The best cranberry sauce is sweet, tangy, and adds some variety to your holiday plate. We love gravy, stuffing, and green bean casserole as much as the next person, but you need something to offset the saltiness of all those savory sides. Jellied or whole berry—that is the question. Personally, I’m a jellied cranberry sauce gal. There’s nothing like a fat slab of can-shaped tangy goo to awaken the palate when you’re knee deep in a dozen different beige casseroles.
You might assume that most canned cranberry sauce—whether it’s jellied cranberry sauce, whole berry cranberry sauce, or even cranberry relish—is basically the same. But over the course of three separate taste tests, we discovered that there’s a huge variety in flavor and texture. And, I have to say, whole berry cranberry sauce may not be my thing, but I tasted a few that were good enough to convert me. Whether you’re cool with skins and seeds or you want the iconic slimy homogeneity of jellied sauce, or even the piquancy of cranberry relish this is the best cranberry sauce you can buy.
- Amazon Fresh Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
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We didn’t try Amazon Fresh cranberry sauce in our previous taste tests, but their whole berry cranberry sauce is worth seeking out if you like a little texture in your sauce (and you happen to do your grocery shopping via Amazon). It doesn’t have as much tartness as some of the others on this list, Ocean Spray in particular, but it has a really excellent, chunky consistency once you give it a stir. And the sauce doesn’t taste like can! This is the best cranberry sauce to slather on ciabatta for a salty sandwich that needs a little pop of sweetness—and I’m not just talking about a leftovers sandwich. Normalize eating cranberry sauce on your sandwiches all year long!
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Great Value Jellied Cranberry Sauce
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This cranberry sauce from Walmart lacks some of the punchy tartness we loved in the higher-ranking sauces on this list, but it still tastes really good. If you want a cranberry sauce that’s basically like a dinnertime dessert, this is the best cranberry sauce out there. It’s super sweet, but not nauseatingly sweet, and it still packs plenty of cranberry flavor. As store brands go, this is the best jellied cranberry sauce.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Walmart
- Sprouts Organic Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
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If the slimy nature of jellied cranberry sauce is too freaky for you, give this whole berry sauce from Sprouts a shot. Some of the whole berry sauces we tried were positively packed with seeds. Yes, the seeds add texture, but they also wind up getting stuck in your teeth and staying there until Christmas. This sauce has chunks, but isn’t overly seedy. Basically, it offers texture without any unpleasantness, and it tastes good, too—tart and fresh and festive. I also think this is the best canned cranberry sauce if you want something that will look nice on a holiday table. I’ll be the first to admit that can-shaped cranberry sauce isn’t the classiest thing to have on the table when you’re having company.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Harry & David Country Cranberry Relish
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This cranberry relish from Harry & David scored high marks in our second taste test because it’s just so interesting. Initially, I wasn’t totally certain what the difference is between whole berry cranberry sauce and cranberry relish. And, honestly, after tasting a couple of other brands of cranberry relish, I wasn’t any closer to understanding. That’s what makes Harry & David the best cranberry relish—it’s definitely different from cranberry sauce. It’s very much its own thing. It’s made with walnuts, and the nuts give it excellent texture and a nutty flavor that really works well with the lovely halved cranberries and orange zest in the mix. It’s very sweet—if you want straight-up tartness from cranberry sauce, there are better options on this list. But this is unique and it’s going to be absolutely outstanding on your leftovers sandwiches. It’s a little pricier than the canned cranberry sauce on this list, but it doubles as a really nice gift for whomever is hosting Thanksgiving this year.
Credit: Liv Averett / Harry & David
- Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce
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Ocean Spray is the king of cranberries and, perhaps predictably, the brand’s jellied cranberry sauce is the best jellied cranberry sauce we tried: It’s tart, full of bold cranberry flavor, and it doesn’t have that unpleasant tinny aftertaste we detected in some of the canned cranberry sauces we tried. Having tried Ocean Spray’s jellied cranberry sauce alongside multiple store brands, I have to say, this is a situation in which buying the name brand is the way to go. It just has so, so much more cranberry flavor. “This feels like it has depth,” one taste tester remarked. Sadly, the same can’t be said for Ocean Spray’s whole berry sauce. The cranberry flavor was just so much more concentrated in the jellied variety—the brand’s whole berry didn’t even make it onto our list! If jellied cranberry sauce is your jam, this is by far the best cranberry sauce for your Thanksgiving spread.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Walmart
Best Whole Berry (Runner Up)
Best Sweet
Best Texture
Best Cranberry Relish
Best Jellied
