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
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.
Done!
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Recipe FAQs
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.
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.
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!
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)
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Cranberry Sauce from Dried Cranberries
Video
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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
PW
In my opinion, this uses way too much corn starch for the amount of sauce. I didn’t need to cook it at all after adding as it immediately thickened into gel.
Sula
That's the reason I say to slowly add it, as you can stop and not add it all if your sauce thickens right away.
Paul
I thought I had everything... and just now I saw I don't have a simple orange!!
Now what? 🙁
Sula
You can try it without the orange. Add a little more cranberry juice to make up for the volume. You won't have the orange taste, though. If you have a couple dried apricots, you could dice those up and add them in for another level of flavor.
Cory
Made this today and it came out great. One thing I changed was instead of juicing the orange I peeled it and then finely diced the pulp with a knife. The added pectin from bits of pith seemed to help thicken the sauce - I only needed 2 tsp of cornstarch to get it to set nicely. I also used cranberry juice in the cornstarch slurry as another commenter suggested.
Sula
Lovely - thanks for sharing!
Hi from the Amazon!
Help please!
I've made this recipe before and it's great! But now I live in a place without cranberry juice. Does anyone have any recommendations? Plain water? More orange juice? Another fruit juice in a berry family (we have like a local blackberry-ish juice)? Grape juice?
I really want to keep the cranberry flavor prominent if possible.
*My husband said, "just experiement" but dried cranberries are WAY too expensive here to be experimenting
Sula
I think I would use orange juice, I love the orange flavor with cranberries! Or maybe apple juice, if you don't want a strong orange flavor. (I personally love CranApple juice so that's what I'm basing this on)
Colleen
I used cognac and it came out great!
Sula
sounds awesome - thanks for sharing!
Adriana Gutierrez
I’m curious whether this could be cooked with pectin for a firm sliceable cranberry jelly?
Sula
I've been experimenting with cranberry Jello to get that same effect. I think pectin would work too, I just can't tell you how much you need as I've never tried it.
Suzanne
I recommend using a natural pectin. It is done by putting the seeds of citrus fruits in a tea strainer ball, cooking them with the other ingredients and then using a garlic press to extract pectin from the seeds and adding to the cranberry sauce. It works wonderfully😊
Sula
Lovely, thanks for your tips!
Ally Thorpe
Hi I was wondering how long this will keep in fridge after making.
Sula
generally, I'd say about 7 to 10 days in an airtight container.
PamE
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.
Sula
Sounds like a marvelous dip!