Our roasted cranberries recipe is a simple, sophisticated side dish. It is perfect for your holiday table but easy enough for every day. Flavored with bourbon and orange, this recipe is paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan.
Our recipe directions allow you to serve this as a cranberry sauce, a savory side dish, or as a cranberry dessert (but without all the sugar)!
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This is a Mr. Peel original recipe! We used to eat this as a dessert for Christmas but it has migrated to our Thanksgiving cranberry sauce favorite. And we make it as a side dish for the rest of the year.
Holiday foods often feel heavy and come with an extra helping of guilt. But holiday recipes don’t have to be that way.
We also firmly believe that it is possible to get healthier fruits and vegetables into your holiday menus without sacrificing traditions or taste. We got such a great response to our Sweet Potato Crunch I thought we should share our roasted cranberries recipe with you.
📖Why This Recipe Works
- Roasting cranberries brings out their tartness, rather than covering it up with extra sugar or jello.
- This recipe has less than 5 minutes of hands-on time.
- This recipe can be made in advance and reheated before serving.
🧾Ingredient Notes
- Fresh Cranberries
- Orange- Any variety will due.
- Bourbon - If you are avoiding alcohol you can substitute water, apple juice, or additional orange juice for the bourbon.
- Honey- Or substitute sugar for vegan. This recipe is VERY light on sugar. You can increase it but the purpose of roasting the cranberries is to bring out their tart flavor.
- Spices- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and just a pinch of kosher salt.
Out of oranges and OJ? Check out our list of substitutes for orange juice.
⏲️ How to Make Roasted Cranberries
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Combine the whole cranberries, orange juice & zest, bourbon, honey, and spices into an ovenproof dish. Stir to combine. Bake for 45 minutes until cranberries are soft and the liquid is reduced by two-thirds.
Yep, that is it! How easy are these roasted cranberries? Good food does not have to be complicated to make. To serve we just add some additional orange zest and dig in.
(Side note: We recommend this Microplane tool for zesting citrus- durable and useful!).
As you know, I love a recipe that can be easily modified into something new. So what if you want to make these roasted cranberries into a sauce?
💭 Cranberry Sauce Variation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the whole cranberries, orange juice & zest, bourbon, ¼ cup of water, honey, and spices in an ovenproof dish. Stir to combine. Bake for 45 minutes until cranberries are soft and the liquid is reduced by one-third.
Use an immersion blender to break up about half the cranberries. The cranberry sauce should be chunky but saucy.
💭 Cranberry Dessert Variation
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the whole cranberries, orange juice & zest, bourbon, ½ cup of honey (warmed), and spices in a bowl. Stir to combine.
Divide the mixture into four ramekins. Bake for 35-45 minutes until cranberries are soft and the liquid is reduced by two-thirds. Top with whipped cream or dairy-free paleo whipped topping. Garnish with orange zest and chopped nuts.
If you want a sweeter cranberry sauce or salad, check out my cranberry salad with raspberry jello recipe.
Also, let us know in the comments how you will be making your roasted cranberries. Side dish, sauce, or dessert?
🌡️Storage
Leftover cranberries should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They will keep for up to 5 days. Reheat in a small pan on the stovetop or reheat in the oven at 300 F degrees.
🦃More Thanksgiving REcipes
If you are looking for an everyday way to use up leftover cranberries check out our sheet pan dinner of pork chops with acorn squash and cranberries. It is an easy one-pot Fall dinner!
Be sure to check out more of our holiday recipes. Here are a couple of our favorites.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave us a rating or a comment. It helps other wonderful people connect with our food.
📖 Recipe
Roasted Cranberries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 small orange, juiced & zested set aside ½ the zest, for garnish
- 2 tablespoon bourbon or apple juice
- 2 tablespoon raw honey or coconut sugar for vegan
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
- Combine all ingredients in a 9-inch baking dish. Stir until well combined.4 cups fresh cranberries, 1 small orange, juiced & zested, 2 tablespoon bourbon, 2 tablespoon raw honey, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, pinch of kosher salt
- Bake for 45 minutes or until cranberries are soft and the liquid has reduced by two-thirds. Serve as desired.
Notes
- To serve as a side dish- top with orange zest and serve.
- To serve as a sauce- add 3 to 4 tablespoon of water before baking. Reduce liquid by ⅓ and pulse with an immersion blender to barely break up the cranberries. It should still be chunky.
- To serve as a dessert- Increase the honey to ½ cup before baking. Top with whipped cream and orange zest when serving.
Nutrition
Check out our Cranberry Sauce with Borbon and Orange web story!
Jen says
Yum
Louise says
You had me at bourbon and orange! I can just imagine how well those to pair up with cranberries. Yummy!
Marisa Moore says
So smart. I never thought to roast cranberries before. This would be delish for next week. I couldn't get the stars to stick but would rate this a 5* recipe for sure!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
The bourbon and honey are such an unusual addition to this cranberry sauce -- and they're both right up my alley. Like you, I want this for more than just Thanksgiving...
Julia says
What a great recipe! Love the addition of bourbon there 🙂
Holly says
I bet that bourbon really takes this cranberry sauce to the next level! What a pretty dish for a Thanksgiving table!
Jenni LeBaron says
I love that you've added a little bourbon to these. The perfect cranberries to serve at any holiday dinner!
April says
I just love sophisticated side dishes because I think that at times they can easily serve as main dishes. And using cranberries for various holiday celebrations is my favorite thing to do!
Marisa Franca says
Roasting the cranberries is such a great idea!! I would imagine that roasting would enhance the flavor of the classic Thanksgiving side. I'll definitely be making it this way.
Pavani says
Never thought of roasting cranberries before, but that sounds absolutely delicious. Roasted cranberry dessert sounds amazing. Perfect Thanksgiving dish.
Lauren Vavala says
I love how easy this recipe is and the addition of bourbon! I've never made cranberries with this method before - going to try soon!!
Jen says
Bourbon makes everything better!
Claudia Lamascolo says
what a nice twist on cranberries for the Thanksgiving table. I am sure eveyrone would love this and they are so pretty
Dan Zehr says
I love everything that is associated with a cranberry. I like your idea, it can really be used every day. This is perfect for me. Sounds really interesting and tasty. Thanks.
Mahy Elamin says
This cranberry recipe is really unique! This sounds fantastic! Looks tasty! This recipe is perfect for me and my family. Thank you!
Dani says
These roasted cranberries sound so delicious. I would use these berries in my homemade cranberry sauce, yum!