• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
    • Contact Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • Chickens and Farm Animals
  • Gardening
  • Recipes
  • Podcast
    • Guest Application

Beyond The Chicken Coop logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • Chickens and Farm Animals
  • Gardening
  • About
    • Contact Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • Podcast
    • Guest Application
×

Home » Muffins » Cranberry Orange Muffins

Published: Nov 14, 2015 · Modified: Nov 8, 2022 by Kathy · This post may contain affiliate links

Cranberry Orange Muffins

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Jump to Recipe
Muffins with cranberries on a plate.

Delicious homemade Cranberry Orange Muffins are bursting with fresh cranberries!

Make these for your holiday breakfast or brunch!

Three cranberry muffins on a plate.
Table of Contents
Delicious homemade muffins
Key ingredients
Step by step directions
Recipe tips
Frequently asked questions
Freezing cranberries
More baking recipes with cranberries
More delicious muffins
Cranberry Orange Muffins

Delicious homemade muffins

Whenever cranberries start arriving in the stores, I always buy a few packages and start baking. Homemade cranberry orange muffins are one of the first things I bake every year.

They are quick and easy to make and the flavor is so amazing. Cranberries and fresh orange make a perfect pairing. These muffins are loaded with fresh whole cranberries, orange zest and orange juice.

For a final touch, I also make an orange sugar to sprinkle over the top of the muffins. Orange sugar is simply granulated sugar and fresh orange zest. It adds so much flavor to these muffins.

These cranberry muffins are perfect for breakfast or for a snack. Make up a batch to pack into lunch boxes for a special treat.

During Thanksgiving and Christmas, I like to make up these muffins for a delicious treat at breakfast.

Key ingredients

Ingredients for making cranberry muffins.
  • Cranberries - I love to make these muffins with fresh cranberries, but you can also use frozen cranberries. Select bright red and firm berries.
  • Orange - You need fresh oranges for these muffins and I usually use two oranges. The zest is added to the batter and to the topping. Since you already have the oranges, I use them for the juice too.
  • Flour - Just regular all-purpose flour
  • Sugar - Granulated sugar for both the batter and the topping

Step by step directions

  • Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
  • In a separate bowl, mix egg, milk, oil, juice and zest
  • Add liquid mixture into flour mixture and mix just until most of the ingredients are combined
Two bowls with dry ingredients and wet ingredients.
Adding wet ingredients to a bowl of flour.
  • Fold in cranberries
  • Mix gently until combined
Cranberries added to muffin batter.
Mixing cranberries into batter.
  • Scoop batter into greased muffin tins
  • Combine granulated sugar and orange zest together and then sprinkle over the top of the muffins
Scooping muffin batter into a tin.
Orange sugar in a white bowl.
  • Bake in a preheated 400°F oven
  • Remove baked muffins from muffin tin about 2-3 minutes after removing from oven. Cool on a baking rack.
Muffin batter topped with a sugar sprinkle.
Baked cranberry muffins in the tin.

Recipe tips

  • Don't overmix batter. Stir just until everything comes together
  • Use paper liners or lightly spray your muffin tin
  • To determine if muffins are baked through, insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If the toothpick comes out dry, the muffins are done.
  • Allow muffins to fully cool on a baking rack before storing in an airtight container

Frequently asked questions

Can I use frozen cranberries in cranberry muffins?

Yes, frozen cranberries can be used instead of fresh berries. Add the cranberries frozen and increase baking time by about 5 minutes.

Can I freeze cranberry muffins?

Yes, these baked cranberry muffins can be frozen. Once bake, allow muffins to fully cool. Place muffins in a single layer in a freezer safe container. For best results, use within one month.

Freezing cranberries

I always buy cranberries this time of the year.  I usually buy several bags.  I bake all my favorite recipes and then I throw a couple of bags into the freezer.

The berries freeze well right in the bag.  When I need them, I just pull out what I need and use them frozen.  They last several months in the freezer. My biggest challenge is remembering how many bags I have squirreled away in the freezer!  I tend to lose track.

Frozen cranberries may be used in these cranberry orange muffins. Add the berries frozen and increase baking time by about 5 minutes.

Baked muffins on a wire rack.

More baking recipes with cranberries

I bake up a ton of recipes whenever cranberries are in season!

  • Cranberry bread
  • Cranberry apple bread
  • Twisted cranberry bread
  • Eggnog cranberry coffee cake
  • Cranberry scones
  • Cranberry bundt cake
  • Cranberry sweet rolls

More delicious muffins

  • banana muffins 
  • oatmeal banana muffins
  • blueberry muffins 
  • raspberry lemon muffins
  • poppy seed lemon muffins
  • peanut butter muffins
  • chocolate zucchini muffins.

You might also want to check out this collection of The Best Muffins!

A half of a muffin filled with cranberries on a plate.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop

If you loved this recipe you'll LOVE all the others in this category. Check out all my muffin recipes here!

  • A white platter filled with berry muffins with a crumbly topping.
    Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
  • A small basket filled with muffins.
    Apple Carrot Muffins
  • A muffin topped with oats on a white plate.
    Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
  • Muffins on a blue and white platter.
    Cinnamon Muffins
Three cranberry muffins on a plate.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Kathy
Muffins made with cranberries and orange
5 from 20 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Servings 12 muffins
Calories 164 kcal

Equipment

  • Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Cooling Rack
  • Cookie Scoop
  • Muffin Tin
  • Zester
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 whole egg (lightly beaten)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup milk
  • ⅓ cup oil (canola or vegetable)
  • ¼ cup fresh orange juice
  • 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
  • 2 cup cranberries

Orange Sugar

  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray muffin tin with a nonstick spray or line with paper liners.
  • In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
    2 cups flour, 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ cup sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
  • In a separate bowl mix oil, orange peel, orange juice, egg, and milk.
    ⅓ cup oil, 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel, ¼ cup fresh orange juice, 1 whole egg, ½ cup milk
  • Add liquid mixture to flour mixture. Stir just until flour is almost mixed in.
  • Fold in cranberries
    2 cup cranberries
  • Put into muffin tins sprayed with oil or lined with paper.
  • Mix orange sugar. Sprinkle over muffins.
    2 Tablespoons sugar, 1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
  • Bake at 400°F for 15-18 minutes

Notes

  • Don't overmix batter. Stir just until everything comes together
  • Use paper liners or lightly spray your muffin tin
  • To use frozen berries, add berries frozen to the batter. Increase baking time by about 5 minutes. 
  • To determine if muffins are baked through, insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If the toothpick comes out dry, the muffins are done.
  • Allow muffins to fully cool on a baking rack before storing in an airtight container
 

Nutritional Disclaimer:

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffinCalories: 164kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 2gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 39mgPotassium: 155mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 150IUVitamin C: 5.3mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1.1mg
Keyword cranberry muffins, cranberry muffins with orange, cranberry recipes, how to make cranberry muffins
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @BeyondTheChickenCoop or tag #beyondthechickencoop!

 

More Muffins

  • A zucchini muffin with a glaze on top.
    Lemon Zucchini Muffins
  • Blueberry muffin on a baking rack.
    Blueberry Banana Muffins
  • A coffee cake muffin on a plate.
    Coffee Cake Muffins
  • A pile of cornbread muffins on a blue plate.
    Chipotle Cornbread Muffins
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Louise says

    December 12, 2021 at 10:25 am

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious! I will definitely make these again. Probably didn't make too much of a difference, but copying a Jordan Marsh blueberry muffin recipe I often make, I substituted Sugar-in-the-raw (turbinado sugar) in the topping. It had a nice crunch.

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      December 12, 2021 at 11:20 am

      Thanks, Louise! The sugar topping sounds delicious! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Fred. Gaudet says

    January 20, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    5 stars
    Interesting combination of ingredients.

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

The author holding a chicken.

I'm Kathy, a busy working mom who loves to cook from scratch, grow a garden, and raise farm animals. Take a look around and find all my recipes, gardening tips, and country living antics.

More about me →

Popular Recipes

  • A single muffin topped with a crumbly topping on a plate.
    Oatmeal Banana Muffins
  • Stacks of crispy golden fish on a white plate with a blue rim.
    Beer Battered Fish
  • Crispy fish fillets topped with lemon wedges.
    Pan Fried Walleye
  • A plate with baked pasta with cheese and tomatoes.
    Chicken Pasta Bake

Chicken Dinners

  • Strips of chicken, peppers and onions in a baked casserole.
    Chicken Fajita Casserole
  • Crispy chicken thighs on a white plate.
    Cast Iron Chicken Thighs
  • A chicken thigh with a sauce on a plate with rice and peas.
    Apricot Chicken
  • A plate filled with chicken legs covered in barbecue sauce.
    Baked BBQ Chicken Legs
  • Grilled chicken thighs on a white plate.
    Italian Dressing Chicken
  • A golden chicken thigh on a white plate with roasted potatoes and green beans.
    Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Featured In...

Beyond the Chicken Coop recipes have been featured in many different sites.

Most Popular Recipes

Beer Battered Fish

Beer Battered Fish

A serving of chicken pot pie with a crust on a white plate.

Chicken Pot Pie

Oatmeal Banana Muffin on a small white plate with crumb topping crumbled on plate.

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Search Beyond the Chicken Coop

Featured In

Beyond the Chicken Coop recipes have been featured in many different sites.

The author holding a chicken.

I'm Kathy, a busy working mom who loves to cook from scratch, grow a garden, and raise farm animals. Take a look around and find all my recipes, gardening tips, and country living antics.

More about me →

Popular Recipes

  • A single muffin topped with a crumbly topping on a plate.
    Oatmeal Banana Muffins
  • Stacks of crispy golden fish on a white plate with a blue rim.
    Beer Battered Fish
  • Crispy fish fillets topped with lemon wedges.
    Pan Fried Walleye
  • A plate with baked pasta with cheese and tomatoes.
    Chicken Pasta Bake

Chicken Dinners

  • Strips of chicken, peppers and onions in a baked casserole.
    Chicken Fajita Casserole
  • Crispy chicken thighs on a white plate.
    Cast Iron Chicken Thighs
  • A chicken thigh with a sauce on a plate with rice and peas.
    Apricot Chicken
  • A plate filled with chicken legs covered in barbecue sauce.
    Baked BBQ Chicken Legs
  • Grilled chicken thighs on a white plate.
    Italian Dressing Chicken
  • A golden chicken thigh on a white plate with roasted potatoes and green beans.
    Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Featured In...

Beyond the Chicken Coop recipes have been featured in many different sites.

Footer

↑ back to top

Beyond the Chicken Coop recipes have been featured in many different sites.

About

  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 Beyond the Chicken Coop®