Cranberry Sangria

Our Easy Cranberry Sangria is good cranberry and cinnamon sangria, suited to Christmas celebrations! Cranberry sangria is bursting with Christmas flavor – with tons of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. It is one of our favorite easy holiday traditions – we love how good the juice and spices smell when simmering, and how crisp and cooling the wine is to sip!

This sangria is solid over ice for a cool Christmas sangria – or you can serve it warm, too! We love to serve this cocktail with a holiday treat – like our gingerbread truffleseasy buckeyes, or German chocolate cookies!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make Cranberry Flavored Sangria

We love wine-based drinks – they are easy to prepare, get better over time, and are great for parties and holiday celebrations. This sangria is pretty simple – you don't need a ton of equipment or a fancy bar kit to make this cocktail.

Cranberry Sangria Ingredients

First assemble the following ingredients:

• Cinnamon Sticks (4) -adds warm, cozy spices and a subtle wood aroma.
• Ground Nutmeg (1 tsp) -brings a nutty fragrant depth that rounds out the tart cranberry.
• Ground Ginger (1 tsp) – adds a bright zest kick and gentle heat.
• Star of Anise pods (3) – imparts a licorice-like sweetness and aromatic complexity.
• Bottle of white wine – provides the base acidity and fruity character that ties all flavors together.
• Cranberry juice (1 cup) – boosts tartness and intensifies the cranberry flavor for a more vibrant taste.
• Apple juice (1 cup) – adds sweetness, fruitiness, and a smoother, mellow finish.
• Fresh cranberries (1 cup) – Adds bursts of tangy flavor and texture as they soften and release their juices.

Our Pro Tip

Spice Mix Tip

You can use Mulling spices instead of the spices listed. Use 1-2 teaspoons of Aspen Mulling Spices, taste, and add more to fit your tastes.

Steps to Make Cranberry Flavored Sangria

Once you have assembled the ingredients, use this method:

Assemble Sangria

In a small pan, bring apple juice and cranberry juice to a boil with cinnamon and spices. Remove from heat immediately and let cool in pan before pouring into pitcher, about 10 minutes.

Kitchen notes

Cranberries. Always use fresh cranberries. If they are not in season you can often find them frozen whole. We buy extra around the Holidays and freeze them.

Citrus. Add lots of citrus for a wonderful brightness and an extra kick. We like adding oranges or blood oranges in particular.

Wine. Go for a dry to semi-sweet wine like a Rioja or Merlot to balance the cranberries tartness.

Sparkle. Add some sparkling water, la croix, or ginger ale when serving for an extra fiz.

Sweeten. You can sweeten this drink with some honey or simple syrup. Don't add any sugar until you have tasted it.

Other Easy Drinks You'll Love

Sangria is one of our favorite things to make during the holidays – it is colorful, fun, festive – and so easy to make!

To find some of our favorite wine drinks, like this good Port and Tonicor Traditional French Vin Chaud (Mulled Wine) Recipeor even our Wine Grilled Cheese.

We love celebrating with some fun, vibrant cocktails – like our Boozy Negroni Gummy Bears RumChata Hot Cocoaor Easy Samoa Martinis – and hope these simple and good cocktails help you get in the mood to celebrate!

If you love this Christmas Sangria recipe, check out more of our favorite easy drinks:

For an etched glass pitcher with lid, click here.

You can find our complete cocktail archive page here.

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Cranberry Sangria FAQ's

Can we make this Sangria ahead of time?

This sangria is designed to be made before a party or dinner – it tastes better if it sits for at least an hour before serving, so the flavor can fully develop.
You can make this sangria up to a day ahead of serving – store in a jar, or pitcher with a lid, in the refrigerator.

Can we make this without Alcohol?

Yes use white grape juice instead of white wine.

Ingredients

• ½ cup whole cranberries
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 4 star of anise pods
• 1 bottle white wine
• 1 cup Seltzer water
• 4 sticks cinnamon

Method

1. Add cranberries and to tall pitcher.
2. In a small pan, bring apple juice and cranberry juice to a boil with cinnamon and spices.
3. Remove from heat immediately and let cool in pan before pouring into pitcher, about 10 minutes.
4. Pour wine and cooled cranberry juice and apple juice over the fruit.
5. Stir to combine.
6. Cover pitcher and refrigerate until chilled, about 1-2 hours.
7. Serve over ice and top with seltzer.