Tangy cranberries mulled with apple cider and warm seasonal spices make this apple cider cranberry sauce a delicious and easy side dish for your holiday table.
For a cozy and simple holiday meal, serve this homemade cranberry sauce with Air-Fryer Turkey Tenderloin and make 3-Ingredient Cream Cheese Caramel Dip with sliced apples for dessert.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
- Ingredients
- Is Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce Gluten-Free?
- How to Make Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
- Variations
- Entertainer's Tip!
- Storage
- Leftover Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce Makes the Perfect Dessert!
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Cranberry Dessert Recipes
- Pairing
- Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
Why You'll Love Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
- Upgraded Holiday Staple: The warm seasonal spices and apple cider put a flavorful twist on this must-have holiday dish that will have your guests coming back for more.
- Quick and Easy: Done in fifteen minutes. Homemade cranberry sauce takes so little effort and is in a completely different league from canned cranberry sauce.
- Make Ahead: In the happy chaos of a busy holiday, you'll be thankful for this one dish you can make up to 10 days ahead.
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Ingredients
- Fresh Cranberries: The Ocean Spray 12-Ounce Bag says "Buy 2. Freeze 1" Not a bad idea, especially if you can get them on sale. This recipe works with fresh or frozen cranberries.
- Apple Cider: The recipe card below calls for 100% apple cider. Occasionally, I modify this cranberry sauce with spiced apple cider, which gives a slightly stronger spiced flavor to the finished cranberry sauce.
- Sugar: In addition to the apple cider, the recipe gets its sweetness from sugar.
- Spices: Warm spices add a wonderful mulled flavor to this delicious cranberry sauce.
See recipe card for quantities.
Is Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce Gluten-Free?
For my gluten-free friends, this recipe, like most cranberry sauce recipes, is naturally gluten-free. Still, always double-check your ingredients!
- Cranberries: naturally gluten-free
- Sugar: naturally gluten-free
- Spices: naturally gluten-free, but check the label for any added gluten or look for a gluten-free claim on the label. Learn more about gluten in spices with my Celiac Guide to Gluten-Free Spices.
- Apple Cider: naturally gluten-free, but check the label for no added gluten. (If the ingredients include "natural flavors" and there is no "gluten-free" claim on the label, the apple cider could contain undisclosed barley.)
How to Make Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
Step 1: Boil Liquid
Combine apple cider, sugar, and spices in a medium saucepan or large frying pan. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 2: Boil Cranberries
Add cranberries and return to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium and boil the cranberries gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Right about now, your family should start to comment that your entire house smells like Thanksgiving!
Keep an eye on the cranberry sauce. It is ready when most of the cranberries pop. I like to leave a few unpopped whole cranberries for the visual appeal.
Step 3: Cool
Remove from heat and let the sauce cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate until serving time.
Variations
Missing an ingredient or want to mix it up? Try these other flavorful variations of this fresh cranberry sauce to dress up your holiday dinner!
- Single Spices → 1 ¼ teaspoon of Mulling Spices or Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Apple Cider → Wine, Red Grape Juice, or Apple Juice
- White Sugar → Maple Syrup or Brown Sugar
See this spicy version of this recipe on my website! (placeholder for in-content link)
Entertainer's Tip!
When boiling the cranberries, remove from the heat before all of the berries pop. Leaving a handful of whole cranberries adds to the festive presentation of homemade cranberry sauce.
Storage
Make ahead and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
To freeze, cool completely, and store in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to three months. Defrost in the refrigerator.
Leftover Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce Makes the Perfect Dessert!
Use leftover cranberry sauce to top ice cream, fill sweet gluten-free crepes, or make gluten-free cranberry tarts.
You can make these adorable cranberry tarts with just one cup of leftover cranberry sauce and one gluten-free pie crust!
Frequently Asked Questions
Turkey is popularly paired with apple cider cranberry sauce, whether with a giant rosemary turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, a smaller air fryer turkey tenderloin, or in leftover turkey sandwiches. The apple cider, cranberries, and spices also pair well with ham and pork entrees, as well as cheese, typically brie.
Alternatively, apple cider cranberry sauce complements sweet dishes, like gluten-free crepes, pancakes, and ice cream.
Absolutely! Apple cider cranberry sauce actually tastes better when the flavors have a day or two to meld together. Get this holiday side dish checked off your list, saving time on the biggest cooking day of the year. You can store cranberry sauce in the refrigerator for up to 10 days and in the freezer for up to three months.
Use it in sandwiches, to top waffles and pancakes, to fill crepes, or as a festive sauce for ice cream!
Yes. You can use apple juice. I have also used Martinelli's Sparkling Cider and IZZE Sparkling Apple Juice in a pinch, all with excellent results!
Cranberry Dessert Recipes
Satisfy your sweet-and-tangy tooth with these festive cranberry dessert recipes!
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce.
I hope you love this Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce as much as we do! If you give it a try, please leave a comment and star rating below. I'd love to hear from you!
Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup apple cider (100% juice)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- 12 oz package of fresh (or frozen) cranberries
Instructions
- Combine apple cider, sugar, and spices in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to boil.
- Add cranberries and return mixture to boil.
- Reduce heat to medium and boil gently for 10 minutes until most of the berries begin to pop and the sauce begins to thicken. Stir occasionally.
- Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Refrigerate until serving time.
Notes
- Replace apple cider with apple juice, wine, grape juice, or sparkling cider. All of the above go well with cranberries and mulled spices.
- Replace all of the spices in the ingredient list with 1 ¼ teaspoon of mulling spices or pumpking pie spice.
- Replace white sugar with brown sugar.
Zavier Bingham says
I changed it up a bit because I don't like sweet cranberry sauce. I doubled the recipe, using only .25 c coconut sugar for the entire thing. I added half a tsp of vanilla and also 1 Tbsp maple to round everything out. This will be going on my yearly rotation.
Heather King says
I'm so glad this is now a go-to cranberry sauce recipe for you! Thank you for sharing your adjustments for others who like things a little less sweet. Great ideas!