Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipe - Cranberry Apple Cobbler (2024)

This cranberry apple cobbler is the perfect dessert made with fresh fruit! A great leftover cranberry sauce recipe after the holidays so nothing is wasted!

If you love fresh apple desserts but are looking for something a bit different, or need a recipe using leftover cranberry sauce I’ve got it! I used what we had left over to make this cranberry apple cobbler and there were NO leftovers of this to be had. (originally published 11/19, affiliate links present)

Leftover Cranberry Cobbler

The other day I made Instant Pot cranberry sauce that came out amazing, but we didn’t finish it all so I just had to use it in some way and came up with this idea using fresh apples we had picked recently.

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We actually picked a massive amount of Fuji apples, 65 lbs. to be exact, so yes I have been apple crazy over here and will be for quite a while. 😉 Lucky y’all!!

Cranberry apple cobbler dessert

You need to start by slicing the apples. I don’t bother with an apple corer, the easy way to get the job done is just make 4 cuts slicing the sides off of the core like you see here….done! Then I sliced them rather thick because I don’t want mushy apples when my dessert is done, the thinner they are the softer they will get.

• Fuji – firm and sweet
• Granny Smith (green) – firm and tart

I prefer fuji but take your pick. I’ll admit that I am a sale girl and if one is way cheaper than another I will choose that, experimenting is fun too. I use this as a day or week after leftover cranberry recipe but of course you could buy fresh and start from scratch.

You will need about 1 1/2 cups of fresh cranberry sauce (leftover is fine but NOT jelly version) to make this, you could half this recipe as well if you wanted.

Leftover Cranberry Recipe

Just toss your freshly sliced apples and leftover cranberry sauce together and then make your cobbler topping. If you have your own topping recipe by all means use that. For the most part you could swap out fruit with any type of crisp, it’s generally just a mixture of oats, brown sugar, flour and butter.

I didn’t think it needed anything on top once it was done but feel free to add a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. You could make this for the holidays too since cranberry anything goes from about Nov.-Dec.!

Cranberry cobbler

If you have never made homemade cranberry sauce you have got to try it this year. It is so easy and to be it is nothing like the canned version. It’s so much better with fresh cranberries cooked down with just a touch of sweetness. Then you can control how sweet or tart it turns out too.

1. Cranberry sauce – Leftover is great, homemade is best, if you must buy it this one is the best
2. Apples – Fuji or Granny Smith are best
3. Brown sugar
4. Flour
5. Butter
6. Cinnamon
7. Oats – Not quick oats, this style
8. 9×13 baking dish
9. Large bowl

Like any cobbler or crisp it is not going to come out in a clean nice square piece. It’s meant to be scooped out and OH HOW GOOD it is!!

I love fresh fruit desserts because they don’t make me feel nearly as guilty. There are very few ingredients in this fruit crisp too which I love, the simpler the better in my book.

Leftover cranberry sauce recipe

If you are using fresh berries you will want to make them into a sauce. You can do this in your IP as explained above or there is a link to one with juice below. For the simplest option you pour your bag + 1 cup brown sugar + 3/4 cup liquid of choice into a pan. Over medium / high heat stirring consistently cook down until they pop.

This will take about 8 minutes or so until the mixture resembles coarse jam of sorts. Allow to cool slightly and then continue on with the rest of the instructions.

1. In a bowl combine apples and cranberries
2. Pour apple mixture into pan
3. In another bowl mix granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, and then blend in butter so everything is well combined
4. Lay this oat mixture over the top of your fruit mixture evenly
5. Bake for about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven until fruit is tender and top is a golden brown.

You can use whatever variety you made the day or two before. Some years I will make cranberry sauce recipe with orange juice that has a bit more citrus in it and that worked great in this dessert as well.

Fruit cobbler recipe

Baking with different types of fruit whether frozen or fresh are the best ever. There is natural sweetness in the berries so you don’t have to add a whole cup of sugar, just a few Tbsp is needed.

• Huckleberry cobbler can be made with fresh fruit, using frozen I’d opt for our Bisquick cobbler recipe.
• Dump peach cobbler is the bomb
• Here are other cranberry recipes for Thanksgiving you’ll love
• This Blueberry cobbler recipe is on our list for the summertime
• Crockpot apple crisp we make year round

Along with this one you can use whole berries if that is what you have, chopped, to make banana cranberry bread.

Our sparkling cranberry sangria mocktail or co*cktail drink is a great pairing during the holidays and our Instant Pot cranberry applesauce is too!

Here’s the printable recipe for cranberry apple cobbler I know you will love. Serve as a sweet side dish next to your turkey or as a dessert after dinner time.

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Before you go I want you to sign up for my free newsletter!! You will get all my new recipes emailed to you a few times a week that will help with meal planning for the week.

Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!

Looking for more easy family recipes and tips? LIKE The Typical Mom Facebook page because we share all our new creations there every single day. And follow me on Pinterest for more inspirations! 😉

***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉