Don't Toss Leftover Cranberry Sauce — Use It To Upgrade Salad Instead

Cranberry sauce is a Thanksgiving and Christmas staple to enjoy alongside turkey or ham. But there's only so many leftover turkey sandwiches you can make before you might be ready to toss any remaining cranberry sauce. Instead of throwing away leftovers, you can use every last spoonful of cranberry sauce to upgrade a salad.

Making a fruity vinaigrette is a flavorful and creative use for leftover cranberry sauce, so that you don't have to waste an ounce of it. The tangy sweetness of cranberry sauce pairs perfectly with the similarly tangy, sweet, and savory profile of a classic vinaigrette. At its most basic, a vinaigrette simply combines olive oil and vinegar, with recipes branching out by using aromatics, herbs, citrus juices, sweeteners, and emulsifiers like mustard or mayonnaise. Since sweet and tart citrus juices like orange and grapefruit are common additions to vinaigrette, cranberry sauce will fit right in. Plus, it'll thicken the dressing to make it extra creamy and decadent.

Since cranberry sauce is generally lumpy due to fresh cranberries bursting as they reduce with sugar, you'll want to blend the sauce for a smoother vinaigrette. Luckily, you can just dump a half a cup of cranberry sauce in with an equal amount of olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of vinegar, some Dijon mustard, and an aromatic like shallots or garlic into a food processor, and blend for a minute or two. You'll be left with a vibrantly pink, sweet and tangy vinaigrette to pour over any number of cold and hot salads.

Cranberry sauce works well with most sweet vinegars like balsamic, apple cider, and red wine vinegar. You could also add a squeeze of orange or some zest to complement the fruitiness of the cranberry sauce. We've compiled a formula (and 5 different variants) for making vinaigrette dressings that you can draw from for more pairing inspiration. For example, instead of Dijon mustard, use a creamier, richer emulsifier like mayonnaise or Greek yogurt. These options will mellow the sweetness and bring a heartier mouthfeel to cranberry vinaigrette. A blend of mustard and mayonnaise will give both a creamy and spicy compliment to the sweetly tangy profile of cranberry sauce and vinegar.

Cranberry vinaigrette will taste delicious when drizzled over all kinds of salad recipes. Since cranberry sauce is a fall treat, you could use the vinaigrette in autumn or winter-themed salads like this hearty kale, chickpea, and dukkah salad. Otherwise, double up on the fruitiness by pouring cranberry vinaigrette over a Tuscan kale and cranberry salad. Cranberry vinaigrette would also taste great over bitter greens like radicchio and arugula with other veggies like radishes, shallots, and cherry tomatoes. You can even drizzle the cranberry dressing over a roasted vegetable salad of beets, carrots, and shredded Brussels sprouts with a sprinkle of feta cheese and toasted almond slivers. Since cranberry sauce is a famous poultry pairing, you could stir in some mayonnaise and use the dressing as a base for your next chicken salad, or use it in place of a classic vinaigrette to dress a Cobb salad.