Homemade Cranberry Juice Recipe

This homemade cranberry juice is made from 4 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries simmered in 6 cups of water for 15 minutes, mashed, strained and sweetened with ½ cup of honey, maple syrup or sugar. It makes about 6 cups and needs 2 hours in the fridge before it is cold enough to drink.

Sweeten it while it is still warm, so the sugar or honey dissolves completely, and taste as you go. Unsweetened, it is very sharp, the way real cranberry juice is.

Cranberry Juice Ingredients and Ratios

• Berries: 4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, a little more than one 12 ounce bag
• Water: 6 cups, so the ratio is 2 cups of berries to 3 cups of water
• Sweetener: ½ cup honey, maple syrup or sugar, adjusted to taste
• Optional: 1 lemon and 1 orange, sliced, added to the pitcher
• Time: 5 minutes prep, 15 minutes simmering, at least 2 hours chilling
• Keeps: about 5 days in the fridge, up to 3 months in the freezer

Simmering Fresh or Frozen Cranberries

Frozen cranberries work just as well as fresh, and sometimes I prefer them. Do not thaw them. Rinse them straight from the bag, the same as fresh berries, and put them in a large pot with the water.

Bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat, then turn it down to a simmer for 15 minutes. You will hear the berries pop as they split, and the water turns from pink to deep red. The scent that rises off the pot always reminds me of early November in my kitchen. Stop when nearly all the berries have burst.

Keep it at a simmer rather than a hard boil. Cranberries are full of pectin, the same thing that sets cranberry sauce, and boiling them hard for longer makes the juice taste cooked and slightly thick. At this point the liquid looks cloudy. That is expected.

Mashing and Straining for a Clear Juice

Press the berries against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon or a potato masher to release the rest of their juice. Then pour everything through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean pitcher, and press the pulp hard with the back of a spoon. That last minute of pressing gives you noticeably more juice.

Pressing also pushes fine pulp through, which is why the first strain is cloudy. For a clearer, silkier juice, strain it a second time through a clean sieve and this time do not press, or line the sieve with cheesecloth. I have done it both ways. The second strain is optional, but it is worth it when the juice goes into clear glasses on a holiday table.

How to Sweeten Cranberry Juice So It Tastes Better

Start with ¼ cup of sweetener while the juice is still warm, stir until it dissolves, taste, and add more up to the full ½ cup. Cold mutes sweetness, so the warm juice should taste a touch sweeter than you want the finished glass.

• Sugar: the cleanest choice. The cranberry flavor stays sharp and the juice stays bright red.
• Honey: softens the tartness and adds a floral note.
• Maple syrup: the richest flavor, and my favorite with orange slices.

Lemon and orange slices in the pitcher add a hint of citrus without hiding the cranberry. The lemon gives it lift and the orange rounds it out. If it is still too sharp once chilled, pour it half and half with sparkling water or apple cider, or stir in a little more sweetener.

Cranberry Juicing Recipes vs the Stovetop Method

You can put raw cranberries through a juicer, but they are firm and very sour, so you get a small amount of sharp juice. That is why most cranberry juicing recipes run a cup or two of cranberries with sweet apples, pears or oranges. Simmering gets much more out of each berry, and it needs no special equipment. If you have a juicer and want a blend, try a handful of cranberries with apples, and use this stovetop version when you want pure cranberry flavor.

Is Homemade Cranberry Juice Good for You?

Cranberries bring vitamin C, and making the juice yourself means you decide how much sugar goes in. Most bottled cranberry juice cocktail is a blend of juice, water and added sugar. Cranberry is often linked with urinary tract health, but the research is mixed, so treat this as a drink, not a remedy. On busy days, I pour a small glass with lunch instead of soda.

Storing and Freezing the Juice

Let it cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours. Store it in a glass jar or bottle for up to 5 days. Take the citrus slices out after a day, because the peel turns the juice bitter.

To freeze, pour it into freezer containers with an inch of headspace, or into ice cube trays, for up to 3 months. Cranberry ice cubes keep a glass cold without watering it down. The recipe doubles easily; use your largest pot and store it in two smaller containers.

Serving It Through the Holidays

Serve it over ice with a slice of lemon, or top it up with sparkling water for a simple cranberry mocktail. For a party, it sits well next to a sparkling pomegranate mocktail, and it freezes nicely into Christmas ice cubes. Pour it into a clear glass bottle with a handwritten label for a small gift.

For a breakfast spread, serve it with cranberry orange muffins or a loaf of cranberry orange bread. Have more berries? Make a pot of cranberry sauce for the turkey. For another homemade juice, try homemade pomegranate juice or homemade apple cider.

Save this cranberry juice recipe to your Pinterest board for the holidays. If you make it, tell me in the comments which sweetener you used.