Don't let your leftover cranberry sauce go to waste; turn your favorite Thanksgiving condiment into a festive margarita or mocktail that's a fun drink for the holidays. This super easy recipe can even be made from frozen cranberry sauce for a Christmas cocktail.
Wasting leftovers is a crime in my book, but sometimes I am at a loss for what to do with certain things.
Take cranberry sauce for example. What do you do with the leftovers?
Let's be honest, I didn't really even start liking cranberry sauce until a few years ago, so I have only had a few years to experiment with leftover cranberry sauce.
Usually it's used to top my pancakes, but this year I wanted to come up with something more creative.
I found a recipe for a cranberry margarita using leftover cranberry sauce from Delish that seemed like a fabulous idea.
I ended up forgetting what ingredients they used and based my recipe on how I typically make margaritas with tequila and orange liqueur or triple sec.
I also had some oranges from making the cranberry sauce, so I used that as my citrus instead of limes.
Since my niece was helping me film the video, we decided to also make a mocktail version.
And that's it. You can make these for Thanksgiving dinner, post-Thanksgiving, or anytime over the holidays. Or go rogue and make them whenever you see cranberries in the store.
Your cranberry sauce won't go to waste because I have another leftover cranberry sauce idea coming your way soon!
Cranberry Margarita
Ingredients
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup cranberry sauce
- 2 ounces tequila
- 1 ounce orange liqueur or triple sec
- 1-2 cups ice plus more for serving
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.
- Strain into a glass filled with ice.
Cranberry Mocktail
Ingredients
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup cranberry sauce
- 1 cup ice
- 8 ounces sparkling water or club soda
Instructions
- Stir together orange juice and cranberry sauce. Add in ice. Top with sparkling water.
Meme
Natalie
I always have leftover cranberry sauce and don't know what to do with it. Fantastic solution!
Lindsey
This preggo thanks you for the mocktail version! So pretty, festive, and tasty!
Holly Pelton
Because sadly Im not 21 yet I had the mock tail version and ... IT WAS SO DELICOUS!!
Liz Shaw
I'll be honest- I'm not sure if there will ever be leftover cranberry sauce at our thanksgiving- I'll have to sneak some away and try this delicious recipe!
Lorie
Well this is just genius. These will be showing up at our Turkey Day festivities!
Tawnie Kroll
Genius!! Pinning to make this for Thanksgiving!
Emily Kyle
How perfect is it to find this recipe the day after Thanksgiving!? I know what I will be making tonight, cheers!
Boyd Kobe
That sounds like a delicious drink! Definitely, want to give this a try.