This cranberry sauce with dried cranberries has a special place at my holiday table, and trust me, it’s so much more than just a sidekick! This recipe is a lifesaver when fresh cranberries are hard to come by, and the dried ones pack a sweet-tart punch that’s unbelievably rich and flavorful. Cranberry sauce always feels like the underdog of the meal, but once I started making it this way—with a splash of orange juice and a hint of zest—it’s become the star of the meal.
This post contains helpful tips and tricks! If you’re in a rush, please use the “Jump to Recipe” above!
💭 Your Favorite Cranberry Sauce Yet
While fresh cranberry sauce is amazing, sometimes you just can’t find fresh cranberries, or you have a lot of dried cranberries sitting at home. This is a great way to make a traditional recipe, but be more cost-effective!
It’s ridiculously easy to make in just 20 minutes and uses pantry staples, which is ideal during the busy holiday season. Every year, someone at the table ends up raving about how it’s the best cranberry sauce they’ve ever had—and they’re always shocked it’s homemade!
- Dried cranberries are more flavorful: Dried cranberries have a more concentrated flavor, so you can use less sugar without sacrificing taste. Plus, extra sugar in dried cranberries will help thicken your sauce as it cooks.
- Dried cranberries hold their shape better: When cooked, fresh cranberries sometimes turn into a mushy mess. Dried cranberries hold their shape when cooked, so your sauce will have a lovely mix of tart bites and smoothness.
- You can use this recipe year-round: Cranberry season is relatively short, so if you want to make cranberry sauce outside of November and December, you’ll need to use dried cranberries. This is also a great way to use up any leftover dried cranberries from your holiday baking!
📋 Ingredients and notes
To make cranberry sauce with dried cranberries, you’ll need: dried cranberries, cranberry juice, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, water, and corn starch.
Notes and Variations
- Switch up the cranberries: Cranberry sauce is a staple for the holidays, and can be made with many types of cranberries. If you have fresh or frozen cranberries, check out this homemade cranberry sauce. Or if you want to use canned cranberries, here’s a cranberry sauce with canned cranberries!
- Switch up the liquid: This recipe uses cranberry juice, orange juice and water. However, you can just use water if you want to tone down the sweetness.
- Adjust sweetness: Dried cranberries are quite sweet, so if you want to reduce sweetness, add a pinch of salt or other warm spices (like ginger or cinnamon).
📖 Make cranberry sauce with dried cranberries
Add dried cranberries, orange juice and orange zest, cranberry juice, and sugar to a medium saucepan.
Heat and stir until the mixture starts to boil. Then, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the cranberries plump up, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Make a slurry with cornstarch and water. Slowly drizzle this slurry into the sauce while stirring. Stir for at least one minute, until the sauce thickens.
Sauce will thicken more as it cools! Serve along with your favorite holiday dishes (like this amazing vegan turkey roast and vegan stuffing)
Shruthi’s Top Tip
Soak your dried cranberries in water for at least an hour before beginning to cook your sauce (if you’re able to!) This will help them rehydrate properly and plump up nicely.
- Freshly squeezed orange juice elevates the sauce with a vibrant, natural sweetness.
- A pinch of cinnamon, cloves, or ginger can add warmth without overwhelming the tart cranberries.
- Let the cranberries plump up fully on low heat for a richer texture.
- Let the sauce cool completely to thicken naturally before serving and only use the cornstarch slurry if you want a jam-like consistency—otherwise, skip it for a more traditional texture.
👩🏽🍳Troubleshooting FAQs
You can use either! There is no need to add any additional sweetener if you’re using sweetened cranberries. Depending on which type you use, simply adjust sugar content by adjusting the quantity of sugar.
Yes! Craisins are the same as dried cranberries. Ocean Spray cranberries are called “Craisins” (so it’s a branded name for the same item)
No, you don’t need to soak the dried cranberries beforehand. You just add them to the saucepan along with the orange juice to rehydrate on the stove.
I like to use unsweetened cranberry juice when I make this recipe, but you can really use any that you like.
🍴 Serving and storage suggestions
Store this cranberry sauce in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to four days. You can also make this recipe up to 3 months ahead of time, portion it and freeze it.
To defrost, place the amount you need in a saucepan and warm it up over the stove. You can also defrost by moving the portion from the freezer to the fridge the night before.
If you have more dried cranberries, check out these cranberry biscotti with fresh orange zest! I love making this with leftover cranberries after the big day.
More easy holiday sides
You can serve this cranberry sauce with these amazing holiday dishes:
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cranberry Sauce with Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1½ cups dried cranberries
- ¾ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons orange zest, optional
- ¾ cup cranberry juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn starch, optional, for thickening
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup water, optional, for thickening
Instructions
- Add dried cranberries, orange juice and orange zest, cranberry juice, and sugar to a medium saucepan.
- Heat and stir until the mixture starts to boil. Then, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the cranberries plump up, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Make a slurry with cornstarch and ¼ cup of water. Slowly drizzle this slurry into the sauce mixture while stirring. Stir for at least one minute, until the sauce thickens. Sauce will thicken more as it cools!
Notes
- Plump dried cranberries for a richer flavor and texture: Soaking the dried cranberries in warm water for 15-30 minutes before cooking will help them rehydrate and plump up, resulting in a more flavorful and juicy sauce.
- Add warm spices: Spices like cinnamon, cloves, and ginger pair beautifully with cranberries, creating a warm and inviting aroma. Just a pinch of each spice will add depth of flavor without overpowering the cranberries.
- Adjust the sweetness to your liking: Cranberry sauce can vary in sweetness depending on personal preference. Start with the suggested amount of sugar in your recipe and adjust to taste, adding more or less depending on your liking.
- Let it cool before serving for a thicker consistency: The cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools, so allow it to rest at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving. This will result in a smooth and glossy texture.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very simply and well explained ! Thank you
Love this recipe had a large bag of dried cranberries Cranberry sauce quit pricy right now so this was great and so yummy. We eat a lot of cranberry sauce. TY
So glad to hear this! 🙂
Hello from Riyadh
All went well until I added the starch slurry. It became too thick and impacted the taste. I thinned it again with water.
The result was just ok.
Has anyone ever made this recipe and tried canning it for later?
Unfortunately, I’ve not tried canning the recipe
Yasss!! This was so delicious and easy to make – thank you!!