Easy Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce may be one of my favorite things on the table at Thanksgiving. It doesn’t trump stuffing (obviously) but I really love its tart flavor alongside the rich, savory dishes. The flavors of this cinnamon apple cranberry sauce are bold, sweet, and sassy, just perfect to spoon over roasted turkey. And isn’t it gorgeous?

Once I made homemade cranberry sauce, I won’t ever go back to the canned sauce. The sweetness of the apples perfectly complements the tart cranberries and the cinnamon gives the warm spiciness that goes so well with apples.

Cinnamon apple cranberry sauce

A few easy ingredients. Cranberry sauce is simple. It consists of fresh cranberries, apple cider or juice, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice. That’s it!

Not a relish. This is a cooked sauce, not cranberry relish which is made with fresh cranberries and oranges that are ground up, but not cooked. There’s a place for cranberry relish but sometimes those bits of ground up orange peel can be sort of bitter. Cooked cranberry sauce is more like what you would get in a can but about a hundred times better tasting.

Easy to make. Really, this apple cranberry sauce is a piece of cake to make. All you do is throw everything together in a pan and cook it until the sauce is nice and thick, only about 15 minutes. Watch out for splatters, stir often, and you’re all set. It’s actually kind of cool to watch the cranberries pop as they heat up.

Ingredient Notes

• Cranberries: Usually fresh cranberries are widely available during the holiday season. Often, they are sold in a 12 oz. bag which is roughly 3 cups. The recipe calls for 5 cups, so you’ll need a couple of bags. If you can’t find fresh cranberries, frozen cranberries work well, too.
• Apples: I use a firmer apple that holds its shape when cooked, such as Granny Smith, Gala, or Honeycrisp. Softer apples (Macintosh, Cortland) turn more “saucy” which is okay, too. It’s up to you which you prefer.
• Apple Cider: Apple juice is fine, too, or even water in a pinch. If you use apple cider, be sure it’s simply unfiltered apple juice, and not hard apple cider which contains alcohol.
• Brown Sugar: To sweeten the tart cranberries, I like brown sugar which has richer flavor than regular white sugar. Dark brown sugar has the deepest flavor.
• Cinnamon: This warm spice goes well with the apples and cranberries. It makes your homemade sauce really stand apart from canned sauces.
• Allspice: This warm spice is made from the dried berries of a type of pimento plant. It’s not a combination of “all” spices, as the name may imply. If you don’t happen to have allspice in your pantry, you can simply substitute extra cinnamon.

How To Make Apple Cranberry Sauce

Prep. You’ll need a large saucepan, maybe larger than you think. As the cranberries cook, they tend to pop so you want to avoid getting splattered. Rinse and sort the cranberries, removing any shriveled or soft berries. Dice the apples into small pieces, roughly the size of the cranberries. Peeling the apple is optional. I usually leave them unpeeled but you may prefer to peel them.

Cook. Put the cranberries, apples, apple cider, sugar, and spices into a saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. When it comes to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer the sauce until the fruit has softened and the sauce is thickened. Keep in mind that the sauce continues to thicken quite a lot as it cools.

Cool. Take the pan off the heat and carefully pour the cranberry sauce into a heat-proof bowl. Allow it to cool. Apple cranberry sauce can be enjoyed at room temperature or chilled. Keep reading for lots of ways you can enjoy your homemade cinnamon apple cranberry sauce.

Possible Recipe Variations

• Use white sugar. I like brown sugar because it adds another layer of flavor but white sugar is just fine, too. If you’re looking to cut back on sugar, try one cup instead of 1 ½ cups. The cranberry sauce will be a bit more tart but I often make it that way because we like the tartness.
• Substitute water. If you don’t happen to have apple cider or apple juice, water works well, too.
• Omit the allspice. The recipe can be made with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon instead of the combination of spices, if you don’t happen to have allspice or don’t care for it.
• Cranberry orange sauce. If you prefer oranges to apples in your cranberry sauce, you’ll love my cranberry orange sauce recipe. I usually make both types for my Thanksgiving table.

Serving Suggestions

Thanksgiving meal: While apple cranberry sauce can be served with any meal, it’s traditionally served with Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re looking for an easy Thanksgiving dinner for four, try a sheet pan Thanksgiving dinner with turkey breast, stuffing, potatoes, and asparagus all baked on one pan. You’ll love it! Another option is to cook a turkey breast (even if it’s frozen solid, I kid you not) in your Instant Pot. Perfectly done, flavorful, and fast! Keep reading for more Thanksgiving recipes.

Breakfast: Stir apple cranberry sauce into your morning oatmeal or plain Greek yogurt. Add a dollop to your slice of toast or buttermilk pancakes.

Dessert: Top homemade vanilla ice cream topped with apple cranberry sauce. So good! It’s also great on pound cake or vanilla pudding. I like to substitute apple cranberry sauce for the fresh cranberries in this cranberry coffee cake, too. Simply swirl it through the batter.

More Cranberry Recipes

• Cranberry sauce with roasted grapes, apples, and shallots
• Cranberry clafoutis
• Cranberry pecan pie
• Cranberry coffee cake
• Cranberry gin & tonic

Storage Tips

Refrigerate: Cover or store cranberry sauce in an airtight container. It will keep 7 to 14 days in the refrigerator. Sauce that has been left out on the counter more than 2 hours should probably be discarded.

Freeze: Cranberry sauce can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for at least a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.