Can’t find fresh cranberries? That’s okay! Make easy homemade cranberry sauce from dried cranberries instead. The three-ingredient sauce is the perfect side or topping for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
For another variation, try sweet and spicy cranberry jalapeno sauce.
Can You Make Cranberry Sauce with Dried Cranberries?
Cranberry sauce is a great way to use the dried cranberries in your pantry leftover from making granola bars, protein balls, and sourdough discard scones.
Just rehydrate the dried cranberries and simmer them with brown sugar, water, and fresh ginger. That’s it. It’s hard to find fresh cranberries in the grocery store outside of fall and winter– with this easy, dried cranberry sauce recipe, you can enjoy homemade cranberry sauce all year round.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Dried Cranberries: Dried cranberries, or Craisins, are dehydrated cranberries with a concentrated tart flavor. They are a perfect base for a quick cranberry sauce recipe.
- Sugar: Brown sugar balances the natural tartness of the cranberries and thickens the sauce. I use brown sugar for a more caramelized flavor but substitute it with white sugar, maple syrup, or honey.
- Ginger: Use fresh ginger to brighten the cranberry sauce.
Additions and Substitutions
- Incorporate dried or fresh fruit like apples, apricots, or figs into the sauce. You can also replace the water in the recipe with fruit juices like orange juice, apple juice, pineapple juice, or cranberry juice.
- Season the homemade cranberry sauce with fall spices like ground cinnamon, cardamom powder, ground allspice, whole cloves, or cinnamon sticks for an extra homey flavor.
- Simmer the cranberry sauce with fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme.
How to Make Cranberry Sauce from Dried Cranberries
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Soak the dried cranberries in a small bowl with water to rehydrate them for at least 10 minutes or up to an hour.
Step 2: Add water, brown sugar, fresh ginger, and salt to a saucepan. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Then, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Step 3: Lower the heat and drain the cranberries. Add them to the pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Optional
Step 4: Use an immersion blender to process the mixture if you prefer a creamy cranberry sauce.
Expert Tips
- Dried cranberries are perfect for homemade cranberry sauce but rehydrate them first by soaking them in water for at least 10 minutes.
If you enjoy cranberry sauce from dried cranberries, try one of these cozy recipes!
Serving Suggestions
Cranberry sauce from dried cranberries is an easy way to add sweet-tangy flavor to any meal. Serve it alongside tandoori turkey or za’atar turkey, and it tastes fantastic with roast recipes like boneless leg of lamb or Instant Pot pot roast.
Use the sauce as a topping or serve it on the side with naturally sweet grilled bison steaks. And you can spoon it over mashed potatoes, air fryer fingerling potatoes, or a festive Thanksgiving butter board.
What to do with the Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store leftover cranberry sauce in an airtight container or glass jar for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Let the sauce cool and transfer it to a freezer-safe container or bag. Cranberry sauce from dried cranberries freezes for three months.
- Thaw: Defrost the sauce in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheat: Warm the leftovers on the stovetop over medium heat.
- How can I use leftover cranberry sauce?
- Cranberry Glaze: Glaze the cranberry sauce over roasted chicken, pork chops, and ham.
- Cranberry Dip: Mix the cranberry sauce with cream cheese or goat cheese to make a dip for crackers, bread, and fruit.
- Breakfast Porridge: Stir cranberry sauce from dried cranberries into morning yogurt, oatmeal, or chia seed pudding.
- Filling: Use the sauce to fill crepes or fold it into pancakes with whipped cream to make stuffed pancakes.
- Topping: Spread leftovers onto Dutch oven sourdough bread, pao de sal, and English muffins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use sweetened or unsweetened dried cranberries?
I like to use sweetened Craisins since I always have a big Costco-sized bag on hand for homemade trail mix and other recipes. If you want to cut back on sugar, you can easily swap them for unsweetened dried cranberries.
More Fall Recipes:
Cranberry Sauce from Dried Cranberries
- Small Bowl
- 2½ cups dried cranberries
- 2½ cups water
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Soak the dried cranberries in a small bowl with water to rehydrate them for at least 10 minutes or up to an hour.
- Add water, brown sugar, fresh ginger, and salt to a saucepan. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Then, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Lower the heat and drain the cranberries. Add them to the pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Optional: Use an immersion blender to process the mixture if you prefer a creamy cranberry sauce.
- Dried cranberries are perfect for homemade cranberry sauce but rehydrate them first by soaking them in water for at least 10 minutes.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.
Melissa Wagner
Wednesday 8th of November 2023
This dried cranberry sauce recipe is my new go-to! I was impressed with how the craisins plumped up after soaking them and worked like fresh cranberries. This sauce will be a huge hit at our family Thanksgiving dinner this year. I can already tell.
Tressa Jamil
Saturday 28th of September 2024
I am overjoyed this recipe worked for you!