Tart and sweet, Cranberry Mustard Dipping Sauce is perfect for dipping. This sauce goes with everything from chicken to ham to beef as a dipping sauce.
Uses For Cranberry Mustard Dipping Sauce
After the holidays, there are usually a lot of leftover cranberries. We use these cranberries to make this recipe for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day parties and get-togethers.
- Serve this sauce with egg rolls. The first time I made this sauce it was for dipping homemade egg rolls. It was a hit with the family.
- Pour the sauce over a pork tenderloin just before serving. Heat the sauce first and pour it over the meat to add a tangy, sweet flavour to the pork.
- Dipping sauce for appetizers. There are so many appetizers that you can serve this dipping sauce with. Add it to a buffet table along with other sauces for a variety.
- Meatballs. Pour this sauce over pork, turkey, or beef meatballs. It makes a great sauce for the meatballs, especially in a slow cooker where the meat can soak in the cranberry flavour.
- Burgers. This sauce is great for turkey burgers as a topping or to dip the burger in.
- Charcuterie Board. This sauce is perfect to add to a charcuterie board. It pairs well with different meats and cheeses, especially brie.
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Ingredients for Cranberry Mustard Dipping Sauce
To make this sauce completely from scratch you will need all these ingredients.
- Fresh Cranberries. This is the main ingredient and fresh is always our go-to. Canned cranberry sauce can be used. The instructions for using canned cranberries are below.
- Water. This is needed for cooking the cranberries and can be used to thin out the sauce before serving if it becomes too thick.
- Cranberry Juice. Adding juice enhances the cranberry flavour. We use a 100% juice blend, not a cocktail but if you can’t find a 100% juice variety, the cocktail variety can be used, but you may need to adjust the sugar in the recipe.
- Grand Marnier. This is optional, but it does add a touch of citrus flavour. It can be omitted. Orange juice can also be used in its place.
- White Sugar. Cranberries are very tart and without the addition of sugar in this recipe the sauce will be tart. The addition of sugar also helps to thicken the sauce.
- Cinnamon Stick. Cranberries and cinnamon go very well together. I like to use the cinnamon stick to stir the cranberries while they cook. Then put the whole stick in the sauce as it thickens.
- Brown Sugar. The addition of brown sugar adds richness to the sauce.
- Dijon Mustard. The bold flavour and the creaminess of Dijon are a perfect accompaniment to the cranberries in this sauce.
Substitutions for This Recipe
This recipe can easily be made with canned cranberry sauce. I usually make it with leftover homemade cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving or Christmas. See below for instructions on making the sauce with canned cranberries.
The Grand Marnier in the recipe can be replaced with orange juice or completely left out.
Cranberry juice is used to enhance the cranberry flavour, but water can be used in its place.
If you don’t have cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon can be added. Replace the cinnamon stick with ¼ tsp cinnamon.
Making This Dipping Sauce With Canned Cranberries.
If you have leftover cranberry sauce from the holidays, you can use it in this recipe. You can also make this sauce with canned cranberries.
To make it with leftover or canned cranberry sauce, you will only need the cranberry sauce, dijon mustard and brown sugar. Mix them all together to make the sauce. You can thin the sauce with a small amount of cranberry juice or water if it is too thick.
Equipment for Making Cranberry Mustard Dipping Sauce
For this recipe, you will need:
- A medium-sized saucepan to cook the cranberries.
- A spatula to stir and scrape the sides of the pot while cooking.
- A slotted spoon to remove the cranberries from the pan.
- A hand blender. You could use a regular blender, but we prefer a hand blender because it allows better control over how much the sauce is blended.
- A container with a lid to store the sauce in while cooling.
Storing Leftover Sauce
Any leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge in a mason jar or any air-tight container for up to two weeks.
Cranberry Mustard Dipping Sauce can also be canned if you would like to make a large batch. Follow the directions for high-acid food canning. You can find step-by-step directions on Bernardin’s website.
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Cranberry Mustard Dipping Sauce
Equipment
- 1 blender or hand blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cranberry juice
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 Tbsp Grand Marnier, optional
- 3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, add cranberries, water, juice, white sugar, and cinnamon stick.
- Bring to a boil, stirring.
- Allow to boil for 3-4 minutes to soften the cranberries.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the cranberries and set aside.
- Reduce heat and simmer the remaining liquid until reduced by half.
- Remove from heat.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and discard.
- Add cranberries back to the pot.
- Add Grand Marnier if using.
- Blend the mixture with a hand blender on low until smooth.
- Stir in the brown sugar and Dijon, mixing until well combined.
- Pour into a bowl and cover.
- Refrigerate for minimum 2 hours or until completely cooled before serving.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a tbsp or water or cranberry juice to thin it out.
