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.
Ohhh, this looks yummy! Definitely on my list of ones to try! Thank you for sharing!
I hope you enjoy!
I have to wonder if this recipe is able to be canned. Anyone have an idea?
Yes if you read through the comments others have done it and mention their methods. I personally never have.
Christmas in July!!! We love it. I’ve made it twice within the month of July. We are water bath canning it, so we added a TBS of lemon juice to the recipe. Everyone that’s tasted it says it’s fabulous. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved it! After 4th of July, pumpkin/thanksiving/xmas recipes are fair game :)
Sounds interesting but cranberry jelly from a CAN is my absolute favorite! Eat with a spoon, yum!
If you think canned cranberries are good this will blow your mind!
Can I Water bath can this?
Just make as written – it is PERFECT! A huge reader favorite as written. In terms of canning it, read through the comments, some have done it. I have not.
Going to try this today! Sounds delish.
Does unthawed mean frozen????? If not frozen, then the word is “thawed”.
Yes adding them in a frozen state is what you should do or is fine. No need to thaw them out.
Have anyone tried this on a cheesecake?
I haven’t but I imagine it would be an awesome pairing!
Yes, it does sound like an awesome pairing? I have a few bags of blueberries and several bags of cranberries in the freezer that I picked this year. I will be trying this very soon?
How many jars does this make
I wrote in the recipe card the approximate amount of ounces it makes. It all depends on the size of the jar you use to determine the amount of jars it would yield.
I made this for Thanksgiving yesterday. This is our FAVORITE cranberry sauce!! I usually make an apple/cranberry or a pear/cranberry and we’ve always loved those, however, when my husband and I tasted this one we both said that this was by far our favorite one now. Delicious, delicious, delicious!!! Never will I make another cranberry sauce again. This is it. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
I’m glad to hear that this is your new favorite cranberry sauce and you’re not going to cheat on it :)
I love serving this to guests who “don’t like ctanberries”! It’s always a game changer .. lol
YES! So true! This will change anyone’s mind!
so im about to make this and i noticed ive run out of granulated sugar, do you think i could use brown sugar? ugh i really dont want to go to the store with how crazy it is right now! i pray u see this and reply today!
I think you could get away with some brown sugar but I think all brown sugar would create a different texture/taste than you’d likely prefer.
Hello i’m planning on making this for Thanksgiving and was wondering if i could eat this along with my turkey and dressing?
Yes it’s the perfect Thanksgiving cranberry sauce! Enjoy!
Ok thank you so much! And since I like wine I will definitely enjoy this!
I wanted a new recipe and came across yours. I did add vanilla and at the end, some pomegranate seeds for a little crunch. It is heavenly. Thanks! I think next time I’ll throw in some pecans.
Your pom seeds sound like a great addition! Glad things turned out lovely!
I made this with high hopes. I’m not sure what went wrong, the sauce has a very bitter, extremely tart after taste. I’m hoping it will mellow in the jars. Have you heard of this? Maybe it didn’t simmer long enough? I did everything else just as the recipe called for.
Thanks.
I have never heard of this. Sounds like either you accidentally short-measured the sugar, or you had really sour berries, or you didn’t simmer it long enough, or maybe the wine you used reacted strangely to heat. Honestly have never heard of this at all. I have only seriously ever gotten rave reviews on this one.
I just saw this on Instagram Stories, which reminded me of this AMAZING cranberry sauce. Totally lives up to the hype.
They work! I RARELY do that, where I post a photo to an older recipe with a link, but I am so glad you commented on this post. And I agree this cranberry sauce is amazing and totally does live up to the hype :)
Do you think this sauce can be canned now for enjoying later? Trying to cut down on freezer items and canning seems a better option. :) I know others have posted about it but I can’t see the earlier comments? Thanks.
You have to click “older comments” at the top of the commenting section. Lots of others have canned it, I haven’t and cannot give any tips on that.
Thanks! I knew you’d have the answer of how to find the older comments. ? I’m sure it will be easier to find when I get home to my computer.
Freeze up to one year or use within three wks if refrigerated. Canning, I would not know. I add orange zest of two oranges plus the juice from both, because I need two bags of cranberry, use a tea steeper for the cloves, two cinnamon sticks, vanilla extract, just pour and pumpkin pie spice extract…found it this year! After it thickens, I add about a half stick of butter and let melt. It is delicious. Do this every year. Before heat is off, I add a nice 4 to 5 capsful of Orange Contreu Liquior. It does cook out, but the flavor is spot on, each year.
Contreau, pumpkin spice extract, you’re speaking my love language :)