Use Up That Leftover Cranberry Sauce As A Delicious Pancake Topper

In many households, nothing says "holiday season" quite like cranberry sauce. Whether you're using it to bring a refreshing note to a Thanksgiving feast, adding a dollop to Hannukah latkes, or serving it with a big Christmas dinner, this sauce is a must-have side dish during the festive season. And since holiday feasts are all about large amounts of food, you'll always wind up with leftovers, including leftover cranberry sauce.

Although you may immediately reach for challah bread, juicy turkey, and mashed potatoes for a day-after meal, it's easy to forget about cranberry sauce until it goes bad. Instead of throwing it out, reuse your leftover sauce as a deliciously fruity pancake topper. Cranberry brings a vibrant complexity and multi-dimensional edge to your flapjacks, with its slightly sour yet sweet flavor. This doesn't mean your usual toppings have to take a back seat — since cranberry sauce pairs wonderfully with rich holiday food, you bet it tastes great with syrup and butter on top of your favorite carb-y breakfast.

Between the fluffy softness of the pancakes and the thick, syrupy cranberry sauce, you'll get hooked on this festive combo. The only question is whether you're using jellied sauce or whole-berry sauce, and how to best use each type on your pancakes.

Whether you use canned cranberry sauce or make it from scratch, it's easy to add it to pancakes. You just have to treat the sauce differently, depending on its consistency. Unlike fresh cranberry sauce, which is spreadable thanks to its liquid- to jam-like consistency, canned cranberry sauce is more gelatinous and solid, with a uniform texture that's more difficult to spread on top of a pancake. 

If you enjoy canned cranberry sauce with your holiday feasts, mash the leftover sauce with a fork or break it down in a food processor with some water to give it a spreadable texture. Canned cranberry sauce is often sweeter and less tart than its homemade counterpart. If you want a hint of tanginess to your pancakes, consider squeezing a small amount of citrus juice into the mashed canned cranberry sauce to give it a homemade taste, while also helping it become more spreadable. From there, just pour your sauce onto a stack of hot flapjacks, or spread the sauce between each pancake before stacking them.

Although cranberry sauce makes for a perfect pancake topping by itself, don't hesitate to jazz up your pancakes with other complementary fixings. For starters, fruits like strawberries and bananas can liven up the pancakes and add even more fruity dimension to the cranberry sauce. Bonus for adding fresh mint or basil for an herbaceous flair. Vanilla yogurt or sweetened condensed milk will provide a creamy richness that balances the tart nature of cranberries, while a golden ribbon of pure maple syrup adds sweetness without distracting from the fruity sauce.

For a textural twist, sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts on your pancake stack, giving them a hearty, earthy, and nutty crunch that complements the smoothness of the cranberry sauce and the fluffiness of the pancakes. Sprinkles of cinnamon, brown sugar, or a dash of nutmeg can introduce warm, aromatic undertones. Or, put the rest of your holiday leftovers to use. Dare we suggest crumbling a slice of pumpkin pie atop your cranberry sauce pancakes, or crowning it with a dollop of leftover whipped cream? Any way you dress your cranberry pancakes, your tastebuds will thank you.