Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
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The most perfect homemade cranberry sauce made from scratch! Use frozen or fresh cranberries. It’s so quick and so easy for the holidays!
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Why you’ll love Instant Pot cranberry sauce
- Absolutely effortless. The magic happens in the Instant Pot, meaning you can add your ingredients, press a button, and walk away. You don’t have to worry about any stirring, scorching, or splattering!
- Uses up frozen cranberries. Have some frozen cranberries in the freezer? Throw those right in without thawing with the same cook time.
- Saves on stovetop space. Holiday cooking means we need as much oven and stovetop real estate as possible. Moving the cranberry sauce to the pressure cooker opens up more space for your turkey and side dishes.
- Rich, jam-like consistency. With 4 minutes in the Instant Pot, the pressure cooker will extract more natural pectin and reduce the excess water content, yielding a rich, jammy, sweet and tangy cranberry sauce (with less sugar!).
Key Ingredients
- Cranberries: fresh (washed and sorted) or frozen (thawing not required)
- Sweetener: granulated sugar and light brown sugar
- Liquid: freshly squeezed orange juice
- Flavor boosters and spices: orange zest, cinnamon stick, ground cloves, and vanilla extract
How to make instant pot cranberry sauce
- Combine. Add the cranberries (fresh or frozen), granulated sugar, light brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, cinnamon stick, and ground cloves into a 6-qt Instant Pot®, stirring until well combined.
- Pressure cook. Secure the lid, set the valve to sealing, and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes.
- Naturally release pressure. Let the pressure release naturally, about 20-30 minutes.
- Thicken the sauce. Remove the orange zest and cinnamon stick, then gently mash the cranberries with a wooden spoon. Pro tip: if you prefer a thicker sauce, switch to the sauté mode and let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
- Finish and let cool. Stir in the vanilla extract and let it cool completely. The cranberry sauce will thicken as it sits.
how to make cranberry sauce ahead of time
Make-ahead
Prepare the cranberry sauce as directed. Remove from heat and let it cool completely. Then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freeze
Let cool completely. Portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months.
Reheat
Thaw the cranberry sauce overnight in the fridge. Serve chilled (once completely thawed), at room temperature, or gently reheated on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.
Tools For This Recipe
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can add them straight from the freezer – no thawing required. But frozen berries will release a little more liquid as it thaws and cooks, yielding a slightly thinner consistency. If you prefer a thicker sauce, simmer for a few minutes (using the sauté mode) after pressure cooking.
Adding vanilla extract after cooking helps preserve the vanilla flavor, allowing the flavor to shine though. If vanilla is cooked in high heat, the main ingredient of vanilla extract (alcohol) will evaporate quickly along with all the vanilla flavor.
Some like it hot, some like it cold, but we personally find that cranberry sauce is best served at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Absolutely! Store the cranberry sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Cranberry sauce freezes like a dream, and can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Don’t have an Instant Pot? You can easily make it on the stovetop! Recipe here.
Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
Video
Ingredients
- 2 (12-ounce) packages fresh or frozen cranberries
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 3-inch strips orange zest
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place cranberries, sugars, orange zest and juice, cinnamon and cloves into a 6-qt Instant Pot®. Stir until well combined.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 4 minutes. When finished cooking, naturally release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions, about 20-30 minutes.
- Remove orange zest and cinnamon. Using a wooden spoon, mash cranberry mixture until desired consistency is reached; stir in vanilla.
- Let cool completely.
Equipment
Notes
- Use fresh or frozen cranberries. Fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries can be used here. When using fresh, use plump cranberries that are bright red in color and firm to the touch. Avoid using dried cranberries.
- Rinse and sort the berries. Rinse the fresh cranberries in a colander prior to cooking, discarding any soft, shriveled, or bruised berries.
- Make ahead of time. Cranberry sauce is one of those holiday side dishes you can make ahead of time and store in the fridge up to 1 week in advance.
- Serve hot or cold. This really depends on personal preference but cranberry sauce can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature.
- Use natural release. Skip the quick release as the cranberries can foam quite a bit.
- Remove the orange zest and cinnamon stick. Don’t forget to remove the strips of orange zest and cinnamon stick prior to serving.
- Adjust the sweetness while it is warm. If the cranberry sauce is too tart, stir in an extra tablespoon of sugar while the sauce is still warm, allowing the sugar to dissolve easily.
- Repurpose leftovers. Leftover cranberry sauce works well in breakfast dishes, appetizers, savory meals, and desserts.
Did you make this recipe?
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How would you adjust time if doubling recipe?
Can I half this recipe?
I followed the recipe to a T. The taste is great but the consistency is off because you can feel some cranberry skins in your mouth. I don’t remember this last year but I also think I may have used the stove top. Any ideas?
This recipe is super easy and absolutely delicious! It’s not too tart, but also not overly sweet! Thank you!!!
Heaven in a bowl . Followed recipe as written…it’s going into fridge for this Sunday’s feast.
Followed this recipe, with a few tweaks. Delicious!
If I don’t have an instant pot, how long would I cook it for on the stove top?
Have used this recipe several times. I use trivia in place of the sugar and brown sugar, it is excellent.
I didn’t think I liked cranberry sauce until last Thanksgiving when I picked a pint up at a local specialty market. This year I decided they it myself, and this was the recipe I landed on. It was serendipity! If it’s not identical, its darn close. So easy, and so, so good
I don’t have cinnamon sticks. Can I substitute ground cinnamon instead, and how much?
The best, the best, the BEST cranberry sauce I have ever had or certainly ever made myself. Made this last year and it’s kind of all I have been thinking about this week as I prep for Thursday! It’s yummy with the meal of course, then on leftovers, then on yogurt for breakfast every day….yum yum YUM! Thank you for ending my search for the perfect cranberry sauce!
How would you adjust for an 8qt Instant Pot?
As we’re all social distancing During Covid-19, our grocery stores are short on certain products like fresh cranberries. I found 2 bags of frozen, a bit shrivelled, cranberries in my freezer! I reconstituted them in hot water and tried this recipe. I added a splash or two of Grande Marnier to the orange juice and skipped the vanilla. The results are delicious! A bit sweet, a bit tangy with an extra punch of orange juiciness from the liqueur. A keeper of a recipe!
This recipe is the Greatest !! so easy and yummy… never buying store bought again !!!
Made this for Thanksgiving and those of us that liked cranberry really enjoyed this version. But then we had leftovers and I thought, “This would probably be very good in yogurt!” OMG! This is now my favorite thing to add to my yogurt with a little granola, sooooo good! I’ve made it post Thanksgiving and as long as I can find cranberries I’ll keep making it (I do halve the recipe though).
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing, Heather!
I made this exactly as directed, but also forgot to withhold the vanilla until after cooking. The sauce was absolutely delicious! Tart, sweet, and a lovely addition to our family’s Thanksgiving meal. Thank you for this fabulous recipe! (Your recipes include many of my all-time favorites.)
I always try recipes out ahead of time but you have never let me down so I just made this for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. It’s PERFETION! Thank you (again!) for such an easy, yet impressive side dish.
Amazing! Happy Thanksgiving, Mary! 🙂
I only have 12 oz of fresh cranberries. I can cut the ingredients in half. Would the cooking time be the same?
Yes, same cooking time
Hi Chungah, this is a really nice recipe, and it turned out well. This is my new cranberry sauce recipe to use now. I like that the cinnamon and orange are not overdone, and it’s not too sweet.
I was so excited about adding vanilla (because I never had before) that I added it in with all the other ingredients instead of at the end. Did I alter the flavor any by doing this? I’m still finding my way around the science of pressure cooking! Thanks-Lenore
Berry sauces are exclusively for foodies IMHO. Few people in my circle like them.