Cranberry Recipes for Every Meal

Slightly tart and gorgeously red, cranberries are a great addition to everything from savory roasts to crowd-pleasing cakes. The following recipes, which include everything from simple side dishes to showstopping desserts, highlight the very best of this beautiful fruit.

October 14, 2021

By: Leah Scalzadonna

Related To:

Photo By: Teri Lyn Fisher

Photo By: Johnny Miller

Photo By:

Photo By: Kate Mathis

Photo By: Christopher Testani

Photo By: James Wojcik

Photo By: yia thao

Cranberry Pie

Cranberries may be best known as a sauce (and we have those recipes, too!), but they can do so much more. Tart and vibrant in color, these beautiful berries are best between October and January, which makes them a great ingredient for holiday and seasonal meals. You can buy cranberries fresh, frozen, dried or canned, so there are tons of options for both cooking and baking. We suggest starting with this colorful pie, which uses cranberries in various forms: from dehydrated cranberries in the crust, to fresh cranberries in the filling, to beautifully frosted fresh cranberries on top. A gorgeous addition to your dessert table, this pie is creamy, tart and tangy, with just the right amount of sweet.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Pie

Cranberry Harvest Muffins

Ina's muffins are packed with fruit and spices. Be sure not to overmix the batter or they’ll be tough, not tender.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Harvest Muffins

Cranberry-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Combine cranberry and red currant jelly to make a beautiful glaze for pork tenderloin. With everything ready in less than an hour, you'll want this recipe in your weekly roundup.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Vodka Cranberry Punch with Apple Cider Ice Cubes

This is dangerously easy and delicious. The ruby-red cranberries cover the surface, and the apple cider cubes are the best additions that amp up the sweet-and-spicy flavor.

Get the Recipe: Vodka Cranberry Punch with Apple Cider Ice Cubes

Cranberry Brie Bites

Baked Brie gets the party treatment, stuffed into little golden parcels of puff pastry, along with a hit of cranberry sauce and the crunch of walnuts.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Brie Bites

Orange-Cranberry Bundt Cake

Jeff’s citrus-flavored cake is a showstopper at any dessert table. Coat cranberries in a simple syrup before layering them over and inside the cake — this will ensure they’re not too tart with just enough sweetness.

Get the Recipe: Orange-Cranberry Bundt Cake

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Trisha says, “My sister, Beth, adapted this recipe from her church cookbook. I like to chop the cranberries and nuts finely so you get lots of flavor in every bite."

Get the Recipe: White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Almond Cranberry Rice Pilaf

Toasted almonds and dried cranberries add a festive flair to Valerie’s rice pilaf.

Get the Recipe: Almond Cranberry Rice Pilaf

Cranberry-Orange Cinnamon Rolls

Switch up your traditional cinnamon rolls by incorporating orange zest into the filling and cranberry sauce into the glaze. You’ll have a delicious (and aromatic!) treat that’s sure to please at a holiday brunch or special weekend breakfast.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry-Orange Cinnamon Rolls

Cranberry-Stuffed Pork Chops

Celebrate autumnal flavor by preparing this sweet and fragrant cranberry-sage sauce. Cut a 2-inch-deep pocket in the side of thick pork chops and spoon the sauce inside before searing the chops in your skillet.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry-Apricot Stuffed Pork Chops

Whiskey-Cranberry Slushes

Make a grown-up slush with whiskey, cranberry and pomegranate juices. Add fresh diced cranberries for over-the-top flavor and texture.

Get the Recipe: Whiskey-Cranberry Slushes

Cranberry Stuffed Cupcakes with Cranberry Cream Cheese Frosting

If cornbread and cranberry sauce are your favorite sides, you’ll adore Molly’s cranberry-filled cornmeal cupcakes. She incorporates cranberry sauce into her buttercream and the cupcake filling, so there’s tons of sweet, tart flavor in every bite!

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Stuffed Cupcakes with Cranberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese Log with Sweet-and-Spicy Cranberry Relish

A food processor is the key to Valerie’s cranberry relish — she pulses the berries with jalapeno, scallions and orange zest to make the topping for her cream cheese log.

Get the Recipe: Cream Cheese Log with Sweet-and-Spicy Cranberry Relish

Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf

Tart cranberries perfectly balance the earthiness of pumpkin in Molly’s fall-flavored loaf.

Get the Recipe: Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf

White Chocolate-Cranberry Cheesecake

Sweet white chocolate is the ideal match for tart cranberry, especially when paired inside an indulgent, creamy cheesecake.

Get the Recipe: White Chocolate-Cranberry Cheesecake

Toasted Gruyere and Cranberry Cups

Nutty gruyere cheese is the perfect complement to sweet-tart cranberry. Served together in a bite-size phyllo cup, they make the perfect party appetizer.

Get the Recipe: Toasted Gruyere and Cranberry Cups

Butternut Squash, Apple and Cranberry Crisp

The ultimate in fall flavors, Katie’s crisp is full of squash, apple and cranberry. She uses dried cranberries in her filling, but you can certainly swap for frozen cranberries, too.

Get the Recipe: Butternut Squash, Apple and Cranberry Crisp

Cran-Sicle Smoothie

This tangy smoothie is a perfect way to use up leftover cranberries from your holiday celebrations. It gets a touch of sweetness from maple syrup, and wheat germ gives it a nutty note as well as a dose of iron, zinc and B and E vitamins.

Get the Recipe: Cran-Sicle Smoothie

Pumpkin-Cranberry Scones with Whipped Maple Butter

Dried cranberries and candied ginger bits add a tartness and spice to balance out Bobby's sweet pumpkin scones.

Get the Recipe: Pumpkin-Cranberry Scones with Whipped Maple Butter

Cranberry Cornbread Bites

Nestle cranberry relish and thinly sliced ham between fresh cornbread muffins for an easy and tasty crowd-pleasing appetizer.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Cornbread Bites

Slow-Cooker Cranberry-Walnut Stuffed Apples

This is the perfect dessert for a crisp autumn day. Be sure to use large baking apples such as Rome or Golden Delicious -they'll have just the right tenderness. Enjoy leftovers for breakfast the next day with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Get the Recipe: Slow-Cooker Cranberry-Walnut Stuffed Apples

Cranberry Lemonade Punch

With plenty of cranberry and pineapple juice, Geoffrey’s punch is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. If you’re hosting a kid-friendly party, this is equally delicious without the vodka.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Lemonade Punch

Cranberry Pomegranate Crumb Bars

Don’t relegate cranberries as a side-dish only! Valerie layers a cranberry-pomegranate filling between nutty crumb bars for a delicious, packable dessert.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Pomegranate Crumb Bars