Red Wine Cranberry Sauce — 🫐🍷😍 Move over, boring cranberry sauce! Cranberries are so much better with blueberries and wine! Make your own fresh cranberry and blueberry sauce in 30 minutes. It’s so EASY, and everyone LOVES it!
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The BEST Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Drinking wine and eating jam are two things I’m great at. Doing them under the guise of ‘cranberry sauce’ is the best idea I’ve had for elevating cranberry sauce from a side dish to a starring dish.
I love fresh cranberry sauce, but I never make it with just cranberries. Too boring.
Instead, I add pineapple and mango or work in oranges and ginger. This year, I doctored up the cranberries with cabernet sauvignon and blueberries, and this blend is my favorite ever. I had to refrain from eating the whole batch in a day. So good.
This blueberry and cranberry sauce is like drinking wine and eating jam all in one, with texture, sweetness, tartness, and juicy berries in full force.
If you’ve never made cranberry sauce using fresh cranberries and your only experience with it is traditional cranberry sauce from a can, and you think you ‘don’t like cranberries’, I don’t blame you.
That’s like saying you don’t like cheese if your only experience has been eating Cheeze Whiz. There’s just no comparison.
Fresh cranberry sauce is supremely easy to make, and I always wonder why people buy it in cans or containers.
From start to finish, it takes 30 minutes, and all you need to do is toss everything into a kettle, stir intermittently, and a half hour later, you’ve got rich sauce with supreme depth of flavor.
If you’re into wine, you’re going to go head over heels for this sauce. While it simmers, the scent of the wine reducing with the cinnamon and berries is heavenly. You don’t need scented candles with this simmering.
As I was shoveling it by the spoonful, I kept thinking about how many great antioxidants I was getting from the blueberries and all those great heart-healthy flavonoids found in red wine, and what a great service I was doing my body. Right.
Since I rarely eat roasted turkey, or stuffing, and I’ve never been into mashed potatoes or gravy, and usually most vegetables are way too mushy and overcooked for my taste, Thanksgiving has never been a meal I look forward to, with the exception of the cranberry sauce.
You can have your turkey, stuffing, and everything else on your Thanksgiving menu. I’m having this. And apple crumble pie.
What’s in the Red Wine Cranberry Sauce?
To make this unique Thanksgiving cranberry sauce with blueberries, you’ll need:
- Fresh cranberries
- Frozen blueberries – If you have a mixed berry blend with blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries, that would be lovely, too
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Granulated sugar
- Cinnamon – I use ground cinnamon instead of a cinnamon stick. If you’re not a cinnamon fan you may want to reduce the one tablespoon I used down to one teaspoon
- Ground cloves – Cut the amount of cloves in half if you don’t want your sauce to be as boldly flavored
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
When I say this unique Thanksgiving side is so easy, I mean it!
Follow these very simple directions for the best-ever cranberry sauce:
- Combine all the ingredients in a medium to large kettle, making sure the kettle has enough room for the sauce to at least triple in volume.
- Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring intermittently.
- Reduce the heat to low, and allow your sauce to simmer until it reduces and thickens slightly.
- Transfer the sauce to a heat-safe jar or containers with lids.
- Serve immediately, or allow your red wine cranberry sauce to cool completely before storing.
What to Serve with Cranberry Sauce
Storage
In the Refrigerator: Once cooled to room temperature, homemade cranberry sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10-14 days.
In the Freezer: Once the red wine cranberry sauce has cooled completely in the fridge, it can be frozen for up to 3 months.
To Serve: Thaw frozen sauce overnight in the fridge. Serve it cold, or warm it in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat.
Recipe FAQs
I used two-buck Chuck (Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw $2.49 cabernet), but any type of merlot, shiraz, Pinot Noir, or your favorite dry red wine will work.
Not into wine? You can use water, but that defeats the purpose and the flavor will not be nearly as rich and robust. I don’t know how much alcohol cooks off and how much doesn’t.
I would surmise most is cooked off, but it’s your call if this is appropriate for you or your family members.
I put it into the same category as beer bread. There’s not enough and it’s stretched over too many servings, and it’s heated anyway. So, no one will be catching a buzz from cranberries. Darn.
This fresh cranberry sauce was originally posted in 2014, and I have been asked that many times. I’ve never personally canned this cabernet cranberry and blueberry sauce, but there are people who have, and they’ve written about what they did in the comments.
If that’s something that interests you, I encourage you to read over the older comments and put your canning expertise to work.
Chances are, if you’re asking about canning this cranberry sauce, then you know how to can. I am not an expert in canning and haven’t dabbled with it with this recipe.
If you love a zesty cranberry sauce, feel free to use a mixture of blueberries, cranberries, oranges, and spices. You can also add orange zest or lemon zest for a citrusy kick. Or, simply add more sugar or increase the amount of spices included. Just keep in mind that this recipe is pretty bold. So, be sure to taste it before adjusting the ingredients.
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Cabernet Cranberry and Blueberry Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Large Kettle
Ingredients
- 1 (8 ounce) bag fresh cranberries
- 6 ounces frozen blueberries, about 1 1/2 cups, unthawed
- 1 cup cabernet sauvignon, or shiraz, merlot, or a favorite red wine
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves, or to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium to large kettle, and bring to a rolling boil, stirring intermittently. Make sure kettle has room for sauce to at least triple in volume. The juices from the berries release and as the mixture boils rapidly, it will foam and a too-small pot will easily overflow.
- Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until reduced and thickened slightly, and most of the cranberries have burst. Sauce will thicken more as it cools.
- Transfer to heat-safe jars or containers with lids. Allow sauce to cool at room temperature before refrigerating.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cranberry Recipes:
Spiced Cranberry Sauce with Apples — Spice up your holiday celebrations with this scrumptious FAST and EASY homemade cranberry sauce that’s made with cranberries, apples, apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and allspice for the PERFECT must-make side dish! A lovely balance of sweet-yet-tart with warmly spiced flavors so you’ll never want to think about using store bought sauce again!
Cranberry Orange Bread with Sweet Orange Glaze — The fresh cranberries in this cranberry orange bread contrast nicely with the sweet orange glaze, making it the perfect blend of sweet and tart!
Cranberry Bliss Bars {Starbucks Copycat recipe} – Dangerously good and a dead ringer for the Starbucks version!
Crustless Cranberry Pie — Somewhere in between pie, cake, and blondies is what you get with this FESTIVE recipe! Take advantage of those fresh cranberries!
Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies – Cranberry Bliss Bar flavors, in cookie form. Tender, soft, pillowy centers and a 2012 Top 10 Favorite
Cabernet Cranberry and Currant Sauce – Make your own EASY homemade cranberry sauce in 30 minutes! It’ll be the star side dish of your holiday meal! Cranberries are so much BETTER with wine!
Cranberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars — The bars are soft, slightly chewy, and the hearty oats with big crumbles are a perfect contrast to the juicy cranberry filling.
Cranberry Chocolate Chip Blondies — The soft, buttery, caramely, brown sugary, blondie base is the perfect complement to the chewy, tart cranberries.
Originally posted November 2014 and reposted November 2019 with updated text.
I am so excited to try this! I will be testing it out this weekend, and if all goes well I’ll be contributing a great gluten free side on Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing
LMK how it goes!
Your photography is just simply gorgeous girl!! And I want to dive into that jar of cranberries!!! It looks soooo good!!
Thank you for the compliments. Sometimes things pan out with dark colored foods like this and sometimes it’s just a dark mess as you know :)
Your photos are absolutely stunning! I’m trying this recipe out for Thanksgiving…if any of it makes it to the table!
Thank you for the compliments and LMK how it goes!
This sounds delicious! I’m learning how to adapt foods to be low in sugar though and I’m wondering what you might use as a sub for the sugar? I’m still really new to alternatives. I was thinking maybe a good cran/grape juice and lower the amount of sugar by half, using Stevia maybe?
You could possibly sub in stevia or another no-calorie sweetener that’s powder. I wouldn’t add more liquid/juice because you will have a sloppy mess. LMK how your recipe testing goes! I always hate buying$$ ingredients and tinkering around with recipes when I’m very uncertain how things will pan out and using sugar substitutes is not something I would do in this recipe because I love it so much as written…but I’ll gladly let you tinker :)
Making this as gifts for friends with dietary issues, I chose to make it using Coconut Sugar (and used just under the amount the recipe called for) which is much easier to digest. As I cooked this concoction, listening to the cranberries burst open was delightful! Now, for the taste. It’s wonderful! Very rich flavors. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Do you recommend this be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled? This is my first time making cranberry sauce, and (unfortunately), my only experience with it is the canned kind with the creepy lines. Thank you!
I think most people would serve it slightly chilled or at room temp. If you were making it to put over waffles or pancakes, I’d say warm. But I think ‘traditional’ cranberry sauce is stored in the fridge and then served, but I sort of like this at room temp b/c the flavors marry and taste better to me – so your preference.
Love the addition of blueberries! Super creative. Hope you are well!
When I saw your name come across my email I thought, could it be…nah, wouldn’t be her. Then I thought, there is no one else in the world I’ve ever known with your name, and voila, it’s you!! :) I am thrilled to hear from you! I hope you guys are doing great. I think about you often and think back to the early days of blogging and how life changes but still stays the same. Hope you and your family have a great holiday season! xoxo
Oh my! This looks amazing!
This one is making a debut this week, hope I don’t eat it all to myself. lol
I did that already. Now I have to make more for next week for others :)
I don’t drink alcohol of any kind. What would your recommendations be on a good sub for that? This looks AMAZING!!
Maybe a non-alcoholic red wine? Maybe an unsweetened or not super sweet cranberry juice – and if it is sweet, you may want to reduce the sugar slightly – I would try for non-alch wine though!
I just wanted to say that the opening line of this post might be the best ever.
Glad you liked that one :)
This is absolutely stunning! Gorgeous color. And delicious flavor combination! Mmmm. Wine and berries need to go together more often!
Wow, this is beautiful and sounds delicious. It’s on my must make list!
Wow, this is beautiful and sounds delicious. It’s on my must make list!
Stunning, Averie, simply stunning!
LOVE the flavor combinations – you hit the nail right on the head with this one. I don’t think this will even make it to the table ~ I’ll be eating it right out of the pot!
Oh my goodness!
averie, this sauce looks to die for! I am definitely going to try it for our Thanksgiving meal – and I bet it smells heavenly while simmering
The cranberry sauce has always been my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I don’t get too excited about the meal either, but I love the cranberry sauce, and I love the wine ….I’ve made red wine blueberry sauce and cranberry sauce, but never thought to mix the two together. I’ll have to try this sometime! Thanks for sharing.