This Easy Apple Cranberry Sauce Recipe takes just 20 minutes to make and is a delicious balance of sweet tart flavor with a hint of vanilla aroma.
This week I’m doing something very special and a little different. In honor of the humble cranberry, I’m sharing a new recipe that features cranberry every day from now through Saturday. And I’m calling this series Crazy for Cranberry!
Because isn’t it high time cranberry got to spend some time in the limelight?
I’ll be sharing a couple recipes that help you use up all that leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving. Because I, for one, am always looking for new ideas how to use leftover cranberry sauce!
I’m also going to share a dinner recipe featuring cranberries, a couple baked goods recipes (one of which is paleo!), and a couple very different recipes for homemade cranberry sauce.
This recipe for cranberry sauce is my personal favorite out of the two cranberry sauce recipes that are part of this series.
In This Article
Easy Apple Cranberry Sauce Recipe
I absolutely love the use of vanilla in this Easy Apple Cranberry Sauce Recipe. Not only does it partner really well with apple, but it also adds incredible aroma and a lovely pop of vanilla flavor on the back of the tongue. It results in a well-balanced sweet and tart cranberry sauce that has a somewhat jammy flavor.
Surprisingly, it’s a pretty fabulous compliment to turkey!
If you want to try a new cranberry sauce this year that will knock the socks off your guests, this one comes highly recommended.
What To Do With Leftover Cranberry Sauce
As a total bonus leftovers of this sauce are amazing as a topping for yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, or waffles.
Use Leftover Cranberry Sauce in These Recipes:
- Eggnog Muffins with Cranberry Filling
- No Cook Cranberry Honeycomb Cheesecake Mousse
- Cranberry Oat Jam Bars
More Unique Cranberry Sauce Recipes to Try:
- Cardamom Spiced Cranberry Pear Sauce
- Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce
- Rosemary Vanilla Cranberry Sauce (Low Carb Cranberry Sauce)
- Cinnamon and Ginger Spiced Cranberry Orange Sauce
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith
Easy Apple Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries rinsed (about 3 heaping cups)
- 2 medium crisp sweet apples cored and diced (not peeled)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except the vanilla bean paste to a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down slightly so it doesn’t boil over. Cover the pot and simmer until the cranberries pop and the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla bean paste.
- Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Video
Faith's Tips
- This recipe makes about 3 cups of sauce, which is about 12 (1/4-cup) servings.
Nutrition
This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on November 2, 2014. I updated it with more information on November 9, 2020.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items. Thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Yay, cranberries! I need to get some and start baking very soon. :) I think this sauce would be amazing on vanilla ice cream!
I should have seen this so that I could have made it for Canadian Thanksgiving! This looks amazing!
I adore cranberry sauce! Its actually my favorite part of thanksgiving! We have an old family recipe that involves no heating of the cranberry at all- and its so good! Can’t wait to see all of the recipes this week
Delicious! This is a wonderful combination.
Cheers,
Rosa