Easy and delicious Homemade Cranberry Jam. This simple cranberry jam is made with only 4 ingredients and makes a perfect addition to many breakfast dishes.
Cranberry Jam
Cranberries are such a wonderful fruit with many health benefits. I love the tart and sweet flavor of cranberries when they’re baked in desserts and baked goods.
There is always a bag of cranberries in my fridge in the winter and when I make sure to freeze some for the off-season. During the winter months, I like to make some simple cranberry jam for breakfast. This is a delicious and easy seasonal jam.
Cranberries are not only delicious, they are also very healthy and considered superfood. Cranberries are full of vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants, and vitamin K. Cranberries outrank almost every fruit and vegetable when it comes to antioxidants.
So for breakfast, substitute store-bought strawberry jam for this vitamin packed cranberry jam!
What else can be added to the cranberry jam:
To change up the flavor a little, try using a pear instead of apple.
During holiday time, I like to spice up this cranberry jam with cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. The aroma and flavor is just perfect to put everyone in Christmas mood.
Add some orange zest and squeeze a little orange juice for additional flavor.
How to serve cranberry jam:
Serve this cranberry jam on toast, bagels, muffins, fresh baked sweet bread.
Add some to oatmeal.
Cranberry jam can also be added to fudge, cookies, cheesecake, and sweet creamy dips.
Some more cranberry ideas:
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Homemade Cranberry Jam
This simple cranberry jam is made with only 4 ingredients and makes a perfect addition to many breakfast dishes.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh cranberries
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 large apple peeled, cored, diced
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan, mix, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and simmer, stirring frequently, for about an hour. Keep covered while simmering, leaving only a little crack for the steam to escape. Stir from time to time.
- Transfer into a blender and puree until smooth.
Let cool completely and transfer to a medium jar. Once completely cooled, close with a lid tight and refrigerate.
Without canning process, this jam will last about 6 weeks in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.
Maria Long
December 8, 2012 at 12:28 amI have never seen cranberry jam, wow. love for you to share on Friday food frenzy if you get a chance. http://www.stayingclosetohome.com/2012/12/friday-food-frenzy-3-weeks-until.html
Diana - FreeStyleMama
December 8, 2012 at 5:07 amLast month I couldn’t get enough pumpkin and now I cannot get enough cranberry! I want to try this!! I’d love you to come link up at my Pin Me Linky Party. Pinning now!
Diana - FreeStyleMama
December 22, 2012 at 3:45 pmPicking up ingredients to make this today!
Lyuba @ Will Cook For Smiles
December 22, 2012 at 4:15 pmGreat! I hope you like it 🙂
Jenn
December 8, 2012 at 6:18 amI have never heard of cranberry jam before, but I bet I would love it. It sure looks amazing!
Flour On My Face
December 8, 2012 at 5:10 pmLyuba
Love this recipe! I have been wanting to make a cranberry jam for ever! Pinned to my canning board.
Winnie
December 8, 2012 at 6:20 pmLooks VERY TEMPTING and I’d love a slice of fresh bread with this wonderful jam 🙂
Mommy Testers
December 11, 2012 at 9:59 pmI would never have thought to make cranberry jam! It looks awesome and you made it seem simple enough that I think I might be able to pull it off!
Swidgen
December 12, 2012 at 3:20 amHi, Thanks for the recipe. I’d like to try it but I don’t think I quite understand something. If you put chunky fruit in a pot and simmer it for an hour, then pour it into jars to cool, does it disintegrate into jam-form? Is there no blending or food-processing going on here? I don’t see how it could look the consistency of smooth jam with no blending involved. Thanks!
Lyuba @ Will Cook For Smiles
December 12, 2012 at 11:57 pmYou are absolutely right 🙂 I misses a step! Thank you for the catch.
Smart! School {House}
December 12, 2012 at 3:42 pmThis looks so tasty! Yummers☺ You make Whimsy Wednesday look so good!
Thanks for joining us,
Kelly at Smart! School {House}
http://www.smartschoolhouse.com
Amanda
December 12, 2012 at 11:07 pmI love cranberries. I never thought of making them into a jam. We will be giving this a try! Amanda @ the-taste-tester.com
Micki Sellers
December 13, 2012 at 4:40 ami love cranberries. I have some left after my cranberry pepper jelly venture. Would love for you to share this at the pin inspriation party! http://www.addhousewife.com/
Lindsay
December 13, 2012 at 7:35 pmHow many ounces does this recipe yield? Thank you.
Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap
December 14, 2012 at 3:39 amthanks for sharing. Pinning!
Happy in red
December 16, 2012 at 4:17 pmDrool, so yummy!! I love cranberries. This jam would go great on Dutch sugar bread 🙂 You probably have de-pit the cranberries before putting them in the pan, right?
Esther.
Teri
December 17, 2012 at 4:57 amDoes the apple need to be peeled?
Teri
December 17, 2012 at 5:04 amDoes the apple need to be peeled?
Lyuba @ Will Cook For Smiles
December 22, 2012 at 4:01 amYes, peeled and cored. Unless you’d like small bits of apple skin in it.
Miz Helen
December 17, 2012 at 10:16 pmThank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you are having a great day and come back real soon!
Miz Helen
Theresa
December 18, 2012 at 12:50 amI have a bag of cranberries burning a hole too! Think I may try this in the crockpot, like apple butter. Thank you for posting this scrumptous looking recipe.
Katie Drane
December 19, 2012 at 12:56 amI love this! Just wanted to let you know that I featured this post in my 15 Homemade Gift Ideas post!
Katie
http://www.funhomethings.com
Kelly @ Ruby Begonia
December 20, 2012 at 6:21 pmThis comment has been removed by the author.
Kelly @ Ruby Begonia
December 20, 2012 at 6:22 pmDid you add any water anywhere during the process? I might have overcooked mine because it was incredibly thick. When I put it in the blender, it wouldn’t do anything with it. The taste was great but I think I’ll add a little water or juice the next time I try it. Thanks for the idea!
Margaret
January 11, 2013 at 4:40 amWe make this all the time. Except we add orange juice or frozen orange concentrate instead of the apple and lemon juice. We use this as a topping for pancakes or (my favorite) to teas.
I’ll give you variation a try next time we make it. 🙂
Margaret @ Live Like No One Else
Amanda
May 17, 2013 at 3:06 pmHello! I am anxious to try your recipe this Fall. I am new to jam making and am wondering how this should be stored. (Pantry? Fridge?) And how long of a shelf life does it have? Thank you.
lyuba
May 18, 2013 at 10:49 amHi Amanda. I would recommend storing it in the fridge. Since we are not canning it and sealing it, it will have air coming it and should be refrigerated. I don’t know the exact shelf life but I would estimate 4-5 weeks based on personal experience. (That’s how fast it was gone not when it went bad.)
Pat
September 15, 2013 at 9:16 pmTry this wonderful condiment on much more than toast! It may sound strange but try some peanut butter and this jam on your next bacon cheeseburger–a small bite of heaven.
lyuba
September 15, 2013 at 10:12 pmThat is very interesting, Pat! I think I will have my husband try this one 🙂
Thank you!
Trish Butler
September 18, 2013 at 12:55 pmI don’t think it is the Holiday season until you hear your first cranberry pop. Thank you for your wonderful jam recipe and I will use it with your white fudge recipe.
lyuba
September 18, 2013 at 1:12 pmThank you so much, Trish!
Jennifer J.
October 23, 2013 at 1:11 pmWOW!! I followed the recipe exactly. I did throw the end result in the Magic Bullet…Amazingly different from the over sweet berry jams. This is sweet and tart, balanced just right. I had the jam with multigrain bagels this morning… Yummmmm!!! Thanks for the great (and painless) recipe, will do it again!! 🙂
Michal
November 7, 2013 at 2:56 pmJust made it,, How do you overcome bitterness?
lyuba
November 16, 2013 at 10:13 pmIt might be a personal preference. When I made the jam, it wasn’t very bitter at all. There was some tartness but the sweetness was much stronger.
Jill
December 27, 2013 at 2:34 pmOh my goodness ….. I am in love with cranberries and can’t wait to make this … I am assuming that you could seal like other jams and jellies ?? Thanks for sharing….. I came via Trendy Tree House a share party ?
Happy Holidays…..into the New Year…
lyuba
December 28, 2013 at 3:31 pmHi Jill, welcome! You can definitely can it if you know how 🙂 It’s been so many years since last time I canned anything (I used to with my grandmother) so I can’t quite remember how.
Happy New Year to you as well!
Carey
January 1, 2014 at 6:04 pmGreat recipes 🙂
lyuba
January 1, 2014 at 7:29 pmThank you, Carrie!
LAUREN DILLON
January 5, 2014 at 4:50 pmI AM SO DELIGHTED TO SEE A RECIPE FOR CRANBERRY JAM . I HAVENT FOUND THAT RECIPE ANYWHERES !! I AM NOT SO SURE I CAN MAKE IT , BUT WISH ME LUCK !! BY THE WAY GREAT RECIPES AND A REALLY NICE FOOD BLOG ! YOU ARE SUCH A GREAT COOK !!
Meah
October 7, 2014 at 9:38 amI finally found the recipe using fresh cranberries on your website!!
Thank you very much for the wonderful recipe 🙂
I have a question, can I use lime juice instead?
lyuba
October 7, 2014 at 12:32 pmHi Meah! Yes, you can use lime juice, it will give it the same bit of acidity. I’m glad you found what you were looking for 🙂
Thank you!
Meah
October 7, 2014 at 10:46 pmI see! I might try with lime juice 🙂
Thank you for the reply, Lyuba!
lyuba
October 8, 2014 at 7:49 amOf course! Let me know how you like it, Meah 🙂
Libby
November 15, 2014 at 10:42 pmHi, I’m from Australia and we don’t get fresh cranberries here. Would I be able to use craisins (dried cranberries)?
lyuba
November 15, 2014 at 11:01 pmOh no, Libby, I’m sorry you don’t get fresh cranberries. I’m also sorry to tell you that it won’t work with craisins. You’d need juice and “meat” from the berries for the jam. I’m sorry 🙁 I hope that may be you’d be able to find some fresh cranberries sometime!
Daniel Mielke
October 22, 2017 at 5:57 amWhy couldn’t she used dried cranberries? All she would have to do is rehydrate them, I believe that 3/4 cup of dried cranberries is equivalent to 1 cup of fresh cranberries. Craisens are dried cranberries where the juice was extracted for juice. then sweetened. So if she were to use 3/4 cup of craisens and a 1/4 cup of cranberry juice she would be ok. She might have to adjust the sugar a bit as I believe they do add some sugar to craisens
.
Cenny
December 6, 2014 at 12:54 amLooks yummy. Do you add any water to boil the cranberries? I am planning on making and canning this.
Leny
November 27, 2017 at 8:21 amDo you not add any liquid other that that little bit of lemon juice? I would think the betries would scorch if they were dry in the pan and needing to reach a boil.
Tips Bushcraft knive
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