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Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce is sweet, tart, and cooks up easily, making the house smell good! Crock pot cranberry sauce is delicious and a perfect Thanksgiving side dish recipe. Serve this homemade cranberry sauce with turkey or pork.
The cranberries cook down quite a bit and the sauce thickens as it cools.
Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce Recipe
First off, I have nothing against the canned cranberry sauce. After all, that’s what I ate growing up. Except when I got to go o Nana and Grandpa’s house. Nana made her cranberry sauce from scratch, and it was awesome!
Homemade cranberry sauce is one of the easiest Thanksgiving recipes to make!
How Sweet is This Cranberry Sauce?
This cranberry sauce recipe is just a little on the tart side. When I tried making Nana’s recipe as an adult, it was way too sweet for me. So I cut the sugar in half for my version.
Keep in mind that you can add sugar after the sauce cooks, while it is still warm, and taste it to get your ideal amount.
• If you like yours sweet, increase the amount of sugar.
• Use white or brown sugar, or half of each, as I do.
• Try using Maple Syrup or honey.
How to Make Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Spray the crock with cooking spray (or use a crockpot liner). Rinse the cranberries with water.
Add the cranberries into the crockpot. Mix together the sugar and orange juice.
If you are using orange zest, use a fine grater to grate it and add it to the berries. Pour in the juice mixture, stir and cook.
A Few Notes About Making This Cranberry Sauce
• Be sure to stir the cranberry sauce once every hour or so. This helps the mixture cook evenly and not scorch.
• You can use all white or all brown sugar. I like the mix of the two.
• If you don’t want to use orange juice, use all water.
• Feel free to add more cinnamon, or even a star anise for more Holiday flavor.
Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Clusters
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Amazing Slow Cooker Pot Roast
Pumpkin Pie Dump Cake
My dear Nana made her cranberry sauce in a pressure cooker, so of course I did too! Try my Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce.
If you make this delicious crockpot Cranberry Sauce recipe, please let me know. Just leave a comment with a star rating below. I’d like to know how you liked it!
Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 (12 oz) pkg Fresh Cranberries
- ½ cup Orange Juice
- ⅓ cup Water
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar*
- ⅓ cup White Sugar*
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
Optional Add-ins
- 1 teaspoon Orange Zest
- pinch of Ground Ginger
- Chopped Walnuts
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- pinch of Cloves
Instructions
- Add the cranberries to the slow cooker.
- Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour over the cranberries.
- Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on High for 2-3 hours, or Low for 4-6 hours, stirring once every hour to prevent scorching. You don't want to overcook the sauce, so just cook until all of the berries have burst.
- Taste and adjust sweetener as you like.
- Mash the cranberry sauce as much as you like.
- Serve warm or chilled (the sauce will thicken quite a bit as it cools).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce recipe and more
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Made the most delicious Cranberry, apple jam with Grand Marnier. I let it cool down, then I mashed it. Had to hide it so I would not eat it all. lol Thank you for your delish recipe.