Fermented cranberry sauce is nothing like the traditional homemade cranberry sauce that usually graces the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table. However, once you try this recipe, I'm sure it'll become an additional family staple for your holiday meals.
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Quick Look at This Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Fermented Cranberry Sauce
- 🕒 Ready In: ~10 minute (plus 2 days of fermenting time)
- 👪 Yield: 8 cups (2 quart-sized Mason jars or 1 half-gallon jar)
- 🍽 Calories: 68 calories per 1/4 cup serving
- 🥄 Tools: A large bowl, cutting board and knife, clean Mason jars with fermenting weights and an airlock Mason jar lid system (optional, but recommended).
- ❄️ Freezer Friendly: Yes – I like to freeze in straight-sided Mason jars (leave about an inch headspace to allow for expansion)
- 📖 Dietary Info: Vegetarian, gluten-free and packed with probiotics
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: Delicious, lower in sugar than regular cranberry sauce options, an easy, dump-and-go recipe, stores well in the refrigerator or freezer and makes a great gift!
- 👩🍳 Tip: Make sure to prepare this recipe a few days ahead of time as it takes at least two days to ferment.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
If you're anything like me, you indulge a little more during the holidays. All that rich food can be a bit of a shock to our systems. Consuming fermented foods to help with better digestion and gut health is always a good idea.
What I love about this fermented cranberry sauce is that it's great to have in the refrigerator year-round. It makes a great addition to any charcuterie board and pairs very well with turkey, chicken and pork.
This recipe is perfect to grace your holiday table along with my homemade green bean casserole, these quick dinner rolls, and, of course, this easy homemade flaky pie crust.
Whip up a quick stovetop Christmas potpourri and an easy winter bouquet, and you're ready to host the holidays.
Key Ingredients
For a full list if the ingredients and measurements, check out the recipe card below.
- Apples - I prefer a sweeter apple for this recipe, so something like a Honey Crisp or Gala would be perfect. If you're looking for more of a sweet/tart flavor, then you could try green apples. Keep in mind, we will be adding salt to the recipe, so the added sweetness helps to balance that out.
- Cranberries - I measured out my cranberries before chopping. Be sure you're using fresh cranberries for this recipe.
- Starter Ferment - You'll need liquid from a previous ferment. Something like kombucha, whey, water kefir, etc. Anything that contains live lactobacteria in it.
- Dried Fruit - You can use any dried fruit here. I'm using dried cherries because they're my absolute favorite, but you could use something like dried raisins, chopped dried apricots, etc.
How to Make Fermented Cranberry Sauce
Step 1: Core and chop apples into a small dice, and chop cranberries and add to a large bowl.
Step 2: Add dried fruit (and nuts, if using) to the bowl of apples and cranberries. Stir to combine. Add your starter liquid (kombucha, whey, liquid from another ferment, etc.), cranberry juice, sweetener and salt to the bowl. Stir until everything is evenly distributed.
Step 3: Using a funnel, add the cranberry sauce to a clean Mason jar. I used two quart-sized Mason jars, or you could use one half-gallon jar. Make sure the brine is evenly distributed between the jars and that you leave a good, solid one-inch headspace.
Step 4: Top the jar with additional cranberry juice, if needed, until the fruit is fully covered.
Step 5: Add your fermentation weight to make sure all the cranberry mixture stays under the brine.
Step 6: If using an airlock or fermentation lid, add that now. Otherwise, add a regular canning lid.
Step 7: Leave the cranberry sauce at room temperature for two days. After two days, give it a taste test to see if it's to your liking. If it's to your desired tartness, transfer it to the refrigerator.
Pro Tip: Fruit ferments only take a couple of days to ferment, creating a naturally acidic environment. The fermented cranberry sauce will keep in the refrigerator for multiple weeks. Though the texture may start to get softer the longer they sit, the flavors tend to get better and better.
Serving Recommendations
Though no one will judge you if you're found sneaking bites of this straight out of the jar with a spoon, here are a few other serving options for this fermented cranberry sauce:
- Charcuterie Board - Add this to a bowl on your charcuterie board and dip with these 5-minute homemade crackers!
- Baked Brie - Take a wheel of brie, bake it in the oven until it's ooey-gooey and top it with fermented cranberry sauce before serving. Delicious with sliced apples or crackers.
- Breakfast - Pancakes and waffles are delicious when topped with this fermented cranberry sauce. Or add a spoonful to your homemade oatmeal for a fresh twist. Make sure you have my homemade pancake mix and my easy oatmeal mix lining your pantry shelf for even faster weekday breakfasts.
- Lunch - Making a PB&J for lunch? Try this as the "J" portion on your sandwich. It's also delicious on a leftover turkey sandwich after the big Thanksgiving meal.
- Salsa - Take a bit of this fermented cranberry sauce, add some diced onions, jalapenos and cilantro (or use this fermented salsa) and make a quick and easy fresh salsa for chips or to top your tacos (especially good on fish tacos!).
Storing Instructions
If you don't gobble the entire jar up in a couple of weeks, here are some storing options for long-term storage:
- Refrigerator: The refrigerator is where I store my fermented cranberry sauce. Mainly because I know we'll work through it well before it goes bad. It will last for a few months in the refrigerator. Just be sure to always dip into the jar with a clean utensil (so if you're sneaking a quick bite, don't double-dip!).
- Freezer: I love that freezing ferments doesn't disrupt their probiotic benefits. Freeze your fermented cranberry sauce in a freezer-safe container for up to a year. Defrost completely before enjoying and transfer any leftovers to the refrigerator.
- Root Cellar/Cold Storage: If you happen to have a root cellar or a cold storage room, the fermented cranberry sauce can last for several months. But remember, the texture will change, and it won't be as sweet the longer it sits. Always use properly sanitized fermentation vessels when utilizing long-term storage to avoid spoilage.
Everything Worth Preserving
The original recipe for this fermented cranberry sauce came from my friend Carolyn Thomas and is found in my book Everything Worth Preserving on page 317.
If you want to discover the 9 home food preservation methods to safely store delicious food for year-round eating, including my step-by-step tutorials, recipes, and easy-to-use charts, this book is for you!
Get ready to learn everything you need to know about cold storage (aka freezer), water bath/steam canning, pressure canning, dehydrating, fermenting, freeze-drying, root cellar, infusion, and salt/curing!
Over 420+ pages filled with every preservation recipe you'll ever need (organized from A-Z)!
Did you make this recipe? If so, please leave a star rating ⭐ and your comments in the recipe card below. Then, snap a photo of your fermented cranberry sauce and tag me on social media @melissaknorris so I can see!
📖 Recipe
Fermented Cranberry Sauce
Equipment
- Mason jar I used two quart-sized jars.
- Fermenting lids optional
- Fermenting weights
Ingredients
- 2 apples diced
- 2 cups cranberries measure first, then chop
- 1/2 cup starter liquid kombucha, whey, etc.
- 1/2 cup dried cherries or other dried fruit of choice
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped (optional), or other nut of choice
- 1/2 cup cranberry juice or other juice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or sweetener of choice
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Core and chop apples into a small dice and chop cranberries and add to a large bowl.
- Add dried fruit (and nuts, if using) to the bowl of apples and cranberries. Stir to combine.
- Add your starter liquid (kombucha, whey, liquid from another ferment, etc.) and cranberry juice to the bowl. Stir well.
- Add sweetener and stir again.
- Add salt and stir until you're sure the salt is evenly distributed.
- Using a funnel, add the cranberry sauce to a clean Mason jar. I used two quart-sized Mason jars, or you could use one half-gallon jar. Make sure the brine is evenly distributed between the jars and that you leave a good solid one-inch headspace.
- Top the jar with additional cranberry juice until the fruit is covered.
- Add your fermentation weight to make sure all the cranberry mixture stays under the brine and add your fermentation lid (or regular canning lid).
- Leave the cranberry sauce at room temperature for 2 days. Take a taste-test to see if it's to your liking, then transfer to the refrigerator.
Notes
- Refrigerator: The refrigerator is where I store my fermented cranberry sauce. Mainly because I know we’ll work through it well before it goes bad. But even if you don’t eat it quickly, it will last a few months in the refrigerator. Just be sure to always dip into the jar with a clean utensil (so if you’re sneaking a bite, don’t double-dip!).
- Freezer: I love that freezing ferments doesn’t disrupt their probiotic benefits. Freeze your fermented cranberry sauce in a freezer-safe container for up to a year. Defrost completely before enjoying and transfer any leftovers to the refrigerator.
- Root Cellar/Cold Storage: If you happen to have a root cellar or a cold storage room, the fermented cranberry sauce can last for several months. But remember, the texture will change, and it won’t be as sweet the longer it sits. Always use properly sanitized fermentation vessels when utilizing long-term storage to avoid spoilage.
Carroll Dayton
Can you use frozen cranberries?
Melissa Norris
Ferments do best with fresh items.
Kelsey
SO GOOD! I will be making this every year for Thanksgiving from now on! I poured it over a block of cream cheese and served it with homemade crackers (also your recipe!). THANKS!
Angela
Have you tried to can this? I just made my first batch and it's delicious! Would love to be able to share as a Christmas gift but don't know how it would hold up during the canning process?
Cindy
I made a batch for Thanksgiving, it was a huge hit. Made a double batch for Christmas so I could have some leftovers. I diced everything quite small, used a ginger kombucha as the starter & used 75% finely chopped dried apricots & 25% finely chopped dried candied ginger for the dried fruit ingredients. I served with a topping of chopped candied pecans. OMG, so good!! This will be on our holiday table for the rest of my years.
Marie
This was delicious! It did taste fairly salty. Is it possible to reduce the amount of salt or will it probably mold if I try?
Christine
I made this on Sunday and just tried it tonight - absolutely delicious! It’s always fun to watch the ferment process, too - never boring. Thank you for a new recipe for our Thanksgiving table!
Kelly
Melissa can you explain what you do after you have let it sit on the counter for 2 days? Do you change to a different jar, what type of lid and do you need to continue to burp it while in the refrigerator until you have consumed all of it?
Jen
Can you use all cranberries? I am so picky about apples…
Rose Felton
This sounds really good. I was wondering if you can freeze dry it after it's done.
Cindy
Freeze drying it sounds interesting. It would probably make a delicious snack, or rehydrate then enjoy...Did you try it? How did it work?
Jennifer Burton
Do you use sweetened or unsweetened cranberry juice?
Candace
I’m excited to try this, especially for my son who can’t have refined sugar! If I use brown from sauerkraut (which is very salty) should I eliminate or reduce the salt in the recipe?
Also, I’m having surgery the same week and will be praying for yours!
Candace
Brine* not brown
Kaye
When you put this in the refrigerator do you take the contents out of your fermentation jar and put it into another jar or keep it in the same jar with the needle thing inserted? Would you still need to burp the jar while in the refrigerator? I purchased a fermentation jar and have never used it yet. This recipe has me thinking I should use it.
Linda
When it’s ready to go into the fridge, you can just change the lid back to the metal lid and screw top, however for ferments, I prefer to use the replacement plastic screw lids. You only use the ‘fermenting lids’ during active fermentation.
Kristi
Can you cut the salt down to 3/4 teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon? I have to be careful about keeping my sodium intake low.
Amy
This looks like such a great recipe. Can you use a store bought kombucha for the starter?
Melissa Norris
As long as it's not pasteurised, yes
Jamie
What do you use if you don't have a starter ferment?
Melissa Norris
Because fruit has higher sugar and is more prone to yeast overgrowth and no one wants to eat fruit that tastes like a sour pickle, you need a starter ferement. There's lots listed, make yogurt (I have a tutorial on that), buy yogurt to get whey, use kombucha, there's lots of options to get starter liquid.
Paula Heuer
I know it says fresh Cranberries ….will frozen work?
Melissa Norris
Probably, ferments are best when using fresh ingredients.
Debbie
Does this get pureed after fermenting or is it more of a salad?
Thanks
Debbie
Melissa Norris
I don't puree it.
Laura
I was wondering the same thing! I’d probably prefer it puréed. So maybe do an experiment…one jar puréed and one jar whole and see which one is preferred.