There’s just something special about homemade cranberry sauce — that ruby-red sparkle on the Thanksgiving table, made with care and just the right touch of sweetness. In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make and can your own cranberry sauce so you can enjoy it all year long.
This sauce is everything a cranberry should be: bright, tangy, and bursting with flavor.
As it simmers on the stove, your kitchen fills with the comforting aroma, the kind that makes family gather a little closer and memories linger a little longer.
Once it’s ladled into jars and sealed, you’ll have a pantry full of homemade goodness ready for Thanksgiving, Sabbath dinners, roast chicken, or even spooned over cheesecake.
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Canning your cranberry sauce isn’t just about preserving food — it’s about preserving moments. It’s about slowing down long enough to stir gratitude into something simple and sweet, and then tucking that love into jars for the seasons ahead.
To Make This Recipe You Will Need:
- cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- orange juice
- real maple syrup
- honey
- unsalted butter
- Hot Water Bath Canner or Steam Canner
- large non-reactive pot
- whisk
- Canning Tools
- pint canning jars with lids
- small dish
- damp cloth
- kitchen towels
- white vinegar
Watch Me Make this Recipe in the Video Below
IMPORTANT NOTE:
When you make and preserve this cranberry sauce without traditional sugar, the color will not be preserved as well. It will taste great, but the sauce will become ever so slightly darker over time.
If you wish to preserve the bright color of the sauce, you will see the instructions for making the more traditional cranberry sauce in the recipe card down below.
Processing the Cranberry Sauce
The processing time for the homemade cranberry sauce is 15 minutes (standard elevation) whether it is in a hot water bath canner or a steam canner. See the chart below for processing at varied elevations.
| Jar Size | Processing Time for Elevations: 0-1,000 ft | 1,001 – 3,000 ft | 3,001 – 6,000 ft | 6,001 ft and above |
| Pints and Half Pints | 15 minutes | 20 | 20 | 25 |
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How to Can Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 9 c cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 3 ¾ c orange juice, see note below
- 1 ½ c maple syrup
- 1 ½ c honey
- ½ teaspoon butter, unsalted, optional (see recipe note)
Instructions
- To begin, prepare your pint canning jars and canning equipment. Always start with freshly washed tools, jars, etc. Jars should be heated for canning.
- Combine the cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup, honey and butter in your large, non-reactive pot.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and boil until the cranberries have popped open and the liquid has thickened up a bit. Stir continually to prevent this from foaming up and boiling over. Be diligent to watch out for it. Boil for 20 minutes, until the berries have all popped and the liquid has thickened.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the cranberries smooth. If you would like to leave the berries more whole you can. It is simply according to your preference.
- Ladle the cranberry sauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch head space.
- Remove any bubbles with a bubble wand, then wipe the rim of the jars with a damp cloth dipped in white vinegar.
- Place a lid and ring on the jar and place the jar in the hot water bath or steam canner. Do this with all of the jars.
- Process the jars for 15 minutes. (See the note about adjusting time for elevation in the article above. Processing times for canning recipes are always give for under 1000 ft elevation. You must make adjustments if you live at a higher environment.)
- After the jars have processed, turn off the heat. If using a hot water bath canner, go ahead and remove the lid and let the canner rest for 5 minutes.If using a steam canner, leave the lid on while it rests 5 minutes. Only then remove the lid afterwards.
- Transfer the jars to a lined surface in a draft-free location and let them sit for 12-24 hours. You can cover your counter with folded kitchen towels, or use canning mat or a cooling rack.
- Remove the rings, test the seals, wash and label the jars. Store them away in the pantry.
- Enjoy your homemade cranberry sauce!
Equipment Used
- small dish
- white vinegar
- canning mat or kitchen towels
Notes
FOR A MORE TRADITIONAL CRANBERRY SAUCE:
Omit the honey and maple syrup. Instead use:- 4 cups granulated sugar
- reduce the orange juice to 2 cups
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Unit Conversions:
Unit Conversion for measurements (if displayed), going from US to Metric is an auto-generated conversion. If you are using the metric measurements, please double-check to confirm that these are accurate with your favorite preferred conversion tool.
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