Making cranberry orange muffins with cake mix is a simple way to save time during the holidays without sacrificing flavor or texture.

Cake mix cranberry muffins are the perfect baking shortcut during the busy holiday season. Whether you’re serving these as a Thanksgiving or Christmas breakfast or sharing as a handmade gift, you’ll love how easy it is to whip up a delicious homemade treat.

close-up view of cake mix cranberry orange muffins that are perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. One muffin is torn in half to show the berries inside, and all muffins are topped with streusel.

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One of my favorite things about the fall and winter season is the wide availability of cranberries.

It’s a tradition for me to take advantage of the bounty and make all sorts of cranberry desserts, breakfasts, dips, and more.

And while I have my fair share of from-scratch cranberry treats that I make, there are times when a baking shortcut is in order–especially during the busy holiday season!

One of my favorite time-saving recipes is these easy cake mix cranberry orange muffins. They’re SO good–perfectly moist and tender, chock full of fresh cranberries and refreshing citrus, and topped with sweet streusel.

Nobody will ever guess you didn’t spend all morning in the kitchen whipping them up!

They make an excellent holiday breakfast, a treat to serve with afternoon tea, an addition to a bake sale fundraiser, or an edible gift idea for friends and neighbors.

overhead view of easy cranberry orange muffins on an ivory-colored plate. One muffin has been torn in half to show all of the cranberries inside. A muffin pan is in the background.

Making Cranberry Muffins from a Box of Cake Mix

Making muffins with cake mix means there’s less measuring of dry goods, which saves time and keeps things simple.

But it’s the extra additions that give these muffins their from-scratch flavor and texture!

For instance, I like to add some sour cream to help keep the muffins nice and moist, and a bit of extra flour helps to ensure they’re just a little more dense than a cupcake.

Freshly grated orange zest and orange juice provide the bright, citrus flavor, and a little almond extract enhances the flavors.

You can use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries, depending on what you have on hand. Just make sure they’re whole berries, and if frozen, there’s no need to thaw first.

More Favorite Cranberry Recipes:

overhead view of a muffin tin with freshly-baked cranberry orange muffins for the holidays.

How to Make Cake Mix Cranberry Muffins

It’s really easy to make these festive and flavorful muffins.

Ingredients You’ll Need

French vanilla cake mix
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Sour cream
Vegetable oil
Eggs
Orange zest
Orange juice
Almond extract
Orange extract (optional)
Whole cranberries
Granulated sugar

a hand holds half of a cranberry orange muffin made with cake mix. The remaining muffins from the batch are in the background.

How to Make It:

Find the full printable recipe available below

Mix the batter. First, you’ll combine the cake mix, flour, and baking powder. Whisk or use your mixer to combine.

Then add the sour cream, oil, eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and extracts.

Mix together on low speed for about 30 seconds, then scrape down the bowl and mix on medium-high speed for another 30 seconds.

two photos; one shows ingredients for muffin batter in a mixing bowl; the other shows the ingredients mixed into a batter.

Add the cranberries and gently mix by hand, folding the berries into the batter just until combined, then scoop the batter into prepared muffin pans. I use an ice cream scoop for this.

two photos; one shows cranberries folded into muffin batter; the other shows the muffin batter divided among wells in a muffin pan.

Prep the streusel. Then, you’ll prepare the streusel by combining sugar and orange zest in a small mixing bowl.

Use your fingers to mix them together, which releases the oils from the zest into the sugar.

Stir in the flour, followed by 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. Using your fingers, mix this together until the streusel is the consistency of wet sand. If it seems too dry, add a third teaspoon of oil and mix again.

two photos; one shows orange zest and sugar in a small bowl; the other shows the two ingredients combined.

Bake. Then, you’ll sprinkle the tops of the batter with streusel and bake in a preheated oven for about 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

two photos; one shows streusel sprinkled over muffin batter; the other shows freshly-baked cake mix cranberry orange muffins topped with streusel, still in the muffin tin.

Notes and Adaptations:

You can substitute plain Greek yogurt (preferably full-fat) instead of the sour cream.
If you don’t have almond extract or orange extract on hand, you can omit them. I like the flavor they add, but they aren’t absolute necessities. You can also add another teaspoon of orange zest in lieu of the orange extract, if preferred.
Leftover muffins should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. Due to the moisture from the cranberries, the streusel topping will soften over time. For that reason, I recommend enjoying them as close to baking day as possible.
The muffins freeze well. I recommend flash-freezing them on a baking sheet, then transferring them to a zip-top bag or freezer-safe container to freeze. Thaw at room temperature.
You can omit the streusel topping if desired, but I like how it elevates the muffins a bit.