There is a never-ending debate amongst friends and family that gets very heated around Thanksgiving every year, and that is the debate between canned cranberry sauce and homemade cranberry sauce. Luckily, this super simple Bourbon Cranberry Sauce is the perfect in-between, using canned cranberry sauce as the base, but taking it up a notch to make it look and taste like it was made from scratch. The best part is that it takes less than 10 minutes of work, and it tastes so good your guests will never know it started with a can!
Want to make good use of your fresh cranberries? These White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies are the perfect balance of sweet and tart! And these Maple Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream are the perfect accompaniment to these cranberry treats!
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This has quickly become a staple in my family's holiday meals. Known as Lizzie's cranberries, my family requests them. They're delicious and always a hit. I cannot recommend them enough.
- Amanda
🍭 Short & Sweet Recipe Overview
- ⏲️ Time: Takes just 10 minutes
- 🛒 Ingredients: Needs just 6 ingredients
- 🍽️ Servings: Makes 8-12 servings
- 🥣 Difficulty: Super Simple, No-Bake, One-Bowl
- 👩🍳 Prep: Can, and should, be prepped ahead, to allow for sufficient chill time
- 😋 Flavor: Sweet and tart with a touch of warmth from the bourbon
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Delicious, sweet, tart flavor combo
- Uses just a few simple ingredients
- Feels impressive while being incredibly simple to prepare
- The perfect Thanksgiving side dish
- Customizable, using flavored bourbons and a variety of mix-ins from fruits to nuts
- The ideal make-ahead recipe
- Pairs perfectly with your Thanksgiving turkey, your Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich, or even just topped on vanilla ice cream
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Ingredients and Notes
Canned Cranberry Sauce - Be sure you're using whole berry cranberry sauce, and not jellied cranberry sauce. These cans will usually be right next to each other and the labels look very similar so be sure to read the label carefully! Most brands should have both options.
Bourbon - The sweet and smooth flavor is the perfect addition to this side dish. It adds a warmth that perfectly balances the sweetness and tartness of the cranberry sauce. Use any bourbon that you like. This epic side dish only uses two tablespoons of bourbon, which means you'll have plenty left for drinking - even an airplane bottle or a nip will leave you with a little extra to drink!
Want more bourbon on your Thanksgiving table? This Maple Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie has an easy one-bowl filling, Bourbon Pumpkin Pie and Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie are perfect Thanksgiving classics with a fun twist, and Sweet Potato Cake with Maple Bourbon Marshmallow Frosting is a simple and incredibly delicious dessert your guests won't expect!
Mixed Berries - I love to use frozen berries for this simple Bourbon Cranberry Sauce. They come in the perfect-sized packaging so you don't have to worry about measuring them out, they don't require any prep, and they can be bought in advance without having to worry about them going bad! They don't need to defrost, just toss them in while still frozen!
For more fruit-forward desserts, these Piña Colada Cupcakes are bursting with tropical flavor, these soft Blueberry Cookies are studded with fresh fruit, and this Peach Cobbler with Canned Peaches and Cake Mix is one of the easiest recipes and uses canned peaches so it can be made year-round!
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients.
Substitutions & Variations
Black Cherry Jello - The black cherry flavor works really well with the tart cranberries, but feel free to try out different jello flavors to find what works best for you! Black cherry is my personal favorite, but orange, strawberry, or even lime could be delicious!
Mix-ins - One of my favorite parts about this easy recipe is that you can use whatever mix-ins you like! I think the flavor of the mixed berries and pineapple works well with the tart cranberries, but feel free to change it up to whatever excites you! Use your favorite fruits and nuts to make it your own. Plus, you can use frozen fruit, fresh fruit, or canned fruit.
Orange zest can also be added for a touch of citrus.
Bourbon - Flavored bourbons, such as cherry or pineapple, are delicious in this homemade cranberry sauce. You can also make this alcohol free by using a spirit-free bourbon, fruit juice, or even just water.
How to Make Bourbon Cranberry Sauce
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
- Step 1: Combine all the ingredients except the pineapple and mixed berries in a medium saucepan.
- Step 2: Heat over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Step 3: Remove from heat and stir in mixed berries and pineapple.
- Step 4: Pour into an 8x8 baking dish and refrigerate about 4 hours till set. Serve cold.
Bourbon Cranberry Sauce Tips & Tricks
Tip #1: The best part of this easy recipe is how flexible it is! You can change up the flavor of the jello, you can change up your mix-ins to other fruits or nuts, or you can change up the measurements of your mix-ins. If you want less pineapple or fewer berries, do that! If you want to add walnuts or mandarin oranges, go for it!
Tip #2: The night before Thanksgiving, throw this together and place in the fridge before you go to bed. It takes just a few minutes to make, and then you'll have one less thing to worry about on Thanksgiving day! This can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe FAQs
This easy Bourbon Cranberry Sauce is sweet. Cranberries are very tart so we add the fruit, jello, and sugar to offset that tartness with sweetness.
It is delicious by itself, but on Thanksgiving I really enjoy eating this on the turkey. It would go well on the sandwiches you make with your leftover turkey, or you could even put it over vanilla ice cream for a dessert.
I think this Bourbon Cranberry Sauce is best cold. It can be served at room temperature, but I would not recommend serving this recipe warm.
As long as it's stored in an airtight container, it should stay good for about 5 days.
This Bourbon Cranberry Sauce should be made ahead. It needs to chill for at least 4 hours so I generally recommend making it a day or two before you need it and just let it chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve!
More Fruity Recipes to try!
👩🍳 If you tried this Bourbon Cranberry Sauce or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Bourbon Cranberry Sauce
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- 8x8 pan or any shallow dish
Ingredients
- 14 oz can whole berry cranberry sauce approx. 1 ½ cups
- 3 oz package black cherry jello approx. 5 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cherry bourbon or straight bourbon
- 15 oz can crushed pineapple
- 2 cups mixed berries 12 oz bag frozen berries
Instructions
- Mix the cranberry sauce, jello, sugar, and bourbon in a saucepan and heat over medium-low for approximately 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and add pineapple and berries.
- Pour into shallow pan and refrigerate until set, 4 hours to overnight.
- Transfer to serving dish or serve right out of the shallow pan!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated so should only be used as an estimate. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amanda Lambert says
This has quickly become a staple in my family's holiday meals. Known as Lizzie's cranberries, my family requests them. They're delicious and always a hit. I cannot recommend them enough.
Liz says
I'm proud that I've officially converted the two biggest canned cranberry advocates I know!
Liz says
Every time someone else does the can slicing, I'm shocked that he's not the only one! I am determined to convert just one person from the can side! I think we'll end up with both versions on our table this year...