Easy Cranberry Jam Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links.This easy cranberry jam is sweet, tart, and beautifully thick with plenty of cranberry flavor. It’s simple to make and perfect for spreading on toast, bread, biscuits, or even using in desserts.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
🏷️ Recipe Name: Cranberry Jam
⏱️ Ready In: ~ 20 minutes
🍽️ Serves: 2 jars (700 grams)
🔥 Calories: 45 kcal per 15 grams (estimate)
🧾 Main Ingredients: Frozen cranberries, sugar, lemon, cinnamon stick, speculaas spice mix
🥗 Dietary Info: Gluten Free
🧠 Difficulty: Easy for beginner
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If you love homemade fruit spreads, this cranberry jam is such a nice one to have in the fridge. Cranberries naturally have that lovely tart flavor, so the jam doesn’t taste overly sweet even with the sugar added.
I also love the deep ruby-red color—it looks especially pretty served with bread, scones, or pancakes. And because cranberries contain plenty of natural pectin, the jam thickens beautifully without needing commercial pectin.
After making my mango jam and lemon curd, I wanted another slightly tangy spread for my homemade breads, and cranberry jam fits right in.
If you love homemade spreads, you can find more ideas in my jam recipes, sweet spreads, and fillings collection.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Frozen cranberries – I use frozen cranberries because they’re convenient and work perfectly for jam. There’s no need to thaw them first before cooking.
Lemon – Fresh lemon juice adds brightness and helps balance the sweetness. It also supports the natural pectin in the cranberries as the jam cooks.
Speculaas Spice Mix – This Indonesian spice blend adds a warm, fragrant flavor to the cranberry jam. I use my homemade speculaas spice mix, but if you don’t have it, pumpkin spice is a convenient substitute with a similar warm-spice profile.
Cinnamon stick – Adds an extra layer of warm cinnamon flavor while the jam cooks. Remove it before transferring the jam to a jar.
How to Make Cranberry Jam
STEP 1. Add the frozen cranberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a saucepan (Image 1). Add the spekkoek powder and cinnamon stick (Image 2). Place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat and stir everything together until well combined (Image 3).
Once the mixture starts to boil and becomes fragrant, remove the cinnamon stick (Image 4).
STEP 2. Reduce the heat to low. Use a hand blender to blend the cranberries until you reach your preferred texture (Images 5, 6). Add the lemon zest and stir well (Image 7).
Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, or until the jam reaches your desired consistency. Transfer the hot jam to a clean, sterilized jar (Image 8). Let it cool, then keep it chilled in the refrigerator.
Pro Tips
- No need to thaw the cranberries. You can cook the frozen cranberries straight from the freezer.
- Stir often while heating. This helps the sugar dissolve evenly and prevents the jam from catching on the bottom of the saucepan.
- Remove the cinnamon stick before blending. Once the jam starts to boil and the spices become fragrant, take it out before using the hand blender.
- Blend to your preferred texture. Blend briefly for a chunkier cranberry jam, or a little longer if you prefer it smoother.
- Keep the heat low after blending. The jam can splatter once it thickens, so low heat is safer and helps prevent scorching.
- Don’t overcook it. The jam will continue to thicken as it cools, so stop cooking when it is slightly looser than your ideal final consistency.
- Add the lemon zest near the end. This keeps the citrus aroma fresher and brighter.
- Use a clean, sterilized jar. Let the jam cool before covering and refrigerating it.
Serving Suggestions
This cranberry jam is delicious spread over soft Asian breads like Japanese milk hearth bread, pull-apart bread (roti sisir), salt bread, or melon pan. The sweet-tart jam adds a nice contrast to the soft, buttery bread.
You can also serve it alongside butter cakes such as Thai butter cake, marble cake, almond butter cake, or mini sponge cakes. A spoonful of cranberry jam gives the cakes a fruity, slightly tangy contrast and makes a simple slice feel a little more special.
For an extra-rich pairing, serve the jam with a little butter or cream cheese.
Cranberry Jam FAQs
Dried cranberries won’t work the same way because they contain much less moisture and are usually already sweetened. For the best texture and flavor, use fresh or frozen cranberries for this jam.
No. Cranberries naturally contain pectin, so this jam can thicken without added commercial pectin.
It may have been cooked too long. Cranberry jam continues to thicken as it cools, so it is best to stop cooking when it is still slightly looser than your preferred final consistency.
You can reduce the sugar slightly, but keep in mind that sugar helps balance the tartness of the cranberries and also affects the final texture.
You can leave it out, or use a small amount of warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or cardamom.
Storage
Store the cranberry jam in a clean, airtight jar in the refrigerator. It keeps well chilled for up to 1 month. Always use a clean spoon when serving to help keep the jam fresh.
More Jam and Filling Recipes
Cranberry Jam
Equipment
Ingredients
- 450 gr frozen cranberries
- 300 gr sugar
- 1 lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ speculaas spice mix or pumpkin spice
Instructions
- Add the frozen cranberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a saucepan. Add the spekkoek powder and cinnamon stick. Place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat and stir everything together until well combined. Once the mixture starts to boil and becomes fragrant, remove the cinnamon stick.
- Reduce the heat to low. Use a hand blender to blend the cranberries until you reach your preferred texture. Add the lemon zest and stir well.
- Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, or until the jam reaches your desired consistency. Transfer the hot jam to a clean, sterilized jar. Let it cool, then keep it chilled in the refrigerator.
Notes
- No need to thaw the cranberries. You can cook the frozen cranberries straight from the freezer.
- Stir often while heating. This helps the sugar dissolve evenly and prevents the jam from catching on the bottom of the saucepan.
- Remove the cinnamon stick before blending. Once the jam starts to boil and the spices become fragrant, take it out before using the hand blender.
- Blend to your preferred texture. Blend briefly for a chunkier cranberry jam, or a little longer if you prefer it smoother.
- Keep the heat low after blending. The jam can splatter once it thickens, so low heat is safer and helps prevent scorching.
- Don’t overcook it. The jam will continue to thicken as it cools, so stop cooking when it is slightly looser than your ideal final consistency.
- Add the lemon zest near the end. This keeps the citrus aroma fresher and brighter.
- Use a clean, sterilized jar. Let the jam cool before covering and refrigerating it.
Sweet, tart, and fragrant from the spices—this cranberry jam is such an easy homemade spread.