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Crockpot Cranberry Sauce

Crockpot cranberry sauce made with fresh cranberries for a glossy, jammy texture. Slow-cooked until the berries burst, then lightly mashed and optionally thickened for serving.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 221
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cranberry sauce
  • 24 oz fresh cranberries
  • 1.5 cup sugar
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 0.5 cup water
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 tbsp orange zest
  • 1 pinch salt

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Combine in the crockpot
  1. Add fresh cranberries, sugar, orange juice, water, cinnamon sticks, orange zest, and salt to the crockpot.
  2. Stir well to combine, making sure the cranberries are evenly coated.
Slow-cook until berries burst
  1. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2–3 hours, stirring once halfway.
  2. Continue cooking until the berries burst and the mixture looks glossy and thickened.
Mash, thicken, and serve
  1. Uncover and mash lightly to your preferred texture using the back of a spoon.
  2. Cook 15–20 minutes more if you want it thicker, then turn off the heat.
  3. Remove cinnamon sticks, then cool and chill, or keep on WARM for serving.

Notes

For best texture, stir once halfway so all berries cook evenly, then lightly mash right after the uncovered simmer. Store in the refrigerator up to 5 days; reheat gently on the stovetop or microwave. Freezing is not recommended because the cranberries can lose some of their glossy jam texture. For a lower-sugar option, replace some of the sugar with a 1:1 baking-style sugar substitute and adjust to taste after the first 15 minutes of simmering uncovered.