Cranberry Sauce
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Ready in 15 minutes and bursting with flavor, this homemade cranberry sauce is a simple holiday staple you’ll make year after year.
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’s so easy to make! Simply boil fresh (or frozen) cranberries with sugar, water, orange juice and zest, and in just 15 minutes, you’ll have a sauce bursting with bright, sweet flavors. The best part? You can make the sauce ahead of time and relax knowing it’ll stay perfectly fresh in the fridge for up to 10 days or in the freezer for two months.
Serve it up alongside your favorite Thanksgiving turkey and turkey gravy, then give your post-feast turkey sandwiches a gourmet twist by mixing the leftover sauce with mayo for an irresistibly delicious spread.
“I usually use the recipe on the Ocean Spray bag. This is so much better!”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Zest and juice the oranges. Start by zesting one of the oranges. A rasp grater works best, but any fine grater will do—just avoid the white pith, which can be bitter. Always zest before juicing; once the orange is squeezed, there’s no going back!
Step 2: Start the sauce. Combine the orange juice, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the cranberries, orange zest, and salt.
Step 3: Cook the cranberries. Let the mixture boil gently for about 10 minutes, until most of the cranberries have burst.
Step 4: Finish and store. Once most of the cranberries have burst, mash them lightly with a spoon to reach your desired texture. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools, then even more as it chills in the fridge. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve. It will keep for up to 10 days in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer.
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Video Tutorial
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 sauce to a serving bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: Cranberry sauce will keep for 10 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
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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Delicious and so simple
This is my go to cranberry sauce every year. Family and friends that don’t care for cranberry sauce love It! I am now passing it on to my children and grandchildren. A treasured family recipe now.
Yes. Turned out excellent. I will admit that I added maybe 2 extra tbl sugar as the berries were a bit sour. Beautiful. I do mash probably more than you would have but I wanted a more consistent sauce. Thanks.
This turned out fantastic, and I’m not a cranberry sauce person, I made it for the family and I love it! First time I’ve ever liked cranberry sauce! I used fresh squeezed OJ from Whole
Foods instead of from the orange
I ALSO USED A POTATO MASHER AT THE END!
Absolutely delish- I did add half a chopped apple. Will be making this again !
I make this every year for Thanksgiving now and it’s so flavorful and fresh. My family loves it. It has a good balance between the sweetness and tartness; the orange flavor is phenomenal.
I reduced the amount of sugar by a half and added a splash of best quality ginger liqueur toward the end. Delicious!
This cranberry sauce is a winner—i’ll be adding it to my Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes! I added a packet of plain gelatin and a few drops of almond extract. I also cut up an orange to put in it!
This is so delicious! Simple to make and yields so much flavor. I used a potato masher at the end to slightly blend the cranberries. I will be making this year round! Thank you Jenn for yet another fabulous recipe.
My go-to cranberry sauce recipe from now on! Absolutely the best I’ve ever made!. It is a wonderful balance between sweet, tart, and orange. I followed the recipe just as written and it turned out beautifully.
Just made double this recipe adding some cinnamon sticks. Picked some (Hawaiian) oranges and got a cup of juice from just two. This is delicious: sweet and tart. Will be great on turkey sandwiches on Friday.
I made this recipe but
-1 used the juice of 3 clementines (all I had) and added 1/2 of the juiced clementine to cook in the sauce instead of zest
-added a cinnamon stick
-1 saved 1/4 of the cranberries to add 5 minute later for varied chunks.
And it turned out so yummy!!
Thanks!!