73 Best Cranberry Recipes for Thanksgiving and Beyond
Whether you opt for homemade cranberry sauce or the canned variety at Thanksgiving, you may want a few more cranberry recipes for the rest of the season—or even the rest of the year. Frozen cranberries, dried cranberries, and canned cranberry sauce are a boon to your pantry in any month. Wonderfully versatile, cranberry sauce (or relish or chutney or conserve) can serve as more than a mere Thanksgiving side dish: Spoon tart fresh cranberry relish over a pork chop, swirl canned cranberry sauce into a snack cake, or mix a little of either in a tangy cranberry cocktail.
You can go beyond basic sauce, too. How about a lemony cranberry-topped pie? An appetizer of sugared cranberries paired with brie? Below, you’ll find our favorite ways to cook and bake with cranberries, including tons of sauces for your Thanksgiving menu, plus jam, cakes, crumbles, savory side dishes, and more uses for dried, fresh, or frozen cranberries.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Anna Hampton1/73Apple-Cranberry Crisp With Oatmeal-Cookie Crumble
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Monica Pierini2/73Cranberry-Cherry Compote
Photo & Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin3/73Cranberry-Orange Snacking Cake
Swirl canned cranberry sauce (or leftover homemade) into this orange- and cardamom-scented yogurt cake. Have a slice for breakfast, dessert, or an anytime pick-me-up.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog4/73Roasted Sweet Potato and Delicata Squash With Cranberry Agrodolce
Think of this Thanksgiving dish as two—or is it three?—sides in one. Roasted sweet potatoes and delicata squash luxuriate in the tangy cranberry sauce; plus, there's extra to serve with your turkey.
Photo by Alice Gao, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Diana Yen6/73Turkey Meatballs With Cranberry Sauce
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell7/73Cranberry-Pistachio Baked Alaska
Part of Gourmet magazine’s lost Christmas menu, this dessert of toasted meringue encasing layers of cranberry sorbet, pistachio ice cream, and buttery pound cake is ideal for an elegant holiday party.
Photo by Kevin J. Miyazaki8/73Maui Kale Salad With Sweet Onion Dressing
It’s always smart to have a bag of dried cranberries around for bumping-up the delicious factor of a salad—like this one that’s tossed in a sweet-onion dressing and topped with crunchy potato chips.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Bill Clark9/73Berry Cream Cheese Cake
If you're not going to fuss with Thanksgiving cheesecake, make this easy coffee cake–adjacent dessert instead. Teaspoon-sized pieces of cream cheese get folded into the batter along with some of the cranberries.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Kim11/73Cranberry Chess Pie
Looking to switch up your Thanksgiving pie this year? This tangy cranberry pie tastes a bit like a giant lemon bar studded with juicy, jammy fruit.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell12/73Roasted Carrot, Brussels Sprout, and Cranberry Salad
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell13/73Pecan-Cranberry Galette
We're all about easy Thanksgiving desserts, like this elegant riff on pecan pie. It's studded with whiskey-soaked cranberries and is perfect for a smaller gathering.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich14/73Ginger Cranberry Sauce
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton15/73White Chocolate Fruitcake Bars
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton16/733-Ingredient Thanksgiving Stuffing
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova17/73One-Pan Chicken Drumsticks with Rice and Beans
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson18/73Cranberry, Apple, and Walnut Conserve
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott20/73Cran Royale
A homemade cranberry simple syrup makes this sparkling cocktail feel seasonal and special. If you wind up with extra Campari, use it to make a Boulevardier, or this Thanksgiving cocktail recipe.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks24/73Butternut Squash Vegducken With Mushroom-Cranberry Stuffing
This entirely meatless take on turducken focuses on autumnal flavors with butternut squash, sweet potato, and parsnip filling in for the traditional meats. The mushroom-cranberry stuffing makes use of leftover vegetable scraps, keeping them out of the compost. (Read here for last year's tips on hosting a more sustainable Thanksgiving.)
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou26/73Fancy Cranberry Sauce
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks27/73Gedeckter Apfelkuchen
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich32/73Cranberry Sauce With Orange and Cinnamon
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson34/73No-Bake Pistachio–White Chocolate Cookies
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich35/73Cranberry Linzer Tart
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich36/73Cranberry-Fig Sauce
Chris Court40/73Cranberry Hand Pies
These tender-crusted little pies are filled with orange-scented cranberries. Want to make them even faster? Skip the pie dough and cut out rounds of store-bought puff pastry instead.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich41/73Spicy Cranberry Sauce
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kate Schmidt44/73Granola Bars with Dried Fruit and Seeds
Gieves Anderson, food styling by Anna Hampton50/73Skillet Stuffing With Apples, Shallots, and Cranberries
51/73Cranberry Shortbread
Photo by Alex Lau56/73Cranberry-Pear Crumble
This easy crumble is baked in an 8x8-inch square pan. A Thanksgiving-worthy dessert that can be baked in your toaster oven? Yes, please!
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Grace Parisi57/73Crush Royale Cocktail
Photo by Alice Gao, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Diana Yen58/73Stovetop Butterscotch Apples and Cranberries
Photo by Christopher Testani62/73Cranberry-Pepper Jelly
This spicy cranberry jelly will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator, so you might as well make it now. After Thanksgiving, serve it with pork chops.
Photo by Tim Hout63/73Pear and Cranberry Cobbler with Citrus-Infused Custard Sauce
A cobbler is the easiest way to get to something similar to a pie without having to roll out and crimp pie dough. Biscuit dough, in general, is easy and fast to assemble, but the cream dough in this recipe is really a cinch.
64/73Cranberry Spice Cake
If you manage to have any leftovers, this moist spice cake makes a nice afternoon treat with a cup of tea. For an extra-tart garnish, serve with Citrus-Cranberry Compote .
Jonathon Kambouris66/73Cranberry-Orange Relish with Mint
Not into the canned stuff? This raw, tangy, refreshing relish is pretty much the opposite of jellied cranberry sauce.
Photo by Elinor Carucci69/73Chipotle Cranberry Sauce
Grilling your turkey this year? Then you need this smoky, savory cranberry sauce that gets its kick from dried chiles and garlic.
Photo by Levi Brown70/73Cranberry Cobbler
Mix a cranberry simple syrup with gin, sherry, and citrus for a fall (or winter) cocktail that's light and refreshing.
