Easy Cranberry Salad Dressing with Homemade Sauce

Repurpose leftover cranberry sauce to make this deliciously creamy cranberry salad dressing. With only 4-5 ingredients, this homemade salad dressing recipe takes just a few minutes to make.

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Sweet and tangy cranberry sauce, combined with a few simple ingredients, can become a surprisingly tasty salad dressing in just a few minutes! So if you have leftover cranberry sauce, here is a way to make it into a whole new delicious condiment. You might even make cranberry sauce just for the leftovers…

Though very easy and quick to make, this dressing is rich and a bit decadent– you could just as well serve it for a special occasion as for an ordinary Tuesday dinner!

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Things to love about this dressing

• uses up leftover cranberry sauce
• quick and easy
• just a few, simple ingredients
• no nasty vegetable oils or other weird ingredients– just real food
• adaptable to taste and special diets (see the end for substitutions)
• you can make it with no refined sugar if you want– try this cranberry sauce with orange, apple, and honey OR this one with raspberry and pineapple and no refined sugar
• festive fall/winter flavor
• something different from the same old salad dressings
• so much flavor!

How to Make Creamy Cranberry Salad Dressing

If you have leftover cranberry sauce, you are minutes away from this dressing. If you haven’t made cranberry sauce before, it is easy to do! You need to allow some time for it to chill.

Try one of my recipes, which contain no refined sugar!

• cranberry sauce with optional orange
• cranberry sauce with raspberry and pineapple
• fermented cranberry sauce

Do I have to make the cranberry sauce?

Nope. Buy some if you want!

You basically just need to combine the cranberry sauce with the other ingredients and whiz them up with an immersion blender, or in a regular blender or food processor. Besides the cranberry sauce, you need sour cream, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Maybe a little honey if it is too sour for you. (Keep reading for substitutions, including dairy free.)

It will work just fine to do this in a blender or food processor. I like to use my immersion blender. There is less to clean that way, and the dressing is made right in the jar, which makes the whole project really quick! My immersion blender is old and low-end, and it works just fine for this recipe.

It is, alas, no longer available. This one is similar to mine, but a little better because the blade part detaches for easier cleaning. Of course, if you have a higher-end model, that will work perfectly for this recipe.

Dump all the ingredients into a wide-mouth mason jar together. Start the immersion blender running near the bottom of the jar, then raise it carefully so the whole mixture blends but doesn’t splash. So easy!

Once your mixture is creamy and smooth, taste it. Now is the time to adjust the texture and taste.

• too thick— add more oil, or even just a tablespoon of water at a time
• too thin— add sour cream
• too sweet— add another tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• too sour— add a tablespoon of honey or other sweetener

How to serve Creamy Cranberry Salad Dressing

Salad dressing seems fairly self-explanatory, but dressings work better with certain ingredients.

Also, because of the olive oil, the dressing will thicken in the refrigerator and be hard to pour. There are two ways to solve this problem, other than simply serving it as soon as it is ready.

1. Take the dressing out 15 minutes or so before serving. The olive oil will quickly return to its usual consistency and the dressing will be pour-able once again.
2. Substitute avocado oil (or another oil that retains its liquid texture in the refrigerator) for the olive oil.

One convenience I love for salad dressing, especially ones I whiz up in mason jars with my immersion blender, is these lids with pour spouts. They fit on the wide mouth mason jar, so I can make the dressing in the jar, then top with the lid. It has a handle and close-able pouring spout that works for serving and storing, and there is minimal cleanup. I have two, and could really use more, I have both in use right now!

Beyond that, I find that this dressing pairs well with salads that include fruit. Pears, apples, oranges, and pomegranate arils all go wonderfully well with cranberry salad dressing. Berries probably would, as well. Nuts, either plain or spiced, are also a win.

I don’t serve spinach salad much, but if you are a spinach salad person, this dressing is robust enough for that.

Another application I have not tried, but intend to, is a winter fruit salad. I suspect this dressing would be different– but good– on a winter fruit salad. Oranges, apples, bananas, pineapple, pomegranate arils– with a creamy cranberry salad dressing. What do you think?

Suggestions for Substitutions

• sub avocado or other oil for the olive oil
• use another vinegar– apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, etc– or leave it out
• use lemon juice or orange juice in place of the vinegar
• use yogurt or kefir in place of sour cream– the consistency may be thinner, so plan accordingly
• for dairy free, try coconut cream or homemade mayonnaise– I make this easy mayo that takes just a couple of minutes
• try different types of cranberry sauce– plain, orange, or ones with other fruits or spices added
• for a vinaigrette, skip the sour cream and increase the olive oil. Play with the quantities to get the texture and flavor you want.
• add something else– a little Dijon mustard, horseradish, cloves, etc.
• for a GAPS-friendly version, use a cranberry sauce without refined sugar (like this or this), GAPS home-cultured 24-hour sour cream, and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
• for an extra probiotic boost, make with fermented cranberry sauce— make that a few days to a week before hand so it is ready when you want the dressing!