This homemade cranberry jam recipe is super easy to make in under an hour, only takes four simple ingredients, and doesn’t even require any gadgets that look like they could moonlight in a scientists lab. 👩🏻🔬
Homemade jam gets a bad rap. It’s not some weekend-long-trad-wife-only recipe, especially when you pick your ingredients wisely. It’s easy to understand why folks think jam is difficult to make, because I used to think it was super unapproachable to make. I mean, I never even tried before I went to baking and pastry school! One mention of it and my mind used to be flooded with images of canning equipment, thermometers, clamps, gloves, giant pots, and an all-day commitment.
But the truth is, jam is actually way easier to make than other recipes like marmalades, which can be time consuming and take lots of cleanup (but are admittedly satisfying to make, if you’re into that sort of thing 😌). This recipe is perfect for using up those leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving, but you can also make it with frozen berries to enjoy cranberries out of season! I love putting a dollop of jam on crostini for appetizers or in my favorite muffin batter before baking for a jam-stuffed treat! It also works well in place of strawberry jam in this recipe for seasonal lemon bars!
👀 the secret sauce…
✨ the flavor: This recipe hits The Pop, The Intrigue, and The Balancing Act, blending the tastes of bitter, acidic, and sweet for the perfect seasonal berry jam that bursts with flavor.
🎯 the method: Combine sugar and berries, cook down, add fresh juice, and simmer to the perfect jammy texture.
🏆 the win: Fresh or frozen berries, you control the sugar content, and perfect for making any meal seasonal and celebratory, from breakfast to dessert!
🛒 ingredients
See the recipe card for the exact quantities.
❄️ fresh vs. frozen cranberries
Ripe cranberries are DEEP RED or crimson in color. Making cranberry preserves with berries that are light red, pink, or mottled white + red in color can yield a jam that is very very tart, or astringent in flavor.
Luckily, this is easy to fix with sugar, and as one reader and commenter shared, salt! That’s right! Using a combo of sugar and salt can help to balance out bitter flavors, like the taste of less-than-peak-season cranberries.
This is the PERFECT recipe for using frozen berries, too. In fact, I’ve found that the flavor of frozen berries, specifically the Cape Cod Cranberry brand, knocks fresh berries out of the park! I’ve never had a berry from them that is less than perfectly ripe!
🍳 how to make cranberry jam at home
1: Pour your berries and sugar into the pot and give the berries a good stir to cover them in the sugar, then heat over medium heat.
2: Add the lemon juice and lemon zest to the pot.
3: You’ll start to hear some popping, this is normal as the berries begin to burst.
4: You can use your spatula or spoon to help the berries along by mushing them into the sides of the pan.
5: Add the water and stir the mix well. The mixture will thicken as it cools, so it’s okay if it looks a little thinner than you’d like. You can always reheat it and allow it to cook off some water if it’s too thin.
6: Remove the pan from the heat, and allow it to cool completely before storing in an airtight jar.
💡tips & tricks for getting it right
ℹ️ troubleshooting tips
- sweeten it up – if you finished cooking your jam and upon tasting realized you need to adjust the sweetness, make a quick rich syrup mixture using 1/4 cup of sugar (50g) and a few tablespoons of water. This will mix into your jam easier than adding more granulated sugar!
- too thick – if your jam is too thick, you can add more water. Heat your jam and add a bit more water, 1 ounce at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
- too tart – I like a jam that tastes like the ingredients, and cranberries are tart! You can add more sugar, 50 g or 1/4 cup at a time, until you like the balance of sweetness.
- bitter – if your finished jam is bitter or astringent in taste, your cranberries may not have been fully ripened. I find this can happen sometimes with berries that are white or pink in color instead of deep red. Add more sugar to your jam, 50g or 1/4 cup at a time.
- unripe berries – if your berries aren’t fully ripe, skip adding the lemon and use an orange instead. You will likely also need to add more sugar, up to 1.5 cups, to help balance the bitter flavor of the berries.
🔆 top tip
Start with less sugar then you think you’ll need, then taste your jam (carefully, it’s hot!) as you go. You can always add more sugar to sweeten it up, but it’s hard to remove sweetness if you add too much sugar.
Wanna save this recipe for later? 📬
I'll email this recipe post to you so you can have it for later!
🍽️ ideas for using cranberry jam
Jam isn’t just for breakfast! Here are some creative ways to use your jam aside from spreading on your morning toast. 🍞
- cranberry & brie crostini – spread a bit of jam onto homemade crostini crackers and top with a slice of brie for an easy appetizer!
- cranberry jam muffins – I love using different kinds of jam in hearty oat muffins for a seasonal spin on a breakfast classic. Place a spoonful of jam in any muffin batter before baking and enjoy a jam-stuffed muffin in the morning!
- cocktails – YES! Jam works well in shaken cocktails! A spoonful of jam can be used in place of infused simple syrups to sweeten and flavor any cocktail you like! You may want to strain your cocktail to remove any sediment from the jam, such as seeds or chunks of cranberry.
♻️ customize your cranberry jam
- sugar – plain white granulated sugar keeps the flavor profile clean and the focus on the cranberries. But, if you want to use another type of sugar, you can swap it!
- orange – orange and cranberry go very well together, so you can add in a bit of orange juice and orange zest if you want to create a cranberry-orange jam!
- spiced – simmer in a handful of whole spices like cloves, allspice, and cinnamon to get a seasonal jam that is similar in flavor to my spiced cranberry syrup.
🆚 cranberry jam vs. cranberry sauce
The canned cranberry sauce that’s famous for being on Thanksgiving tables is quite different from this homemade jam! The “can-berry sauce” is known for being jellied with added pectin or gelling agents. That means so firm it holds its ridged shape and can be cut into slices. And if you caught any of the canberry-gate that happened on social media in 2025, you know that folks were opening cans to find nothing but…WATER. 🫣
This jam is thick, but spreadable. It can be customized to be thinner or thicker, depending on how long you simmer it and how much water you add to it.
Homemade cranberry sauce tend to be flavored with a variety of spices, and similar to a chutney in texture. Think: chunky and textured, with a more savory flavor profile. This jam is chunky and textured, but has a sweeter flavor profile.
Canned cranberry sauce (NOT “jellied” varieties) is usually just berries, water, and sugar, which is the most similar to this recipe!
🧰 equipment needed & storage tips
🫙 how to store homemade jam (without boiling!)
Your finished jam will store for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. Of course, if you want to make them shelf stable, you can proceed with the canning process to keep them for even longer!
💬 q+a
Do I need to use pectin to make homemade jam?
Nope! Cranberries are naturally high in pectin, you don’t need to use any added pectin at all!
Where can I buy cranberries out of season?
You can buy frozen cranberries at most major grocery stores! Check the frozen fruit aisle for berries during the year! My favorite brand is Cape Cod select, and I actually like them better than fresh berries in most cases because they are SUPER ripe!!!
Help! My jam is very bitter!
Your cranberries might not have been fully ripe! Even a few unripe berries can impart a bitter taste. Don’t worry though, you can add more sugar to help balance it out! If your jam is still warm, you can add 1/4 cup of sugar at a time until the flavor improves. If you’ve cooled your jam, make a quick rich syrup out of 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 TBSP of water (pop it in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until the sugar dissolves). Stir the syrup into your jam and give it another taste. Repeat as needed!
Easy Homemade Cranberry Jam (Fresh or Frozen Berries)
Wanna save this recipe for later? 📬
I’ll email this recipe post to you so you can have it for later!
Equipment
- 1 1.5-quart saucepan non-reactive metal, such as stainless steel or enameled cast iron
- 1 spatula or spoon
- 1 kitchen scale or measuring cups
- 1 airtight storage container
Ingredients
- 340 g cranberries fresh cranberries or frozen, 1 whole bag
- 40 g lemon juice from half a lemon
- 2 g lemon zest about 1 tsp
- 150 g granulated sugar 3/4 cup
- 180 g water 3/4 cup
Instructions
- Prep berries. Wash 340g cranberries (1 bag, about 2.5 cups), if you haven’t already, then add them to a medium saucepan.
- Add sugar. Pour 150g sugar (3/4 cup) into the pot and give the berries a good stir to cover them in the sugar.
- Heat. Heat the berries and sugar over medium heat, and add in lemon zest from a whole lemon (about 40g or 2 tsp) and lemon juice from half the lemon (40 g).
- Stir & mash. You’ll start to hear some popping, this is normal as the berries begin to burst. You can use your spatula or spoon to help the berries along by mushing them into the sides of the pan.
- Optional blending. Once the berries have burst, you can either use an immersion blender to puree them a bit more, or you can leave the mix a bit chunky. I like the big cranberry pieces, so I leave it as is.
- Add H20. Add 180g water (3/4 cup) and stir the mix well. The mixture will thicken as it cools, so it’s okay if it looks a little thinner than you’d like. You can always reheat it and allow it to cook off some water if it’s too thin.
- Cool. Remove the pan from the heat, and allow it to cool completely.
- Store. Store your cooled finished jam in sterilized airtight containers. Your finished jam will last for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
Video
Notes
ℹ️ troubleshooting tips
-
- sweeten it up – if you finished cooking your jam and upon tasting realized you need to adjust the sweetness, make a quick rich syrup mixture using 1/4 cup of sugar (50g) and a few tablespoons of water. This will mix into your jam easier than adding more granulated sugar!
-
- too thick – if your jam is too thick, you can add more water. Heat your jam and add a bit more water, 1 ounce at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
-
- too tart – I like a jam that tastes like the ingredients, and cranberries are tart! You can add more sugar, 50 g or 1/4 cup at a time, until you like the balance of sweetness.
-
- bitter – if your finished jam is bitter or astringent in taste, your cranberries may not have been fully ripened. I find this can happen sometimes with berries that are white or pink in color instead of deep red. Add more sugar to your jam, 50g or 1/4 cup at a time. If your berries are NOT deep red, you may even need to double the sugar.
- unripe berries – if your berries aren’t fully ripe, skip adding the lemon and use an orange instead. You will likely also need to add more sugar, up to 1.5 cups, to help balance the bitter flavor of the berries.
Never knew it was so easy to make jam! I used frozen cranberries and can’t wait to make it again for the holidays!
stupid simple recipe! not to be the typical “i did a replacement and it tasted bad :(” comment but i tried using clementine flesh since i didn’t have lemon juice. at first it was a little too bitter and sour, but i added about double the sugar (and a tiny bit of salt to cut the bitterness) and i think that helped! my cranberries in hindsight weren’t very ripe.
BUT even with my floundering, this was a lovely recipe!
Jane thank you SO much for your feedback! And the fact that you know about the “I substituted and it didn’t work” folks means you are DEFINITELY NOT ONE OF THEM haha! It’s actually GOOD you didn’t use lemon since your berries weren’t super ripe, it probably would’ve been too acidic with the bitter berries. Funny enough, when I made my YouTube tutorial for this Jam, the same thing happened to me as you! My berries weren’t super ripe, and I needed to add more sugar. I will make sure to amend the recipe notes to reflect your findings, too! THANK YOU again for taking the time to share your experience, I’m so grateful for you!! 🥰 And I’m so happy you were able to salvage the jam, too! You sound like a flavor building pro with your use of salt and sugar!! 🥳