Last Updated on June 30, 2021 by Kimberly Stroh

After a heavy Christmas dinner, sometimes you just need a light and refreshing dessert. Stick with this light and delicious Cranberry Mousse dessert recipe. It’s a great individual dessert that you can prepare ahead of time too. My guests always love the creamy texture and how festive it looks. The best part? It’s only 4 ingredients to make and EASY.

 

Need Other Cranberry Dessert Ideas? Try This White Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Fudge Recipe

Easy Cranberry Mousse With Fresh Whipped Cream

There are so many cranberry recipes out there. Cranberries just make the perfect festive red dessert for your holiday table. This particular Cranberry Mousse recipe is cheap, with only 4-ingredients required, and tastes delicious. It’s not heavy and I love the bright red color it creates. Here’s the secret: you don’t need fresh cranberries either! The recipe just calls for jellied cranberries.

Keep your Christmas dinner easy by making your Cranberry Mousse ahead of time. You can prepare it the day before or in the morning and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. I love making mine in martini glasses too – it look so fancy!

You’re going to love that you FINALLY found a cheap and easy make-ahead Christmas dessert option.

What To Serve With Cranberry Mousse

While this dessert is a star unto it’s own, you can add some fresh whipped cream to top it off! Just add 1 cup of cold heavy whipping cream, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of sugar together in a mixer – then mix until your fresh whipped cream forms. Need a cheat? Get canned whipped cream.

To finish your garnish: add some fresh mint on the top. The green adds another festive touch with the red.

How To Make This Cranberry Mousse Ahead Of Time

There are two refrigeration stages of making Cranberry Mousse. The first one is just to gel it over. The second phase, after you’ve folded in the whipped cream, is to let it sit in the serving dish and gel even more. Typically, it needs to refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving. However, you can make this recipe even sooner and let it sit overnight. Just add your toppings and mint right before serving. 

Troubleshooting: Clumps Of Cranberries

You want the jellied cranberries to be fully dissolved to a liquid and for it to blend into your cranberry juice before adding the gelatin. Stir stir stir! If you still have little clumps that haven’t melted yet, you can use a hand strainer to pull the clumps out. However, you shouldn’t have this problem if your pot is well-heated and you’re really stirring well.

What You’ll Need From The Store:

• Jellied Cranberry Sauce
• Cranberry Juice
• Raspberry Gelatin
• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Optional: Fresh Mint

How To Make Your Cranberry Mousse

In a large saucepan, bring the cranberry sauce and the juice to a boil. Cook and stir until smooth. Stir in the gelatin until dissolved.

Cool slightly; transfer to a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until mixture begins to thicken. Fold in the whipped cream Spoon into dessert dishes.

Chill for 3-4 hours until firm. Optional: Top with more whipped cream, cranbery and mint leaf.