Cranberry Sauce
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Bright, tangy, and just sweet enough, this easy cranberry sauce recipe comes together in just 15 minutes.
I’ll admit, the jiggly, can-shaped cranberry sauce has a certain nostalgic charm, but homemade cranberry sauce is truly in a league of its own—and it couldn’t be easier to make. This cranberry sauce recipe combines fresh or frozen cranberries with orange juice and zest for a bright, sweet-tart flavor that’s perfect with roast turkey. Best of all, it can be made well ahead of time, which is one less thing to think about on Thanksgiving Day.
“This is my go-to cranberry sauce…I am now passing it on to my children and grandchildren. A treasured family recipe.”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Fresh or frozen cranberries: Fresh are ideal when in season, but frozen work just as well and don’t need to be thawed first. Avoid dried cranberries; they won’t break down properly or give the sauce the right texture.
- Orange juice and zest: The juice balances the cranberries’ tartness, while the zest adds concentrated orange flavor. Be sure to zest the oranges before juicing them.
- Sugar: Cranberries are extremely tart, so sugar is needed to balance the flavor.
- Water: Helps dissolve the sugar and gives the cranberries room to boil and burst without scorching.
- Salt: Just a pinch rounds out the sweetness and keeps the sauce from tasting flat.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Combine the water, orange juice, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries, orange zest, and salt, then simmer gently until most of the berries have burst and the sauce has thickened. Mash a few berries with a spoon if needed. The sauce will look looser than you might expect when it comes off the heat. It thickens considerably as it cools and even more once refrigerated.
Cranberry Sauce Variations
- Cinnamon-Orange: Add a cinnamon stick along with the cranberries and remove it before serving.
- Cranberry-Apple: Stir in one peeled, diced apple during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Cranberry-Walnut or Pecan: Fold in ½ cup toasted, chopped nuts after the sauce has finished cooking.
- Boozy: Stir in a splash of port, bourbon, or orange liqueur once the sauce is off the heat.
Video Tutorial
More Holiday Side Dishes You’ll Love
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup fresh orange juice, from two oranges
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 (12-oz) bag fresh or frozen cranberries (do not use dried)
- Zest of one orange, about 2 teaspoons
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan over high heat, bring the water, orange juice, and sugar to a boil. Add the cranberries, orange zest, and salt and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and boil gently for 10 to 12 minutes, until most of cranberries have burst open. (You may need to mash them a bit with a spoon.)
- Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you’re following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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I use brown turbinado sugar, and only 3 tbsp worth. It’s plenty sweet.
Absolutely delicious!!
Every recipe that I tried from the Once Upon a Chef book or website is just on point.
I’m so lucky to find out about Jenn & Once Upon a Chef, I have all her books and looking forward to the next one 🙂
Thanks so much for the recipe! Better late than never – tried your recipe on 1 January and it came out an absolute treat. Forget about the Christmas turkey, I’ll relish it with anything anytime of the year! 😁
Very delicious! I made this for Thanksgiving and made it again for Christmas!
Thanks for the recipe. I made it today and it was a hit with the family. We like our a bit more tart so I used less sugar. For the fun of it I added in some Fireball whiskey. The cinnamon flavor was good.
Yum! I’m going to try that next time.
How much fireball did you use? I’m going to try this for a group gathering this week and thought this would be a fun addition. Thanks!
I add a little Grand Marnier, half brown/half white sugar and I use all orange juice.
Do you think I could use this recipe in place of a can of whole berry sauce in a gelatin recipe?
I can’t find any in stores near me or online and I wanted to make the Festive Pineapple Cranberry Salad for Christmas Dinner this year.
Thank you and have a Merry Christmas,
Rosemary Freid
Hi Rosemary, I really can’t say without trying it myself, but I think it should work. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Love this recipe. I added a cinnamon stick to the orange juice, water and sugar mixture at the beginning.
This is the only recipe I have used for years and there never is any left!
I really loved this recipe. The flavor was the perfect combination of sweet and tart for me and it was simple to follow with just 3 ingredients! Because it’s so easy and tasty, it’s definitely a recipe I will make more often, and not just for the holidays.
Thank you!
For a variation on this recipe, sweat of 2-3 inches of leeks in some butter, when soft add 1-2 tablespoons of fine chopped fresh ginger, cook for a couple of minutes, and then follow the recipe as written. Adds a truly excellent variation.
I considered Ginger as I love the flavor. Opted for Fireball Whiskey instead. Yum.