Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce is very easy to make, even when it isn’t Thanksgiving! The flavor is bright, sweet, and a little tart. This pressure cooker cranberry sauce goes well with turkey, chicken, game birds, and pork. It is also delicious on a turkey sandwich!
Originally published on 10/8/2017
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
Homemade Cranberry Sauce is one of the easiest Thanksgiving Instant Pot Recipes there is!
Nana used to make this cranberry sauce in her stove top pressure cooker back in the day. I always liked it.
Tips for Good Cranberry Sauce
• Try adding more spices like cloves or ginger (in very small amounts).
• Toss in some chopped apples to make a cran-apple sauce.
• Garnish servings with Walnuts or Pecans
• Save some for turkey sandwiches!
A Word About Sweetener
Nana’s recipe called for double the sugar that I use. I prefer a cranberry sauce that is much less sweet, I reduced the sugar by half, and that works for me.
• If you want a less-sweet cranberry sauce, reduce sugar by 1/2 cup or more (you can always add more after cooking).
• You can also use Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, or Honey in place of white sugar.
• If you add sweetener after cooking, do so while the sauce is still warm so it dissolves.
• If you want to use artificial sweetener, add it after pressure cooking.
The touch of orange is just right, and doesn’t take away from the wonderful fresh cranberry flavor.
If you want a straight cranberry sauce, you can leave out the orange and replace the juice with water. You could also use apple juice, for a different flavor.
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If you make this homemade pressure cooker Cranberry Sauce, please let me know. Just leave a comment with a star rating below.
I’d like to know how it worked for you!
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce is delicious as an accompaniment to turkey, chicken, pork, and game birds. The sweet and tart taste is enhanced with a hint of orange.
- 1 (12 oz - 16 oz) pkg Cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ½ teaspoon Orange Zest (grated)
- ⅛ teaspoon Cinnamon (optional)
- ⅓ cup Orange Juice or water (it doesn't take much)
- 1 cup Sugar (If you like it more tart, back off the sugar by ½ cup)
- Maple Syrup or Honey in place of sugar
- Use half Brown Sugar
- pinch Ginger
- pinch Cloves
- 1 cup Chopped Apples
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Add the cranberries, zest, cinnamon, and juice. Then pour the cup of sugar over the berries, but do not stir.
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Close the lid and set steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Press the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button or dial, and the +/- to select 2 minutes (High pressure). When the cooking cycle finishes, turn the pot all the way off.
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The berry mixture is a bit foamy at this point, so let the pressure naturally release for at least 10 minutes so the foam can subside.
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Manually release the remaining pressure/steam in short bursts, until you are sure none of the sauce is going to spew out with the steam.
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When all of the pressure is out of the pot and the pin in the lid drops, open and stir the cranberry sauce very well. Taste the cranberry sauce and if you like it sweeter, add more sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, stirring well.
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Transfer to a serving dish and chill. It will thicken as it cools.
- This recipe can be doubled. Keep the cook time the same.
- (Cook time does not include the few minutes it takes to bring pot to pressure, or natural release).
- If you like it more tart, back off the sugar by 1/2 cup or more.
- Taste the cranberry sauce after it has finished cooking, and if you like it sweeter, add more sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time, stirring well. Do this while the sauce is still warm so the sugar dissolves.
Resources to Make Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce Recipe
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Kelly from Canada
I made your Cranberry Sauce for our Christmas dinner. I used the 1/2 cup sugar and next time I may add just 2 teaspoons more. This was so good and since it’s so ridiculously quick and easy to make it’s going into my keeper recipe book with Simply Happy Foodie being credited. Thank you very much and Happy New Year to you.