Cranberry Barbeque Sauce

Sweet and savory with just the right amount of heat, this homemade barbeque sauce puts leftover cranberry sauce to good use.

Nov 28, 2023

I have an excellent use for that leftover cranberry sauce that’s lingering in the refrigerator – cranberry barbeque sauce. Yep, cranberry sauce is the main ingredient in this sweet and savory barbeque sauce. Let me tell you how it’s made.

The sauce comes together quickly and starts by sautéing onion and garlic in a saucepan. Once the onions become translucent, add everything else to the pan – cranberry sauce, catsup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. After a 15-minute gentle simmer, you have a delicious, homemade barbecue sauce.

Canned whole berry or jellied cranberry sauce, as well as homemade cranberry sauce can be used to make this recipe. If you’re using a whole berry cranberry sauce and you’d like the barbeque sauce to be smooth, blend the sauce once it’s finished cooking and has cooled to room temperature. An immersion blender (also called a handheld blender), regular blender, or food processer work well. Simply blend the sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.

One nutritional advantage to making your own barbeque sauce is the ability to keep the sodium content in check. A quick survey of bottled barbeque sauces at my grocery store revealed sodium contents ranging from 240 to 510 milligrams per two tablespoons of sauce. Two tablespoons of my cranberry barbeque sauce has just 144 milligrams of sodium.

This barbeque sauce is incredibly versatile and can be used for so many things. It’s a wonderful sauce for cocktail meatballs or pulled pork. You can stir it into baked beans for a little extra zip or brush it over grilled chicken breasts. I might even try it as the sauce when making barbeque chicken pizza.

Store this homemade barbeque sauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to six months.

To your health,

Darlene

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CRANBERRY BARBEQUE SAUCE

Yield: 10 servings

Serving Size: 2 tablespoons

Prep: 10 minutes

Ready: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or avocado oil
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/3 cup catsup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion softens and becomes translucent; about 4 minutes.
Add cranberry sauce, catsup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Turn heat to low and allow sauce to gently simmer for 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and allow sauce to cool to room temperature.
To create a smooth barbecue sauce, use an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor to blend sauce to desired consistency. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook’s note: Any type of cranberry sauce will work in this recipe – canned whole berry or jellied cranberry sauce, or homemade cranberry sauce.

Nutrition Information per Serving

73 Calories, 1 g Total fat, 0 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 0 mg Cholesterol, 144 mg Sodium, 14 g Total carbohydrate, 0 g Dietary fiber, 12 g Total sugars, 3 g Added sugars, 0 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 4 mg (0%) Calcium, 0 mg (0%) Iron, 35 mg (0%) Potassium