15 Minute Cranberry Sauce – Dried Cranberries

Delicious cranberry sauce from dried cranberries is an easy recipe. The tartness of the cranberries paired with orange juice and brown sugar creates a lovely addition to your holiday table or fall season recipes. There is no cranberry juice in this recipe.

I love using dried cranberries like in my Cranberry Chutney recipe. I always have them on hand so it is easy to whip up a chutney or sauce with them very quickly. It’s especially helpful when you can’t find fresh cranberries.

While you won’t get the jelly-like consistency of store-bought, instead you will get a delicious homemade cranberry sauce with dried cranberries and clean ingredients. No added junk!

Why you will love this recipe

• Uses simple ingredients
• Requires a few minutes of active time
• Easy to adjust to your preferences
• Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free

Ingredients

A few basic ingredients are needed to make the best cranberry sauce recipe:

Dried cranberries: I used Craisins. Any brand will do, just make sure they don’t have any added ingredients. I like to chop half the cranberries in half. This helps give a juicier texture to the sauce.

Sugar: Brown sugar gives a delicious taste. Sometimes, I like to use half brown sugar and half white sugar. You can also use white sugar only. It is flexible, go with what you have on hand!

The amount of sugar can be adjusted to your liking. The sugar content can also be explored by substituting with alternatives like maple syrup.

Orange juice: Orange pairs beautifully with cranberry. You can substitute pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, or apple juice.

Salt: I’ve added just a touch for balance.

Orange zest: This gives a bit of a boost of orange. Skip if you don’t have it on hand.

Cinnamon powder: A bit of cinnamon powder adds to the holiday taste of this sauce. You can also add in cinnamon sticks or cloves/clove powder. Skip if you don’t want to add.

Variations

I’ve listed variations above in terms of ingredients.

Variations in the method of preparation include:

1.      Blending all of the cooked mixture to make a smooth sauce.

2.      Blending 2/3 or ½  of the cooked mixture to give a saucier texture.

3.      Leaving the cooked mixture chunky.

I prefer the 2^nd approach, which is included in the recipe card below. Adjust to your liking. It is a flexible recipe!

Making It

Place all ingredients including dried berries in a medium saucepan and turn stove on medium heat.  

Mix and let simmer about 6-7 minutes. The cranberries will plump up. Mix intermittently and squash a few slightly with the back of your spatula. Turn off gas.

Once cooled, take about 2/3 of the mixture and blend it in a blender or a food processor. You can also use a hand blender.

Mix with the remaining cranberries and serve in a serving dish.

Keep a cup of water nearby. You can add a tablespoon at a time to adjust to the consistency you enjoy. If you keep it thicker it will be more like a cranberry relish.

Serving

This easy cranberry sauce tastes great with so many recipes especially a great addition to holiday meal, Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving dinner or around that time of year.

Storing

Leftover cranberry sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. A mason jar is a great choice.

It can also be frozen for later use. Just remember to give it time to come to room temperature before using it.

Hope you enjoy this dried cranberry sauce recipe!