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
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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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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!