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    Home » Sauces » Cranberry Sauce from Dried Cranberries

    Cranberry Sauce from Dried Cranberries

    Published: Nov 12, 2020 · Modified: Feb 26, 2023 by Sula · This post may contain affiliate links · 90 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    Cranberry sauce is a staple for any Thanksgiving meal. But what if you can’t find fresh cranberries? No problem – you can make your cranberry sauce from dried cranberries! No one will know the difference!

    Ingredients needed

    • Dried cranberries, sweetened (Craisins)
    • Cranberry juice
    • Sugar
    • 1 orange, juiced and zested
    • Salt
    • Cornstarch for thickening
    spoon of cranberry sauce with bowl in background

    How to make cranberry sauce from dried cranberries

    I was really surprised at how easy it is to make cranberry sauce using dried cranberries. It’s actually very similar to using fresh cranberries. Unlike my cranberry-apricot sauce, this one only needs the juice of one orange. More liquid comes from cranberry juice – a great way to replace the liquid normally present in fresh cranberries. Orange zest and sugar complete the flavors.

    Place everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the cranberries plump up. This takes about 5-10 minutes. Then, add a slurry made of cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

    Pin for cranberry sauce from dried cranberries

    Done!

    Recipe FAQs

    How sweet is this cranberry sauce?

    The sauce is both tart and sweet, which to me is the perfect combination in a cranberry sauce. If you prefer a sweeter sauce, increase the sugar to ⅓ cup.

    Can I use unsweetened cranberries to make this sauce?


    Yes, the only difference is that you’ll need to increase the sugar to ⅓ cup. That will replace that extra sugar you would otherwise get from the Craisins.

    Why do you use sweetened cranberries instead of unsweetened?


    For me, this is an easy choice. If I buy unsweetened, I’m always wondering what to do with the leftovers. Sweetened cranberries (Craisins) are entirely snackable on their own, and never go uneaten in this house!

    What are the health benefits of cranberries?

    Many consider cranberries a superfood due to their high levels of antioxidants and nutrients. Research has linked the nutrients in cranberries to a lower risk of urinary tract infection, the prevention of cancer, improved immune function, and decreased blood pressure. (Medical News Today)

    📖 Recipe

    Cranberry sauce in a bowl
    5 from 102 votes
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    Cranberry Sauce from Dried Cranberries

    Cranberry sauce is easy to make from Craisins!
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time25 minutes mins
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 117kcal
    Author: Sula

    Ingredients

    • 1½ cups dried cranberries sweetened
    • ¾ cup cranberry juice
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • Zest of one orange
    • Juice from one orange
    • Dash of salt

    To thicken:

    • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
    • ¼ cup water

    Instructions

    • Add cranberries, orange juice and zest, cranberry juice, sugar and a dash of salt to a medium saucepan. Heat to boiling.
    • Reduce heat to simmer and cook until the cranberries plump up, about 5 to 10 minutes.
    • Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water. Slowly drizzle into the sauce mixture while stirring. Stir for at least one minute, until the sauce thickens. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.

    Video

    Notes

    Recipe makes about 2 cups sauce total.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 117kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.

    More holiday recipes

    • Cranberry Sauce Bars
    • Acorn Squash in the Crock Pot
    • Stuffed Acorn Squash
    « Turkey Cheese Ball for Thanksgiving
    Turkey Shaped Meat and Cheese Tray »

    Filed Under: Sauces

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. PamE

      December 26, 2022 at 5:25 pm

      Thank you for this recipe. I made a few improvisations such as making my cranberry sauce from dried cranberries and added some other cheeses that I needed to use up. However, this dip was loved by everyone. I should have made a double batch as the dish was scraped clean.

      Reply
      • Sula

        December 26, 2022 at 10:13 pm

        Sounds like a marvelous dip!

        Reply
    2. Melissa

      November 30, 2022 at 3:21 am

      5 stars
      Greetings from Greece! Thank you for this recipe, it was absolutely delicious and perfectly suited our home-away-from-home Thanksgiving!! I used 4 small sheets of gelatin, then panicked and doubled it - the result was cRuNcHy lol so gelatin does work as long as you know how to use it ;D

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 30, 2022 at 8:19 am

        Ha - thanks for the tip Melissa! And I'm glad I could make your celebration a little bit more complete. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Elaine

      November 22, 2022 at 6:46 am

      Thanks for sharing the recipe, Sula! I'm in Italy and, like a lot of the other posters, dried cranberries are the only ones we get! Question, could I add gelatin to mold this? TIA.

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 22, 2022 at 7:14 am

        I've never tried to add gelatin, but I'm sure it would work. Have fun!

        Reply
    4. Angela

      November 21, 2022 at 12:22 pm

      Hi, I’m from Colombia. My husband is from US. We’ve been living here for over 10 years, celebrating thanksgiving every year. It’s not easy to find canned cranberries so I’m going to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing. Happy thanksgiving!

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 21, 2022 at 2:21 pm

        I'm glad you found me Angela! Enjoy Thanksgiving!

        Reply
    5. Troy

      November 19, 2022 at 3:44 am

      5 stars
      I live in South Korea and made this recipe for the first time last Thanksgiving. Both my American and French guests really loved it. Making it this weekend for Americans and Koreans. Can't wait to see how my Korean friends like it.

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 19, 2022 at 4:42 pm

        I love that you're sharing this with guests from so many different cultures! I hope your Korean friends love it like we do. Happy Thanksgiving!

        Reply
    6. Kathy

      November 18, 2022 at 6:52 am

      Thank you, thank you for this recipe. Living in Athens, Greece. I used to find cranberry jelly in some supermarkets but now nothing and when I happened to find, it was too expensive for a small jar. Happy Thanksgiving, now mine will be happy too❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 19, 2022 at 4:41 pm

        So happy you found me Kathy! Cranberry sauce is what makes Thanksgiving complete!

        Reply
    7. Tiffany

      November 13, 2022 at 11:02 pm

      I'm in the same boat over here in Tajikistan and crying happy tears at finding this recipe! Just last week I found some imported dried cranberries... and bought out the store. Ha! 🙂 This will be the perfect addition to Thanksgiving this year. Thanks for helping us expats enjoy a taste of "home"!

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 14, 2022 at 5:11 pm

        I'm so happy you found me Tiffany! Happy Thanksgiving!

        Reply
    8. Mackenzie

      November 12, 2022 at 7:27 am

      Would it be possible to pulse this a few times with an immersion blender before adding the slurry to make it smoother? Would it still thicken?

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 12, 2022 at 9:05 am

        Yes, it will still thicken. I've never tried to make it smooth though, so let me know how it goes!

        Reply
    9. Liz

      October 27, 2022 at 4:33 am

      Hi!

      My family is from the US but we live in Uganda, east Africa… I’m SO excited to see this simple but delicious (I’m assuming) recipe and will be making it for our expat Thanksgiving celebration! We also can not find sauce here, but I recently discovered dried cranberries in town… so yes, Thank you for this recipe! : )

      Reply
      • Sula

        October 27, 2022 at 8:40 am

        Liz, I'm so happy you found my recipe! I hope it makes your Thanksgiving celebration special. Please let me know how you like it!

        Reply
    10. Sharon

      January 19, 2022 at 12:31 am

      5 stars
      This is the best cranberry sauce ever! Quick and easy to make, too.
      So much better than canned and with none of the preservatives or high fructose corn syrup (looking at you, Ocean Spray).

      Reply
      • Sula

        January 19, 2022 at 6:20 am

        Thank you Sharon, I'm glad you enjoy it!

        Reply
    11. Kotye

      November 24, 2021 at 5:46 pm

      5 stars
      I love your recipe. I make mine in the same manner but I use either a blood orange or the little cutties/tangerines. And for the slurry I use lemon juice. My family loves tart stuff...

      Reply
      • Sula

        December 13, 2021 at 4:35 pm

        I've never tried using lemon juice but have definitely used tangerines for the oranges. They work just fine!

        Reply
    12. Pam

      November 24, 2021 at 5:40 am

      5 stars
      I'm in Germany making your recipe today - thanks!

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 24, 2021 at 7:28 am

        Enjoy your holiday!

        Reply
    13. Courtney

      November 22, 2021 at 10:39 am

      Can you use cherry or pomegranate juice instead of cranberry juice?

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 22, 2021 at 10:45 am

        I don't know why not! Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!

        Reply
    14. Darren L Barringer

      November 07, 2021 at 8:01 pm

      Great recipe! Are we able to can this or only refrigerate!

      Reply
      • Sula

        November 08, 2021 at 5:44 am

        I've never tried to can it, but it should work. If I want to keep it for a few weeks I freeze it.

        Reply
    15. Kerrie

      August 06, 2021 at 10:58 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is pure genius. I’ve been living in Brazil for a year now and no fresh cranberries or jars of sauce. Found dry cranberries in the market and bought 3 packs which is 1 1/2 cups!!! I’m delighted thank you

      Reply
      • Sula

        August 06, 2021 at 7:56 pm

        Kerrie, it warms my heart to think of someone in Brazil making my recipe. Thank you so much for letting me know!

        Reply
        • Kasey

          November 24, 2021 at 8:26 pm

          I’m in Australia and have the same problem as Kerrie every Thanksgiving! I usually make a cherry sauce but so happy to have you recipe this year. Thank you! (:

          Reply
          • Sula

            November 25, 2021 at 6:42 am

            You're welcome, but really thank YOU for your comment. It warms my heart to hear from people all over the world who are making this sauce. Happy Thanksgiving!

            Reply
      • Deborah

        November 15, 2021 at 1:48 pm

        Hi Kerrie! I'm Brazilian and use this recipe too. When I couldn't find cranberry juice I decided to use jabuticaba juice. You get it by boiling the jabuticaba skins for a few minutes. The drink has a very similar taste profile to real cranberry juice. My American friends loved the result. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I've got my jabuticaba juice frozen and ready to become cranberry sauce!

        Reply
        • Sula

          December 13, 2021 at 4:37 pm

          Thanks for sharing Deborah!

          Reply
      • cayte

        November 24, 2021 at 10:19 pm

        i’m im brazil too and could only find dried cranberries. happy to know this worked out well! going to try tomorrow 😊

        Reply
        • Sula

          November 25, 2021 at 6:40 am

          So excellent! Enjoy your holiday!

          Reply
    16. Dina

      March 02, 2021 at 5:32 pm

      We made this and I think it will be delicious. One thing though, instead of using water to make the slurry why not use some of the cranberry juice? I wish I would have thought of it before I made the slurry, but I think it would have enhanced the cranberry taste. The texture though was perfect and this came together super fast! Great idea, especially now when it is not easy to just run to the store for something quick.

      Reply
      • Sula

        March 02, 2021 at 5:38 pm

        Dina - I agree and I like the way you think! I've never tried it with cranberry juice for the slurry but I'm sure it would be great that way too!

        Reply
      • Karina

        November 25, 2021 at 6:10 am

        I’m Brazilian and I miss cranberry sauce so much. I also found for the first time dried cranberries in the market and making cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving today. Thank you for your recipe.

        Reply
        • Sula

          November 25, 2021 at 6:40 am

          I'm delighted you'll get to enjoy this sauce! Happy Thanksgiving!

          Reply
    17. Heather

      February 24, 2021 at 3:51 pm

      Hi, once made can I heat this sauce up?

      Thanks

      Reply
      • Sula

        February 24, 2021 at 4:08 pm

        If you like to serve it warm, then yes you should be able to heat this sauce up after making it. Enjoy!

        Reply
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