We use dried, fresh, and juice so you can enjoy cranberries year-round.
Chances are, when you think of cranberries, we bet you immediately jump to cranberry sauce and… maybe not much else. No more of that! We’re here to alert you that these tart little berries are so versatile, and not just for Thanksgiving. Yup, there's plenty of sweet and savory uses for cranberries that you'll want to keep a bag of them on hand at all times, if not just for our recipe for apple and cranberry roasted chicken. Check out our 51 cranberry recipes for ideas—you’ll never relegate this great fruit to just sauce again.
Speaking of cranberry sauce, we think our recipe is the BEST. We like it so much, we’re using it to make a variety of other dishes, all fall long. Check out our cocktail meatballs, our cranberry brie bites, and our cranberry rosemary thumbprint cookies to see all that you can do with it. Not a fan of sauce (or need that burner space come Thanksgiving)? Try our cranberry relish instead.
Now that you’re set for Thanksgiving, let’s talk about the rest of the year. Fresh cranberries are hard to find year-round, so you’ll want to look to dried cranberries and cranberry juice to get your fix. Dried cranberries are a great addition to anything you want to have a little extra going on, both in texture and in flavor. They’re not dissimilar to raisins, but with a sweet-tart flavor that pairs well with cheese, like in our cranberry cheese ball bites or our sweet potato feta salad; with white chocolate, like in our copycat Starbucks cranberry bliss bars or our oatmeal cranberry cookies; or with citrus, like in our mandarin orange salad.
Where cranberry juice comes in clutch is in cocktails. It can add a fun spin to everything from mimosas to whiskey sours to Jell-O shots. The best part of these is that you can usually go for cranberry juice cocktail (sweetened or cut with other juice like apple) rather than the more expensive pure stuff. Try it out in all your favorite drinks too all year long.
Want other seasonal fruit inspiration? Check out our favorite orange recipes, our top apple recipes, and our best fig recipes.
1
Apple & Cranberry Roasted Chicken
Some of our most popular recipes are one-skillet chicken dinners. This skillet combines chicken thighs with apples and cranberries—the perfect duo of sweet and tangy for this fall dinner.
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2
Cranberry-Aperol Spritz
Cranberry adds a festive, colorful twist to your favorite cocktail, the Aperol spritz. Still bubbly and refreshing, it will make you feel like you're sipping the drink in the Mediterranean during the wintertime. It’s a fun drink to make for friends at your holiday brunch to get everyone in the festive mood too.
Get the Cranberry-Aperol Spritz recipe.
3
Lemon Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Tart, tangy, and sweet, these cheesecake bars are sandwiched between a pastry crust that just happens to be super-easy to make (thank you, store-bought crescent roll dough and leftover cranberry sauce!). Plus, we snuck in one of our favorite spice combos to add a cozy touch: pumpkin spice.
Get the Lemon Cranberry Cheesecake Bars recipe.
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4
Cranberry Whipped Feta Dip
This cranberry-topped whipped feta dip is here to save your holiday appetizer planning. Fresh feta cheese is combined with herbs, garlic, and cream cheese, whipped until super-smooth, then topped with tart homemade cranberry sauce, toasted pistachios, and honey. The result is a salty, creamy, sweet, tart, and absolutely irresistible dip.
Get the Cranberry Whipped Feta Dip recipe.
5
Thanksgiving Leftover Tacos
People love a Thanksgiving sandwich, but there’s something about using a tortilla (see our Thanksgiving Crunchwrap) that takes Turkey Day leftovers to a whole new level. Especially when you top that with turkey that has been made brand-new in a pseudo-mole sauce spiked with gravy, chipotle chiles, and dark chocolate.
Get the Thanksgiving Leftover Tacos recipe.
6
Cranberry Orange Whiskey Sour
We crave cranberry cocktails all winter long, and this is our go-to cocktail this holiday season. It's warm and spicy from the whiskey and ginger beer, but refreshing and tart from the cranberry and citrus. The perfect cocktail combo.
Get the Cranberry Orange Whiskey Sour recipe.
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7
Cranberry-Orange Star Bread
Star bread is magical because, although it looks incredibly impressive (and therefore difficult to make!), it’s actually very easy. Rolling the dough out into circles and sandwiching them with homemade cranberry sauce builds the layers that produce those brilliant red spirals when the bread is shaped.
Get the Cranberry-Orange Star Bread recipe.
8
Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad
This simple salad is the perfect side to make all fall and is an easy dish to bring along to your Thanksgiving. We don’t believe in boring salads at Delish, and crunchy apples and tart cranberries bring a lot of life to this one. The slightly sweet and lemony dressing is easy to make, and you’ll want to have extra on hand to pour it over everything.
Get the Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad recipe.
9
Cranberry-Mimosa Breakfast Cake
This is exactly what cranberry-mimosa breakfast cake dreams are made of. Because we love our mimosas and our breakfast cakes, such as this blueberry-lemon one, we decided the world needed this fall-forward rendition.
Get the Cranberry-Mimosa Breakfast Cake recipe.
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10
Thanksgiving Crunchwrap
Tired of the same ol' leftover Thanksgiving sandwich? This crunchwrap is the perfect way to shake things up. Don't have all the leftover ingredients? No worries! Just use what you've got. Everything short of pumpkin pie will work just fine. 😎
Get the Thanksgiving Crunchwrap recipe.
11
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
While it’s overlooked by some, cranberry sauce is a key, recurring player on our Thanksgiving plate, right alongside our green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. While we understand the nostalgic appeal for the canned stuff, homemade cranberry sauce is 1,000x better. It's fresh, versatile, and so easy to make.
Get the Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe.
12
Cranberry Cake
This cranberry loaf cake is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The cranberries will burst and release all of their juices while baking, making each bite exciting. The sugar topping adds a subtle crunch and the sour cream keeps this cake moist for days.
Get the Cranberry Cake recipe.
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13
Cranberry Apple Pie
Just like sweet potato casserole and mashed potatoes, apple pie is a Thanksgiving staple. Why not push it further into the holidays by adding tart fresh cranberries into the mix?
Get the Cranberry Apple Pie recipe.
14
Sweet Potato Salad
This sweet potato salad is the perfect way to lighten up any autumnal dinner, and especially your Thanksgiving spread. Feta, dried cranberries, and red onions pair really nicely with the earthy sweetness of the orange super food. Did we mention it's great warm or cold (which means you can make it ahead!)?
Get the Sweet Potato Salad recipe.
15
Ginger-Cranberry Whiskey Sour
This wintery version of a whiskey sour features punchy ginger flavor and tangy cranberry juice. Though it requires minimal ingredients, it’s full of strong, bright flavors that perfectly complement rich holiday hors d'oeuvres like baked brie and bacon-wrapped dates.
Get the Ginger-Cranberry Whiskey Sour recipe.
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16
Cranberry Brie Bites
Our love for crescent roll recipes is no secret. Why make dough from scratch when everyone loves the canned stuff?! These are a fan favorite every fall. They always disappear within minutes, probably because the combo of salty, creamy brie, sweet-tart cranberry sauce, and crunchy pecans is PERFECT.
Get the Cranberry Brie Bites recipe.
17
Holiday Roasted Vegetables
The dried cranberries and balsamic vinegar add some sweetness and tartness while the pecans add an extra crunch to these holiday-worthy vegetables. We use Brussels sprouts and carrots, but feel free to add extra vegetables or swap in some of your favorites.
Get the Holiday Roasted Vegetables recipe.
18
Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars
This is the easiest Starbucks copycat recipe. These chewy blondies are studded with white chocolate chips and cranberries and then get a sweet orange cream cheese frosting and an extra drizzle of white chocolate just for fun.
Get the Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars recipe.
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19
Cranberry Bread Pudding
This autumnal take on bread pudding is the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and rich. With bright pops of cranberries, almond- and clove-scented custard, and a sweet icing made with orange zest, it’s impressive enough to serve for dessert at a dinner party, and not to sweet to serve as breakfast.
Get the Cranberry Bread Pudding recipe.
20
Thanksgiving Leftover Salad
We'll always love a leftover sandwich, but sometimes after the big day, we could use something a little lighter. Enter: this perfect salad. Leftover stuffing gets turned into irresistible croutons, and a vinaigrette is made from any remaining cranberry sauce. Feel free to add any leftover veggies from Thanksgiving too.
Get the Thanksgiving Leftover Salad recipe.
