The BEST Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Drinking wine and eating jam are two things I’m great at. Doing them under the guise of ‘cranberry sauce’ is the best idea I’ve had for elevating cranberry sauce from a side dish to a starring dish. I love fresh cranberry sauce, but I never make it with just cranberries. Too boring. Instead, I add pineapple and mango or work in oranges and ginger. This year, I doctored up the cranberries with cabernet sauvignon and blueberries, and this blend is my favorite ever. I had to refrain from eating the whole batch in a day. So good. This blueberry and cranberry sauce is like drinking wine and eating jam all in one, with texture, sweetness, tartness, and juicy berries in full force. If you’ve never made cranberry sauce using fresh cranberries and your only experience with it is traditional cranberry sauce from a can, and you think you ‘don’t like cranberries’, I don’t blame you. That’s like saying you don’t like cheese if your only experience has been eating Cheeze Whiz. There’s just no comparison. Fresh cranberry sauce is supremely easy to make, and I always wonder why people buy it in cans or containers. From start to finish, it takes 30 minutes, and all you need to do is toss everything into a kettle, stir intermittently, and a half hour later, you’ve got rich sauce with supreme depth of flavor. If you’re into wine, you’re going to go head over heels for this sauce. While it simmers, the scent of the wine reducing with the cinnamon and berries is heavenly. You don’t need scented candles with this simmering. As I was shoveling it by the spoonful, I kept thinking about how many great antioxidants I was getting from the blueberries and all those great heart-healthy flavonoids found in red wine, and what a great service I was doing my body. Right. Since I rarely eat roasted turkey, or stuffing, and I’ve never been into mashed potatoes or gravy, and usually most vegetables are way too mushy and overcooked for my taste, Thanksgiving has never been a meal I look forward to, with the exception of the cranberry sauce. You can have your turkey, stuffing, and everything else on your Thanksgiving menu. I’m having this. And apple crumble pie.
What’s in the Red Wine Cranberry Sauce?
To make this unique Thanksgiving cranberry sauce with blueberries, you’ll need:
Fresh cranberries Frozen blueberries – If you have a mixed berry blend with blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries, that would be lovely, too Cabernet Sauvignon Granulated sugar Cinnamon – I use ground cinnamon instead of a cinnamon stick. If you’re not a cinnamon fan you may want to reduce the one tablespoon I used down to one teaspoon Ground cloves – Cut the amount of cloves in half if you don’t want your sauce to be as boldly flavored
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
When I say this unique Thanksgiving side is so easy, I mean it! Follow these very simple directions for the best-ever cranberry sauce:
More Cranberry Recipes:
Spiced Cranberry Sauce with Apples — Spice up your holiday celebrations with this scrumptious FAST and EASY homemade cranberry sauce that’s made with cranberries, apples, apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and allspice for the PERFECT must-make side dish! A lovely balance of sweet-yet-tart with warmly spiced flavors so you’ll never want to think about using store bought sauce again! In the Freezer: Once the red wine cranberry sauce has cooled completely in the fridge, it can be frozen for up to 3 months. To Serve: Thaw frozen sauce overnight in the fridge. Serve it cold, or warm it in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Cranberry Orange Bread with Sweet Orange Glaze — The fresh cranberries in this cranberry orange bread contrast nicely with the sweet orange glaze, making it the perfect blend of sweet and tart! Cranberry Bliss Bars {Starbucks Copycat recipe} – Dangerously good and a dead ringer for the Starbucks version! Crustless Cranberry Pie — Somewhere in between pie, cake, and blondies is what you get with this FESTIVE recipe! Take advantage of those fresh cranberries! Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies – Cranberry Bliss Bar flavors, in cookie form. Tender, soft, pillowy centers and a 2012 Top 10 Favorite Cabernet Cranberry and Currant Sauce – Make your own EASY homemade cranberry sauce in 30 minutes! It’ll be the star side dish of your holiday meal! Cranberries are so much BETTER with wine! Cranberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars — The bars are soft, slightly chewy, and the hearty oats with big crumbles are a perfect contrast to the juicy cranberry filling. Cranberry Chocolate Chip Blondies — The soft, buttery, caramely, brown sugary, blondie base is the perfect complement to the chewy, tart cranberries. Originally posted November 2014 and reposted November 2019 with updated text.
