Wondering what to do with leftover cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving? Throw this easy cranberry mayonnaise together! The perfect accompaniment to a simple turkey sandwich. Vegetarian.
In a hurry? Click here to jump straight to the recipe!
There is this place.
It’s called Q’s. It’s in Illinois. And they make the best sandwiches in the world.
They make this sandwich. It’s just turkey. And veggies. And this cranberry mayonnaise.
When we moved to New York, it meant saying goodbye to the restaurant.
And their sandwiches.
And their cranberry mayonnaise.
(cue violins because WOMP WOMP)
So I set out to recreate this marvelous mayonnaise on my own. And I’m pleased to say that this cranberry mayonnaise recipe is pretty dang close to the original. BONUS: It’s the perfect way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving or Christmas!
I slathered it on a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, a lil’ mustard, and some sharp white cheddar cheese.
Then I ate it.
All was excellent.
How to make Cranberry Mayonnaise (and four ways to use leftover cranberry sauce!) – VIDEO

Cranberry Mayonnaise
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2/3 cup 1x
Description
The easiest cranberry mayonnaise – the perfect way to use up leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving or Christmas!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 Tbsp. leftover cranberry sauce (you can also used canned if you don’t have leftovers!)
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
You may need to adjust this mayonnaise mix to suit your cranberry sauce – just give it a taste when you mix it together and add an extra pinch of ingredients as necessary!
I recommend this cranberry mayonnaise on a turkey sandwich with my favorite easy crusty French bread, white cheddar or brie cheese, and plenty of fresh greens. You could also use it with slow cooker shredded chicken sandwiches if you don’t have leftover turkey!
I made a wrap with this using apple slices, spinach, turkey, provolone cheese, and the cranberry mayo. It was delicious! I used to get a similar wrap from a local place around me but they have closed down and I could never find anything close to it!
★★★★★
So happy to hear you were able to use the mayo to recreate an old favorite!
Delicious! We used it on a chckn salad sandwich on Hawaiian Rolls.
★★★★★
I am going to try your cranberry mayo recipe been looking for a pre made one at Lunds ( its a grocery store in MN) with no luck wanted to recreate a turkey sandwich they make…thanks to you I can
Kay
Hi Kay, how did it turn out?
sorry, but this tasted awful! i tried just a can of whole berry sauce and 1/2 cup of mayo and it was great!
I just googled cranberry mayo to recreate the Q’s sandwich on the challah I made and found that you had already done it!! Thanks, Jessie! I hope you are doing well and thanks for your great blog post!
Ahh! I miss Q’s so much! Thanks, Sarah – so happy you found the site and hope you’re doing well!!
Is this Galesburg in IL?
It is indeed! I did my undergrad work at Knox College 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. It’s Canadian Thanksgiving here (we had our turkey yesterday) and I just made panninis with it. Turkey, stuffing and cranberry mayo on herb and garlic focaccia with gravy on the side for dipping. They were a big hit.
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Omg I went to a restaurant this afternoon and the sandwhich I ordered consisted of honey wheat bread, turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, bean sprouts, and cranberry mayonnaise. My new favorite sandwhich ever!
That sounds amazing! I’ll definitely have to try that sandwich combo. next time I make this mayonnaise.
The restaurant I used to work at made turkey paninis with just turkey, cheddar cheese, and cranberry mayo. Other restaurants just don’t even compare. Thank you for this recipe!!