This recipe for cranberry ice cubes almost seems too easy to have a recipe card for. 🤫 But trust me, once you start making your own festive cubes, you’ll be on the lookout for other ways you can create bespoke ice creations for all of your beverages!

Cranberry ice cubes are in a drinking glass being filled with sparkling water.

With over 10 years of creating homemade beverages, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to take a hand-crafted drink to the next level. One of the easiest ways is to use ingredients as flavor cues for your guests! This was inspired by my strawberry ice cubes and my love of freezing everything into cubes. From espresso to orange juice, creating your own flavored ice cubes is a quick and easy way to level up your at-home beverages.

Certain fruits like cranberries are absolutely perfect for freezing! One stop on #icetok on TikTok will show you what the (maybe small) world of ice lovers already knows: ice is better when it’s FUN! 🥳

why this cranberry ice cube recipe works:

🥳 fun & festive. These ice cubes are perfect for all of your fall and winter beverages, adding an element of unexpected fun!

🔊 echos of flavor. These cranberry ice cubes are perfect for cocktails and mocktails that contain cranberry! They help to create a “flavor echo,” which plays up the fruity and tart cranberry flavor in any beverage!

🤌 easy to make. Making these cubes is a great activity with kids or in preparation for a party. It’s a quick and easy way to throw an extra-special touch into your presentation!

🛒 ingredients

cranberries – you can use fresh or frozen berries to make these ice cubes. Avoid using dried cranberries as they don’t have the same plump appearance as fresh or frozen berries.
filtered water – using filtered water means your ice won’t have any funky flavors. This is important since we want the flavor of the berries to really pop through!

See the recipe card for the exact quantities.

🍳 instructions

Filling an ice cube tray with cranberries.

Step 1: If you are using fresh cranberries, make sure to rinse them first and sort any berries that have gone bad out of the mix. Add 4-6 berries to each cube space in the ice tray.

Pouring water into an ice cube tray filled with cranberries.

Step 2: Fill your ice cube trays 2/3 full with water. You want to be sure to just barely cover the berries with water, since they float!

Using a special ice cube tray that is meant to make clear ice.

Step 3: If you want clear ice, be sure to use a special ice cube tray just for making clear ice.

Removing the ice cube trays from the freezer and showing the frozen cubes.

Step 4: Cover your trays if they have lids, and freeze for 6-8 hours, or until frozen solid.

Step 5: Remove your cranberry ice cubes from the trays, and place them in a zip top bag or other airtight container.

Cranberry ice cubes are scattered on a cutting board.

Step 6: Store your finished ice cubes in the freezer for up to 3 months. Use them in any beverages that feature cranberry as a flavor!

Hint: Cover your ice cubes as they are freezing to keep any unwanted flavors or odors from finding their way into your cranberry ice cubes.

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💡tips & tricks for getting it right

🍽️ serving tips

Add cranberry ice cubes to your favorite cocktails, such as cranberry mimosas, cranberry mules, or cranberry vodka spritzes, for a burst of color.
Toss them into a punch bowl for a stunning presentation!
Drop a few cranberry ice cubes into a glass of sparkling water for a refreshing and festive take on soda water.
Try adding them to iced tea and lemonade!

ℹ️ troubleshooting tips

hard to remove – If the frozen cubes are difficult to remove from the trays, run the bottom of the tray under warm water in the sink for a few seconds to loosen them.
cloudy cubes – If your cubes are cloudy, it’s a result of impurities in the water. Luckily, the bright red color of the berries takes the focus away from cloudy cubes, and as soon as they hit the liquid in your beverage the cloudiness isn’t as prominent.
clear ice – Want crystal clear cranberry ice cubes? Try using these trays from Clearly Frozen on Amazon. They create crystal-clear ice showing off the berries as the main focus!

⚖️ scaling tips

This recipe is perfect for scaling up for a party, or to make a large batch of ice for seasonal ice all fall or winter long.

To make a larger batch of cranberry ice cubes, simply double or triple the recipe as needed.

🔆 top tip

Cranberries float! To accommodate for this, and to make sure you don’t end up with cubes that only have berries on one side, try to cram your cranberries into the ice cube trays.

4-6 berries is a great amount for each cube, depending on the size of your trays!

Removing cranberry ice cubes that have been made with a special freezing container for making clear ice cubes.

Clear ice cube trays can be a little tricky. You need to be sure to follow the directions so you don’t over-freeze them.

Showing off the difference between clear ice and ice made in a standard ice cube tray.

Here you can see the difference between the clear ice and the regular ice. Even though it is quite a difference in hand, once the cubes are in a drink it’s a bit less apparent.

♻️ substitutions & variations

Missing an ingredient? No problem. Check out these tried-and-true substitutions, or comment below with your question. I’m here to help you troubleshoot!

frozen berries – you don’t need to use fresh berries for this recipe. Cranberries are becoming increasingly popular, and they can sometimes be found frozen at your local grocery store. One brand I’ve found and loved is Cape Cod Select. They even have a product locator on their website to see if their berries can be found near you!
add citrus – cranberries and citrus go so well together! Add in some seasonal oranges, lemons, or limes for a burst of citrus color and flavor.
add herbs or spices– adding in a sprig of mint or rosemary is another fun way to level up these cubes. Additionally, you can add in a sprinkle of ginger or cinnamon for a subtle spiciness to the tart cranberry flavor.
add cranberry juice – you can even add in some cranberry juice to each cube to impart even more cranberry flavor into these cubes! You can also purée some cranberries and strain the purée, then add it to the cubes.

A drinking glass with cranberry sparkling water and cranberry ice cubes sits on a green countertop. Additional cranberry ice cubes sit on the counter.

🧰 equipment needed & storage tips

ice cube trays – the world of ice cube trays is VAST. I love using trays from Tovolo for perfectly square ice, and larger ones for king-sized cubes. Both options come with a cover to help keep the cubes from developing unwanted scents. If you want clear ice cubes, try using this mold from Clearly Frozen or this larger mold from True Cubes. The clear ice cube trays don’t come with covers because they rely on what’s known as directional freezing. I like to use a thin cover like a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap after an hour or so in the freezer so that the cubes don’t get any funky flavors while freezing.
zip top bag – while you might have seen tons of videos of icefluencers on TikTok who have a freezer full of bins of uncovered ice, I’m here to tell you that’s not the move for your homemade cubes. 😅 Storing ice in an open container in the freezer is an invitation for unwanted flavors. For the best ice experience, store your cubes in an airtight container, like a zip top bag. I love using these mega-sized Stasher bags for my ice cubes. They are dishwasher safe and reusable, making them a more sustainable option than regular plastic bags.
measuring glass – I love using these measuring glasses from Anchor Hocking for pouring water into the ice cube trays.

🫙 storage tips

Once your cubes are frozen, you can store them for up to 3 months in an airtight storage container.

💬 q+a

How can I use cranberry ice cubes?

Use these cubes in any beverage that features the flavor of cranberries, like cranberry ginger ale mocktails or cranberry mules, also called yule mules.

Are frozen cranberries as good as fresh?

Yes! Cranberries are a fruit that freeze exceptionally well! In fact, I love to throw a few bags of cranberries right into the freezer when they are on sale for BOGO! It’s a great way to store berries for times of the year when they’re harder to find.

Can you purée cranberries and freeze them?

Yes, you can freeze puréed berries! Make sure to strain them to remove any seeds or chunkier bits. Also, as your cubes melt, the purée may settle at the bottom of your glass.

If you make this recipe, please leave a review in the comments and a star rating!
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