Crock Pot Cranberry Butter is an impossibly silky, tangy fruit butter that is made right in the crock pot ~ you’ll want to slather it on toast, scones, biscuits, muffins, turkey sandwiches ~ and so much more!
This zingy cranberry butter has the most amazing crimson color and silky texture. While normally fruit butters are a time consuming project with a lot of stove side babysitting involved, in this recipe I’ve let the crock pot do all the work of cooking and reducing fresh cranberries down into a very potent thick spread. All you need to do is puree and strain. The result is truly unique.
This recipe makes 2 cups of cranberry butter, but what it lacks in volume it more than makes up for in silky texture and powerful flavor. A little goes a long way, and a cup of this stuff would be a fine gift. Use it on biscuits, scones, or add it to a cheese plate. Use it as a glaze for grilled chicken or pork,or on sandwiches. You can make creative holiday cocktails with a dab of this, too.
As an added bonus you’ll get an all day holiday scent filling your kitchen. If you want to try other fruit butters, my Cranberry Apple Butter is a little less tart than this one. My Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter is a great choice too.
Reader Rave ~
“Okay so I love my cranberry sauce and eat it through the holidays but now that I have found this recipe I have already made it twice and had it devoured each time, maybe a little more by myself than my family. Lol. I may just need to make this once a month because it is wonderful!” ~Trey
Ingredients
- 2 12-oz bags of cranberries, rinsed
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
- 1 cup apple cider
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a crockpot and stir to combine well. Turn on high. Let it cook for about 2 hours or until the cranberries are soft.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and puree the mixture in a food processor. Do this in two batches. Be careful as the mixture is hot, I cover the top opening of the machine with a dish cloth. Let the machine run for a full minute to puree the cranberries very finely.
- Force the cranberry puree through a mesh sieve or strainer. Push forcefully with the back of a spoon to get as much cranberry puree as you can. Discard the solids.
- Pour the puree back into the crockpot. Turn the crockpot to high, and leave the lid ajar. Cook until thickened, approximately another 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Put the cranberry butter into clean jars with tight fitting lids and let cool. Store in the refrigerator and consume within a month.
Notes
Be sure to remove the cinnamon stick before pureeing the cooked cranberries...I learned the hard way!
Thanks for pinning this easy Crock Pot Cranberry Butter!
154 Comments
Cranberry Butter - Crafty Cooking Mama
January 10, 2019 at 5:34 pm[…] Recipe from “the view from great island”. I absolutely adore this blog! Seriously, it’s one of my favorites! […]
Carla
January 6, 2019 at 3:16 pmI didn’t strain at all,cannot tell any peels or seeds once my great machine blended. I added orange zest and a half a cup more brown sugar. delish
Sue
January 6, 2019 at 3:41 pmAll the fabulous new kitchen blenders do such a good job!
Carol Ann
December 29, 2018 at 10:52 amCan you use apple juice?
Sue
December 29, 2018 at 4:43 pmYes, that will work fine in place of the cider.
Jen
December 20, 2018 at 12:06 pmGosh, I hate to just toss out the leftover solids . . . Wonder if they could be used somehow in cooking chicken or pork . . .
Sue
December 20, 2018 at 12:44 pmI don’t know, Jen, as I remember there’s just a little bit and that tends to be cranberry peel and seeds that wouldn’t be too useful.
Coby
December 15, 2018 at 1:36 pmThis is delicious! I spread it on a cranberry walnut bread- SO good! I used an immersion blender to purée it, and found there were no chunks to strain. So I just put it all back into the crockpot at added a little pinch of salt. Delicious recipe!
Sue
December 15, 2018 at 2:23 pmThanks Coby, I’m so glad it worked so well for you.
Lynnae
December 10, 2018 at 3:50 amMy daughter made the cranberry butter and it is fantastic. We served it at an open house at our grocery store. Can this be canned with a hot water bath
Sue
December 10, 2018 at 7:09 amIt can be canned if it has a ph level of 4.6 or lower. Since I made this as a small batch refrigerator recipe, I’m not sure about the ph. Cranberries are acidic, so it’s worth testing. You can also freeze it for longer storage.
Trey
December 6, 2018 at 12:14 pmOkay so I love my cranberry sauce and eat it through the holidays but now that I have found this recipe I have already made it twice and had it devoured each time maybe a little more by myself than my family. Lol. I may just need to make this once a month because it is wonderful!
Janelle
December 2, 2018 at 12:37 pmAfter all that work, mine burned in crockpot when I returned it for thickening. Yes, I stirred several times, but each time I went back to it (every 10-15 min) it was burned on the sides and sometimes the top even had a ‘skin’ on it, all of which is now mixed into the butter. For me it turned out to be a waste of contents, time and effort. Not to mention it never thickened at all except for the burned parts. Very disappointed in this one.
Sue
December 2, 2018 at 1:39 pmI’m so sorry to hear this didn’t work for you Janelle. I wonder if your crockpot runs high in temperature. Some people have luck with cooking the butter on the stove top for the final thickening, so you can be right there to control any sticking issues.
Debbie
November 19, 2018 at 7:09 pmLove this cranberry butter! Process is long & occassional stirring is a must, but well worth the process. Added to my personal recipe box!
Alicia
November 18, 2018 at 4:09 pmWhat do you use Cranberry butter for?
Sue
November 18, 2018 at 4:58 pmI like to use it as a spread for toast, biscuits, and sandwiches, etc. It can be used just like cranberry sauce, as well, on a Thanksgiving table.
Nan
November 13, 2018 at 2:54 pmI made a double batch of this today and it is a little too thin. I did not leave the top off the crock pot totally for the 2nd round of cooking. Can I continue to cook it and expect it will thicken up a little more? It is delicious. Made it for the church fair on Saturday
Sue
November 13, 2018 at 3:30 pmYes, definitely cook it some more if you can, it should thicken up fine.
Nan
December 1, 2018 at 10:09 pmIt was fine and very popular at the fair!
Crock Pot Cranberry Butter - HouseKeeperMag.com
November 13, 2018 at 5:17 am[…] Cranberry Butter – my life is complete now. I love them both and together must be magical. I will be making this soon. Full recipe below. Crock Pot Cranberry Butter […]
amber pauls
November 11, 2018 at 11:07 amI made this and it turned out great. didnt have cinnamon sticks so i used a teaspoon of ground cinnamon..and also added some extra brown sugar to lessen the very tart taste like other said they did. A co worker loves it and wants to make it and asked if you could use cranberry juice instead of fresh cranberries…does any one know that answer?
Gayla Williams
December 5, 2018 at 2:22 pmI too would love to know if you can use cranberry juice.
Sue
December 5, 2018 at 3:42 pmDo you mean in place of the apple juice Gayla? You could, but you might need to add a bit more sugar to sweeten the butter.
But if you mean can you use juice in place of the cranberries, then no, you need the whole berries for this.
Ma
December 30, 2018 at 5:50 amTo make “butter” you have to have the berry solids. If you just use juice, you end up with jelly.
Sue
December 30, 2018 at 7:12 amI think she was asking about replacing the little bit of apple cider in the recipe Ma.
Kathy Ihli
November 7, 2018 at 4:53 pmOH my gosh, I’ve been looking for something new to try with fresh cranberries. I’m so excited!! Our son-in-law loves to put cranberries on his turkey & sandwiches, lol more sauce than turkey!! I’m so happy I saw this!
Thank you
Blessings
Sue
November 7, 2018 at 5:13 pmI adore cranberries Kathy, so I think you’ll find some good inspiration here :)
Janet
November 5, 2018 at 10:55 amCould you use an immersion blender instead of the food processor ?
Lorrie MN Keating
November 3, 2018 at 10:39 amCan I just put this in the 1/2 pint Ball jam freezer cups and freeze? I make a freezer peach/apricot jam (using pectin) that I store this way and it lasts for months (or until my neighbors use it up!) Since this is just fruit and sugar, di I really have to water process to keep it?
Sue
November 3, 2018 at 11:24 amThis will freeze well Lorrie.
Theresa
November 2, 2018 at 12:35 pmTo make the cranberry butter as a preserve do you do a hot water bath after it’s jarred?
Thanks
sally
October 31, 2018 at 5:22 pmHave you tried this with coconut palm sugar or a product containing stevia. I would like to lower carbs for a cranberry loving diabetic. Anyone have any ideas?
Sue
October 31, 2018 at 5:56 pmYou should be able to use any sweetener you like in this Sally.