Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins (Excellent for the Holidays!)

If you find that you have leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving or Christmas, these Cranberry Sauce Muffins are the tastiest way to use it up! (You can also buy cranberry sauce just to make these delicious muffins!)

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins

These delicious leftover cranberry sauce muffins are so quick and easy to make. So when you’re not in the mood to do much more cooking but you’re staring down all of the leftovers — you have options.

You can make these muffins in right around 30 minutes. They only take about 10 minutes prep time and you can take a break while they bake!

MORE ABOUT THIS RECIPE
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Canned Cranberry Sauce or Homemade Cranberry Sauce?

You can use either type of cranberry sauce for this recipe. The important part is that you use a whole berry cranberry sauce.

If you have the jellied kind (that comes in the shape of the can), you’ll need to do a little extra work on it to use it this recipe. You want more of a sauce consistency.

To get this texture, you can take jellied cranberry sauce and chop it up into smaller pieces. Then mix with a little bit of water or orange juice (if you like orange cranberry) to get more of a sauce-like consistency.

Using jellied cranberry sauce won’t give you the chunks of cranberry throughout your recipe, but it will give you similar flavors.

Ingredients for Cranberry Sauce Muffins

To make these muffins, you’ll need the following ingredients (full measurements can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page):

• Milk
• Brown Sugar
• Butter, melted
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Flour
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Whole berry cranberry sauce (can be homemade or canned)

For the muffin topping, you’ll need:

• Flour
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Butter, melted

You’ll use these to make a delicious streusel topping for your cranberry muffins!

Cranberry Muffin Recipe

This recipe makes 12 muffins. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 20-25 minutes to bake.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with liners. You can also spray the muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (milk, brown sugar, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract).

Stir in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt) until just combined.

Prepare the crumb topping by stirring together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter until the mixture begins to clump together.

Spoon the 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup.

Top with 1 tablespoon of cranberry sauce.

Then add another 1 tablespoon of batter on top of the cranberry sauce. Lightly press the batter down to fill the cupcake liner, if needed.

Sprinkle the some of the topping mixture over the top of each muffin.

Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan until they’re safe to touch, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Leftovers & Storage

If you have any leftover muffins (they don’t last long in our house), you can store them coverns covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can also store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

If you’d like to freeze these muffins after you bake them, allow them to cool completely. Then put them in an airtight container or a freezer zipper bag. You can store them for up to 3 months.

Cranberry Muffin Recipe Variations

If you love this recipe, there are easy ways to change it up a bit. Try one of these variations:

• Add white chocolate chips for a sweeter take!
• Swap half of the milk for orange juice to get a cranberry orange vibe.
• Use applesauce instead of cranberry sauce to make apple muffins.
• Add chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds) to the batter.

FAQs

What else can I use cranberry sauce for?

If you find you have a lot of cranberry sauce leftover, you can obviously pair with your other holiday leftovers or try making this recipe! But there are so many different ways to use it up!

There are so many different things to add it to including:

• Yogurt – Add some cranberry sauce and granola for a delicious snack.
• Toast – Spread it like jam or jelly.
• Grilled Cheese – Pair it with your favorite cheese (Havarti and cranberry is amazing) for a new take on grilled cheese!
• Smoothie – You can add a bit to your smoothies to add the cranberry flavor and fun color.
• Glazed Meat – Pair a cup of cranberry sauce with half a cup of orange juice and half a cup of brown sugar to baste your meat.
• Pancake topping – Mix cranberry sauce with orange juice or maple syrup and simmer it on low heat until it reaches a consistency you like. Then drizzle it over your pancakes!

How long can you keep leftover cranberry sauce? 

If you store leftover cranberry in an airtight container, it will keep for up to 2 weeks!

You can also freeze it in an airtight container or freezer zipper bag for about a month.

What does cranberry sauce go well with? 

It’s a staple on the Thanksgiving table for many people so it definitely is known for going with turkey. But it also pairs well with other meats including chicken, ham, and other pork.

I also like it with my mashed potatoes and stuffing!

More Cranberry Recipes

If you’re looking for more great ways to use cranberries and cranberry sauce this holiday season, trying one of these tasty recipes:

Cranberry Sauce Muffins

Cranberry sauce muffins are a tasty way to use up leftover cranberry sauce.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Servings: 12

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375℉ and line a muffin pan with liners. You can also spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray.

• Whisk together the milk, brown sugar, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract.

• Stir in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until just combined.

• Spoon the 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup.

• Top with 1 tablespoon of cranberry sauce.

• Add another 1 tablespoon of batter on top of the cranberry sauce. Lightly press the batter down to fill the cupcake liner, if needed.

• Prepare the crumb topping by stirring together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter until the mixture begins to clump together.

• Sprinkle the mixture over the top of each muffin.

• Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

• Allow the muffins to cool in the pan until they’re safe to touch, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Be sure to use whole berry cranberry sauce. It can be homemade or canned. This recipe works better with whole berry than the jellied kind.