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
I really love this recipe. It’s my go to for the holidays??the only thing I do differently is after putting the cranberry puree back into the crockpot I add a little Nutmeg & Ginger. It’s fantastic I’ve been making it for 3yrs now. It’s not holiday dinner unless we have this cranberry sauce?
That’s so nice to hear, Jessica, it makes me really happy to know that my recipe is a part of your holiday tradition 🙂 Have a wonderful season!
I am going to make this for Thanksgiving. How long will these keep in the refrigerator?
At least a month, Susan.
I made a batch of this and canned two jars and refrigerated the rest. The bowl in the refrigerator is completely gone and the first jar is opened (was thinking I would have it for Thanksgiving…..). Another batch now in the crockpot. I put the stick cinnamon but also added about 1-1/2 tsp more because I like more of the cinnamon flavor in the background. It is a huge hit! Going to try your other recipes next.
I’m so glad, AnnMarie, isn’t it the most intense flavor ever? I think it’s so great to have a few jars on the table at Thanksgiving, people will fight over it! I bet the extra cinnamon is delish. Happy Holidays 🙂
How do you decide how long to do the canning hot bath?
Is there a substitute for Apple Cider?
Yes, you can use almost any liquid, Karen, even water.
This looks great! I want to make it ahead of Thanksgiving just to have one less thing to do the day of. Do I serve it warm or cold? (This may be a dumb question but I’m new to cooking)!
This recipe is used like apple butter, Sarah, so it would be served cold, and you can spread it on toast, biscuits, etc. It’s also great as a side condiment for Thanksgiving. Good luck!
Made it and Love the cranberry butter. My grandson, who doesn’t like cranberries ate this up! Cranberries are due into the stores soon and I look forward to making LOTS of this yummy treat!
I would like to know if Katie had any luck canning it? Have you heard any more form her?
Thank you!
I think you can can this without problem, Harlee, I would process in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Freshly extracted, unsweetened cranberry juice is valued between 2.3 and 2.5 on the pH scale, i’d add a splash of apple cider vinegar (or some lemon juice), to raise it slightly, this should make it shelf stable as its only safe to water bath high acidic foods. Ball typically calls for fruit butters to be water bathed for 15 minutes for pints, 10 minutes for half-pints.
As for me, I hate the taste of cranberry’s, but I will probably make this as my wife and daughter love them.
Thanks Ray, hope your wife and daughter love it!
Hi Sue,
This stuff is great! So great that I’ve made it two years in a row without changing a thing. In other words, it’s perfect. It is worth it to get every bit of peel out. It makes a great sandwich spread for chicken or turkey sandwiches all year long.
Thanks,
Bill
Thanks Bill ~ and you’re so right about straining it, it makes all the difference. I appreciate you coming back to let me know how you liked it 🙂
I made this during my days off and it tasted amazing. The onky thing that I had a question a out was that mine didn’t really thicken as much as I would have liked. Is there a way to thicken it and make it more spreadable and less watery?
Keep cooking it, Christina, the longer you cook it the more it will thicken as the liquid evaporates. You can put yours back into a pan and cook it down. Enjoy!
I just made a 1.5 batch of this for Thanksgiving tomorrow. It’s wonderful! I used an immersion blender – it worked perfectly. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe! This is a new holiday favorite. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving Amber – hope the family enjoys it!
Can you use dried cranberries?
No, sorry, Denise, you need the fresh ones for this. My grocery store always carries them in the freezer section if you can’t find them in your produce aisle.
How long do you cook thiis? I must have missed this in the post.
It’s in the recipe section, Carla. The first part is about 2 hours, then you will puree the fruit, and then it goes back into the crock pot for approximately another 2 hours. Let me know if you have any other questions.