Of course, cranberry sauce lasts for a shorter period of time if it is not stored properly. But remember that cranberry sauce, like a lot of other fruits, usually have a best before date and not a use by date or an expiration date. Because of this distinction, you may safely use cranberry sauce to compliment your turkey even after the best before date has lapsed.

How to tell if Cranberry Sauce is bad, rotten or spoiled?

Practicing proper hygiene and food safety techniques will help prevent foodborne illness.

Sight is usually the best way to tell if your cranberry sauce has gone bad. For canned sauce, if the top of the can is rounded and dome shaped instead of flat across, the sauce has most likely gone bad. If you open the can and anything is brown or black, then do not eat the sauce.

There are, of course, certain health risks associated with spoiled foods so always remember to practice food safety and enjoy your foods before their shelf life has expired!

How to store Cranberry Sauce to extend its shelf life?

You can help cranberry sauce stay fresh longer by storing it in the pantry where the temperature is always less than 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once opened, if a can of cranberry sauce has leftovers, be sure to remove it from the can and place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Fresh whole cranberries can be frozen in their original bag for a year but freezing cranberry sauce is not recommended as it will become very watery.

Some benefits of proper food storage include eating healthier, cutting food costs and helping the environment by avoiding waste.

Interesting facts about Cranberry Sauce:

How long is Cranberry Sauce good for when prepared in a dish?

How long does cranberry sauce last? That depends. How long does turkey last? In general, the sauce will last as long as the quickest expiring ingredient in the prepared dish.

What are our shelf life resources?

In determining how long Cranberry Sauce lasts, our content incorporates research from multiple resources, including the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Food & Drug Administration. In addition, we scoured the web for informative articles and reports related to food safety, food storage and the shelf life of Cranberry Sauce.

*An important note about expiration dates...

Although the Cranberry Sauce shelf life information on Eat By Date is generally reliable, please remember that individual cases will vary and that our advice should only be taken as an opinion and not a replacement for your health care professional. Please eat responsibly!