There are some pretty standard Thanksgiving side dishes that are just required to be on the table and cranberry sauce is one of them. Many people I talk to claim to not really like cranberry sauce for me to later find out they are referring to the jellied store bought canned sauce they grew up with sitting on a plate that was still in the shape of the can, ridges and all. Well yeah… that ISN’T very good! If you haven’t had home made cranberry sauce, then you really are missing out! The internet is overflowing with amazing cranberry sauce recipes and each and every one of them are super easy to make!

Fresh Cranberries are cheap this time of year and even freeze really well! I always stock up on them around now. I don’t live somewhere that I can grow them myself or I absolutely would! Grab some extra bags of fresh cranberries and have them handy for after the Thanksgiving rush of baking so you can pull that canner out again! Cranberries are naturally acidic and are very easy and safe to can! You can even try fermenting them! I have some in the pantry now fermenting in honey.

Canning cranberry sauce is a very easy project and you can have home made cranberry sauce ready for whenever the urge strikes you. Simply make your cranberry sauce and can it using the same processing time as mentioned for the juice. Most cranberry sauces consist of only acidic ingredients (other than the seasonings) so safety isn’t really a concern here. Just don’t add any nuts before canning if you like nuts in your cranberry sauce.

Ok so why do you want to can all this cranberry sauce if you only eat it on Thanksgiving and Christmas!? Well that’s easy! Eat it on more than just Thanksgiving and Christmas!

There are tons of ways to enjoy cranberry sauce other than the obligatory spoonful of cranberry sauce on your plate 2 days a year!

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Spoon a little over your cheesecake or pound cake.

Put some on a sandwich (of course I also mean those left over turkey sandwiches).

Try stirring some mayo or cream cheese into the cranberry sauce for an amazing sandwich spread.

Use as a filling for small single serving pies.

Add some to your yogurt and granola for breakfast.

Make your own pop tarts with that left over pie crust.

Add a spoonful to your oatmeal.

Whip up some cranberry butter for toast or muffins.

Use as an ice cream topping.

Make a glaze for meats or create your own BBQ sauce recipe.

Add some to the top of your cream cheese covered bagel.

Create your own cranberry vinaigrette salad dressing by adding a spoon full of cranberry sauce to some oil and vinegar.

Use cranberry sauce in muffins, cakes, and bread recipes.

Cranberry Bars and cheesecake bars .

Mix in with apples or other fruit to make a cobbler, crisp, or pie.

Cranberry cookies.

Add to some roasted root vegetables.

Add to smoothies.

Serve with brie and crackers.

Make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to stock up on cranberries and hit up those after holiday sales in the grocery stores!

Happy Homesteading!