Vegan sugared cranberries are as delicious as they are beautiful and will make your holiday meal even more festive! These little candied cranberries are coated in sugar to make a colorful and sparkly decoration or simply for snacking.

A pile of sugared cranberries on a white plate.

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Why make sugared cranberries

I first made these sugared cranberries to decorate my cranberry meringue pie. I pulled a few cranberries out of the sauce before they popped and rolled them in some sugar simply as decoration.

My son, who is an adventurous eater, asked if he could have the sugared cranberries that were left over. I thought that they would be super sour and that he was crazy. He loved them and begged me to try one. I was shocked, they were delicious! The sugar on the outside counteracts the tartness, plus they pop when you bite them and have a cool texture!

These were so fun to make and surprisingly delicious!

—Meg

These sugared cranberries are sure to be a holiday staple in my house from now on!

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Cranberries – you want fresh whole cranberries from the produce department, not dried cranberries.
  • Water – (or orange juice.) I like the extra flavor that orange juice brings to the cranberries, but you can easily just use water. Water will give you whiter cranberries.
  • Sugar – I like to use organic cane sugar since it’s vegan and because it has larger grains and sparkles more than granulated white sugar. You can use any type of granulated sugar that you want. (You will need to add sugar to the water or orange juice, and use more for rolling the cranberries in.)
Sugared cranberries on a white plate.

Helpful tools

Colander – for draining the cranberries from the syrup. You can also use a slotted spoon.

How to make sugared cranberries

Step 1 – To create a light syrup, heat water (or orange juice) and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved completely and comes to a boil.

Step 2 – Turn off the heat, add the cranberries, and stir them around in the hot sugar syrup until they are coated well.

Step 3 – Drain the syrup off of the berries. (Place a bowl under the colander to save the syrup for other uses if desired.)

Cranberries in a metal strainer to drip off syrup before rolling in sugar.
Drain the sugar water off of the cranberries.
Dropping cranberries onto a plate of sugar to make sugared cranberries.
Roll the wet cranberries in granulated sugar.

Step 4 – Pour 1/3 cup of sugar onto a plate. Scoop out the sticky berries and sprinkle them in the sugar. Shake the plate so that the berries roll around and get coated in sugar.

Step 5 – Place on another plate to dry completely.

Pro Tips

  • Don’t cook the cranberries in the liquid, you just want to let them get well coated in the syrup and get sticky.
  • Allow the syrup to drip off of the cranberries before rolling them in the sugar.

How to use sugared cranberries?

Eat them as a snack or use them as an edible decoration for the following…

Storage

Store your candied cranberries on a plate on the countertop with a tea towel over them. This will keep them dry and sparkly.

How long do they keep?

These sugared cranberries will keep for 2-3 days on the countertop. After a few days, they will start to weep and they will get soggy.

Jellied cranberry sauce cut into slices on a plate with sugared cranberries on the side.

More vegan holiday recipes

Sugared cranberries recipe

A pile of sugared cranberries on a white plate.
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5 from 3 rating

Sugared Cranberries

Yield: 8
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 1 minute
Total: 6 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
Fresh cranberries coated in sparkling sugar for decoration and snacking.
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Ingredients

  • 1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 cup water, or orange juice
  • 1/2 cup sugar, (for the syrup)
  • 1/3 cup sugar, (for rolling the cranberries into)

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Heat water (or orange juice) and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved completely and it comes to a boil.
  • Turn off the heat, add the cranberries, and stir them around in the hot syrup until they are coated well.
  • Drain the syrup off of the berries. (Place a bowl under the colander to save the syrup for other uses if desired.)
  • Pour 1/3 cup of sugar onto a plate. Scoop out the sticky berries and sprinkle them in the sugar. Shake the plate so that the berries roll around and get coated in sugar.
  • Place on another plate to dry completely.

Notes

  • Don’t cook the cranberries in the liquid, you just want to let them get well coated in the syrup and get sticky.
  • Allow the syrup to drip off of the cranberries before rolling them in the sugar.
Serving: 0.25cup, Calories: 44kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1mg, Potassium: 21mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 15IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 3mg, Iron: 1mg
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