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This homemade cranberry blueberry sauce recipe is a delightful spin on a nostalgic and traditional Thanksgiving classic. Made with ruby red cranberries, sweet blueberries, apple cider, brown sugar, and a hint of vanilla and cinnamon, this is destined to be your new Thanksgiving holiday tradition!
What Makes This Cranberry Sauce Special?
Three things. Blueberries, brown sugar, and apple cider. I adore traditional cranberry sauce, but most recipes are just too sour for my taste buds. I love digging into berry sauces by the spoonful! It’s a delightful treat in the winter when good fresh berries are few and far between. However, I often get tired of how mouth puckering cranberries can be.
For my rendition of cranberry sauce I wanted to keep the bright, tart flavor but round it out with some natural sweetness. Hence blueberries! I love the balanced tangy/sweet notes you get from blueberries. Adding brown sugar instead of white sugar brings in cozy, toasty molasses notes, and apple cider was a refreshing, crisp, and clean substitute for the traditional citrusy orange juice. This recipe isn’t too sweet, but it also isn’t too sour to eat! Cranberries and blueberries are a match made in berry heaven!
Homemade Cranberry Blueberry Sauce Recipe: Step By Step
Let’s make some sauce! First off, grab your ingredients.
- Fresh cranberries (frozen works too!)
- Fresh or frozen blueberries
- Apple cider
- Brown sugar
- A hint of dried lemon zest (optional)
- Vanilla
- A dash of cinnamon
Fill Your House with Holiday Cheer
Simmer the cranberries, blueberries, apple cider, brown sugar, and lemon zest in a small saucepan for 15 minutes. Enjoy the delightful cranberry/brown sugar smell as it perfumes your kitchen! Once you start to hear the cranberries popping, mash the fruit a little to combine. Add the vanilla and cinnamon. Continue to simmer an additional 5 minutes until the berry sauce is thickened. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Enjoy!
Serve either warm or cool for an extra special Thanksgiving treat! Cover the leftovers and store in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days. However, I guarantee it won’t last that long at all!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of year. I love how food brings everyone together. The Thanksgiving smells, the table heaving under a massive mountain of delicious food, and the faces we see around it… it makes me happy. Food is my love language, and I love getting to share my love with the people I care for most.
I hope this simple offering lands on your Thanksgiving feast this year! If it does, please let me know how it goes! I hope it becomes a family classic like this recipe is for my family.
Happy eating!
~Anna
Homemade Cranberry Blueberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2Β½ cups fresh cranberries (washed and rinsed) frozen works great too!
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 3/4 cup apple cider
- 1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
- 1/4 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Simmer cranberries, blueberries, apple cider, lemon zest, and sugar in a small saucepan. Stir occasionally and cook down for 10-15 minutes.
- When you hear the cranberries popping happily in your saucepan, mash the berries down. Add vanilla and cinnamon and simmer another 5 minutes. Serve the cranberry blueberry sauce warm or room temperature. Enjoy!
