas provide sweetness to this loaf, so it doesnโ€™t require as much sugar to sweeten.
  • Slice the cranberries into smaller bits if you prefer less cranberry in each bite.

Recipe FAQs

How long does cranberry bread last in the fridge?

Let the cranberry banana bread cool and place it in an airtight container for up to one week in the fridge or for up to three days at room temperature. You can wrap this bread in plastic wrap or aluminum foil in an airtight container and freeze it up to three months.

What is the number one mistake made when making banana bread?

When making a bread like this one, be careful not to over mix the batter. The instructions specify to mix the wet and dry ingredients until just incorporated. This prevents your loaf from becoming tough when baked.

Can you make this bread without sourdough starter?

Yes. To make a non-sourdough version, increase the flour by 1โ„4 cup and add 1โ„4 cup of yogurt.

Is sourdough bread the healthiest bread?

Using aย sourdough starterย is considered to make a healthier bread due to the process of fermentation. Fermentation breaks down the phytic acid which is naturally occurring in flour. This breakdown allows the nutrients present in flours to become more bioavailable and easier to absorb. Fermentation also helps break down the gluten, making it more digestible.

More Bread Recipes from the Farmhouse

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.

The Best Cranberry Banana Bread Recipe (Sourdough)

4.53 from 38 votes
Sourdoughย cranberry banana breadย starts with a sweet classic banana bread batter and is flavored with orange and cranberries. This moist and delicious quick bread makes the perfect holiday or weekend breakfast to enjoy during the winter months.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 12
A slice of banana bread on a white plate with a fork.
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Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 2 ยผ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ยฝ teaspoon salt
  • 2 very ripe bananas
  • ยฝ cup salted butter, melted
  • ยฝ cup pure maple syrup
  • ยผ cup dark brown sugar
  • ยฝ cup orange juice
  • Zest from 1 orange
  • 2 large eggs
  • ยฝ cup stirred sourdough starter
  • 1 cup dried cranberries or fresh cranberries, halved

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
  • Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir well and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, mash the banana well with a fork.
  • Whisk in the melted butter, maple, brown sugar, orange juice, and zest until combined.
  • Whisk in the eggs until combined, then stir in the sourdough starter until well incorporated.
  • Fold the dry ingredients and the cranberries into the wet ingredients with a spatula until everything is just combined. Be careful to not over mix.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Begin testing at the 55 minute mark.
  • Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes-1 hour before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

  • This recipe makes a very moist loaf. It will cook in the oven a bit longer than a typical banana bread recipe, because itโ€™s a very moist finished product.
  • Overripe bananas provide sweetness to this loaf, so it doesnโ€™t require as much sugar to sweeten.
  • Making sure the sourdough starter is stirred down gets rid of any bubbles and helps to measure it more accurately in cup measure form.
  • If using fresh cranberries, slicing them in half before you add them will help to prevent them from swelling and popping during baking.
  • Slice the cranberries into smaller bits if you prefer less cranberry in each bite.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 299mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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4.53 from 38 votes (31 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




17 Comments

  1. Sydney says:

    5 stars
    Delicious. I used freshly milled spelt for this recipe and skipped the brown sugar sprinkle on top. My toddler really enjoyed this recipe.

  2. Barbara says:

    Could apple cider be substituted for the orange juice?

  3. Rose says:

    This is delicious – weโ€™re all eating it up now. I made it exactly as written, which was very simple to follow. I hadnโ€™t made a sweet bread from my spelt grain before, which is tough to hand mill but worth it. I overfilled my cast iron loaf pan, so I had to pull it out to clean up and put it back in. I should have put it on a baking sheet, but it still came out beautifully. Thank you, itโ€™s a keeper!

    1. Lisa says:

      Glad you enjoyed it!

  4. Gloria Olivares says:

    Can you freeze the loaf?

    1. Lisa says:

      I don’t see why not! I would wrap it well and make sure it is in a freezer safe bag or container.

  5. June says:

    Hi, are you using sourdough “discard” or is it active starter? Thanks for your help.

    1. Lisa says:

      Either will work!

  6. Kerra says:

    This sounds so delicious! Iโ€™m excited to try, but fresh cranberries arenโ€™t available in my area. Can I replace with dried?

    1. Lisa says:

      I don’t see why not!

  7. Anonymous says:

    Have a copy of this recipe. Looks GREAT. Will be a super
    addition to my Holiday Recipies. Thank you for sharing. Aria

  8. Stephanie says:

    5 stars
    I was afraid it would be too heavy on the banana, but the cranberry and orange really comes through! And of course our sourdough starter baseโ€ฆ..YUM
    Tastes so delicious

  9. Suzi Johnson says:

    5 stars
    Loved it! Thanks so much!

  10. Kate says:

    5 stars
    Love long ferment recipes!! This ones a winner