Made from scratch cranberry raspberry sauce is a highly flavorful twist on a holiday classic. Made with fresh raspberries, cranberries, canned pineapple, and Grand Mariner. With a generous sprinkling of sugar, cooked on the stovetop, this special raspberry cranberry sauce will be a tasty elegant addition to your holiday table.
Looking for something a little different to grace your holiday table? This flavorful homemade raspberry cranberry sauce is very unique and special.
Two of my favorite holiday food memories are eating black olives – one by one from the tips of my fingers AND opening the canned cranberry jelly on both ends and pushing its perfectly preserved cranberry jelly can shape out onto a plate with a satisfying suck and a plop. Holiday magic!
I didn’t realize until I was much older that cranberry sauce didn’t always come in a can. And really, it was so much better when it didn’t come in a can! There is just something about made-from-scratch sauce with all the added yummy extra bits and pieces that make each homemade cranberry sauce recipe truly unique and special.
You’re gonna love this homemade raspberry cranberry sauce!
This is recipe is not for a traditional cranberry sauce, but I think you’ll love this homemade cranberry raspberry sauce recipe because of those special bits and pieces and layers of flavors: we use the raspberries and pineapple to lend their distinctive fruit flavors, the brown sugar to add a special sweet depth of flavor, the Grand Mariner to add citrus with a bite, and the cranberries to keep it classic!
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Ingredients needed to make homemade cranberry sauce with raspberries, pineapple, and Grand Mariner
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries – You can use frozen cranberries if that’s what you have. The cooking time might be a little longer though than if you use fresh cranberries.
- 12 ounces raspberries – This recipe uses fresh raspberries, but you can use frozen raspberries as well.
- crushed pineapple – This is a 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple in juice. You will be draining out some of the juice and leaving some of it in. Make sure to read the instructions on the recipe card.
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar – I start with this amount and add up to 1/3 cup more to taste.
- ½ cup brown sugar – This cranberry sauce recipe is super sweet, perhaps more so than a traditional cranberry sauce recipe. If you don’t think you will like it sweet then start with less sugar. You can always add more.
- Grand Marnier – I cannot promise that the alcohol will cook out. If this is a concern then substitute with an equal amount of orange juice.
- salt – Just a little salt to counteract the sweet sugar
How to make homemade cranberry raspberry sauce
The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.
Step one: Prepare the fruit
Give the cranberries and raspberries a good rinse. Drain well and pick out any tiny little green leaves from the raspberries. You will want to wait until just before cooking the cranberry sauce to wash/rinse the fresh raspberries. If you do it too soon (like when you first buy them), you run the risk of slimy moldy berries.
Can you use frozen cranberries to make homemade cranberry sauce?
Yes, you can! Feel free to use frozen cranberries or frozen raspberries to make your cranberry sauce. In fact, using frozen raspberries might be easier than fresh raspberries because you can buy them ahead of time without worrying about the berries going bad before you are ready to use them.
If you use frozen berries instead of fresh, they might even be prewashed and ready to use! It will take a little bit longer for the mixture to come to a boil if you use frozen berries, so add more time to the overall cooking time.
Drain SOME of the pineapple juice.
You will be using a 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple canned in juice. You can substitute pineapple tidbits if you prefer a bigger chunk of pineapple in your sauce.
Drain and discard one-half cup of the pineapple juice only. You will be adding the remaining juice along with the crushed pineapple.
Step two: Cook the raspberry cranberry sauce
Use a heavy-bottomed large saucepan. Add the rinsed cranberries, raspberries, crushed pineapple with juice (less one-half cup juice), white and brown sugars, Grand Mariner, and salt.
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to melt the sugars till the mixture comes to a boil. You won’t see a hard large bubbly boil, but little bubbles all around.
Turn the heat down to medium/low. The cranberry sauce will still continue to simmer. Continue to cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the sauce is cooking, you will hear some of the cranberries pop! During the last five minutes of cooking, press many of the cranberries against the side of the pan to ensure they have popped and released their juices.
Thickening and Serving
Cranberries contain pectin which is a thickener so the cranberry sauce will start to thicken when the cranberries pop and release their juices. Simmering will allow some of the liquid to evaporate and will also help with thickening.
Because of the raspberries, this is a seedy sauce. The raspberry seeds really can’t be removed from the cooking process so if raspberry seeds bother you then a more traditional cranberry sauce like my cranberry sauce with apples (coming soon) might be more to your liking.
Refrigerate
This raspberry cranberry sauce can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled. I personally prefer the flavor and texture after four hours of refrigeration. The flavors really brighten and the sauce thickens up when chilled.
Consume within five days of making this sauce. You can freeze any leftovers if necessary. Just take it out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
Serving suggestions
This cranberry raspberry sauce will be a tasty colorful addition to your holiday table! I serve mine at Thanksgiving and Christmas along with a plant-based roast. This year I’m really excited to try this seitan-based turkey roast from Urban Farmie!
For some other tasty plant-based holiday side dishes, try:
Make it a little sweeter!
This cranberry raspberry sauce is already fairly sweet; but make no mistake, it is a sweet-tart cranberry sauce. Sometimes I like to add more sugar and make it sweeter. (It’s still slightly tart because of the cranberries BUT is sweeter like jam.)
Swirl some in vanilla-flavored yogurt or mix with some maple syrup and top my sheet pan baked pancakes. It would also be tasty on some frozen yogurt or spread on some warm crusty wheat bread.
The printable recipe card
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Cranberry Raspberry Sauce with Pineapple and Grand Marnier
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 12 ounces raspberries
- 20 ounces crushed pineapple see notes
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup Grand Marnier
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse the fresh cranberries and raspberries.
- Drain and discard one-half cup of juice from the can of crushed pineapple. You will be using the rest of the juice. Make sure that the canned crushed pineapple you use is packed in juice – not syrup.
- Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the rinsed cranberries, raspberries, crushed pineapple with juice (less one-half cup juice), white and brown sugars, Grand Mariner, and salt. Give a stir.
- Stirring to melt the sugars, heat on medium/high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. This will take about five minutes. Turn the heat down to medium/low. It will still continue to simmer. Continue to cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. During the last five minutes of cooking, press many of the cranberries against the side of the pan to ensure they have popped and released their juices.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the refrigerator for at least six hours before serving.
- This can (and should) be cooked ahead of time. The cranberry raspberry sauce will keep in the fridge for up to five days if tightly covered. You can freeze what you won't use.