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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if i make this sauce now can i freeze it until christmas
HJi Hilary, I haven’t frozen it, but I think it should work.
I freeze leftover cranberry sauce all the time. I know this reply is a year old but I answered anyway. Hope this helps
It helped! Exactly what I was scrolling for, thank you!
Never using anything else than this! Question: for how long is this good (refrigerated)?
Hi Susan, It keeps well for about a week.
This was the second year in a row I made your cranberry sauce, and it turned out perfect. Fresh cranberry sauce is a MUST! It’s superbly better compared to anything from a can. It paired wonderfully with my smoked turkey prepared on the big green egg..
This cranberry sauce was amazing. Everyone raved about it. So good with roasted turkey and so simple to make. This is a keeper!
Really happy with this recipe, my Thanksgiving guests enjoyed it. I made it 3 days early and that was so helpful to have it off my to do list. I decided to make it smooth with the immersion wand and then pushed it through a mesh sieve to get rid of the cranberry skins. It was very smooth and flavorful. Used the small amount of leftovers on turkey sandwiches after the holiday. Will definitely make this again for future Thanksgivings.
This cranberry sauce was a huge hit at thanksgiving. First time ever we had none leftover.
Made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it. We even spread it on our our biscuits. It was delicious.
This turned out perfectly delicious with just the right amount of citrus and sweetness and it was so easy! Looking forward to serving it tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
I used 1 box of orange jello for part of the sugar and decided to make it crunchy and added1 Apple chopped and some chopped walnuts 😉
Do you think I can make this the Sunday night before Thanksgiving and refrigerate? Or do you think I should freeze?
Hi Dara, I think it will be fine made on Sunday for Thanksgiving and stored in the fridge. Happy Thanksgiving!