This slow cooker cranberry sauce recipe is easy and hands-off. Fresh cranberries gently simmer with orange juice and cinnamon for a citrus and spice-infused flavor. It’s a delicious addition to your holiday feast!
This sauce is perfect for serving with other Thanksgiving staples like roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole.
Recipe Science
- The slow cooking method concentrates the cranberry flavor, giving it a rich, caramel-like sweetness, similar to dried cranberries.
- Orange juice adds sweetness and acidity, while zest releases oils that intensify the citrus aroma and flavor during slow cooking.
- Pure maple syrup sweetens the tart cranberries, adding a subtle caramel flavor for extra depth.
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Why It Works
Making fresh cranberry sauce in a Crock-Pot is a stress-free, minimal-effort way to prepare this condiment. Add the cranberries, juice, and seasonings in just one pot to enhance the flavor. Then, just set it and forget it! Serve it warm, or make it several days in advance. It’s a great option to save space on the stovetop for other delicious holiday dishes.
I adapted my popular orange cranberry sauce recipe for the slow cooker. You can easily customize the flavors to your liking! The berries pop as the sauce cooks and reduces, thickening the consistency. The citrus and cinnamon make the house smell incredible throughout the day!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cranberries: Fresh or frozen, healthy cranberries can be used. Around mid-October, 12-ounce bags at the grocery store are available. This size yields about 1 ½ cups of sauce. Rinse the whole cranberries well to remove dirt and debris from harvesting. Discard bruised or mashed fruit.
- Sweetener: I use pure maple syrup to sweeten the mouth-puckering berries. It adds a hint of caramel, providing more depth.
- Citrus: You can use water as the liquid component of the sauce. However, I like to add orange juice for sweet and tangy notes. Adding fresh orange zest punches up the aroma and infuses the orange oil into the sauce.
- Flavoring: Cook the sauce with cinnamon sticks and vanilla extract to add warm baked flavors.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This slow cooker cranberry sauce is easy to customize! Try these tasty options:
- Using Frozen Cranberries: If the cranberries are frozen, they will take longer to defrost and cook in the Crock Pot. Add more time as needed to thicken the sauce.
- Spice Swaps: Instead of using a cinnamon stick, add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon at the end of cooking. Add nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, allspice, or cloves for more intense spice notes.
- Sweetener Substitutes: Honey or brown sugar are great alternatives to maple syrup. Granulated sugar is pure sweetness, while brown sugar has molasses-like flavors.
- Liquid Options: Use water, apple juice or cider, pomegranate, cranberry, or grape juice, or even add a splash of red wine for dimension.
How to Make Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Step 1: Add the Ingredients
In a 6-quart slow cooker, combine the cranberries, maple syrup, fresh orange juice, and zest. Give it a good stir to ensure the flavors mix evenly. The maple syrup’s natural sweetness will balance the tart cranberries, while the orange zest adds a citrus aroma that brightens the sauce.
Step 2: Add the Cinnamon
Fully submerge the cinnamon stick into the cranberry mixture. As it cooks, the cinnamon will infuse warm, comforting spice notes, complementing the tartness of the cranberries and the sweetness of the maple syrup.
Step 3: Slow Cook
I use a 6-quart Crockpot to make the sauce. It’s relatively large, making it easy to scale up the recipe. You can use a smaller size, down to a 3-quart slow cooker. Add the cranberries, maple syrup, orange juice, zest, and cinnamon stick to the slow cooker. Cook on high setting for 3 to 4 hours or low setting for 7 to 8 hours.
Tips for Perfect Execution: The sauce will look thinner than when cooked on the stovetop but thicken as it cools. The long cooking time creates a more concentrated cooked berry flavor, similar to dried cranberries, with hints of caramel. The color will also be more Burgandy in tone.
Step 4: Season the Sauce
Once the cooking is complete, remove the cinnamon stick. Stir in the vanilla extract, which adds subtle warmth and depth to the sauce. Give it a taste, and if you’d like more sweetness, feel free to add a little extra sweetener. Keep in mind that the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Step 5: To Serve
Serve the sauce warm for a cozy, fresh-from-the-pot experience, or transfer it to a serving bowl with the other side dishes. I love using the leftover cranberry sauce to make turkey salad sandwiches the next day!
Make-Ahead Tips: You can make a batch of crockpot cranberry sauce up to one week ahead. Let it cool down, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Alternatively, freeze in a resealable plastic bag for up to three months and defrost the day before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
The sauce will look juicier than stovetop recipes because the steam is trapped inside the cooking vessel, preventing as much moisture from quickly evaporating. Stir, cover, and cook on high for 30 to 60 minutes more. This will help further concentrate the sauce. It will firm up and thicken as it cools down or is refrigerated.
No, the pectin released from the whole cranberries will combine with the sugar and acids, thickening the consistency of the sauce. As the sauce cools, the pectin will create a thicker gel, making it thicker. If the sauce appears watery, cook longer to evaporate some of the moisture.
Add more sweeteners like white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey. The cranberry sauce needs to be warm to dissolve the sugar crystals if granulated. Start with 1 teaspoon at a time until the bitterness is less strong.
Use orange juice, apple juice, or cider for fruitier notes for the liquid. Add minced ginger and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ground, or whole spices. Add vanilla bean or vanilla extract for depth. Use a liquor like rum, brandy, bourbon, or Grand Marnier. Make it spicy with jalapeno peppers.
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Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cranberries, washed
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the Ingredients – In a 6-quart slow cooker, add the cranberries, maple syrup, orange juice, and zest. Stir to combine.
- Add the Cinnamon – Submerge the cinnamon stick in the cranberry mixture
- Slow Cook – Cover and cook on high setting for 3 to 4 hours or low setting for 7 to 8 hours. The sauce is ready when the cranberries have popped, and it thickens to a loose jam consistency. Stir and cook longer if needed.
- Season – Remove the cinnamon stick. Stir in the vanilla. Taste and add more sweetener if desired. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.
- To Serve – Serve warm, or transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Recipe Yield: About 1 ½ cups
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Sweetener: Honey, granulated sugar, or brown sugar can be used.
- Using Ground Cinnamon: Add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon with the vanilla instead of the cinnamon stick.
- Storing: Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Freeze for up to 3 months; defrost before use.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
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