Cranberry Syrup

A versatile, sweet-tart simple syrup perfect for making holiday drinks.

By
Autumn Giles
Autumn Giles
Autumn Giles wrote Beyond Canning in 2016 and has been creating recipes for preserving, cocktails, and desserts for over a decade, all gluten-free.
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Updated September 30, 2024
A 3 oz beaker filled with vivid red cranberry syrup.

Serious Eats / Autumn Giles

Why It Works

  • Fresh cranberries give up their color and flavor with some gentle simmering with water and sugar.
  • Strain through a fine-meshed sieve to remove all of the leftover skins and pulp.


Cooking the cranberries low and slow is essential here. They have a ton of pectin, which makes it very easy to end up with cranberry jelly instead of cranberry syrup. If you find that after you put your syrup in the fridge it sets a little, give it a good shake before using.

November 2013

Recipe Details

Cranberry Syrup Recipe

Cook 30 mins
Active 5 mins
Total 30 mins
Serves 10 servings
Makes 1 1/4 cups
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 cup water

  • 2 cups fresh cranberries, roughly chopped

Directions

  1. Combine water, sugar, and cranberries in a small saucepan over very low heat. Cook, stirring frequently and adjusting heat to maintain a bare simmer, until the cranberries have completely softened, 20 to 25 minutes.

  2. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on cranberries to extract their liquid. Let cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

Special Equipment

Fine mesh strainer

Make-Ahead and Storage

Syrup can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
87Calories
0gFat
23gCarbs
0gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories87
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 2mg0%
Total Carbohydrate 23g8%
Dietary Fiber 1g3%
Total Sugars 21g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 3mg15%
Calcium 3mg0%
Iron 0mg0%
Potassium 17mg0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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