My Mom's Most-Requested Thanksgiving Recipe Is From the Back of the Bag

We didn't have many Thanksgiving traditions growing up; we tried a different turkey technique every year, got creative with sides, and took a generally non-traditional approach to the traditions. In fact, my most salient Thanksgiving memory from childhood is when the fire department had to come because we accidentally left the manual in our brand-new oven...Not our proudest moment.

But there were a few things that always had to be on the table on Turkey Day: my dad's stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, and my mom's cranberry bread. Well, just as is the case with many of my so-called "family recipes", it turns out that her bread was printed on the back of a bag the whole time. Even despite that, it still remains my favorite thing on the Thanksgiving table today. Here's why it deserves a spot of yours, too.

My Family's Favorite Ocean Spray Cranberry Bread Recipe

It never occurred to me that this wasn't some chef-helmed or heirloom recipe until I realized why my mom always insisted on buying the bag of Ocean Spray cranberries—never another brand. That's because the recipe for her beloved Cranberry-Orange Bread was printed right there on the back of the Ocean Spray bag.

I don't remember how the tradition of this cranberry bread started, but I do remember that I immediately fell in love with it because we served it at the start of the meal, alongside soups and salads, even though it's essentially a dessert. And who doesn't want to start with dessert on Thanksgiving?!

It's an extremely simple quick bread recipe that comes together in under an hour with wonderfully balanced sweet and tart flavors. I know it's an easy recipe because my mom was the one in charge of making it—and she was decidedly not a baker. This cranberry loaf was the one constant on our Thanksgiving table year after year (with the exception of one year, when she accidentally used salt instead of sugar and we all nearly choked on the inedible results).

My favorite part of this recipe, which is now available on Ocean Spray's website, is that it calls for both orange juice and zest to get lots of bright citrus flavor into the bread. Plus, it only uses one bowl, crucial for cutting down on dishes on Thanksgiving. Hot tip: we always use a food processor to quickly chop the cranberries—otherwise they roll around on the cutting board, making the job finicky and tedious.

If you're looking for an addition to your Thanksgiving table that plays nicely with other holiday flavors, but is ten times easier than most bread or roll recipes, look no further. You can find a nearly-identical recipe right here on Allrecipes, with hundreds of 5-star ratings and positive reviews to back me up.