41 Best Cranberry Recipes, For The Holidays Or Anytime

There's no mistaking when cranberry season rolls around: Bags of fresh, ruby-red cranberries suddenly appear in produce aisle bins and grocery store displays, especially as Thanksgiving draws near. Since fresh cranberries are easy to freeze for later, and other cranberry products like juice, dried fruit, and canned sauce are always stocked in stores, you can turn to this collection of sweet-tart cranberry recipes year-round to create irresistible drinks and dishes.

For the holiday dinner and dessert tables, try recipes for a classic fruit cake, a Christmas-themed Old Fashioned cocktail, Instant Pot cranberry applesauce, or a big batch of Jingle Juice. There are plenty of healthy cranberry recipes here too, including broccoli salad, copycat salads from Panera and Wendy's, and a fall salad made with roasted butternut squash. 

If you're into baking, you'll love treats like cranberry orange cookies, baked cranberry oatmeal, and pumpkin cranberry cake. There's even a recipe in this round-up that's perfect for Halloween: cranberry juice gets added to a dark red punch that holds spooky, floating "eyeballs." 

Check out these recipes and bookmark your favorites, so you can add cranberry flavor (and color) to every meal and drink of the day. 

Get into the holiday spirit by raising a glass of this tasty spirit. A traditional Old Fashioned is made with whiskey, sugar, bitters, and orange peel — in this seasonal twist, cranberries are muddled into the mixture to add a refreshing, tart flavor. Sprigs of fresh rosemary give the cocktail an intriguing herbal component, and as a bonus, it looks like a little evergreen branch, making for an attractive, festive garnish.

Recipe: Christmas Old Fashioned

In this exclusive recipe shared with Mashed by "Crime Scene Kitchen" host Joel McHale, shows you how easy it is to create a gorgeous pork roast for a holiday or Sunday dinner. McHale makes his roast with a spiced, sweet glaze that features cranberries, orange juice, and a nip of scotch whisky. Allow time for the overnight marinade and several hours of low-and-slow cooking, but don't worry: Most of this work is hands-off, leaving you free to relax with your own nip of whisky. 

Recipe: Joel McHale's Cranberry-Orange Whisky-Glazed Pork Shoulder

Dried cranberries add a playful pop of color to this festive cheese ball appetizer perfect for your next gathering. The recipe comes together in less than 15 minutes, and it can even be made in advance to pull from the fridge as your guests arrive. Cream cheese is blended with orange, cranberries, and chopped nuts, then shaped into a ball and rolled in more of these ingredients to create an eye-catching coating. Serve this cheese ball with sturdy crackers or sliced bread.

Recipe: Cranberry Orange Cheese Ball

This recipe is a nod to old fashioned, ambrosia-style desserts but with a decidedly holiday feel. The creamy treat is made with sliced, fresh cranberries folded into a blend of cream cheese, marshmallows, and cream. You can even add extra dimension with flavors like vanilla, rum, or orange. The dish is quick to assemble and just needs to be chilled before serving, for least an hour or as long as overnight. Cranberry fluff is sure to be a velvety, unique addition to your dessert table. 

Recipe: Cranberry Fluff

Be merry with this delicious punch that looks absolutely gorgeous on the party table. The drink is a combination of rosé, Cointreau, vodka, and orange juice, plus some sparkling cider for fizziness. The recipe makes 12 servings and takes less than 10 minutes to assemble. Garnish the punch with loads of ruby-red cranberries, orange slices, and fresh mint. Or better yet, try Food Network's idea to create a lovely ice ring with the cranberries and orange slices that will keep your punch chilled.

Recipe: Jingle Juice

Quick breads like this one are so easy to make, since they require no kneading or rising time. The bread batter is made with orange juice, sugar, and cranberries; either fresh or frozen cranberries work well in the recipe. Be sure to chop the cranberries before adding them to the batter so that the pieces are well-distributed in the bread. (Whole berries will sink to the bottom.) This is a lovely bread for brunches, and it makes a thoughtful holiday food gift.

Recipe: Cranberry Bread

We love a good oatmeal raisin cookie, and this recipe makes it even more interesting. These cookies are made with dried cranberries instead, as well as orange zest for a bright, citrusy note. That's not all — toasted, chopped pecans give the treats a little crunch. You can make and eat these cookies quickly since the batter doesn't require any chilling. Make a batch for a cookie exchange, to share at Friendsgiving, or to give away as holiday food gifts. 

Recipe: Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies

The fall and holiday months are full of sweet desserts and heavy foods; to balance things, try this kale salad that's full of fall flavor but also healthy and fresh. Start by roasting cubes of butternut squash until they're tender and flavorful, and this step can even be done in advance to make assembling the salads even faster. Dinosaur kale becomes tender under a dressing of lemon juice, oil, and Dijon mustard. Toss the kale with the squash, pepitas, apple, and dried cranberries. The salad is a great side to roasted meats or a hearty chili. 

Recipe: Fall Salad With Roasted Butternut Squash

You can assemble this lovely, no-bake cheesecake dessert in just 25 minutes, and have it waiting for you in the fridge to serve to guests or to bring to the party. Make the crust yourself using crushed Nilla Wafers cookies, or purchase a premade cookie crust. The filling is a blend of cranberries, cream cheese, orange zest, and whipped cream. There are lots of ways to garnish the chilled cheesecake: Add twists of orange peel, candied whole cranberries, a layer of whipped cream, or even a few curls of dark chocolate. 

Recipe: No-Bake Cranberry Orange Cheesecake

What a simple, delicious, and hearty dish to make for your breakfast! Because this recipe makes eight servings, it's a great choice when you have overnight guests or if you want a dish you can reheat for breakfast all week. Whole cranberries are baked with oats, milk, and flavorings like cinnamon and maple syrup, which gives the finished oatmeal a fluffy texture and lots of flavor. You can experiment with adding other fruits in addition to the cranberries, like diced apples or pears. 

Recipe: Cranberry Baked Oatmeal

This is a delicious salad any time of the year, but especially in fall and winter when you want a fresh side to balance out all the heavy foods of the season. Dinosaur kale is massaged to make it tender, then tossed with a sweet-tangy dressing of poppy seeds, orange juice, and olive oil. Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, and diced apples give the salad color, texture, and autumn vibes. The recipe makes six servings to enjoy with dinner or to pack for work week lunches.

Recipe: Sweet Kale Salad

Cranberries play a starring role in this recipe for classic holiday fruit cake. Though it's often maligned, this recipe from Kristen Carli proves that, when made well, fruit cake is absolutely delicious. Slices are full of sweetness thanks to dried cranberries, apricots, figs, cherries, and other fruits, plus a generous glug of dark rum. The recipe makes two loaves, so you can enjoy one and give the other one as a gift. Serve slices of fruit cake with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

Recipe: Fruit Cake

The beginning of autumn means it's time to celebrate cranberries AND the flavors of pumpkin spice. This homemade granola recipe brings them together in one dish that you can enjoy as a healthy breakfast or hearty snack. Toss dried cranberries, pumpkin pie spice, canned pumpkin puree with oats, pumpkin seeds, and chopped nuts. The mixture bakes up in about 30 minutes, and is lightly sweetened with maple syrup. Once the granola is cool, you can add other mix-ins like chocolate chips, and enjoy servings with milk and fresh fruit. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Granola

This favorite Wendy's salad is so easy to recreate, and making it at home means you can customize it any way you wish. Toss salad greens with diced apples (both red and green) then add in whole pecans and tart, dried cranberries. Don't have time to cook up some chicken? Use chicken leftover from dinner or shredded rotisserie chicken. The final touches are crumbled blue cheese and a sweet pomegranate dressing. Make this salad for lunch for the week, or as a light side dish with soup or chili. 

Recipe: Copycat Wendy's Apple Pecan Salad

Looking for a Thanksgiving or holiday dessert, but don't want to go with the usual pies and cookies? Your family will love this fruity, creamy salad. Assembling this sweet, refreshing salad couldn't be easier: Just stir together diced cranberries, pineapple, cream cheese, and marshmallows. Allow a few hours for the salad to chill, which lets the flavors meld and the texture set (you can even prepare it the day before), and then it's ready to serve. 

Recipe: Cranberry Pineapple Marshmallow Salad

This recipe makes a holiday punch that everyone can enjoy: It has so much sweetness and flavor and no alcohol is needed. The recipe by Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert combines cranberry juice with pomegranate juice and seeds, plus ginger ale. What really sets it apart is a rosemary-infused simple syrup, which gives the drinks a wonderful herbal note. Serve glasses of this punch with an extra dose of festive color by garnishing with fresh rosemary sprigs.

Recipe: Non-Alcoholic Christmas Punch

Use your cranberry juice to make a sweet and fruity punch that's a little boozy, too. Vodka is the spirit of choice in this party cocktail, which lets the flavors of the other ingredients shine. Blend cranberry juice with orange juice and fruit punch, along with sliced fruit. The recipe makes 12 servings and you can even prepare it ahead of time and have it waiting in the fridge. Want a nonalcoholic version that everyone can enjoy? Just replace the vodka with more juice or extra sliced fruit. 

Recipe: Jungle Juice

It's amazing the way dried cranberries make a salad so much more delicious, giving each bite a potent dose of sweet-tart flavor. Kristen Carli's recipe features peppery arugula greens tossed with fresh, diced apples and crunchy walnuts, plus feta cheese and dried cranberries folded in. The dressing is perfectly simple: a blend of red wine vinegar, oil, and honey that has a bold tang but doesn't obscure the other flavors. The recipe makes enough salad to serve four, or to take to work for lunch all week. 

Recipe: Apple Walnut Salad

Today's the day you stop buying granola and start making your own. With store-bought granola you're letting someone else decide what goes into the mixture; when you make your own you get to choose more of your favorite ingredients and skip any unwanted ones. This recipe has a blend of oats, nuts, and dried fruits like cranberries and raisins, and it all bakes together to become browned and crunchy. Use your 15-minute granola to make trail mixes, energy bars, or enjoy it with milk or yogurt for breakfast. 

Recipe: 15-Minute Granola

Think of this loaf as an easy-going cousin of the ornate holiday fruit cake. The recipe is an easy quick bread that's full of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, plus raisins and dried cranberries for sweet and chewy bites in every slice. The loaf bakes up in about an hour, and the fragrant, flavorful slices are delicious spread with butter or softened cream cheese. Serve the bread for breakfast, brunch, or with afternoon tea. 

Recipe: Fruit Bread