Cranberry sauce might be the one dish we make in excess on purpose just so we have Leftover Cranberry Sauce to use in all of these recipes. Save some in the fridge to eat as is, and freeze the rest for later!
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I don't know why people complain about having too much leftover cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. Leftovers keep in the freezer for at least a month, which is nice to have for the very short time that cranberries are actually in season and available.
We never have enough of this simple Homemade Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce I make every year for Thanksgiving, but we now make double on purpose to use as-is as a sauce, re-freeze into sorbet, blend into a sweet tart dressing, slather onto grilled cheese sandwiches
How to Store Leftover Cranberry Sauce for a Few Days
Cranberry Sauce is essentially a refrigerator/freezer jam, so it will be good for up to five days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Pro-tip: Because Cranberry Sauce does last that long, it's actually one of the dishes you can make furthest in advance for Thanksgiving as well.
How to Freeze Leftover Cranberry Sauce
Beyond a few days, you can absolutely freeze cranberry sauce. The texture may change ever so slightly depending on how broken down your cranberries are in the original sauce, but you will be the only one who notices.
Frozen cranberry sauce will last for a month in the freezer. You can just throw a container with all your leftover sauce in the freezer, but here are a few helpful hacks to make the thawing process easier.
Freeze Leftover Cranberry Sauce in Ice Cube Trays
If you plan to use frozen cranberry sauce a little at a time, freeze the sauce into individual portion sizes. You can do this by freezing the cranberry sauce in ice cube trays, then storing the frozen cranberry cubes in a freezer safe sealable bag or container.
These silicone ice cube trays are flexible so the frozen cubes are easy to pop out.
Directly in Plastic Zipper Bags
Another way to make smaller size frozen portions is to put the cranberry sauce in a zipper top bag with at least some "wiggle room." Squeeze out as much of the air from the bag, seal, then press indentations into the bag with the side of your hand or handle of a spatula to create smaller portions. Freeze the bag flat this way. When you need a small amount from the bag you can easily "break off" a square of frozen cranberry sauce from inside the bag.
What to Make with Leftover Cranberry Sauce
For breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and a midnight snack!—here are ideas for leftover cranberry sauce:
Toast bread, slather ricotta and cranberry sauce
- Cranberry + Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast with Cornflake Crunch Topping uses 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce
- Cranberry Brie Grilled Cheese Sandwich {recipe}
- Cranberry Bread Pudding uses ½ cup of leftover cranberry sauce, plus dried cranberries
- Cranberry Sour Cream Bread {recipe}
- Cranberry Sorbet uses at least 1 cup cranberry sauce or more
Leftover Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries washed and picked over for bruised or mushy berries
- ½ cup maple syrup or other sweetener
- ½ cup water
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a sauce pot and bring to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer and allow berries to cook until about half of them burst, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to help break up berries.
- Remove from pot from heat and allow cranberry sauce to cool completely.
To store in refrigerator:
- Place cranberries in airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to five days.
To freeze:
- Portion sauce into silicone ice cube trays or plastic bags for freezing. Frozen cranberry sauce will last for a month.
To thaw frozen cranberry sauce
- Place frozen container or bag in refrigerator overnight, or transfer frozen sauce from plastic container to microwave safe bowl and heat in 15 second increments until thawed, or transfer frozen sauce from plastic container to pan, add a couple tablespoons of water, and warm over medium-low heat until thawed.
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