We stopped tossing out the leftover cranberry sauce the moment we realized we could turn it into something way better the day after Thanksgiving – and use it on every leftover turkey sandwich we make for the next week (or even the base for an epic chicken – er turkey – salad.
Sure, you could just pulse some cranberries into mayo or you could give it a little extra umph and made a series condiment the family will lose their minds over. Start by roasting the garlic right in the oil that becomes the aioli, and the flavor lands twice. We first folded cranberry into aioli for a Black Friday turkey burger way back in 2016, and it’s been too good to keep tucked inside another recipe. Make it with whatever cranberry sauce is creeping in the back of the fridge and thank us later.
🔪 Ingredients for Cranberry Aioli
Want the garlic without the cranberry? Our roasted garlic aioli roasts the whole head in foil and keeps the base lemony. This one slow-roasts peeled cloves in the oil itself, then folds in cranberry sauce for a sweet-tart finish. Never made an emulsion before? Start with how to make aioli, or browse the rest of our aioli collection.
For the roasted garlic
- Garlic: one whole head, cloves separated and peeled. Pre-peeled cloves from the produce section skip the peeling.
- Avocado oil or other neutral oil: carries most of the emulsion. Olive oil can turn bitter when a food processor works it hard, so the neutral oil does the heavy lifting.
- Olive oil: the smaller share, for fruity flavor without the bitterness.
For the aioli
- Large egg yolks: use pasteurized yolks if you’re serving anyone pregnant, very young, elderly or immunocompromised.
- Dijon mustard: flavor, and it helps the emulsion hold.
- Red wine vinegar: goes in with the yolks at the start, with more to taste at the end.
- Kosher salt
- Whole-berry cranberry sauce: leftover homemade or canned. Whole-berry is what gives you visible chunks of fruit.
- Black pepper
Equipment
- Small oven-safe dish: small and deep enough that the oil covers every clove.
- Food processor: keeps running while you drizzle the oil in.
- Slotted spoon: lifts the cloves out and leaves the oil behind.
- Airtight container: for the fridge.
📝 How to Make Cranberry Aioli
- Heat the oven to 200°F. Put the peeled garlic cloves and both oils in a small oven-safe dish. The cloves should be fully submerged.
- Roast for 2 hours, until the cloves are pale gold and soft enough to smash with a spoon.
- Cool the dish completely, all the way to room temperature. Warm oil will break the emulsion, so the dish should feel cool to the touch before you go on.
- Lift the cloves out with a slotted spoon and add them to the food processor with the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar, and salt. Process until smooth, with no visible pieces of garlic.
- With the motor running, drizzle in the cooled oil a few drops at a time. Once the mixture thickens and turns pale, pour in a thin, steady stream until all the oil is in, and the aioli is thick enough to hold a ridge.
- Add the cranberry sauce and pulse 2 or 3 times, just until it streaks through and leaves visible chunks.
- Season with pepper, then taste and add more salt or a splash more vinegar if it needs it. Refrigerate in a sealed container and use within 4 days.
Tested in Our Kitchen
No drizzle spout? Some small processors only run with the lid locked, and a big one’s blade can sit too high for a small batch. Whisking by hand works too. Add the oil slowly and keep whisking.
🔄 Substitutions
- Pasteurized egg yolks for regular yolks: same amount, same method, and safe for anyone who shouldn’t eat raw egg.
- Grapeseed or canola oil for the avocado oil: any neutral oil works the same way.
- Store-bought mayo for the from-scratch base: stir ½ cup mayo with 4 mashed roasted garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons whole-berry cranberry sauce and a pinch of salt. It’s the version we use on a busy slider night.
- Canned cranberry sauce for homemade: stick with whole-berry so you still get the chunks.
💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- Pick the dish for the oil, not the garlic. The cloves have to sit fully submerged, so a small, deep ramekin works better than a wide baking dish.
- Cool means room temperature. Warm oil breaks the emulsion. Give the dish real time on the counter before any of that oil goes near the yolks.
- Drops first, then a stream. The aioli tells you when to speed up. Once it thickens and turns pale, the emulsion has caught, and you can pour in a thin, steady stream.
- Pulse the cranberry, don’t blend it. Two or three pulses will streak it through and leave chunks of berry in every spoonful.
🍽️ What to Serve with Cranberry Aioli
🧊 Leftovers and Storage
- Fridge: keep it cold in a sealed container and use it within 4 days. Give it a stir before you spread it.
- On the table: back in the fridge within 2 hours.
- Freezer: skip it. Aioli splits when it thaws.
- More cranberry sauce to use up? Dig through our leftover recipes and the rest of our sauces and condiments.
Your leftover cranberry sauce just got promoted. Whip it into roasted garlic aioli and spread it on every turkey sandwich, slider and burger between now and Monday.
Prevent your screen from going to sleep
Blend the Base
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Lift the cloves out. Add them to a food processor with the yolks, mustard, vinegar, and salt. Process until smooth.
Emulsify
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With the motor running, drizzle in the cooled oil a few drops at a time at first. Once it thickens and turns pale, pour in a thin steady stream until all the oil is in, and it’s thick enough to hold a ridge.
- Tested in Our Kitchen: No drizzle spout? Some small processors only run with the lid locked, and a big one’s blade can sit too high for a small batch. Whisking by hand works too. Add the oil slowly and keep whisking.
- Garlic roasted in oil has to live in the fridge, and so does the aioli made with it. Keep it in a sealed container and use within 4 days.
- This aioli uses raw egg yolks. Use pasteurized egg yolks if you’re serving anyone pregnant, very young, elderly, or immunocompromised.
- Slider night shortcut: our Leftover Turkey Sliders recipe has a quick version that swaps the homemade emulsion for mayo. Stir ½ cup mayo with 4 mashed roasted garlic cloves, 2 tbsp whole-berry cranberry sauce, and a pinch of salt.
Calories: 99kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.3g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 10.5g | Saturated Fat: 1.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7.4g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 8mg | Sugar: 0.6g
Quick Summary
Cranberry aioli turns leftover cranberry sauce into a garlicky, sweet-tart spread for every turkey sandwich and slider this weekend. Slow-roast peeled garlic in the oil at 200°F for 2 hours, cool it completely so the emulsion holds, and pulse the cranberry in last so it stays chunky.
❓ FAQs
Cranberry aioli is a garlicky homemade mayonnaise with cranberry sauce folded in, so it tastes sweet, tart and savory at once. This version uses garlic slow-roasted in the oil, which keeps it mellow instead of sharp.
Close, but not quite. Traditional aioli is garlic and oil, while mayonnaise is egg yolk and oil. Most American aioli recipes, this one included, are a garlic-loaded mayo built on egg yolks.
Up to 4 days in a sealed container in the fridge. Don’t freeze it, because aioli splits when it thaws.
The two usual causes are oil that’s still warm, and oil added too fast. Cool the garlic oil completely to room temperature, then add a few drops at a time until the mixture thickens and turns pale before you move to a steady stream.
Yes. Stir ½ cup mayo with 4 mashed roasted garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons whole-berry cranberry sauce, and a pinch of salt. It skips the 2-hour roast and still gets you a good slider spread.