Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce

Our easy Instant Pot cranberry sauce recipe is the best Thanksgiving side dish with fruit I’ve ever made in just 1 minute using only 4 ingredients. A Christmas must have you can make in any pressure cooker, as a Ninja Foodi recipe or in Crockpot Express too.

This takes just a few minutes to cook from start to finish and is SO Much better than canned at the store. I wasn’t a huge fan of this at all until I made it myself and WOW is it my favorite side dish now.

Ninja Foodi Cranberry Sauce

With this pot you use the lid that is not attached with the pressure cook button, simple. You are just using the high pressure cooker function (button) only to make this. It doesn’t matter the brand you have at home as long as it is the electric multi-cooker.

Seen as a side to turkey for years it is also great as a spread inside sandwiches too! When cooled you can add it as an ice cream topping or bake with apples to add a bit of tart to that popular dessert. Seriously this is easier than you might have ever thought if this is totally new to you. We will walk you thru the whole thing, don’t worry.

If you had ever made homemade cranberry sauce on the stove top that is simple too. I hadn’t until a few years ago and it was a game changer!! It was time to figure it out in our pressure cooker this year though. You can find them fresh at the grocery store and they’re really cheap.

Super cheap and kinda’ passed by for years by many, they can really taste great if you know how to make them. A bit intimidating at first I thought I’d give it a whirl when I got my multi cooker for Christmas.

There are so many tweaks you can make to it too depending on what you like. A cinnamon stick is a given but our cranberry sauce recipe with orange juice has always been a hit as well.

How Long to Pressure Cook Cranberries

You only need 1 minute under high pressure is all. Seriously, any longer than this will cause the berries to break down too much and become more like a jelly smooth texture. You could not use high pressure at all and just use the saute feature until they start to pop open stirring consistently for 4-5 minutes.

I always thought that red blob in the middle of the table that came out of a can was just ehhhhh, until I made it myself. OH MY Goodness cooking cranberries fresh was a difference from canned! From scratch you can now tweak to be sweeter or more tart to your liking and it is beyond fresh!

Ok so there are a lot of recipes out there and you may have one of your own you love but you just want to make it in your pressure cooker this year. Then all you need is the instructions on timing. That is totally fine, take a peek at that below and have at it!

How much sugar do you add to homemade cranberry sauce?

It depends on how tart you want it. Tart cranberry sauce = 24 oz. cranberries add 1/2 to 3/4 c. sugar. Sweet but still has a hint of tartness (my fave) = 24 oz. cranberries add 1 cup sugar. You can always add more sugar depending on your preferences

My favorite combination is using spiced apple cider or orange juice vs. 1/2 cup water to make it sweeter as the liquid. I put a whole cinnamon stick in when I pressure cook this too. It doesn’t give it an intense cinnamon flavor, don’t worry about that, but it does give it a hint and I think that is nice.

I would suggest adding 1/2 cup right when you press saute, stir, allow it to dissolve and then taste it. If you want it sweeter add 1/4 cup at a time allowing it to dissolve in between to see how much you want up to 1 cup. I wouldn’t add more than that.

Ingredient Notes

You want to start with a large bag of fresh cranberries found in the produce section, they usually have them at the end of October. Store brand or Ocean Spray are basically the same.

You will need to add some liquid to steam them to tender. Use something that has flavor to enhance the sauce. I find that spiced apple cider is our favorite, or you can use fresh squeezed orange juice if you’d rather.

You can use some Maple syrup and/or white granulated Sugar to sweeten it or use a sugar-free alternative that is granulated or liquid sugar.

Adding a cinnamon stick is a great addition too. Just remember to take it out after that minute which is plenty of time to emit the Fall flavors into the dish that you love.

Variations

You can add fresh orange zest into the mix for a bolder citrus flavor. If you like a stronger Fall flavor some will put 1 anise into the mix, just remember to remove before serving. You can certainly sweeten a bit more with agave or brown sugar.

Can you use frozen cranberries to make cranberry sauce?

I haven’t done that, and fresh is always better. If that is all you can find it would still be way better than canned so go with that. I would suggest that you set them on the counter for an hour and then use this timing. Honestly I don’t think it would make a difference since during the time it takes to come to pressure they would defrost.

How to Thicken the Sauce

It will continue to thicken as it cools down too a lot so if it seems too thin just wait and let sit with the lid left off. I have never had to do anything beyond this but if you really think it needs something you can set to sauce and in a dish whisk 1 tsp cornstarch with 3 tsp water until smooth and fold that in.

Tips

Do not cook longer than 1 minute on high pressure, or it will be mush and you need to allow to naturally release the steam for 3 full minutes at the end to become the right texture. It is best to add some whole cranberries at the end to bring some texture to the dish (little chunks). Remember that once it cools completely it will be much thicker than when it’s hot.

What can you make with leftover cranberry sauce?

You have got to make our delicious cranberry cobbler the next day if you have any left. It is a simple way to make a whole new dessert with another fruit in the mix and a crumble topping.

So get to cooking your pressure cooker turkey and enjoy your spread! Here is a video below in the recipe card showing you how we made it and the printable recipe for you as well:

Other side dish recipes for Thanksgiving

We have a lot of Instant Pot side dishes for your gathering Sparkling cranberry sangria – cocktail or mocktail is a great one you can add berries to also

1. Cheesy Instant Pot cauliflower is so good we make it year round
2. Instant Pot corn casserole is a holiday must