15 Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes (2024)

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Do you have extra cranberry sauce leftover after your big Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday dinner? Well, you don’t have to spend all week eating jt over turkey. Instead, use that leftover cranberry sauce to create something new and delicious. So if you are wondering "what to make with leftover cranberry sauce", then you are in the right place. We are sharing over 15 of our best and most popular leftover cranberry sauce recipes including muffins, baked goods, sandwiches, chicken dinner, smoothies, parfaits, and more!

15 Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes (1)

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping

Don't throw away leftover cranberry sauce, instead create leftover cranberry sauce muffins with an oat streusel topping and enjoy for breakfast or dessert!

Cranberry Sauce Oat Bars

These cranberry sauce oat bars are basically date squares made with cranberry sauce. Pretty genius right? These oat bars layers together a soft, chewy and buttery crust, tart yet sweet cranberry sauce, and crumbly pecan and oat topping. The best use of Thanksgiving leftovers!

Cranberry Meatballs

Cranberry Meatballs are sticky, sweet and tangy. These delicious bites are the perfect holiday appetizer, or a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce.

15 Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes (4)

Cranberry Baked Brie

Cranberry baked brie is a sweet and savory appetizer you need to try this holiday season. It's quick and easy, melty and gooey, and so delicious.

Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce Chicken

Instant pot cranberry chicken is sweet, tart, savory, and delicious. Make this chicken dinner in the pressure cooker in just 30 minutes. So quick and easy!

Cranberry Sauce Swirl Pound Cake

Leftover cranberry sauce swirl pound cake is moist and tender with swirls of cranberry sauce for a sweet and tangy burst of flavour. So easy and delicious.

Cranberry Brie Bites

Cranberry Brie Bites are quick and easy to make with flaky puff pastry, gooey melty brie, and sweet cranberry sauce. The perfect holiday appetizer.

Cranberry Brie Grilled Cheese

This Cranberry Brie Grilled Cheese features the sweet and tart flavor of cranberry that pairs perfectly with the creamy, slightly funky flavor of brie.

Cranberry Sauce Parfait

This Cranberry Sauce Parfait is a light, creamy, and delightful breakfast or dessert during the holidays. A great way to use leftover cranberry sauce!

Cranberry Sauce Swirl Cheesecake

Cranberry sauce swirl cheesecake is creamy, smooth, and indulgent. With a gorgeous red swirl on top, it's the perfect holiday dessert for your next party.

Cranberry Sauce Smoothie

Leftover cranberry sauce smoothie is the perfect drink to make with holiday leftovers. Plus, this sweet and refreshing winter smoothie in ready in minutes.

Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich with Cranberry Sauce

Looking for comfort food in a hand-held serving? You got it! Put those leftovers to good use in this leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce.

More Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes

Here are some of our favorite leftover cranberry sauce recipes that we found the internet has to offer:

  • Leftover Cranberry Sauce and Apple Crisp. A delicious way to transform this classic side into a quick and easy fall dessert with apples and the crispiest crumb topping.
  • Mini Cranberry Sauce Cobblers. Serve up leftover cranberry sauce into individual cranberry sauce cobblers with a fluffy and cakey topping.
  • Cranberry Sauce Overnight Oats. The easiest leftover cranberry sauce recipe that you can prep the night before and enjoy for breakfast in the morning.
  • Cranberry Sauce Vinaigrette. Transform your leftover cranberry sauce with just 3 ingredients into a homemade vinaigrette salad dressing and use it all week on your favorite fall salad recipes.

More Leftover Recipes

  • 25 Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes
  • 15 Leftover Turkey Recipes
  • 20 Leftover Rotisserie Chicken Recipes

Did You Make Any of These Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes?

Please leave a comment and rating below, and let me know what you thought of these leftover cranberry sauce recipes. Be sure to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @aheadofthyme or share it on the Pinterest pin so that I can follow along.

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15 Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes (14)

15 Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes

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  • Author: Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 9 servings
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

Over 15 best most popular leftover cranberry sauce recipes including muffins, baked goods, sandwiches, smoothies, chicken dinner, and more! One of my favorite recipes are these cranberry sauce oat bars.

Ingredients

  • ¾ cupbutter,softened to room temperature
  • ¾ cupbrown sugar
  • 1 + ½ cupsrolled oats
  • ¾ cupall-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoonvanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoonbaking powder
  • pinch ofsalt
  • 1 cupcranberry sauce

For the pecan oat topping:

  • 3 tablespoonsbutter,melted
  • ¼ cupbrown sugar
  • ½ cuprolled oats
  • ⅓ cuppecans,finely crushed
  • 1 teaspoongroundcinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a large bowl, use ahand mixerorstand mixerto cream together butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add rolled oats, flour, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Continue to mix until fully combined. The mixture will resemble crumbs.
  3. Transfer the mixture into a9-inch square baking pan, and firmly press it in to create an even layer on the bottom. Layer and spread cranberry sauce on top.
  4. Make the pecan oat topping: In ashallow saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, oats, pecans, and cinnamon. Stir until fully combined. Sprinkle and evenly distribute the topping on top of the layer of cranberry sauce.
  5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned. Place on awire cooling rackto cool down and cut into 9 even squares.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American

15 Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes (15)

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15 Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What else can I use cranberry sauce for? ›

Crantastic! 12 Ways to Enjoy Your Leftover Cranberry Sauce
  • Make the ultimate… grilled cheese! ...
  • Pour it over your… pancakes! ...
  • Spoon it into… muffins! ...
  • Roll it up in... cinnamon rolls! ...
  • Stir it into... yogurt! ...
  • Whip it into a… smoothie! ...
  • Top your… toast! ...
  • Bake it into… homemade pop tarts!

How many people does 1 can of cranberry sauce feed? ›

One 12-ounce bag of cranberries makes about 2 1/4 cups of basic cranberry sauce—in my house, that's enough for about five people. Going the canned route? You'll need at least one can for six people.

How long will cranberry sauce last in the refrigerator? ›

When to Toss Cranberry Sauce. Cranberry sauce will last for two hours at room temperature. Homemade cranberry sauce will last in the fridge for 10 to 14 days. Canned cranberry sauce that has been opened will last up to a week in the fridge.

How do you jazz up store bought cranberry sauce? ›

Adding a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon or orange zest, a tablespoon of chopped candied peel, or even a splash of juice to your canned sauce will brighten flavors and bring in some homemade flavor.

What does cranberry sauce do for your body? ›

Packed with antioxidants

The anthocyanins found in cranberries may have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. They may also: Protect against liver disease. Lower blood pressure.

Can you freeze cranberry sauce homemade? ›

Yes, you can freeze homemade cranberry sauce—and it works well. It's best to store it in the freezer for up to 3 months; the taste may be affected due to its water content if frozen longer. Keep this in mind when putting away your leftover sauce and use it during this optimal period as part of an easy weeknight dinner.

Is homemade cranberry sauce good for you? ›

The homemade cranberry sauce has nearly half the calories, carbohydrates, and sugars compared to the store brand. It also has more fiber as well as potassium! Thankfully, buying cranberry sauce at the store is not the only option. We have the perfect Simple Cranberry Sauce recipe to make for the upcoming holidays!

Can you freeze cranberries? ›

Place plastic bags of cranberries directly in the freezer for up to twelve months and use without thawing—just run cold water over them to rinse before using. Because some bruised and soft berries and some stems and leaves are often in the bags, you might prefer to sort and wash the berries before freezing them.

How long is cranberry juice good for after the expiration date? ›

The Google consensus is that it's SAFE to drink even AFTER 12-24 MONTHS past any printed date on the bottle. THIS APPLIES ONLY TO UNOPENED BOTTLES OF CRANBERRY JUICE. If opened, the juice should be refrigerated and used within 2 weeks.

Why does my homemade cranberry sauce taste bitter? ›

Dear Evelyn: I had the same problem when I first started making my own cranberry sauce. I found out that you should cook them just until they pop. Further cooking will make them bitter, and once that happens, you need to start again.

Is canned jellied cranberry sauce good for you? ›

Health Benefits

Cranberries are also rich in vitamin C and fiber, as well as the metabolism-boosting mineral manganese. And yes, you reap all these benefits whether the cranberry sauce on your holiday table is homemade or canned, jellied or whole-berry.

How do you fix bland cranberry sauce? ›

Maple syrup, brown sugar and even honey can make your cranberry sauce more dynamic. And don't forget the spices! Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, citrus zest and star anise all work well with cranberries and can be added while the sauce cooks to infuse your sauce with flavor.

What is the best way to serve cranberry sauce? ›

The traditional way of serving jellied cranberry sauce is sliced into rounds. With the column set on its side, slice into ¼-inch thick rounds and then arrange the slices on a serving platter. Serve the slices plain, garnished as desired, or read on for easy upgrades.

Can you just eat canned cranberry sauce? ›

It's perfectly fine to serve up cranberry sauce — whole berry or jelled — straight out of the can. But in my experience, heating the canned sauce up takes its flavor to the next level. Plus, it becomes a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Can you melt canned cranberry sauce? ›

A can of cranberry sauce typically contains cranberries, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and water, so when you plop it into a pot on low heat, it is going to melt down into an almost jam-like consistency, but that's not all that is going to change.

Why do people use cranberry sauce? ›

For instance, cranberries were mixed with meat and fat as a way to help extend the shelf life of the meat. The indigenous people then introduced the cranberry to the English pilgrims when they arrived in North America. According to Wick, they helped the pilgrims understand what cranberries were and how to use them.

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