This simple recipe for canning cranberry sauce is so easy, you'll wonder why you never tried it before. Sweet, tart, and full of flavor it is the perfect addition to your holiday meal.

I've never been a fan of the gelatinous cans of store-bought cranberry sauce, while we often make cranberry jello salad for our holiday meals, I just don't care for jellied cranberry sauce in a can. It's not very flavorful and it's full of high fructose corn syrup... my least favorite ingredient.
So, I was hesitant to make my own cranberry sauce. If I don't like the stuff from a can, would I like it from a home jar any better? The answer is a resounding yes and it's so incredibly simple to make.
Sweet, tart, cranberry, orange, cinnamon, and cloves. All these wonderful flavors of the holidays teem together to make this delicious, simple cranberry sauce... so much better than anything you'll eat out of a tin can.
Of course, you can make this fresh the day of your meal, but why hassle with it when it can easily be made in advance and canned? Canning cranberry sauce means you can make it whenever you have time and the flavor only improves as it sits on the shelf.
You can make this sauce a day or two ahead of time, a month, or even a year in advance. And, if you use a straight-sided jar, such as a wide-mouth pint jar, it can slide right out just like the tin can if that's your fancy.
The beauty of canning cranberry sauce is you can make it jellied or whole berry, whichever you prefer. Or, you can make a bit of both if you have people who like one more than the other. While the canning processing time is exactly the same, the process to make it is slightly different... though not much.
How to Make Cranberry Sauce for Canning

The exact measurements and step by step instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. While the steps to make both jellied and whole berry cranberry sauce are similar, I've listed the steps separately for each.
Prepare canner, jars, and lids. Wash jars and lids in hot, soapy water. Place the jars in a water bath canner and cover them with water. Put the lid on the canner and heat over medium-low heat to a simmer. Allow the jars to heat while you make the sauce. Place the lids in a small saucepan and allow them to simmer over medium-low heat.
Making Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Combine cranberries and water. In a large saucepan, combine cranberries, water, and the spice bag and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Allow skins to burst. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to gently simmer until the skins burst on the cranberries. This will be loud, kind of like popping popcorn, so be aware that's totally normal!
Remove from heat. Remove the mixture from the heat and discard the spice bag. Allow it to cool about five minutes.
Puree. The ball complete book of home preserving recommends putting the cranberries through a food mill, which is what I did. But, to make things easier, you could also use an immersion blender. If you don't have either of those things, a regular blender or a food processor will do the job.

Combine cranberries with sugar and orange zest. Place the cranberry puree back in the saucepan and add the sugar and orange zest. Bring it to a boil over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
Making Whole Cranberry Sauce
Make sugar syrup. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, water, and the spice bag. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Add cranberries. Add cranberries and orange zest and return the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and stir occasionally until the skins burst. Again, this will be loud, like popcorn!
Canning Cranberry Sauce
Regardless of whether you're making jellied cranberry sauce or whole berry, the remaining steps are the same.
Boil hard to gel stage. Increase the heat to high and allow the mixture to come to a hard boil. You'll have to keep an eye on the mixture to make sure it doesn't boil over. When it begins to foam, stir it down.
Continue boiling the mixture until it begins to fall in sheets from the back of a metal spoon. This will take about 15 minutes. You can also test for proper gel by placing the mixture on a plate that has been left in the freezer. Let it cool and if it thickens enough, it's ready.
Ladle into jars. Carefully ladle the hot cranberry sauce into prepared jars leaving ¼" of headspace. Remove any air bubbles with a plastic spatula, wipe rim, and center two part canning lids on to the top of the jars.

Process, refrigerate, or freeze. You can cool and place the finished jars in the refrigerator or freezer if you choose. It will keep in the refrigerator for 10 to 14 days. In the freezer, it will keep for up to a year, but for the freshest flavor, it should be eaten in about a month to six weeks.

We prefer to have shelf-stable options in our home, though. So, if you choose. Place jars in waiting water bath canner. Be sure they are completely covered with water. Place the lid on the canner, bring to a boil. Process jars for 15 minutes, remove the lid from canner and allow jars to sit for five minutes before removing to a towel-lined counter.
Check for proper seals after 12 hours. Remove rings and store sealed jars in a cool dark place for up to 18 months.
Whole cranberry sauce can be spooned out and served. Jellied cranberry sauce, as long as you used a straight-sided jar, can be run under hot running water for a few moments and will slide right out of the jar whole just like the tin cans at the store.
📖 Recipe

Cranberry Sauce for Canning
Sweet, tart, and full of seasonal flavors this delicious cranberry sauce can be made jellied or whole and canned for a shelf-stable treat that can be used anytime, or refrigerated or frozen if used sooner.
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Sugar
- 4 Cups Water
- 8 Cups Fresh Cranberries
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 teaspoon Whole Cloves
- 1 tablespoon Freshly Grated Orange Zest
Instructions
- Prepare canning jars, lids, and water bath canner.
To Make Jellied Cranberry Sauce
- Combine cranberries, a muslin, or a piece of cheesecloth made into a bag with the cinnamon stick and cloves, and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently until skins burst.
- Turn off the heat, discard the spice bag, and allow the cranberries to cool for about five minutes, before running through a food mill or using an immersion blender to blend the cranberries until smooth. Alternatively, you can use a blender or food processor.
- Return the cranberry puree to the saucepan. Add sugar and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high bringing the mixture to a hard boil. Continue boiling until the mixture forms sheets off the back of a metal spoon.
To Make Whole Cranberry Sauce
- Combine sugar, water, and bag with the cinnamon stick and whole cloves in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, continue boiling for five minutes.
- Remove the spice bag. Add in cranberries and orange zest and allow the mixture to return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling gently, stirring occasionally until berries burst and the mixture forms sheets off the back of a metal spoon.
Canning Cranberry Sauce
- Check the sauce for proper gel by placing it on a plate that has been in the freezer. Allow it to thicken for a moment and be sure it's thick enough before jarring it up.
- Carefully ladle cranberry sauce into prepared canning jars, leaving ¼" of headspace.
- Remove air bubbles with a plastic spatula. Wipe jar rims and center the two-piece canning lids on the jars, tightening rings to finger tight.
- Place jars in a water bath canner, making sure they are completely covered with water, and place the lid on top.
- Bring the canner to a boil, and process jars for fifteen minutes. Remove the lid from the canner and allow jars to sit for five minutes before removing them to a towel-lined counter.
- Check for proper seals after twelve hours and store properly sealed jars in a cool dark place.
Notes
Fresh cranberries will yield the best results, but you can use previously frozen cranberries. However, your sauce may not gel properly.
Cranberry sauce can be refrigerated instead of processed in a canner. It will keep for ten to fourteen days.
Cranberry sauce can be frozen in a freezer-safe container instead of processed in a canner. It will be fresh tasting for four to six weeks but should keep for up to 12 months.
Canned jars will keep for at least 18 months.
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