Cranberry Juice Drink (Printable version)

A tangy cranberry citrus drink, lightly sweetened and perfect served chilled with fresh garnish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Fruit

01 - 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
02 - 1 medium orange, juiced (about 1/3 cup)

→ Sweetener

03 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
04 - 2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup (optional)

→ Liquids

05 - 4 cups water
06 - Ice cubes, to serve

→ Garnish

07 - Fresh mint leaves (optional)
08 - Orange slices (optional)

# How to Prepare:

01 - In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, and 2 cups of water.
02 - Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until cranberries burst and soften.
03 - Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
04 - Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large pitcher, pressing the cranberries to extract juice; discard solids.
05 - Add remaining 2 cups of water and orange juice to the pitcher; stir to combine.
06 - Taste and add honey or agave syrup if more sweetness is desired.
07 - Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or serve immediately over ice.
08 - Add fresh mint leaves and orange slices if desired.

# Expert advice:

01 -
  • It's genuinely simple—just cranberries, a touch of sweetness, and citrus magic, made in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
  • The tartness paired with orange creates this perfect balance that tastes like you've spent hours perfecting it, but you haven't.
  • You control every bit of sweetness, so it's refreshing rather than cloying, and your guests will actually feel the real fruit in every sip.
02 -
  • The tartness of your cranberries will vary—frozen ones from different sources taste different, and some batches of fresh ones are more sour than others. This is why tasting before you chill is essential. You're not following a recipe blindly; you're cooking with your senses.
  • Don't skip the straining step even though it feels like extra work. Pulpy juice tastes different—cloudier, heavier. Clear cranberry juice is what makes this special, and you achieve that by pressing gently, not aggressively.
03 -
  • Make a bigger batch and freeze it in ice cube trays—you'll have instant cranberry juice whenever you want it, perfect for mixing into water on hot days or using in recipes.
  • Don't throw away those strained cranberries. They're softened, they're still flavorful, and they work beautifully folded into yogurt or oatmeal or even stirred into vanilla ice cream.

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