Crock pot cranberry butter is an impossibly silky, tangy fruit butter that is made right in the slow cooker ~ you’ll want to slather this easy cranberry jam on toast, scones, biscuits, muffins, turkey sandwiches!
crock pot 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
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.
ingredients for cranberry butter
- fresh cranberries
- brown sugar
- apple cider
- cinnamon sticks
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.
Featured Comment:
Vickie
I LOVE LOVE this cranberry butter. I have made it the last two holidays and gave it as gifts last year and am doing it again this year. It is gorgeous in jars and perfectly tart, sweet, and silky on toasted bread, in oatmeal, and on sandwiches!! THANK YOU for my favorite holiday tradition!!
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Crockpot Cranberry Butter
Equipment
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 24 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- 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.
- Makes about 2 cups.
Notes
Nutrition
more cranberry recipes for cranberry season
- Cranberry Orange Cake
- Chocolate Cake with Cranberry Buttercream
- Cranberry Apple Crisp
- Maple Cranberry Butter in 15 minutes!
- Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
- Cranberry Cleanse Smoothie
- Cranberry Gingersnap Pie
Do you think you can water bath process this to make it shelf stable?
I assume you can, Cassi, I would process it for 10 minutes.
Just wondering if I can use regular cinnamon as I do not have sticks – if so, how much would you suggest?
Well, probably just a bit because the flavor will get concentrated as the puree reduces, start with 1/2 tsp?
This sounds terrific! How many jars (and what size?) does this recipe make?
Honestly Amy this doesn’t make a lot, because the puree is reduced down so much to make a butter. As I recall it just makes one small jar, maybe a cup. But it’s worth it, and a little goes a long way!
I just made this recipe the other day. I used a Vita Mix which purées very well. I did not waste anything by straining so therefor got 4 pint canning jars & some extra for the fridge. I also found it extremely sour so added at least double the sugar. These factors probably are the reason for me having more quantity. I also did a canning in water process to make sure it keeps longer. Hope this helps anyone’s concerns.
Cranberries in crockpot! Made the NewYork cheesecake from Pintrest, will serve this on top……can’t wait !
Mmmmmmm
That is a great idea!
I absolutely love this cranberry butter – I could eat it with everything! Thanks for the awesome recipe 🙂
Is there another way to appropriately puree this without a food processor? Would a handheld mixer or magic bullet work?
The bullet, probably, the hand held mixer, no. If you have an immersion blender that would work, and they are very inexpensive.
I can’t wait to try this recipe … it sounds delicious, and my favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal is the leftover sandwich later in the day, I throw a bit of everything on that bread and I bet this cranberry butter will make a yummy addition.
It’s perfect for that, Tania – enjoy 🙂
Yes! Also, if you happen to add some bacon, it becomes amazing! I’m not on the current bacon bandwagon, but it works so well in that application and with the cranberry. I’m hoping I can can this!
I have a bunch of jelled cranberry. Thinking about trying this wit that just add sugar and cider cook till thick. What do yo think?9
Hmmmmm, not too sure. Might be better to save your jellied cranberries and start from fresh.
So very yummy. Just took it out of the crockpot and had to try it on some toast. I was wondering if u ever try canning it? Thanks for the recipe.
I haven’t tried, Jenny, and I’m not an expert canner so I can’t advise you. I find that it lasts pretty long in the refrigerator, and you could certainly freeze it.
It looks like there is no reason it can’t be safely canned. I’m going to add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to increase the acid, just to make up for the cider. But the difference between this and cranberry sauce is method, not ingredient, and that’s cannable. You can safely can fruit spreads, so I don’t worry about density (as with pumpkin). Adding spices doesn’t affect acidity, so the cinnamon doesn’t bug me. I’m gong to water-bath it according to the directions for whole-berry sauce. As an extra precaution, you could test the acidity with litmus paper. But cranberries are not usually questionable.
Thanks for weighing in, Katie!
It depends how thick it is. If too thick, won’t get even heating all the way through. It will be acidic enough as the acid will become more concentrated as it cook down. litmus paper does not safely test food as it needs to be checked in different places in the jar and at different times, eg. month after, two months later, etc. Safe canning is a science.
I love using my crock pot and I love cranberries! I think my bags were slightly bigger, but I used the same proportion of other ingredients, using coconut sugar. I pureed everything (minus the cinnamon sticks!) in my blender so I didn’t have to bother with straining. Added just a bit of liquid stevia since I decided it could use a little extra sweetness, and canning it right now. Thanks!
did you find the skins to add too much texture to the end result?
I strained the butter to remove the skins, Sarah, and I really liked the silkiness of it, but you don’t have to, it’s up to you.
I made a big batch of this (4 12oz bags of cranberries). I changed the recipe some (less sugar as I am hypoglycemic) and I added ground cloves, nutmeg, and a couple of apples (for sweetness). I used a Foley food mill to process it, and am getting rave reviews! This is now in my permanent rotation for fall cooking!! Yum!!