Cranberry Cinnamon Banana Bread – super moist and tender bread with cranberry, cinnamon and yogurt flavors make this delicious loaf perfect for breakfast or dessert!
Cranberry Cinnamon Banana Bread
Banana Bread has gotten a bad rap. Many think of banana bread as an afterthought, something to bake only when you feel guilty about throwing over-ripe bananas away. That’s how I thought too, until I starting adding more variety to the batter, like this Blueberry Pecan Banana Bread, and discovered how tasty these loaves can be.
Making Cranberry Cinnamon Banana Bread
Your gonna love this easy recipe made with just pantry ingredients. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed, the cranberries are folded in, the prep is done. Then bake the loaf for about an hour and it’s done when a tester poked in the center comes out clean.
Bananas for making Banana Bread
Bananas that have dark spots from sitting a little too long on the counter are great to make into banana bread. They’re soft, so you can toss them into a bowl and smash them easily with a fork for this recipe.
Did you know that a medium banana equals about 1/2 cup and can be easily frozen when starting to over ripen? To freeze, peel each banana and bag them individually in plastic freezer bags. They’ll keep for 3 months in the freezer. Just thaw in the fridge no more than 24 hours before using for baking.
Other Good Stuff:
- Unsalted Butter – use softened butter for moist bread and incredible flavor. If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to 1/4 tsp.
- Greek Yogurt – I love using yogurt in baked recipes for the moisture and tender crumb. Sour cream can be substituted for the yogurt.
- Brown Sugar – for deep caramel color and a hint of maple flavor, brown sugar was included in this recipe. It has more moisture than granulated sugar and makes a difference in the texture of the bread.
- Eggs – Eggs give this bread structure, moisture, color and flavor. I used 2 large eggs to make this bread batter.
Helpful Tools:
- Commercial Loaf Pan – My favorite brand for great results every time!
- Electric Hand Mixer – Comes with a whisk attachment!
- Glass Mixing Bowls – you can’t go wrong with these classic glass mixing bowls.
- Stand Mixer – classic bowl-lift style where the attachment moves around the bowl for better mixing. I own this in red, but it comes in over 10 colors to match your kitchen.
- Large Rubber Spatula – a must have for baking with a built in rest to keep the surface off your counter top! This is the one I’m always reaching for!
Cranberry Cinnamon Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 medium bananas overripe, mashed with fork
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or spray with non-stick cooking spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, with the mixer set on medium, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, cinnamon, greek yogurt. and bananas. Beat on low speed to combine.
- In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture, beating on medium speed for one minute. Scrape down bowl as needed. Fold in cranberries until well distributed.
- Spread into prepared pan. Bake on center rack of oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack.
Chef Tips
Nutrition Facts
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If you made this recipe, please leave a comment and rating. I would appreciate the chance to troubleshoot any issues you might have had before you leave the rating!
Made this and it was delicious! Substituted sour cream for the greek yogurt, used muscovado sugar for the brown sugar, and increased the cinnamon to 3/4 tablespoon. Also added 1/2 cup cream cheese chocolate chips. Bananas worked out to around 284 grams total. Baked the full 1 hour 15 minutes and turned out perfectly — might be my first banana bread that wasn’t wet in the middle which was super exciting!
I do wish the recipe included the glaze/icing that is shown in the pictures though as it looks delicious.
Thank you so much!
I’ve made this twice now and my husband and I really like it! I substitute fresh or frozen cranberries instead of dried.