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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Holiday / Thanksgiving Recipes

    Canned Cranberry Sauce Recipe

    Published: Nov 1, 2021 by Susie Weinrich · This post may contain affiliate links. 4 Comments

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    Canned Cranberries are okay, but this holiday season take a little extra time and spruce up the canned stuff. It only takes a couple extra ingredients and a couple minutes to add layers of flavor. It can even be made a few days ahead for easier holiday dinner prep!

    a large white bowl of cranberry sauce

    And if you still really want to make them homemade from fresh cranberries (and you have an Instant Pot) you can pop over to this recipe for Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce.

    Table of Contents hide
    1 Cranberry Sauce
    2 Canned Cranberries
    3 Ingredients
    4 Step by Step Instructions
    5 Serving
    6 Making It Sweeter
    7 Making It More Tart
    8 Using Leftover Cranberry Sauce
    9 More Delicious Holiday Side Dishes
    10 Did you make this recipe?!
    11 Canned Cranberry Sauce Recipe

    Cranberry Sauce

    If you are not familiar with cranberry sauce, sometimes called cranberry relish, it is a condiment or side dish that is made from whole cranberries and sugar. It is a popular holiday side dish served in the United States with Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner.

    It is the perfect complement to any rich and butter heavy dinner. It goes great with Roasted Turkey, Pot Roast, Braised Tri Tip, Pork Roast, or Rosemary Pork Loin.

    Canned Cranberries

    There are two options when you go to the store to buy canned cranberries.

    • Jellied Cranberry Sauce
    • Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

    You want to make sure you buy the whole berry cranberry sauce, we like Ocean Spray brand.

    Jellied Cranberry Sauce is the one that gives canned cranberry sauce a bad reputation! It is the one that comes out of the can whole, still showing the ribs of the can, and then gets cut into slices. NO THANK YOU!!!

    Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce actually has whole cranberries in it and is surrounded by a cranberry sauce. It is good, but lacks depth of flavor and additional texture. It is a great starting point for your “homemade cranberry sauce”.

    Ingredients

    You only need a few ingredients to dress up your canned cranberries:

    ingredients to make canned cranberry sauce recipe

    Orange Zest – the zest of an orange is literally just the orange peel portion, you want to avoid going to deep or you will also get the white pith under the peel, which can be bitter. A Microplane does a great job of zesting fresh oranges!

    Crushed Pineapple – a little pineapple goes a long way in this recipe, you only need an 8 oz can. Make sure you get the crushed pineapple in 100% juice. It adds the perfect texture and sweetness.

    Cinnamon & Clove – These two spices are the perfect addition here. The cinnamon is traditional and the clove adds perfect depth of flavor and warmth.

    Step by Step Instructions

    Start by opening the cans of whole cranberry sauce and pop them into a medium saucepan. You may need to run a knife or spoon between the cranberries and the can to get them to release.

    Place the pot over low heat .

    Now add the orange zest from a medium or large orange, canned crushed pineapple with juices, ground cinnamon and clove.

    Stir it around the pot and let warm through for about 10 minutes.

    Remove from the heat and let it cool.

    Serving

    You can serve your cranberries warm, cold or at room temperature, it is completely personal preference.

    To serve them warm, you can cook them right before dinner and then let them cool for a while and serve. Or make ahead and then warm on the stove or in the microwave for a minute.

    To serve cold (my favorite way to serve them!) make the cranberries ahead and then pop in the refrigerator for a couple hours or a couple days. Give them a stir and place them on the dinner table.

    a cowl of cranberry sauce with a spoon for serving

    Making It Sweeter

    Give the cranberries a taste. There is already quite a bit of sugar in the canned cranberries, but if you still like it a little sweeter, try using some of these options, adding just a little at a time:

    • brown sugar
    • white sugar
    • maple syrup

    Making It More Tart

    If you like tart cranberries then you want more acid. Achieve this by adding a little lemon juice, taste, and add more as you like.

    Using Leftover Cranberry Sauce

    Store any leftover cranberry sauce in the fridge, covered, for up to a week.

    It is excellent added to leftover turkey sandwiches, over ice cream, or served with other proteins like pork chops, roasted pork loin

    More Delicious Holiday Side Dishes

    • The BEST Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
    • Homemade Stuffing
    • Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
    • Easy Jiffy Corn Casserole
    • Broccoli Bacon Salad
    • Super Flavorful Gravy Without Drippings
    • Creamy & Flavorful Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
    • Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Cranberries
    • Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic

    Susie Weinrich washing produce

    Did you make this recipe?!

    If you make this recipe I would love to hear your review. Pop down to the comment section and connect with me.

    Then sign up for our Weekly Newsletter so you never miss a new recipe!

    Rate This Recipe
    a cowl of cranberry sauce with a spoon for serving

    Canned Cranberry Sauce Recipe

    A recipe to turn your canned cranberry sauce into a spectacular side dish for your Holiday feast! They will taste just like homemade, no one will ever know they started in a can!
    LISTEN TO THE AUDIO RECIPE WITH THE PLAYER BELOW.
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Pin Rate SaveSaved to Grow
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 10 people
    Calories: 134kcal
    Author: Susie Weinrich

    Equipment

    • Microplane or zester

    Ingredients

    • 2 (14 oz.) canned whole berry cranberry sauce
    • 8 oz crushed pineapple in juice – do not drain!
    • orange zest of 1 orange – medium or large size
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • healthy pinch of ground clove
    Prevent your screen from going dark while you are cooking!

    Instructions

    • Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir to combine
    • Warm together for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    • Taste for sweet/tart preference!
      To make sweeter add a little brown sugar, maple syrup or white sugar.
      To make more tart squeeze in a little lemon juice.
    • Remove from the heat and cool for 15-20 minutes.

    Serving/Storing

    • Canned Cranberries can be served warm or cold.
      (Cold is my preferred way! It adds a nice temperature contrast to the warm/hot meal)
    • You can make these up to 3 days ahead and store in the fridge, covered. Give them a stir before serving cold.
      Or heat them over low for a few minutes to serve warm.
    • Leftovers are great on turkey sandwiches or over ice cream!
    Did you try this recipe? Connect with me & let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
    Jump to Comments
    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 23mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg

    If nutrition facts are provided they are calculated as an estimate to the best of our knowledge.

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    About Susie Weinrich

    Susie Weinrich is the recipe developer, food photographer, and content creator behind Mom's Dinner. She has over 20 years experience in the food industry. Currently, Susie shares all her recipes and food knowledge on Mom's Dinner. You will find her recipes are easy to follow and full of tips and tricks to make sure the recipe you are making turns out perfect!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Mikki

      November 23, 2022 at 12:36 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you! first time cranberry sauce maker! This is delicious and was EASY!!

      Reply
    2. Lauren

      November 18, 2021 at 5:16 pm

      5 stars
      Getting ahead on some prep for Thanksgiving and made this today. Such a GREAT way to elevate canned cranberry sauce. I had to put this in the fridge to keep myself from dipping pretzels in it!! Thanks!

      Reply
      • Laura

        November 22, 2021 at 1:45 pm

        5 stars
        This recipe is EASY and DELICIOUS 😋. Made it today and was pleasantly surprised. I can’t wait to serve it on Thanksgiving and I’m sure it will be a hit!!

        Reply
    3. Lori

      November 18, 2021 at 11:38 am

      5 stars
      I never thought of making cranberry sauce this way! So much easier than making from scratch and the flavor!! So good!!

      Reply

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