Easy Cranberry Pear Sauce

This 4-ingredient, 20-minute cranberry pear sauce is sweet, tart, chunky, and the perfect accompaniment to your Thanksgiving or Christmas table!

What is Cranberry Pear Sauce?

As much as I enjoy regular cranberry sauce, after years of the same-old, eventually, I wanted something… more. It turns out all I needed to bring a little zip back into this holiday condiment was the addition of a pear. The sweetness of pear balances and cuts through the tart flavor of cranberries and makes for a naturally chunky cranberry pear sauce your family and friends will love!

For this recipe, I’ve used my go-to simple orange cranberry sauce recipe combining fresh or frozen cranberries with fresh orange juice (and optional orange zest for extra zing). It’s then sweetened with brown sugar for its delicious molasses flavor (though I’ve included unrefined sugar and even sugar-free options below), and then given its flavor and texture boost with the addition of chopped pear.

Even better, this cranberry sauce with pears requires just four base ingredients (with several variations below, including ginger pear cranberry sauce, sugar-free, etc.) and about 20 minutes to prepare. I like to make mine several days in advance and store it in the fridge.

On the day, this easy cranberry sauce pairs perfectly with all your favorite Thanksgiving sides, like vegan stuffing, garlic roasted veggies, and candied yams. If you have any leftovers after the big day, fear not because there are a ton of ways to use the leftover cranberry pear sauce. I’ve included my top 15 (!) options below!

The Ingredients

This cranberry sauce with orange juice and pear requires just 4 ingredients to prepare, yet is loaded with sweet, tart, and zippy flavor!

• Cranberries: You can use fresh (plump, firm, and free from blemishes) or frozen cranberries (no need to thaw) for this recipe.
• Pear: Technically optional if you want a classic cranberry sauce. I recommend using D’anjou, Bosc, or Concorde pears if you want them to hold their shape. Other pears work but may become mushy (same with canned pears. They’ll taste fine but won’t look as appetizing).
• Orange: You’ll need a combination of freshly squeezed orange juice (you can use bottled if preferred, but make sure it’s freshly squeezed) and some orange zest (optional) to add a zingy, bright, and naturally sweet flavor to the cranberry sauce with pears.

You could add a chopped-up orange to the homemade cranberry sauce for even more orange flavor.

• Water: To bring the homemade cranberry sauce to the correct consistency.
• Brown sugar: I love brown sugar’s caramel/molasses flavor (though white sugar also works). Muscovado sugar also works and is less refined. Use coconut sugar or maple syrup if you want to use unrefined sugars only.

Can I make sugar-free cranberry sauce? Absolutely. For the best flavor, I recommend using a sugar-free brown sugar alternative. However, experiment with the sweetener of your choice.

Note that the sugar in the recipe also helps it to gel and thicken, so you may need to add a little cornstarch slurry (1-2 teaspoons of starch mixed with 1 tablespoon water).

What Else Could I Add?

The key to delicious homemade cranberry sauce is not overpowering the flavors too much. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t several ingredients you can experiment with to add subtle flavor to the sauce.

• Ginger: Fresh, candied, or ground ginger will work but start with just a pinch and increase the amount to taste as ginger pear cranberry sauce can have a very robust flavor.
• Cinnamon: ½-1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half, or a pinch of ground cinnamon should be enough to add subtle flavor to the pear cranberry sauce recipe without overwhelming the fruit.
• Other spices: Nutmeg, star anise, and allspice also work in this spiced cranberry pear sauce. Pumpkin pie spice also works. I recommend starting with just a tiny pinch and increasing to taste.
• Chunky stir-ins: You could stir in some chopped pecans, walnuts, or currants at the end of the cooking process.
• Whole30 cranberry sauce: The whole30 diet cuts out all sweeteners, only allowing the use of fruit juice to sweeten. I recommend using a combination of orange and sweeter apple juice for this recipe.

How to Make Cranberry Pear Sauce?

Making cranberry sauce is simple and requires little effort. With the sole addition of chopping a pear, this cranberry pear sauce is no more complicated and is ready in just 5 simple steps!

• 1) First, core and chop the pear (no need to peel) and prepare the orange juice (if you haven’t bought it).
• 2) Then, in a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the water and orange juice to a boil.

• 3) Add the brown sugar and stir it until it has completely dissolved.

• 4) Add the cranberries and pear and stir, cooking until the cranberries begin to burst. Then lower the heat to a gentle simmer, add the orange zest (if using), and allow it to cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pears are tender.

At this point, give it a final taste and increase the amount of sugar to taste.

• 5) Finally, remove the pear cranberry sauce from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Then, transfer it to the refrigerator for an hour to chill and continue thickening, and it’s ready to enjoy!

FAQs

Top Recipe Tips and Notes

• Too sweet or tart? If it’s too tart, add a little more sweetener (sugar works best, but some more apple or orange juice could also work for natural sweetness). If it’s too sweet, add something acidic, like lemon juice, to cut the sweetness.
• Adjust the texture: Based on how chunky you want the pear pieces to be within the orange cranberry sauce. Just note that the smaller the pieces, the less time they’ll take to cook.
• For thinner/thicker sauce: Adjust the amount of liquid added for a thinner sauce. To thicken it, add a cornstarch slurry. However, note that the sauce thickens upon cooling. If it’s too thin after chilling, return it to the stove and either simmer to reduce or add starch to thicken.
• Make it ahead when possible: Not only does this remove stress on the holidays, but this tastes even better after it’s given time for the flavors to meld in the fridge.

Storage Recommendations

Make ahead: Not only is this make-ahead friendly, but I highly recommend it to take some of the stress out of the holidays (it tastes better on day two as well!). Keep it stored in the fridge and pop it on the table an hour before serving, to take the chill off it.

Store: The chilled cranberry pear sauce will store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. Minus the pears, it may last up to 14 days, perfect for preparing ahead of time.

Freeze: Allow it to cool and store in a freezer-safe airtight container for up to 2 months (it remains safe after that, but the quality starts deteriorating). Leave it to thaw overnight in the fridge or for several hours at room temperature before serving.

How to Use Leftover Cranberry Sauce?

The holidays have passed, and you’re staring at a big container of leftover cranberry sauce/cranberry pear sauce. What next? Well, luckily, there are plenty of ways to use the leftover!

1. Make holiday sandwiches, vegan grilled cheese, or wraps
2. Make a Thanksgiving/Christmas pizza with a cranberry sauce base
3. Use to glaze roasted butternut squash or other squash
4. Spread it over toast, a bagel, or a muffin (alone or with peanut butter!)
5. Stir it into oatmeal or overnight oats
6. Add it to your favorite vegan yogurt for a breakfast treat
7. Make a cranberry sauce vegan parfait
8. Use it as a sauce over nice-cream
9. Warm it up and serve it over pancakes, waffles, vegan cheesecake, etc.
10. Make a cranberry pear crisp, crumb cake, or cranberry oatmeal bars
11. Make tiny cranberry hand pies, turnovers, and other pastries
12. In baked goods—like cranberry muffins, quick bread, thumbprint cookies
13. Add a spoonful or two into mocktails
14. Mix some into smoothies for extra flavor and sweetness
15. Make simple holiday crostini with vegan cream cheese and cranberry sauce

More Vegan Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• Instant Pot garlic mashed potatoes
• Low-carb cauliflower stuffing
• Shredded Brussels sprouts salad
• Crispy Hasselback potatoes
• Air Fryer Asparagus

If you try this easy Thanksgiving cranberry pear sauce recipe, I’d love to know what you think in the comments below. I’d also really appreciate a recipe card rating!

Photos by Alfonso Revilla