This Paleo Cranberry Bread Recipe yields a moist, flavorful loaf with the perfect amount of sweetness to balance fresh cranberries, plus toasted pecans for a nutty crunch!
Cranberry is one of my favorite winter fruits. Yes, it’s tart, and yes, you can’t just sit down and enjoy a bowlful of cranberries the way you would cherries or blueberries. (Or maybe you could, but I’ve never heard of anyone doing that!)
But cranberries are like nature’s sweet/tart candy. If you appreciate their flavor for what it is, you might end up loving it! Not to mention, cranberries are absolutely loaded with nutrition.
Cranberries are one of the stars of the show in this Paleo Cranberry Bread Recipe. Well, that, and the fact that this bread is super moist and packed with flavor. And it has the perfect amount of sweetness to balance the tart cranberries.
This is basically a quick bread, leavened with baking soda instead of yeast. This loaf is moist and dense, with a lovely soft crumb (you might not even realize it’s grain-free!). And it has a sweet aroma, thanks to the addition of a little ground mahlab. (Mahlab makes so many things a little more special; I talk more about it here.)
Once you’ve made this bread once, beware! During the holiday season, this quick bread is one of the few things that I make over and over. It’s a hit with everyone (adults and kids alike). Additionally, because it’s nutrient-dense, it works for breakfast, snack time, or dessert.
But the fact that it can keep for up to a week in the fridge totally seals the deal for me!
Paleo Cranberry Bread Recipe
This Paleo Cranberry Bread Recipe has a subtle coconut flavor that mellows over time. (Side Note 1: This bread gets better and better as it sits in the fridge for a few days.)
I also thoroughly enjoy this bread toasted. (Side Note 2: Toasting this bread is amazing; it takes an already delicious bread and makes it spectacular!)
What Can I Do With Raw Cranberries?
One of the best things to do with raw cranberries is bake with them! They add a delicious burst of sweet/tart flavor, and also bump up the nutrition.
If you’re worried about this bread being overly tart because of the fresh cranberries, put your fears to rest. It’s a sweet bread (but not overly so), with pleasant tart bursts of cranberry flavor that nicely offset the nutty crunch of pecans.
I find that dried cranberries are used more frequently than fresh cranberries in baked goods, which is why I like using fresh here; it’s a fun change!
Pro Tip: If you still aren’t convinced and want to use dried cranberries instead, go ahead and use 1/2 cup dried cranberries in this recipe.
Can You Freeze Cranberries?
Yes, cranberries freeze well!
Here’s how to flash freeze fresh cranberries:
- Wash and pat the cranberries dry with paper towels.
- Spread them out on a baking tray.
- Transfer to the freezer for 2 hours or overnight.
- Put the cranberries into a gallon-sized zip-top bag.
- Label the bag with the date and contents.
- Transfer to the freezer for up to 6 months.
More Recipes Using Fresh Cranberries:
- Vanilla Spiced Cranberry Apple Sauce
- Sparkling Cranberry Pineapple Punch
- Chicken Sausage Skillet with Cabbage, Apple, and Cranberries
- Cranberry Christmas Cake
- Braised Beef Stew with Cranberries
- Big Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Bread with Walnuts
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith
Paleo Cranberry Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil melted, plus more to grease the loaf pan
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 1/3 cups almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mahlab
- 1 cup pecans toasted and coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 cup fresh cranberries rinsed and dried
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over all 4 sides, and grease the paper with coconut oil (or ghee).
- Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together the coconut palm sugar and coconut oil in a large bowl, then beat in the eggs, and finally the vanilla and apple cider vinegar. Beat in the almond flour, baking soda, salt, and mahlab.
- Toss the pecans and coconut flour together to coat in a large bowl; fold the pecans (with any excess coconut flour) and cranberries into the batter.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake at 350F for 30 minutes, and then turn the heat down to 325F and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. (When finished, a wooden pick inserted into the center of the loaf should come out clean or with just a couple crumbs.)
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then use the parchment paper to pull the loaf out. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Faith's Tips
- If there is any bread left the second day, store the leftovers wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- This bread gets better and better as it sits in the fridge for a few days.
- Try this bread toasted; it's my favorite!
- Recipe yields 1 loaf; cut it into 12 slices and 1 slice is 1 serving.
Nutrition
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I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
This recipe is fantastic! I made it using just one tablespoon of sugar and it makes it more like a bread. An excellent, low-carb healthy nut bread. Love!
This is a fabulous recipe. I cut way back on the sugar and it was still delicious.
Jo, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you so much! How much sugar were you able to cut out?
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! Incredibly tasty and sweet enough even with 1/2 cup of sugar. I’m intolerant to eggs though. Is there anything I can replace eggs with here? I want to be able to enjoy this more than once a year. Thanks!
Hi Natalia, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! I haven’t tried this recipe without the eggs, so I can’t say for sure, but you might want to play around with it using “flax eggs” instead (for every 1 egg, mix together 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal (preferably golden) with 3 tablespoons water until it becomes thick like an egg, about 5 to 10 minutes. If you give it a try, please let me know how it goes!
Haven’t made this in a while & forgot about needin almond meal. All I have on hand is brown rice flour, whole wheat flour or regular flour – I know with2 of them it will not longer be paleo, but can any of these work?
Laura, I haven’t tried this recipe using another type of flour in place of the almond meal, so I’m not sure how well another type of flour would work here (because different types of flours absorb liquids differently). If you decide to give it a try, you may need to add slightly more or less flour (I’d go with all-purpose flour if you want to experiment with it). If you decide to give it a try, let me know how it goes! Otherwise, you might be interested in another quick bread recipe (many of them call for all-purpose flour and a few use whole wheat flour): https://www.anediblemosaic.com/baking/quick-breads/.
Can the bread be made without the mahlab?
LauraJ, Yes, you can omit the mahlab, or try adding 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract if you have that on hand. Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try! :)
Awesome! Can’t wait to make it!
Beautiful loaf, love the combination of cranberry and pecan!
Everything about this bread is calling to me! Amazing how quickbreads become more flavorful after a couple of days. It’s almost worth waiting to dig into them before heating up a thick slice. Love all the health benefits to this bread – I could put this thing on repeat for sure!
This is great, and I have a few pints of fresh cranberries in the fridge. Thanks for sharing!
Fresh Cranberries leftover from Thanksgiving (yes I bought the BIG pack at Costco), I knew I wanted to make nut bread. I got a BIG bag of Pecans from Costco and a small bag of Almond Flour from Aldi and searched for this recipe.
I had to substitute a few ingredients: Avocado Oil and Unrefined Cane Sugar — for Coconut Oil and Coconut Sugar, a bit of wheat flour for coconut flour (to coat the berries and pecans), and a spice mixture of cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf for the 1/4 t. Mahlab. TURNED OUT GREAT! So moist and tasty. Thanks for the inspiration. The double parchment made the lift to the cooling rack a breeze :)
So moist and delicious looking! This loaf is perfect.
Cheers,
Rosa