Honeyed Cranberries With Tahini

Name: Honeyed Cranberries With Tahini
Yield: 3 cups
Ingredients: 1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries; 1 cup honey; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom; Small pinch kosher salt; ½ cup tahini

By Andy Baraghani

Updated November 16, 2025

Bobbi Lin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Media 1 of 1

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes, plus 1 hour cooling
Rating: 5(137)
Comments: Read comments

Cranberries are one of the few fruits that are almost exclusively eaten cooked, and it’s because of their natural pectin: Once the cranberries hit heat with sugar (or in this case, honey), they break down and set up into that familiar jammy sauce. Usually that’s where the story ends but here, ground cardamom sneaks in for some warm spice. And instead of the usual orange zest or clove, the cranberries get finished with a generous drizzle of tahini. The nutty, fatty richness of the tahini softens the fruit’s sharp edge and makes the whole thing taste bigger, rounder and more grownup.

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Ingredients

Yield:3 cups

1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
Small pinch kosher salt
½ cup tahini

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Place the cranberries, honey, lemon juice, cardamom, salt and ¼ cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high.
Step 2
Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until cranberries burst and the mixture is quite juicy, 2 to 5 minutes. Continue to cook, still stirring frequently, until the sauce goes from very runny and juicy to syrupy and jammy, 12 to 15 minutes. (Cranberries can be made up to 5 days ahead. Let them cool, then cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly onto the cranberries, and chill.)
Step 3
Transfer to a serving bowl and let cool for about 1 hour before drizzling tahini on top.

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Ratings

5 out of 5

137 user ratings

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Comments

ButteristhenewSugar7 months ago

So nobody actually made this recipe, they reminisced about their own cranberry sauce recipe and then commented on this one. Thanks?

John7 months ago

Cranberries are almost always cooked in some manner but an old family favorite is fresh cranberries coarsely chopped with orange zest, fresh orange juice and a bit of sugar; then left to cure for a day or so. Lovely, palate refreshing chutney. I get a bit adventurous and finely mince jalapeño peppers and red onion to add some piquance to the mixture.

Aileen7 months ago

I made this today. It’s good! The tahini/cranberry combination is grown up peanut butter and jelly vibes. I accidentally added a little too much honey because I was measuring by weight and got the math wrong but it’s not overly sweet.

Olivia13 days ago

Unbelievably good. I made this as written, no substitutions or modifications, and it turned out perfect. The tahini on top transforms this into something miraculous!

Ferguson6 months ago

My new favorite cranberry sauce because I love cardamom. I liked the tahini but recommend serving it on the side so guests have a choice of adding it or not.

BHH6 months ago

I used 1/3 cup sugar instead of the honey, 1/3 cup water, 12 ounces organic cranberries, and otherwise followed the recipe. It was a hit at my house.

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