I’ve been making this healthy cranberry orange loaf recipe for many, many years. But until recently, I only made it after Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas,  to use up my leftover cranberry sauce.

As luck would have it, I’m the only one at our big family holiday meals who likes cranberry sauce. So I’d open a can, enjoy a couple of spoonfuls, then bake the rest into this yummy — but also healthy cranberry orange loaf recipe. For the past few years we’ve been foraging our own cranberries so I’ve also made it with fresh berries.

Cranberries are high in fibre, yet they’re low-sugar fruit, so you may find that this tart(ish) loaf needs a little more sweetener to suit your family’s taste buds. And keep in mind that this loaf freezes well. So it’s great to keep on hand for coffee guests, after-school snacks, or to take along as hostess gifts for holiday parties.

More Recipes:

• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Flax Bread
• Raspberry Lemon Almond Muffins

Recently we’ve been out foraging rosehips and Labrador tea as well as picking cranberries. Soon we found ourselves with eight cups of small but flavourful berries. Adding the pulp and juice of one orange, I found that my good old recipe works as well with fresh cranberries as it did with the leftover sauce.

Healthy Cranberry Orange Loaf Recipe

Yield: 1 loaf

Healthy Cranberry Orange Loaf Recipe

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Use fresh-picked or frozen cranberries to make this tasty, healthy cranberry orange loaf chock-full of berries, raisins, sunflower seeds and flax seeds. This cranberry orange loaf recipe is a also a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce after a holiday dinner.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour OR graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 tbsp unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp grated orange rind
• pulp and juice of 1 orange
• additional orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 egg

Instructions

2. Set oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Mix all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl
4. Mix in cranberries, raisins, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and orange rind
5. Squeeze orange pulp and juice into a measuring cup
6. Add orange juice until you have 1 cup total
7. Beat egg and add to orange juice
8. Pour orange juice/pulp/egg mixture into the well in dry ingredients
9. Add canola oil and mix until just blended
10. Scrape into a greased 9 x 5 x 13-inch loaf pan
11. Bake for 1 hour or until a knife comes out cleanly
12. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on a baking rack
13. Remove from pan and continue to cool on the rack
14. Let cool completely before serving
15. Store tightly wrapped in a tin or cool place.

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