Cranberry Orange Punch is a delicious sweet citrus beverage that is great for any holiday gathering.  This delicious punch is ideal for a brunch as well. If you love the seasonal flavors of cranberries and orange then you’ll love making this easy punch recipe.

I used Sweet’N Low® to sweeten this Cranberry Orange Punch as part of a sponsored post.

The holidays are just around the corner and a lot of us have already started planning!  Will mom be making her delicious pumpkin pie?  Will grandma be bringing her famous banana bread?  I can’t wait to dig into the delicious foods and treats surrounding our Holiday traditions.  I also like to make new family traditions with recipes that I find and can’t wait to try.

This Simple Cranberry Orange Punch is one of those new traditions we made recently and now I plan on making it every year for the holidays!

Cranberry Orange Punch tastes just as good as it looks and makes a perfect drink for holiday gatherings.  When I can find them, I like to use fresh cranberries as a garnish to the drinks. Here are some ideas on how to garnish and serve your cranberry punch below.

If you want to go straight to the recipe and skip the helpful tips and suggestions:   just scroll to the bottom of the post. 

Tips for garnishing Cranberry Orange Punch: 

• Garnish with fresh cranberries and oranges.  I love garnishing drinks and I love the way the cranberries and oranges look in this punch.  Place an orange slice and cranberry into each glass or cut the orange to place on the side of the glass.  You can place them in the punch bowl as well and they will float to the top.
• Make an orange peel garnish.  Take a fresh orange and use a citrus stripper to make a strip of orange zest.  You could also use a vegetable peeler to make a strip of orange zest and poke a long toothpick through it and place in each glass.
• Garnish with ice cubes infused with cranberries.  Make your own ice cubes in an ice cube mold and place the cranberries in the water before freezing.  When ready to serve just pop them out of the mold and place a few in each glass.  The cranberry ice will float to the top!

Tips for serving Cranberry Orange Punch:

• Make and freeze additional punch  into a ring mold for serving.  If you are serving this in a punch bowl try making a half batch of the punch first and freeze it in a ring mold.  Freeze until solid and it will make your punch extra icy!  When you are ready to serve add the punch first (in the punch bowl) and then place the ring of icy punch on the top.  The icy punch will start to dissolve and make it slushy.  So good!

• Mix the juices ahead of time for easy prep.  To make this punch ahead of time you’ll want to mix up everything except the sparkling water (or ginger ale) in a large pitcher.  Put the mixture in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.  It can be stored this way for up to 3 days.  Right before serving add the sparkling water (or ginger ale) to the punch.  The reason you’ll want to wait to add the sparkling water (or ginger ale) is because the carbonation will be lost after a few hours.

We absolutely love this punch and I make sure to make this anytime we need a festive punch recipe.  Cranberry Orange Punch can be easily adapted by using a low calorie sweetener like Sweet’N Low® instead of the sugar called for.  Just follow the directions for substituting the sugar for your specific sweetener (which should have directions on the box or packet).

Substitutions to try in Cranberry Orange Punch

• Apple juice to sweeten.  Don’t want to add any sugar or sweetener?  Try apple juice instead.  It gives a subtle fruity flavor and sweetens really well.  Try 1 cup for this recipe and make sure to have a large pitcher because the servings will go up.
• Sparkling Apple Cider instead of sparkling water.  For an extra flavor boost add sparkling apple cider.  It makes this drink a little sweeter so add a 1/4 less sugar or to taste.
• Additionally try  Ginger Ale instead of the sparkling water.  Another idea is to use ginger ale because the flavor is also subtle and works great in any punch recipe.
• Cranberry mixed juice.  There are many varieties of cranberry juices and cocktails.  Most of them will work well in this punch recipe.  Try cran-apple juice or cranberry juice mixed with white grapes (the darker colored grapes won’t work well in the drink for color or taste.)

A mixture of orange juice and cranberry juice makes a delightful sparkling punch.

Furthermore, the sparkling water (or ginger ale) adds that refreshing zing that I love about all punches.  It doesn’t get any easier to make a tasty punch recipe for the holidays!  I think this punch makes the perfect punch for a Thanksgiving dinner or brunch because of the wonderful muted orange color.   Do you make special drinks for the holidays?  I’d love to hear your unique ideas and traditions!

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