Cranberry + Sage
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 45 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cranberry and sage go together?
Yes. 45 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 226 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 7% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
More than half of sage's flavor molecules (226 of 311) also occur in cranberry. Among the shared key aromas are 2-hexenal (green, leafy) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
cranberry
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 12% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 8% for sage. It carries 108 molecules sage doesn't have.
sage
The herbal side. Herbal notes make up 16% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for cranberry. It carries 85 molecules cranberry doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Rosemary: the best fit for both, top 6% of pairs with cranberry, top 1% with sage.
- Thyme: top 7% of pairs with cranberry, top 1% with sage.
- Marjoram: top 9% of pairs with cranberry, top 1% with sage.
- Summer savory: top 13% of pairs with cranberry, top 1% with sage.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cranberry and sage
Almost always mains: 2 of the 2 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Most of sage's flavor molecules (226 of 311) are also found in cranberry, but cranberry has 108 that sage lacks. Sage gives you part of cranberry's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 226 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 108 only in cranberry and the 85 only in sage.
Cranberry and sage questions
Do cranberry and sage go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 45 recipes, and they share 226 flavor molecules: the top 7% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cranberry and sage taste good together?
More than half of sage's flavor molecules (226 of 311) also occur in cranberry. Among the shared key aromas are 2-hexenal (green, leafy) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with cranberry and sage?
Rosemary is the best third ingredient: top 6% of pairs with cranberry and top 1% with sage. Thyme and marjoram also fit both.
What can you make with cranberry and sage?
Almost always mains: 2 of the 2 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Glazed Pork Roast, Tuscan Bean Soup.
Can I use sage instead of cranberry?
Only partly. Most of sage's flavor molecules (226 of 311) are also found in cranberry, but cranberry has 108 that sage lacks. Sage gives you part of cranberry's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Cranberry vs Sage. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cranberry-vs-sage. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cranberry_vs_sage_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cranberry vs Sage},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cranberry-vs-sage},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.