Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce (5-Ingredient)

Uncooked cranberries in a crockpot with granulated sugar and brown sugar sprinkled on top.

Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce (5-Ingredient)

Make-ahead slow cooker cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries, orange juice, and brown sugar. Just 5 ingredients and perfect for the holidays.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword 5-ingredient, cranberry, easy, holiday, Slow Cooker, slow cooker cranberry sauce, sweet

Cook Time 2

Cooling Time 1

Total Time 3

Servings

Calories 122

Author Robyn Conley Downs

Equipment

Slow Cooker

Ingredients

12 oz whole cranberries, fresh or frozen-defrosted (about 4 cups)
⅓ cup fresh orange juice
⅓ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup pure cane sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker, stirring to combine.
Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or low for 4-5, or until the cranberries are very soft, begin to pop, and smash easily.

If you think your slow cooker cooks hot, you have the option to stir the sauce once or twice during cooking to avoid the edges burning. Just be sure to remove the lid, stir, and quickly recover to avoid dropping the heat of the slow cooker too much.

Once the cranberries have popped, stir well and mash some of the cranberries lightly with a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust for sweetness.
If the sauce is too tart, add more sugar ⅓ cup at a time until desired sweetness level is reached. If adding more sugar, set to low for 30 more minutes for the sugar to dissolve.
Note: At this point the sauce will still seem thin and watery. Allow to cool to at least room temperature (about 1-2 hours) before serving so the sauce can thicken up.
Carefully transfer the sauce to a bowl or serving container. Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate and serve cold.

Notes

Make this Recipe Ahead! When it's done, the sauce will seem thin and watery. It will thicken as it cools (about 1-2 hours) to the perfect spoonable consistency. If making the day you plan to serve, be sure to leave at least an hour for the sauce to thicken after it's cooked.
Vanilla: Only use PURE vanilla extract, NOT imitation vanilla extract/vanilla flavor, as it will overpower the sauce. If all you only have imitation vanilla extract, just skip this ingredient.

Nutrition