Make this Cranberry Pie for your holiday celebrations! It's very easy and very festive. Perfect served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
This pie will be beautiful on your holiday table, next to the Pecan Pie or No-Bake Pumpkin Pie. It's the perfect sweet ending to any Thanksgiving or Christmas feast!
Every year, as soon cranberries show up in our grocery store, I stock up. I adore these gorgeous ruby berries! They are not only healthy but can be used to make one delicious jam to enjoy on a bagel on a snowy winter morning. This year, I will also be turning them into a delicious tarty-sweet filling for this gorgeous pie. It's very simple to make, especially if you use a store-bought pie crust as I did. You can also make a graham cracker crust. If you have more fresh cranberries on hand after making the sauce and this pie, you can also turn them into a jam or relish.
Ingredients:
- cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- granulated sugar
- orange juice from 1 orange
- orange zest from 1 orange
- spices: ground ginger and cloves
- vanilla extract
- cornstarch
- pie crust
How to make Cranberry Pie?
- Start by cooking cranberries, sugar, spices, and orange juice in a saucepan until bubbly and almost all berries burst.
- Add cornstarch slurry and vanilla and stir into the hot filling. Set is aside to cool.
- Bake the bottom crust in a pie plate for 6 to 7 minutes. I like to do that to prevent a soggy, underbaked crust.
- Add filling and any decorative top crust elements (made a braid along the edge).
- Mix egg with milk and brush the crust edges, if desired.
- Cover any edge of the crust that was prebaked, with aluminum foil.
- Bake pie until the top crust is golden.
- Cool before slicing.
Can I make it ahead of time?
You can prepare the filling up to 1 week ahead. Bake the pie up to 1 day in advance. If you refrigerate the pie for longer, the crust won't be as fresh.
How to serve Cranberry Pie?
Since the berries are on the tart side, I highly suggest whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Best tips:
- the filling: make it ahead of time and taste it to ensure the sweetness level is to your liking. Add up to 1/4 cup of sugar, if needed. Simply stir it in and let the filling cool completely.
- the crust: I use store-bought crust but if you have a homemade recipe, make it ahead of time and chill in the fridge.
- berries: you can add raspberries, blueberries or even blackberries to the filling.
- small pies: this recipe can be turned into small, individual pies. Cut the crust into circles and bake the pies in a small pie pan or muffin tin.
More holiday desserts:
- Best Apple Crumb Cake
- Pecan Pie
- The Best Muddy Buddies
- Reindeer Chow
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Babka
For more recipes like this one, feel free to browse our Dessert category.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment!
Cranberry Pie
Ingredients
- 5 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon orange zest from 1 orange
- ¼ cup orange juice from 1 orange
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 pie crust see notes
- 1 small egg beaten with a splash of milk, optional
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, cook cranberries, sugar, spices and orange juice, until bubbly and almost all berries burst. Stir often.
- Mix cornstarch with water.
- Add cornstarch slurry and vanilla and stir into the hot filling. Set is aside to cool. The filling should be very thick.
- Taste the filling and add more sugar if needed.
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Roll out the pie crust and line the bottom of a 9" pie plate.
- Bake the bottom crust for 6 to 7 minutes. I like to do that to prevent a soggy, underbaked crust.
- Spread the filling over the crust and add any decorative top crust elements (I made a braid along the edge).
- Mix egg with milk and brush the crust edges.
- Cover any edge of the crust that was prebaked, with aluminum foil.
- Bake pie for 15 to 18 minutes or until the top crust is golden.
- Cool pie before slicing.
Notes
- You can prepare the filling up to 1 week ahead. Bake the pie up to 1 day in advance. If you refrigerate the pie for longer, the crust won’t be as fresh.
- Brushing the crust edges with egg will make for a prettier, deep golden brown look. It is not necessary.
- You can add raspberries, blueberries or even blackberries to the filling.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
Diana says
Normally I don't modify a recipe but I didn't have an orange so I used orange juice in place of a fresh orange and lemon zest in place of orange zest, also added a splash of almond extract. Decided to add a bit of streusel topping. OMG it was so good especially when served slightly warm. Also , forgot to do the cornstarch and water. No worries, not needed, set up perfectly!
Anna says
Hi Diana! Thank you for trying my recipe! I am so glad you adapted it to the ingredients you had on hand. The streusel topping idea sounds absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Natasha says
The best cranberry pie I have ever had. The filling was perfect. My kids love it with ice cream and I love it with whipping cream!
Trang says
I cannot believe this was easily put together and baked under an hour! The ingredients were so simple too so this is definitely not a complex dessert recipe for Thanksgiving!
Beth says
My husband and daughter love this recipe! It is so delicious and yummy!