Name: Homemade Cranberry Vinegar & Cranberry Vinaigrette
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces cranberries ((1 bag) fresh or frozen); 4 cups white vinegar; 1 tablespoon sugar; 3/4 cup olive oil; 1/3 cup cranberry vinegar; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, (optional)

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Turn fresh or frozen cranberries into a beautiful cranberry vinegar that adds fruity flavor to salad dressings and marinades. Made with white vinegar and just a touch of sugar, this easy homemade vinegar also makes an quick gift idea with the printable gift tags. Give alone or pair with ingredients to make a delicious cranberry vinaigrette dressing. Bonus: I’ve included a no-waste option for turning the strained cranberry mixture into a tangy cranberry sauce!

three bottles of cranberry vinegar with tags

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In my quest for more quick and easy food gifts people will actually use, this super easy cranberry vinegar has easily moved into my top ten. With about five minutes of prep and less than 15 minutes of cooking, you can bottle this, attach the cute tag and have gifts ready in no time.

While I think the tags are adorable (if I do say so myself…), it’s what’s on the back of the tags that makes this an even more useful gift: a recipe to use the vinegar in a delicious vinaigrette salad dressing! And to take it a step further there’s an option to make a vinaigrette gift basket by packaging your homemade cranberry vinegar with a bottle of olive oil and a small container of mustard. I know I would love a gift like this!

AND because I can’t let things go to waste, I experimented with using the strained cranberries to make cranberry sauce. I started with my tried-and-true maple-orange cranberry sauce and increased the maple syrup only a bit to counteract the vinegar flavor. The result? A tangy cranberry sauce we really liked! I also think it would be delicious with a little heat added in the form of chopped jalapeños to go with the vinegar flavor.

However you approach it, this is an amazing way to use a bag of cranberries!

How to Easily Make Cranberry Vinegar

boiling cranberries and vinegar in pot — **Step 1:** Boil cranberries, vinegar, and sugar in a medium pot. Once boiling, cook 3 minutes, crushing some of the berries with the back of a spoon. The berries will pop a bit and split.

straining cranberry mixture into lined colander — **Step 2:** Prepare a colander with a paper towel or cheesecloth lining over a 4-cup glass measuring cup. Slowly pour about half the mixture into the colander.

strained cranberry vinegar in measuring cup — **Step 3:** Continue pouring the cranberries slowly through until the rest of the mixture is in the colander. Discard the solids (OR return solids to the pot to make tangy cranberry sauce!).

cutting out cranberry vinegar tags — **Step 4**: Pour cranberry vinegar into small bottles. Download, print and cut out Cranberry Vinegar Tags.

Attached tags on bottles of cranberry vinegar

Step 5: Attach the tags to the bottles with ribbon. In the photos I used a recycled salad dressing jar and small 4-ounce flip-top bottles. I also used a larger 8-ounce flip-top bottle, but think it would be too large for gifting (but great for keeping for yourself!).

Gift Tags Download

Click here to get the tags delivered straight to your inbox.

Print them on white cardstock with a color printer for the cranberry art to stand out (it would also be fine in black and white).

BONUS: No-Waste Tangy Cranberry Sauce

This is definitely tangier than cranberry sauce that’s not made with vinegar (lol), but we still thought it was really good with poultry!

cooking cranberry mixture for tangy cranberry sauce — Place cranberry solids back into saucepan. Add 1 cup orange juice and 3/4 to 1 cup maple syrup (start with less and taste to see if you’d like more). Bring to a boil and cook 5-8 minutes on low, stirring often.

spoonful of tangy cranberry sauce over bowl — Keep the sauce chunky or use an immersion hand-held blender to smooth it out a bit like I did. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Cranberry Vinaigrette Gift Idea

Cranberry vinegar with olive oil and mustard to make vinaigrette dressing

Cranberry Vinaigrette Gift Basket Option

I think the vinegar alone with the tag makes a nice hostess gift, but if you’d like to up it a bit you can package it with a small bottle of olive oil and a container of Dijon mustard so they’d have the major ingredients to make the vinaigrette salad dressing. Putting the three items in a salad bowl with a tea towel would make a pretty presentation.

Storage

While most vinegars can be kept at room temperature, this vibrant red vinegar will store better if refrigerated. It’s not a safety issue, but a quality issue as the color may start to turn brown and the flavor will lessen at room temperature.

Stored in pantry: 6 months to a year, though quality will suffer.
Stored in refrigerator: 1-2 years, keeping it’s bright color and flavor longer.

I hope you enjoy making this cranberry vinegar and the cranberry vinaigrette – be sure to leave a rating and review so I know how you liked it!

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Homemade Cranberry Vinegar & Cranberry Vinaigrette

Easily make homemade cranberry vinegar with white vinegar and a touch of sugar. Includes printable gift tags with a cranberry vinaigrette recipe and a waste-not cranberry sauce option.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Cooling time30

Total Time50

Yield: cups

Author: Jami Boys

Equipment

3 quart saucepan
medium colander
4 cup glass measuring cup or large bowl

Click for Cook Mode

Ingredients

Cranberry Vineagar

12 ounces cranberries (1 bag) fresh or frozen
4 cups white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Cranberry Vinaigrette

3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup cranberry vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, optional

Instructions

Make the Vinegar

Combine all of the ingredients in a 3-quart saucepan and bring to boiling over medium-high heat (about 8-10 minutes). Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often, at a boil while berries pop and split (partially cover pan if needed). Remove from heat and crush more berries with the back of the spoon a bit more as needed.
Line a medium size colander with paper towels or cheesecloth (or use a fine sieve, but you may get a cloudy vinegar). Slowly pour about half of the cranberry mixture into the lined colander and let it drain. Pour the rest through and let it drain. You can gently press with the back of a spoon, but not too much. Let the vinegar cool.

Tangy Cranberry Sauce

While the vinegar is cooling, you can make the optional Tangy Cranberry Sauce with the solids (or you can discard them). To make the sauce, dump the solids back into the saucepan and add 1 cup orange juice and 3/4 to 1 cup maple syrup (start with less and taste to see if you'd like more). OPTION: Add one jalapeño, diced. Bring to a boil and cook 5-8 minutes on low, stirring often, tasting for sweetness. Keep chunky or blend with an immersion hand-held blender to desired consistency. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Bottle The Vinegar

Using a funnel, pour the cooled vinegar into 4 to 8-ounce bottles (I used recycled salad dressing jars and small 4-ounce flip-top bottles). Download, print, and attach the tags to the bottles with ribbon.

Cranberry Vinaigrette Recipe

Combine all the ingredients in a 12-ounce or pint jar. Shake well before use. You can store it in the pantry if you use only powdered garlic, otherwise store it in the refrigerator.

Notes

Vinegar Storage:

Stored in pantry: 6 months to a year, though quality (color and flavor) will suffer.
Stored in refrigerator: 1-2 years, keeping it’s bright color and flavor longer.

Ways to Use Cranberry Vinegar:

Quick Onion Pickle: Thinly slice onions and add to a small bowl. Cover with cranberry vinegar and let sit 10 minutes. Use on tacos, rice bowls, sandwiches, and wraps.
Cranberry Walnut Slaw: Combine shredded cabbage with onions, dried cranberries, and walnuts – toss with the cranberry vinaigrette.
Meat Marinade: Mix 1/4 cup cranberry vinegar with 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 3 minced garlic cloves in a bowl. Add chicken or pork, toss and cover. Marinate in the fridge for an hour or two.

Nutrition information below is for the Cranberry Vinaigrette Dressing.

Nutrition

Did you make this recipe?Mention @anoregoncottage or tag #anoregoncottage!

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