Seasonal and Easy Cranberry BBQ Sauce recipe that is versatile and savory. Great on leftover turkey sandwiches, or slow cooker meatballs. This savory sauce is delicious, easy to make, and ideal for keeping on hand during that busy holiday season.
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry BBQ Sauce
I was recently visiting a friend, and she made meatballs that she smothered in a delectable cranberry BBQ sauce, and I was hooked. I knew I needed this seasonal deliciousness in my life. You guys, if you haven’t ever tried the deliciousness that is tart cranberries in a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, your life is not complete. I made it my mission to re-create this delectable sauce at home.
And I went to work. I knew I wanted a sauce I could douse everything in. Which meant I did not want it to be full of ketchup. And I wanted it to have an element of health to it. Hard to do with a barbecue sauce. But I was up to the challenge. One thing I love with cranberries is orange, so when I was thinking about how I could make this sauce a little better for me, I was thinking oranges.
Anyway, l added a scoop to the BBQ sauce to up the health factor. You can leave it out if you want, but why would you want to?
Ways to Use Cranberry BBQ Sauce
And once you have made this sauce, go crazy with it. It is ridiculously good on grilled chicken, or beef. And of course, meatballs are a given. I also slathered some on some shrimp I was cooking, and OMG. YUM! I am pretty sure this sauce will make an appearance in my neighbor gifts this year. I plan to can it and gift it because it is just everything I want when it comes to a seasonal food! It is a vinegar barbecue sauce, and has a little smokiness, as well as a slightly sweet undertone. It has dimension, and layers, and cranberries…can’t forget the cranberries!
Don’t just take my word for it. Try it. It really is super easy to make, despite the long ingredient list. Just toss it all in a post. Simmer for a bit. Then blend to perfection. It stores in the fridge for about 10 days!
Tools I Use for This Recipe
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Planning your holiday menu? Find all of my favorite recipes on my Christmas Menu.
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Easy Cranberry BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cranberries
- 1/2 cup Red onion
- 2 Tbs Salted butter
- 1 scoop Orange fruit and vegetable powder
- 1 can Tomato sauce 15 oz
- 1/4 cup Tomato paste
- 1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup Brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire
- 1 tsp Liquid smoke
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 1/3 cup Molasses
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan add cranberries, red onion, and butter and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Add all other ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Stir well. Bring to a simmer.
- Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, until thickened.
- Pour into a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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What to make with it
- Smoked Pulled Pork
Pork to sauce up - Baby Back Ribs
Ribs to brush it on - Grilled Chicken Thighs
Chicken to glaze
More holiday menus: Thanksgiving · Christmas
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Melissa Griffiths says
This will be perfect going into fall – and I love your idea of including it in neighbor gifts! I may have to do the same!