Canned cranberry sauce is so delicious and simple to make, there’s no reason to buy it at the store. This recipe makes whole-berry cranberry sauce or cranberry jelly and is easy enough for beginning canners. Be prepared for the holidays with this low-sugar canning recipe!

A jar of cranberry sauce opened with a spoon in it, on a dark wood surface surrounded by fresh cranberries, dried flowers, and closed jars of cranberry sauce.

Canning Cranberry Sauce

I think we can all agree that it doesn’t feel like the holiday season without some beautiful, crimson, spiced, cranberry sauce made with orange juice on the table. Right?

The best way to make sure you always have this classic side dish available is to make canned cranberry sauce. Once you make homemade spiced cranberry sauce, you’ll never want to buy it at the store again.

I always like to be prepared for holidays, and canning cranberry sauce is a perfect way to plan for Thanksgiving ahead of time. It’s one less thing you have to make last minute, just like this freezer apple pie filling!

6 jars of canned cranberry stacked 2 high, on a dark wood surface, surrounded by fresh cranberries, dried flowers, and a burgundy cloth.

This canning recipe is low sugar, using Pomona’s Pectin. The water bath canning process is simple enough for a newbie, so if you’re not experienced, don’t stress! It’s really one of the best cranberry recipes!

The best part about canning cranberry sauce is that it’s shelf-stable, so you can make it once and enjoy it the whole holiday season or longer!

Canned Cranberry Sauce Recipe

This low-sugar cranberry sauce is not overly sweet and has the perfect balance of spices.

I don’t recommend reducing the sugar any more than what is in the recipe here, as cranberries are very tart. A little bit of sugar helps to bring out the flavor.

A wood bowl full of fresh cranberries, on a dark wood surface surrounded by loose fresh cranberries. Top view.

Ingredients

Fresh cranberries: Buy whole fresh cranberries for this recipe, it can stay as whole-berry cranberry sauce or is easy to blend into a jelly.

Orange juice: Use freshly squeezed juice from 2 oranges, or bottled orange juice as a substitute.

Orange zest: It’s easy to zest the oranges you are using for juice, but it’s optional if you’re not feeling zesty or are using bottled orange juice instead.

2 oranges cut in half, face up on a wood cutting board, with zest. On the cutting board is a small strainer on a small bowl and a microplane.

Calcium water: One of the packets in Pomona’s Pectin box will be for calcium water. Mix it up following the directions on the box and save the rest in the fridge for the next time you are canning.

Ground spices: Cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.

Brown sugar: Granulated sugar, honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar can be substituted for brown sugar.

Pomona’s Pectin: The box of Pomona’s Pectin will have 2 packets. One is the pectin, and one is for mixing the calcium water.

Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice

This recipe can be made as whole-berry cranberry sauce or blended to make a jelly version, and they both taste just as amazing canned as they do fresh!

I always hear that cranberry jelly is not as healthy as the whole berry variety. In this recipe, both are the same healthier canned cranberry sauce recipe, except the jelly version is blended.

A jar of canned cranberry sauce being held by a hand, with other jars of cranberry sauce, fresh cranberries, and a burgundy cloth in the background.

Prepare the Canner

First, prepare your boiling water canner for a water bath method. Put the canning rack at the bottom of a large pot and heat the jars in simmering water until it’s time to use them.

Then, wash the lids in warm soapy water and set them aside until it is time to use them.

Now mix the calcium water as per Pomona’s Pectin instructions, so it is ready to go too.

Make the Cranberry Sauce

First, bring the cranberries, orange juice, optional orange zest, and water to a boil in a medium-sized pot.

Whole cranberries and orange zest in a pot, top view.

Then, turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook the cranberries until they burst and soften. This usually takes about 15 minutes, but keep your eyes and ears open. You’ll hear when they begin to pop!

Cranberries and other ingredients boiling in a pot, top view.

Note: To make jellied cranberry sauce, blend the cranberries with an immersion blender after they burst and are soft.

Meanwhile, combine ½ cup of the brown sugar and the pectin powder in a small bowl, and mix them thoroughly.

Brown sugar and pectin powder in a small white bowl sitting on a dark wood surface, top view.

Now add the calcium water, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice to the cranberries and stir them together.

Spices being added to a pot with boiled cranberries, top view.

Turn the stove to high heat, and bring the cranberries to a full boil.

Once boiling, slowly add in the sugar-pectin mixture. Make sure to stir the pot constantly during this phase.

Brown sugar and pectin mix pouring from a white bowl into a pot with the boiled cranberries and spices.

Continue vigorously stirring the pot for about 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin as the cranberries come back up to a boil.

Once the pectin is completely dissolved, add the other ½ cup of brown sugar to the cranberries. Once the cranberries return to a full boil, you can remove them from the heat.

Cranberry sauce on the stove being stirred with a spoon, top view.

How to Can Cranberry Sauce

Using a jar lifter, place the jars onto a wooden cutting board or kitchen towel. Then ladle the hot cranberry sauce through a canning funnel into the prepared jars.

6 jars of cranberry sauce without lids sitting on a wood cutting board.

Make sure to leave about ¼ inch of headspace and remove any air bubbles.

Now, wipe the rims of the jars clean, and center a lid on the top of each jar. Apply the bands, adjusting them so they are just fingertip-tight.

Place the filled jars into the boiling water canner, making sure there is 1-2 inches of water covering the jars.

A jar lifter placing jars of cranberry sauce into a water bath canner.

Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat, remove the pot lid, and let the jars sit inside for 5 minutes.

Now, use a jar lifter to remove the hot jars and cool them for 12 to 24 hours.

Make sure to check that the lids are all sealed, they should not flex when the center is pressed. Now it’s time to store and enjoy your homemade canned cranberry sauce!

Jars of canned cranberry sauce cooling on a towel on the counter.

How to Eat Cranberries From the Can

Once you open up a jar, you’ll realize that canned cranberry sauce is just as good as freshly cooked! With the spices and orange flavor in this recipe, you can’t go wrong.

Whole-berry or jellied cranberry sauce can both be served as a side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any special meal. Since these are shelf-stable, they’ll be at room temperature when you open them up.

Eat cranberries at any temperature that you prefer, it’s just fine to warm them if you wish. I like chilled cranberry sauce on a turkey sandwich!

An opened jar of canned cranberry sauce with a big spoonful being taken out, on a dark wood surface surrounded by fresh cranberries, other jars of cranberries, and a bowl of fresh cranberries.

Once the jar is opened, store it in the refrigerator. Cranberries last quite a while in cold temperatures, about 2 weeks. Before they are opened, they’ll last on the shelf for a year or longer.

While you may not get the can ridges of nostalgic 1980s canned cranberry jelly, trust me, you won’t miss them. Homemade cranberry sauce is truly the best!

This canned cranberry sauce is perfect as a holiday side dish, on a salad for a little tart flavor, in a sandwich, or on top of pork chops. Cranberry goes with everything, in my opinion!

More Holiday Recipes

Comments

Ellen says

November 21, 2023 at 7:42 am

Hello,
What a lovely repice.
I’m starting out as canner, and I also bought the Ball book of home canning. The only thing is that English is not my native language, so I have a problem with some of the words. In the book it mentions the phrase :”center lid onto each jar, and apply the band, adjusting to fingertip tight”. Does this mean that you have to place the lid on the jar and fasten it really tight? Or do you have to place some sort of rubber band between the jar and lid?
Thank you:) :)

- Grow Forage Cook Ferment says
  
  November 27, 2023 at 3:30 pm
  
  Hi Ellen. What they mean is, place the lid on the jar and only tighten it just enough that the jar is closed and you feel the lid ring resist as you turn. You want to be sure it’s not too tight because the air inside the jar needs to escape during the canning process (this is what preserves the food).
  
  - Ellen says
    
    December 8, 2023 at 1:13 am
    
    Thank you so much! Now it makes sense
  - Ellen says
    
    December 8, 2023 at 3:00 am
    
    But the jar is under water right? So it has to be at least tight enough so that the water doesn’t come in.
  - Grow Forage Cook Ferment says
    
    December 11, 2023 at 8:38 am
    
    Water won’t come in. If your water is boiling, it’s going to actively force air out from under the lids, not let water in.

Canning Cranberry Sauce: Whole Berry or Jellied

Canning Cranberry Sauce