Festive and perfect for the holidays, this gluten-free cranberry chocolate bread is ideal for sharing with family or guests. With two kinds of chocolate, tart fresh cranberries, and toasted almonds, it’s a crowd-pleaser and quickly became a favorite gluten-free loaf.
Quick breads and muffins are staples at my house — great for breakfast instead of cereal, a tasty snack, or a lighter dessert. Loaves like this one rarely last long here. Although I’ve shared many gluten-free muffins and coffee cakes before, I realized I hadn’t posted a gluten-free quick bread yet, so this cranberry chocolate loaf is my first offering in that category.
This loaf includes melted white chocolate folded into the batter, which adds richness and improves texture without an overt white-chocolate flavor. Buttermilk keeps the bread tender and moist — it’s my go-to liquid for muffins and quick breads whenever possible.
I adapted ideas from a white-chocolate cranberry loaf in Tates Bake Shop: Baking for Friends, but I added semi-sweet chocolate to balance the sweetness and provide a pleasing contrast to the tart cranberries. That addition was a great choice.
Notes on ingredients for this gluten-free cranberry loaf:
- Almonds: Use pre-chopped toasted almonds or buy slivered almonds and pulse them briefly in a food chopper or roughly chop by hand. Toasting enhances flavor — spread almonds on a baking sheet and bake briefly until fragrant, then cool and chop.
- White chocolate: Melting white chocolate into the batter brings richness and a silky texture. It blends in so the flavor isn’t pronounced, but the loaf benefits from the added depth.
- Buttermilk: Essential for tender crumb and moisture. You’ll find it in the dairy section; it consistently yields excellent results in quick breads.
- Mini chocolate chips: I prefer mini chips so chocolate is distributed evenly and you get chocolate in every bite. Enjoy Life mini semi-sweet chips are an allergen-friendly option if you need certified gluten-free and dairy-free chips.
Store-bought or pantry staples make this loaf easy to prepare. If you enjoy experimenting with cranberries, they also work beautifully in cakes and tarts for added color and bright flavor.
I hope you try this gluten-free cranberry bread soon. If you do, I’d love to hear which quick bread you’d like me to develop next — gluten-free banana bread is coming soon!
Gluten-free Cranberry Bread Recipe:
Gluten-free Cranberry Chocolate Quick Bread
This gluten-free cranberry chocolate bread combines tart fresh cranberries, toasted almonds, melted white chocolate, and mini semi-sweet chips for a tender, flavorful loaf perfect for sharing.
10 minutes
1 hour 30 minutes
1 hour 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup toasted, coarsely chopped almonds (*see notes for instructions)
- 6 ounces white chocolate
- 2 1/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
- 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum*
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9x5x3″ (or similar) loaf pan by spraying with cooking spray and sprinkling with about a tablespoon of flour; tip and tap to coat evenly. Set aside.
Toast the almonds: Spread 1 cup slivered almonds on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 10–11 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove, cool 1–2 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
Melt the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl: heat for 30 seconds, stir, then continue in 15-second increments, stirring between each, until smooth. Let cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains a binder), salt, and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed and scraping the bowl after each addition.
Beat in the buttermilk, then the melted white chocolate and vanilla. The batter may look curdled; this is normal.
With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Fold in the chopped toasted almonds and mini semi-sweet chips. Gently fold in the fresh cranberries until dispersed through the batter.
Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350°F for up to 90 minutes, checking at 80 minutes. A toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center should come out clean or with moist crumbs. If the top is browning too quickly while the center is still baking, tent lightly with aluminum foil and continue baking.
When finished, let the pan rest on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, then gently remove the loaf and allow it to cool completely on the rack before slicing. For easier removal, use oven mitts and tip the loaf gently into one hand, then set it on the rack rather than inverting the pan.
Notes
*Omit xanthan gum if your flour blend already contains xanthan or guar gum. Recommended gluten-free flour blends that produce good results include gfJules, King Arthur Measure for Measure, or Gluten Free Mama’s Almond blend.
Pin this recipe to your gluten-free board!
If you try this bread, please return and leave a rating or review with any tips or adjustments you made — your feedback is appreciated.