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Homemade cranberry sauce is the perfect complement to holiday meals, and it’s easy to make and preserve at home. Canning cranberry sauce is easier than you think, and once you’ve made your own, you’ll never go back to storebought.
Jellied cranberry sauce was a staple of my childhood holiday memories, and I loved watching my mom carefully open the can and slide the whole thing out in a single piece. There was an even split across my family, half jellied cranberry sauce devotees and the other half would only eat whole berry cranberry sauce. While I loved jellied as a child, now that I’m an adult, I’ll admit that I’ve gone over to the dark side and now I prefer the chunky whole berry stuff.
Though I’ve been canning for years, it just never occurred to me that you could make your own cranberry sauce. A few years ago we were invited over to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving, and when we arrived the cranberry sauce was just finishing up on the stove.
We’ve butchered our own hogs, cured meats, and even grown our own chocolate, but somehow seeing someone make their own cranberry sauce surprised me. Old habits die hard I guess, and in my mind, cranberry sauce still came out of a tin can.
One bite of homemade cranberry sauce, and I’ll never go back to canned stuff. It had so much flavor! Nuanced layers of tart, sweet, orange and cinnamon danced across my tongue. The turkey that year was so juicy that it really didn’t need it, but I still slathered it on with abandon.
It seemed strange though, Thanksgiving day is such a busy time and the kitchen is jam-packed with activity. Wouldn’t it make sense to cook the cranberry sauce ahead of time? Surely it only improves with a few days in the jar with time for the flavors to marry.
Cranberry sauce is really no different than a jam or jelly when it comes to canning, and it can be made a week, a month or a year ahead of time if you choose. If you’re storing it in the refrigerator, it’s best to make it no more than a week before it’s needed. If you’re canning cranberry sauce, the sky’s the limit.
How to Make Cranberry Sauce for Canning
Whether you’re making whole berry sauce or a smooth jar of jellied cranberry sauce, it starts out the same. Bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil in a pan and allow it to simmer on medium high for about 5 minutes.
This creates a hot syrup that will help quickly pop the cranberries open. Once the syrup is good and hot, add in the cranberries.
The first time I did this it caught me off guard a bit. The skin on the cranberries pops open and it’s surprisingly loud. It’s like making popcorn, and I regretted making it when my infant son was sleeping.
Keep that in mind, and don’t let the loud cranberry pops scare you. It’s all part of the process!
Once the cranberries pop and begin to release their juices the cranberry sauce will begin to come together. At this point, if you’re making jellied cranberry sauce, the Ball Book of Home Canning suggests straining out the cranberries and putting them through a blender before returning them to the pan.
I think it’s easier to turn the heat off right after they all pop and allow the mixture to cool a bit before blending it up with an immersion blender right in the pan. Be careful of splattering!
If you’re making whole berry sauce, just skip that step, but either way keep on boiling the sugar, water and cranberries until it begins to thicken. Like any jam or jelly, watch the fire carefully and beware of boiling over. I had to stir down frothy bubbles every minute or so until the sauce was almost ready, and there’s really no walking out of the kitchen when cranberry sauce is cooking.
After about 15 minutes of simmering, the nature of the bubbles will change and you’ll see the syrup quickly begin to thicken. Once the mixture sheets off the back of a metal spoon it’s thickened and ready.
You can also test it for texture on a plate that’s been in the freezer. Simply spoon a bit onto the frozen plate and give it a moment to cool to make sure it’s thick enough.
At that point, pour the hot cranberry sauce into canning jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and center 2 part canning lids on top of the jars.
Either store in the refrigerator, or process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes. Turn off the canner, and wait another 5 minutes before removing the jars.
Allow the cranberry sauce to cool for at least 12 hours before checking seals. Any unsealed jar should be stored in the refrigerator for immediate use.
The others can be stored in the pantry at room temperature. Ball canning lids are now guaranteed for at least 18 months, but in practice, they last much longer than that.
For whole berry cranberry sauce, just pop open the jar and give it a stir when you’re ready to serve a meal. Jellied cranberry sauce will slide right out of the jar, just like those old metal cans I remember from my youth.
Just be sure to use a smooth-sided canning jar, like wide mouth pints, and then run the sides of the sealed jar under hot water in the sink before opening it and gently sliding it out onto a plate.
This recipe is adapted from my go-to canning cookbook, The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 cups sugar
- 4 cups water
- 8 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 cinnamon stick, optional
- 1 tbsp orange zest, optional
Instructions
- Bring water and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add cranberries and cook them in the sugar syrup until they pop open. If making jellied cranberry sauce, turn off the heat and allow it to cool slightly before blending with an immersion blender. Skip this step for whole berry sauce.
- Add in the cinnamon stick and simmer the cranberry sauce for about 15 minutes, until it begins to thicken and sheets off the back of a metal spoon. Add the orange zest (if using) in the last few minutes of cooking.
- Ladel the cranberry sauce mixture into canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and seal with 2 part canning lids.
- Either store in the refrigerator for immediate use, or process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes. Turn off the canner and wait 5 minutes before removing the jars. Allow the jars to cool to room temperature and check seals before storing at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you want to get creative, you can also can up most other homemade cranberry sauce recipes. Cranberries are very acidic, with a pH around 2.5. Anything under 4.2 is safe for water bath canning, and assuming your recipe is mostly cranberries then it should still be well under the safe threshold.
Use your best judgment though. Here are a few more recipes to try:
- Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
- Mulled Wine Cranberry Sauce
- Very Berry Cranberry Sauce
- Spicey Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce
- Bourbon Cranberry Sauce
- Roasted Cranberry Sauce
- Instant Pot Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Ginger Spiced Cranberry Sauce with Orange
I just made this, and it’s wonderful. The printed recipe needs looked at please, it says 2 cups water instead of 4 cups and it doesn’t explain when to add the spices. Otherwise Thank you so much for sharing your talent with all of us!
Thanks for pointing that out. It looks like it has been corrected now. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I’m getting ready to make this recipe. I know when making jams, I don’t always completely blend the fruits completely leaving larger chunks. Is it okay to blend and also leave some cranberries while for canning?
Yup, this can be chunky or smooth. The main thing is to make sure all the parts are fully cooked before it goes into the canning jar.
I like to make my cranberry sauce using fresh cranberries but I like to add in sliced oranges, grated ginger, brown sugar and raspberries, Could this still be canned safely?
Yup, all those ingredients are perfectly fine for canning together in a sauce or jam.
Thank you!! So, I have another question. I made my cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving and it’s been a week now since it’s been in the fridge. Is it too late to jar it up and water bath can it?
I’m not sure that I would personally feel comfortable canning it after that period of time but I’m not exactly sure what the guidelines are on that.
Hi. I was wondering if you could add crushed pineapple and/or bits of orange to this, and hoe that would affect the sauce setting up?
Thanks
Hank
Yup, you could add either. Orange is also high pectin, so no problem there with setting. Cranberries have so much pectin that they’d accommodate for the low-pectin pineapple, but it might have a loose set if you add A LOT of pineapple.
I used to be a whole berry fan but lately I am much more of a jellied cranberry fan. The method that the ball book uses, blending up the cranberries is truly nothing like cranberry jelly, it ends up being more like a thick jam that is smoother then whole berry, but not like a clear jelly. I now use my steam juice to make a nice clear juice, then make the jelly.
Oh, the steam juicer! Yes! I canned all summer and fall and the steam juicer is a heaven-sent canning tool that I just don’t know how I ever did without. I was actually shocked to see my blackberries, grapes, and elderberries reduced to nothing but nearly transparent skin and seeds with no effort on my part. I made cranberry basil jelly (delicious with ham) from a recipe that called for store bought cranberry juice cocktail — next year I will have to try it with my own cranberry juice! I’m on my way to get cranberries today for canning Ashley’s recipe; thanks to your reminder of the steam juicer I guess I’d better get extra and put up some juice, too. The steam juicer. Every canner should have one. Thanks, Barb! And Thanks, Ashley for another great recipe. I always come to your site first.
I used half powdered splenda and half sugar and followed directions otherwise. For some reason this did not set up. I made such a mess while canning this, I don’t want to open jars, add pectin, and re-process. Wonder if I could do something prior to serving that would thicken it?
Splenda can’t be used for no pectin recipes, it doesn’t activate the pectin like sugar does. If you want to can with splenda, you have to use a low or no sugar pectin (like pomonas pectin or sure jel low sugar). It may make the jam sweet, but it’s not structurally the same as sugar and won’t behave the same way during canning. If you want to save it by doing something at serving, the only thing I’d suggest is adding unflavored gelatin at serving and basically turning it into jello right before the meal. It’ll have a similar consistency to jellied cranberry.
Though splenda is the only change, that is why your jam/jelly didn’t set.
The following is my cranberry sauce recipe, would it work for you canning?
1c pulp free OJ
1c brown sugar
12oz cranberries
1/2 c pineapple juice from canned slices
Heat OJ & sugar until boiling & sugar dissolved. Add berries, bring to boil on med/hi heat. Turn down to med/lo for 10-11 mins until thickened to desired consistency.
Hi,
I tried this recipe and it came out bitter so I added more sugar and and now it doesn’t look like it is set up did I miss something? Or have you ever had this happen?
Did you continue to cook it after you added in the additional sugar?
I was wondering if this recipe could be canned in 4 oz ball jars? I have not done any canning in many years and cooking for one, I don’t want a large amount sitting in the fridge tempting me. Thank you for any help you can give.
Patricia
Yes you can use a smaller jar.
Hi,
My recipe called for toasred pecans. Would you recommend adding the pecans if doing the water bath?
Thanks in Advence
Marg
I found this recipe on the National Center for Home Food Preservation which does include pecans. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/cranberry_conserve.html
I just made this today. I used frozen berries, but had 9 cups to use so just did it all, and used 3 cups water and 1 cup orange juice since I didn’t have an orange to zest but wanted the flavor. I also did my sugar a little bit heaping to account for the extra berries. My berries weren’t the prettiest so I ended up blending with an immersion blender. But still came out with 8.5 jars (8oz). The flavor is amazing! Thanks so much!
You’re very welcome. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I would like to know if you can make sugar free whole berry cranberry sauce for canning. I have made it using unflavored gelatin for immediate use and know you should not can with gelatin so would love to get feedback on how to do it and products to use for hot water bath canning.
Thanks!
Yes, you could make it without sugar. I would suggest searching the internet for a tested recipe.
We have always made our own cranberry sauce, never thought to can it! We also have always put it thru a food mill to get out the skins. It still has a great texture with the pulp that goes thru the mill.
This recipe is so easy and it’s delicious!
You mentioned that the sauce would be softer if using frozen berries, Is there something that could used to thicken the jelly?
You could add a small amount of pectin to get a nice firm set if using frozen berries. The amount depends on the pectin brand, so read the box on that one.
My homemade cranberry sauce includes apple chunks. Can I still add them when canning?
Yup, that’s perfectly fine. Make sure the apple chunks are cooked through when you’re making it, not just added at the very last minute when it goes into the jar. Provided they’re cooked with the jam, or at least heated through, then they can be canned in there. You can also take a look at my recipe for cranberry apple jam, which is a lot like a cranberry sauce with apple chunks: https://creativecanning.com/cranberry-apple-jam/
Hi Ashley..
Was curious about the cinnamon stick. Do you take it out before putting the sauce in jars , just to add flavor while sauce is cooking? Or use a zester for the stick? Thanks!
Yes, it’s removed before the sauce goes into the jars, and it just adds flavor during cooking. I should clarify that in the recipe…
Hi, I have a homemade recipe for cranberry sauce that uses sugar,water, pineapple and raz jello. With the jello in it is it ok to can?
So I actually had to look this one up because I’ve never canned with gelatin. According to the national center for food preservation, jams with jello or gelatin cannot be canned (https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE07_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf).
“Gelatin may be used as a thickening agent, as indicated in two of the following recipes. Sweet fruits, apple juice, spices, and/or a liquid, low-calorie sweetener are used to provide the sweet flavor of the fruit spreads. When gelatin is used in the recipe, the jars of spread should not be processed. They should be refrigerated and used within 4 weeks.”
Hi Ashley, My husband and I love cranberry sauce, I make it without sugar , I was wondering can I can the cranberries with no sugar and how long should I boil in the water bath. We will be using pint ball jars. Thank You, Maureen
Yes, you can.
I just foraged wild cranberries and brought home a gallon. Time to get to making some cranberry sauce. We love the whole berry sauce as a topping on plain cheesecake!
That sounds wonderful. You can’t go wrong with cranberries or cheesecake in my book.
can i use apple juice instead of water? would I need to reduce the sugar? Ive been canning for decades and yet have never canned cranberry sauce. I, too, love the whole berry. yum yum
Yes, you can use apple juice in place of water. It’ll be sweeter obviously, unless you reduce the sugar a bit, how much I’m not sure? Maybe cut the sugar to 3/4 the original and see how it goes? That’s a guess.