Cranberry Orange Curd

Cranberry orange curd is perfect for the holidays! It’s easy to make and a delicious topping for pancakes, swirled into yogurt or oatmeal, or you can use even use it as a filling for a tart!

This recipe and photos have been updated since the original post on 11/21/2013

If you have a bag of cranberries in your freezer leftover from Thanksgiving, I have the perfect way to use them! Make this perfectly sweet and creamy cranberry orange curd. 

If you’ve ever made lemon curd you’re aware of how sweet, tart, and luscious it is and how there are so many ways to use it. I love to use it in these lemon curd and vanilla cheesecake parfaits. It’s perfect for spring and summer!

When it comes to fall and winter, cranberry orange curd is where it’s at. It’s amazing to serve with dessert, breakfast, and is a wonderful hostess gift to share at the holidays. Be sure to check out my list of ways you can use cranberry orange curd below.

What Is Cranberry Orange Curd?

Cranberry orange curd is a variation of a fruit curd, which is most commonly found and used in England. The condiment is usually made with some type of fruit such as citrus, berries, mango, or passionfruit. 

It uses the zest and fruit juice, which is then combined with sugar, eggs, and butter. The curd is cooked until it thickens and then cooled. It’s used as a spread for bread, biscuits, scones, muffins, pancakes. It can also be used in desserts or mixed with yogurt.

Ingredients For Cranberry Orange Curd

• fresh or frozen cranberries
• orange
• granulated sugar
• dark brown sugar
• ground cinnamon
• eggs
• unsalted butter
• vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

How To Make Cranberry Orange Curd

Making this cranberry orange curd is similar to how you make any type of curd, with the exception being, you’ll need to blend the cranberries after they cook and strain the curd.

The first step to making this cranberry orange curd is to basically make cranberry sauce. Add the cranberries, orange zest and juice, water, sugars, salt, and cinnamon to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 8 minutes or until the cranberries pop and are soft.

Add the cranberry sauce to a food processor or blender and blend it until it’s smooth. Reserve a 1/2 cup of the sauce and add the remaining cranberry sauce to a saucepan over low heat. 

In a bowl whisk together the eggs. Slowly pour in the reserved 1/2 cup of cranberry sauce whisking the entire time. Doing this will warm or temper the eggs so that they don’t curdle when you add them in with the cranberry sauce in the saucepan.

Pour the cranberry egg mixture into the saucepan whisking the entire time. Continue to whisk the curd until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.  

Strain the curd into a sterile jar or jars and screw on the lid. Let it cool on the counter before storing it in the refrigerator. 

Way To Serve Cranberry Orange Curd

• On top of vanilla ice cream
• As a dip for gingersnap cookies or even these cinnamon spritz cookies
• Swirled into plain Greek yogurt
• On top of toast, biscuits, or pancakes
• As a spread for muffins instead of using butter
• Swirled into oatmeal

How Long Will Cranberry Orange Curd Keep?

Cranberry orange curd will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze the curd in an airtight container for up to a year. To defrost, remove it from the freezer and let it defrost in the refrigerator.

More Cranberry Recipes

• Cranberry Orange Muffins
• Cranberry Orange Yogurt Cake
• Cranberry Maple Pecan Baked Oatmeal
• Bourbon Orange Cranberry Sauce
• Cranberry Apple French Toast Casserole