
By Becky Hardin
Published Dec 16, 2022

This Christmas Sangria recipe is just perfect for the holiday season! It combines a simple syrup with red wine, juices, fruits, and more. Orange Cranberry Sangria is fresh, fun, and festive, great for parties.

Orange Cranberry Sangria
You all know how much I love sangria. Any flavor, served warm or chilled, it doesn’t matter, I’m always happy with a nice glass of sangria. It’s the perfect cocktail for all occasions, including Christmas!
I’ve made a Holiday Sangria recipe before, but one just isn’t enough. And after making an Orange Cranberry Pork Loin just before Thanksgiving, I realized it was such a festive flavor combination! So mix all those ideas together and I came up with this beautiful Orange Cranberry Sangria for the holiday season.
This is the best Christmas Sangria recipe and it tastes absolutely delicious. It’s a chilled sangria which makes it extra refreshing and perfect for parties. Serve it at your holiday parties, on Christmas Eve, or on Christmas Day.
Why You’ll Love this Christmas Sangria Recipe:
- Easy: Sangria is such an easy drink to make. Whip up a quick simple syrup, then mix everything together and serve.
- Festive: Cranberries are the perfect fruit to celebrate the holiday season, and they’re featured heavily in the flavor of this cocktail.
- Party Drink: A pitcher of this sangria serves 8, and you can easily make more for larger gatherings.
Orange Cranberry Sangria is a tasty cocktail that’s perfect for the holidays. Make this your go-to Christmas sangria recipe and enjoy!

Festive Christmas Sangria Recipe
With Christmas just around the corner, I knew it was time for another holiday cocktail! My favorite holiday punch is a mix of cranberry and orange juice, and that combination translates perfectly to this Christmas sangria recipe. It’s flavorful, it’s festive, and it’s so much fun!

Cranberry Sangria Ingredients
- Red Wine : Use Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or your favorite dry red.
- Cointreau
- Cranberry Juice
- Orange Cranberry Simple Syrup: I’ll show you how to make this in the recipe card, and you can save extra for other drinks and cocktails.
- Lemon Juice
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Orange Slices
- Cranberries: Fresh or frozen cranberries both work.

This cranberry sangria is so simple to make. We start by making an orange cranberry simple syrup, then just mix that in with the other ingredients and let the sangria chill. Pour it over ice and it’s ready to serve!
How to Make Christmas Sangria
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
To make the simple syrup:
- Combine water, sugar, cranberries, orange zest, and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer until the cranberries soften (about 5-7 minutes).
- Pour the syrup mixture through a fine mesh strainer to separate the liquid from the solid ingredients.
- Set the syrup aside to cool.
To make the sangria:
- Mix the simple syrup, red wine, cranberry juice, Cointreau, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, orange slices, and cranberries in a pitcher. Stir well.
- Refrigerate the Christmas sangria until ready to serve.
Super easy to make and so delicious! This sangria will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days, so you can easily store your leftovers or make it a bit ahead of time.

At its most basic, sangria is red wine mixed with chopped (often spiced) fruits. But recipes will typically contain other liquors and sprits as well, in addition to spices, fruits, or juices.
I recommend using a dry red wine since the other ingredients will really sweeten things up. Cabernet, Pinot noir, or Merlot would all work fine.
Yes! Mix and refrigerate all ingredients, and it will keep in the fridge up to 3 days.
Yes, you can use fresh or frozen cranberries to make this recipe.

There is never a bad time for this fruity cocktail, so of course I have a sangria recipe for every season . Any holiday, any party, any season, any reason, I’ve got the perfect recipe for you. After you try out this Orange Cranberry Sangria, start testing out some of my other favorites!
- Sweet Tea Sangria
- Red Sangria
- Grapefruit Vodka Sangria
- Pink Champagne Sangria
- Apple Pie Sangria
- Honey Bourbon Fall Sangria

Try this delicious Christmas Sangria this holiday season and let me know what you think of it! I’m sure the orange cranberry flavor will impress anyone who tries it.
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe .
Ingredients1x2x3x
For the Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup:
- ▢ 1 cup water
- ▢ ½ cup sugar
- ▢ 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- ▢ Zest from 1 medium orange
- ▢ 2 cinnamon sticks halved
For the Cranberry Orange Sangria:
- ▢ Reserved Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup about 1 cup
- ▢ 1 750ml bottle red wine (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or a Red Blend)
- ▢ ¾ cup Cointreau
- ▢ 32 ounces 100% cranberry juice
- ▢ Juice from ½ lemon
- ▢ 3 cinnamon sticks plus extra for serving
- ▢ 2 oranges sliced plus extra for serving
- ▢ 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries plus extra for serving
Video
Instructions
For the Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup:
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine water, sugar, cranberries, orange zest and cinnamon sticks. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer until the cranberries have burst and have softened, about 5-7 minutes. Pour the syrup over a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium mixing bowl and discard. Set the syrup aside until cooled. 1 cup water, ½ cup sugar, 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, Zest from 1 medium orange, 2 cinnamon sticks
For the Cranberry Orange Sangria:
- In a gallon container, pour the cooled simple syrup, red wine, Cointreau, cranberry juice, juice from ½ lemon, cinnamon sticks, orange slices and cranberries. Stir well. Reserved Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup, 1 750ml bottle red wine (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or a Red Blend), ¾ cup Cointreau, 32 ounces 100% cranberry juice, Juice from ½ lemon, 3 cinnamon sticks plus extra for serving, 2 oranges, 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries plus extra for serving
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, pour sangria in an ice-filled glass. Add an orange slice, cranberries and a cinnamon stick, if desired.
- Cranberry Orange Sangria will keep up to 3 days refrigerated.
- Enjoy!
Becky’s Tips
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Christmas Sangria (Orange Cranberry Sangria)
Ingredients
For the Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup:
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- Zest from 1 medium orange
- 2 cinnamon sticks halved
For the Cranberry Orange Sangria:
- Reserved Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup about 1 cup
- 1 750ml bottle red wine (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or a Red Blend)
- ¾ cup Cointreau
- 32 ounces 100% cranberry juice
- Juice from ½ lemon
- 3 cinnamon sticks plus extra for serving
- 2 oranges sliced plus extra for serving
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries plus extra for serving
Instructions
For the Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup:
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine water, sugar, cranberries, orange zest and cinnamon sticks. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer until the cranberries have burst and have softened, about 5-7 minutes. Pour the syrup over a fine-mesh strainer set over a medium mixing bowl and discard. Set the syrup aside until cooled. 1 cup water, ½ cup sugar, 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, Zest from 1 medium orange, 2 cinnamon sticks
For the Cranberry Orange Sangria:
- In a gallon container, pour the cooled simple syrup, red wine, Cointreau, cranberry juice, juice from ½ lemon, cinnamon sticks, orange slices and cranberries. Stir well. Reserved Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup, 1 750ml bottle red wine (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or a Red Blend), ¾ cup Cointreau, 32 ounces 100% cranberry juice, Juice from ½ lemon, 3 cinnamon sticks plus extra for serving, 2 oranges, 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries plus extra for serving
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, pour sangria in an ice-filled glass. Add an orange slice, cranberries and a cinnamon stick, if desired.
- Cranberry Orange Sangria will keep up to 3 days refrigerated.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition

By Becky Hardin
Published Jul 12, 2017

This Essential Grocery List is an absolute life saver for my family on the busy weeks. When I started this journey to learn how to cook, I quickly realized that the first step in cooking is having staple ingredients on hand. I want to avoid having to run out to the grocery store every single time I prepare a new recipe. Having a well-stocked pantry has made my life in the kitchen so much simpler, because when it’s time to cook, I have what I need.

Essential Grocery List
It’s so helpful to have a basic grocery list to help me remember which foods to buy at the store. This food shopping list is my go-to!
It’s better to stock up on things like grains, seasonings and spices, baking essentials, oils, condiments, canned and frozen foods, etc. so I can just grab them when I need them. These things have a long shelf life , so I keep them in my kitchen for convenience.
However, I do have to go to the supermarket sometimes, and there’s a way to make that trip easy and hassle-free: I keep a grocery list! If I go in blindly, I’ll leave with things I don’t need, and nothing that actually helps me prepare a good meal.
In the list below, I’ve compiled everything I always have on my stock-up grocery list.
I’ve got you covered! I created an easy grocery list filled with all of the essentials. Plus there’s a free printable version that you can take with you to the grocery store. It has everything you need to stock your pantry, your freezer, and your refrigerator.

Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List
What to Buy at the Grocery Store
This is the perfect grocery list filled with all the basics and essentials. It should help get you going if you’re new to cooking, or if you’re just left staring helplessly at an empty pantry and don’t know how to fill it.
When I first started cooking, things could seem overwhelming. I quickly realized that they more prepared I could be, the more confident I felt. If you already have the basics in your kitchen, then you can shop stress-free.
So print out our easy grocery list, stock up your pantry and fridge, and you’ll be cooking in no time!
Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List for the perfectly stocked pantry and freezer!
Fresh Produce
- Apples
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Avocados
- Bell Peppers
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Lemons/Limes
- Onion
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Basil
- Potatoes
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
GRAINS
- Breadcrumbs
- Pasta
- Quinoa
- Rice
- Sandwich Bread
- Tortillas
MEAT/PROTEIN
- Chicken
- Eggs
- Ground Beef
- Sliced Turkey
- Lunch Meat
DAIRY
- Butter
- Sliced Cheese
- Shredded Cheese
- Milk
- Sour Cream
- Greek Yogurt
BAKING GOODS
- Baking powder
- Baking Soda
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Flour
- Honey
- Vanilla Extract
- Dry Yeast
- Chocolate Chips
- Cocoa Powder
- Powdered Sugar
FREEZER
- Fruit and Berries
- Frozen Veggies (Corn, Peas, Broccoli, etc)
- Juice Concentrate
- Pizza or Other Convenience Meals
- Pie Crust
- Cookie Dough
CANNED/DRIED GOODS
- Chicken stock/broth
- Salsa
- Diced Tomatoes
- Jam/Jelly
- Peanut Butter
- Pasta Sauce
- Beans (Black Beans, Chickpeas, Baked Beans, etc)
- Soups
- Tuna
- Green Chiles
- Canned Veggies
- Coffee or Tea
Get more details on the best non-perishable and pantry foods
CONDIMENTS/SPICES
- Black Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Cinnamon
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Cumin
- Garlic Powder
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Mayo
- Nutmeg
- Paprika
- Salt (Course Sea Salt and Kosher Salt)
- Soy Sauce
- Steak Sauce
- Hot Sauce/ Buffalo Sauce
- Salad Dressings
OILS/VINEGARS
- Apple cider vinegar
- Balsamic vinegar
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Vegetable/Canola Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- White Vinegar
- Cooking Wine
- White Wine Vinegar
SNACKS
- Crackers
- Nuts
- Quick Oats
- Popcorn
- Tortilla Chips
- Cereal
Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List for the perfectly stocked pantry and freezer!

Click ☝🏻 for my FREE Grocery List Printable!
I hope this essential grocery list can help you buy what you need and make your home cooking so much easier!
Stock Your Kitchen
Find more ideas for your grocery list, stock up your kitchen, and print more cooking guides and charts to keep handy!

Non-Perishable Foods to Stock Up On

Frozen Vegetables to Stock Up On (and Recipes to Make)

Ultimate List of Cooking Herbs for Your Kitchen

Ultimate List of Cooking Spices for Your Kitchen

Cooking Oil 101: Types of Cooking Oils to Use

26 Types of Pasta and When to Use Them

What Fruits and Vegetables are in Season?

Meat Temperature Chart (Free Printable)

How to Meal Prep (Guide for Beginners)

Basic Cooking Measurements & Kitchen Conversion Chart
