This simple slow cooker cranberry sauce recipe comes together so easily with only 5 basic ingredients. Set the slow cooker and let it work its magic while freeing up stovetop space for your other side dishes! It's perfect for making ahead of time too for a stress-free holiday.
Holidays can be stressful, so I love finding ways to integrate using a slow cooker to make life easier. Stovetop space is precious during the holidays, so while making cranberry sauce on the stovetop doesn't take a ton of work, the crockpot frees up one of the hobs.
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Why You'll Love This Cranberry Sauce Recipe
- It's flavorful, and while canned cranberry sauce is tasty as well, I find this homemade crockpot cranberry sauce to be brighter in flavor.
- It's shockingly simple to make. You add everything into the slow cooker, and it works its magic. You'll have to stir it every so often, but you don't have to hover over it.
- You don't need a lot of ingredients to make cranberry sauce from scratch. It's definitely worth making it instead of buying a can!
Ingredients You'll Need
- cranberries — while you can use fresh or frozen cranberries to make cranberry sauce in the slow cooker, I prefer fresh as they're in season! Make sure to give them a good rinse and pick out any cranberries that look wrinkly.
- orange juice — a few notes on the orange juice. You can use freshly squeezed orange juice or bottled pulp-free orange juice. Bottled orange juice is much easier to use. However, I love adding some orange zest to the cranberry sauce before serving, so I do suggest having a fresh orange on hand for an extra hint of bright citrus flavor.
- brown sugar — you can also use white sugar or a 50/50 mix of brown sugar and white sugar. Maple syrup can work as well.
- cinnamon — a pinch of cinnamon for some cozy flavor. You can also place a cinnamon stick in the slow cooker.
- optional add ins — I like to add a bit of orange zest into the slow cooker and vanilla extract at the end. And if I have extra orange zest, it can be stirred in at the end.
How To Make This Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce Recipe
- Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest in a bowl.
- Add the orange juice and ⅓ cup water to the bowl.
- Whisk until the mixture is combined.
- Add the cranberries into the slow cooker.
- Pour the mixture over the cranberries.
- Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours, or until the cranberries have burst and the sauce is bubbly. Stir once every hour to prevent scorching.
- Taste and stir in any extra sweetener or add-ins if desired, such as vanilla extract and orange zest.
- Mash the cranberry sauce if you desire.
Recipes Variations
- If you are using frozen cranberries, you can skip thawing them. However, you'll have to adjust the amount of water added to the crockpot, as the frozen cranberries will release additional water.
- Instead of brown sugar, use white sugar or 50/50 brown sugar and white sugar.
- Instead of brown sugar, use maple syrup.
- Swap orange juice with water if you don’t have any.
Tips and Notes
- Be sure to stir the cranberry sauce in the crockpot once every hour or so to help the sauce cook evenly and not scorch.
- The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- You can serve the sauce warm or chilled.
- To make sure the cranberries are fresh, give them a squeeze. Cranberries should be firm when you squeeze them. You don’t want soft cranberries. Fresh cranberries are also deep red and shiny. Skip the ones with brown spots or discoloration.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few ways to use up leftover cranberry sauce. Use it in a sandwich (along with some leftover turkey!), use it as a topper for yogurt, pancakes, or waffles, make some cranberry meatballs, dollop it over some pork loin or chicken, serve it warm over ice cream, on a cheese or charcuterie board, or cheesecake. The options are endless!
Nope, there's no need to remove the seeds from the cranberries before adding them to the slow cooker.
The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. However, if you would like for it to be thicker, then remove the lid from the crockpot and let the sauce cook down some more. Removing the lid allows the liquid to evaporate.
You can make the cranberry sauce a few days in advance. I actually prefer to do it as it gives time for the texture and flavor to really meld together.
Allow the homemade cranberry sauce to cool to room temperature before you store it in an airtight container in the fridge for around a week. You can reheat the sauce or serve the chilled.
You sure can! You can freeze the cranberry sauce for up to 6 months in a freezer-safe bag or container. Make sure it's room temperature before freezing.
I've never tried canning this cranberry sauce, and I do not recommend doing so.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries, 1 package
- ½ cup orange juice
- ⅓ cup water
- ½ to ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Optional Add-ins
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, while cooking or after
- 1 splash vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, orange juice, and water in a bowl. Add orange zest, if using.
- Add the cranberries into the slow cooker.
- Pour the liquid over the cranberries.
- Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours, or until the cranberries have burst and the sauce is bubbly. Stir once every hour to prevent scorching.
- Taste and stir in any extra sweetener or add-ins if desired, such as vanilla extract, more sugar, or more orange zest.
- Mash the cranberry sauce if you desire.
Nutrition
More Recipes You May Like
- Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Crockpot Pineapple Chicken
- Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken
- Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs
More places to find me: @onepotonlyrecipes on Instagram and One Pot Only on Pinterest.
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