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Learn all the tips and tricks for How to Freeze Cranberries to keep a stash of this short-season fruit in your freezer. Learning about freezing cranberries is a great way to preserve this delicious staple of so many baked goods and holiday recipes.
Cranberries, those tart little fruits are so delicious in many seasonal recipes. Sadly, they’re only available for a very short window each season.
So when you find a great deal on fresh cranberries, stock up, and let’s get to freezing them!
If you’re running out of freezer space did you know that you’re also able to can cranberry sauce? It’s true!
You may also want to check out How to Freeze Pumpkin Pie, Freezing Mashed Potatoes, How to Freeze Gravy, and all our other Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Dishes.
Equipment needed
For freezing cranberries, some helpful items are:
- Cranberries! You’ll find fresh cranberries mid-September through mid-November in North America.
- Rimmed baking sheet so that the cranberries won’t roll off the pan in your freezer.
- Parchment paper – to keep the cranberries from freezing to the tray.
- Freezer storage – I love these reusable bags.
- Souper Cubes – very helpful if you want to freeze the cranberries in water or are freezing cranberry sauce or cranberry juice.
A traditional 12 oz bag of cranberries at the store yields about 3 cups of cranberries. They would fit best in a quart-sized bag or container.
How to Freeze Fresh Cranberries
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.
Start by rinsing the cranberries in a strainer, and set them aside to drain. I like to carefully pick through the batch to make sure I’m not freezing any rotten/bad cranberries.
Carefully pour the cranberries onto a clean towel, and use another clean towel to blot the excess water from the cranberries.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat (it’s like reusable parchment). Add the cranberries onto the baking sheet and carefully place the tray into the freezer.
Freeze the cranberries for 2-4 hours, and then remove the baking tray from the freezer. Break apart any clumps that have frozen together, and then transfer the frozen cranberries to freezer bags.
How to Freeze Cranberry Sauce
If you’re using homemade cranberry sauce, allow it to fully cool before freezing. This will prevent a layer of ice from building up on the surface of the cranberry sauce.
Transfer cooled cranberry sauce to freezer-safe containers. I love wide-mouth pint mason jars or 1-cup Souper Cubes. You can also use freezer bags.
Pro tip: if using mason jars, allow for 1-inch of space between the top of the cranberry sauce and the top of the jar’s rim. This is called headspace, and it allows for the sauce to expand in the freezer.
How to Freeze Cranberry Juice
I recommend freezing cranberry juice in single-serve portions. This allows you to not have to thaw a ton of cranberry juice, when you only need a bit.
You can pour cranberry juice into half-pint or wide-mouth pint mason jars, 1-cup Souper Cubes, or ice cube trays.
Pro tip: if using mason jars, allow for 1 inch of space between the top of the cranberry juice and the top of the jar’s rim.
How to Use Frozen Cranberries
Frozen cranberries are so useful to have in your freezer. You can use them to make cranberry sauce like our Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce or Orange Cranberry Sauce. Or, this Cranberry Jalapeño Dip.
You can also mix some into the batter of these Soft Pumpkin Cookies or in Cranberry Ginger Ale Punch.
And, of course, cranberry sauce is delicious alongside other Thanksgiving and holiday classics like Sausage Stuffing, Cheesy Green Bean Casserole, and Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Cranberries are super easy to freeze and hold up very well in the freezer.
It depends on how you want to use them after they are frozen. One camp says not to rinse before freezing because it can lead to mushy berries with they thaw.
But I never really thaw cranberries before using them; I just throw them into baked goods and cranberry sauce frozen. As such, I always rinse my cranberries that were purchased in bulk before freezing.
Nope! You’re welcome to freeze fresh cranberries that haven’t been cooked or previously heated.
Cranberries have a long (frozen) shelf life and last for 12 months in the freezer.
Yes! If you’re short on time, you can just chuck the entire bag of cranberries straight into the freezer.
If you are freezing already packaged bags of cranberries there is no need to rinse them first.
In most cases, there is no need to thaw them before using them. If you absolutely need to thaw the frozen cranberries, place them in a strainer and run cool water over them until thawed.
If you thaw the frozen cranberries, they will be pretty mushy. But in almost every recipe in which I have ever used frozen cranberries, I have never needed to thaw them before using them.
Pro tip: if you’re using frozen cranberries in baked goods like muffins or cranberry bread, gently toss them with 1 tsp of flour before adding them to the batter. It will help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the baked goods during baking.
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How to Freeze Cranberries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz cranberries
Instructions
How to Freeze Fresh Cranberries
- Rinse cranberries in a strainer and allow them to dry a bit. Discard any bad cranberries.12 oz cranberries
- Spread onto a clean towel to absorb any additional water.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.
- Gently pour the cranberries onto the baking sheet and place the tray in the freezer.
- Freeze for three hours.
- Break apart any clumps that have formed on the baking sheet and transfer the cranberries to freezer-proof storage.
How to Freeze Cranberry Sauce
- If you’re using homemade cranberry sauce, allow it to fully cool before freezing.
- Transfer cooled cranberry sauce to freezer-safe containers.
- If you're using canning jars or other containers with lids, allow for 1 inch of space between the top of the cranberry sauce and the top of the jar’s rim. This is called headspace, and it allows for the sauce to expand in the freeze
How to Freeze Cranberry Juice
- I recommend freezing cranberry juice in single-serve portions.
- If using mason jars, allow for 1 inch of space between the top of the cranberry juice and the top of the jar’s rim.
Notes
- A traditional bag of cranberries at the store yields about 3 cups of cranberries. They would fit best in a quart-sized bag or container.
- Freeze for up to 12 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post is so timely!  I JUST saw some cranberries in the grocery store for the first time this season and suddenly I was craving some homemade cranberry sauce so bad.  🙂  It’s such a delicious side.  For sure I gotta grab a few bags and freeze them.
I always get so excited when I see them for the first time each season! Happy freezing.