Love it or hate it, a great cranberry sauce is a Thanksgiving tradition. Most of the people that don’t like cranberry sauce usually grew up with a family member that swore by the canned, jelly stuff from the store. Homemade cranberry sauce is super simple and quick to make, and the flavor towers above the canned stuff that one relative swears by.
So, for me, “that” relative was my mom’s dad. He loved the canned cranberry sauce, and I can still hear the “shhh-THUCK” sound it made as it slid out of the can. I’ll be the first to admit, I was not a fan and never used the cranberry sauce when I grew up.
Over the last decade though, my mom always made the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving because my dad loved her homemade version. While hers is pretty good, and I did finally start utilizing it with the turkey, I figured it could be just a little more flavorful. No offense intended mom; I love ya <3
A super popular and great compliment to cranberry is orange. While I definitely like using it in cranberry sauce, I don’t want it to end up as an orange-cranberry marmalade either. This recipe is the perfect balance of orange flavor while keeping the cranberries as the star of the show. The recipe is named after them, so they deserve the limelight, right?
Cranberry Sauce Ingredients
With only a few ingredients, cranberry sauce will come together in 10-15 minutes.
Cranberries – Obviously, you’re going to want cranberries. Fresh cranberries should start showing up on store shelves a few weeks before Thanksgiving and stick around through Christmas, so if you want to make this later in the year, freeze some extra or look for frozen cranberries. Do NOT use dried cranberries. A bag is typically 12oz and you’ll use a whole bag for this recipe.
Water – Use some tap water as part of the liquid for boiling. You’ll offset the water with just a little bit of…
Orange – One orange is enough for a single recipe. You’ll want to zest it, then cut it in half and use some of the juice to mix with the water.
Sugar – Most recipes will call for a cup of white sugar. Here I like to cut back slightly and mix both brown and white sugars.
Cinnamon – Just a little bit adds a nice and subtle flavor. I use one cinnamon stick in this recipe, but if you don’t have that or don’t want to buy any, use just a pinch of ground cinnamon.
Salt – I don’t really count this as an “ingredient” because you literally just need a pinch, like an ⅛ of a teaspoon or less. Just a pinch will help bring out all the flavors.
How to Make a Great Cranberry Sauce
As mentioned before, this recipe really is super easy and quick. It will take longer for the water to boil and the sauce to cool and thicken than it takes to make.
Start with the cranberries. Pour them into a fine mesh strainer and rinse them, then pick out any that don’t look too great, or pour them into a large bowl, fill with water, and do the same. If you prefer a cranberry sauce with a little more texture and whole cranberries, reserve at least a ½ cup of cranberries for later.
Zest the whole orange and set a teaspoon of the zest aside, reserving any extra for garnish. Slice the orange in half and juice it until you have a ¼ cup. Add the water and orange juice to a medium saucepan or pot and place over medium-high heat. Add the white and brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add the cranberries, even if the liquid hasn’t come to a boil. Keep the heat high until the liquid begins to boil. Once the liquid starts a low boil, add the orange zest, cinnamon stick, and a pinch of salt, stir together, then turn down the heat to a simmer.
Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally and pressing cranberries against the sides of the saucepan if they haven’t burst. When most of the cranberries have burst, and the sauce is starting to thicken, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the reserved cranberries.
Remove the cinnamon stick and transfer the hot cranberry sauce to a serving bowl and garnish with any extra orange zest. As the sauce cools, it will thicken a lot more. Serve warm or at room temperature with the meal.
Usage and Storing of Cranberry Sauce
While this recipe is for a great cranberry sauce to be used at Thanksgiving, there are a lot of other uses for cranberry sauce as well. It tastes great on top of French toast, pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. You can also add it to recipes like muffins, cupcakes, or cakes. You can swirl it into a cheesecake, or top one as well.
Cranberry sauce will last 4-5 days when refrigerated in an airtight container. If you plan to make it ahead of time for Thanksgiving, plan on no more than 2-3 days ahead of time. Warm in a saucepan for a few minutes before serving.
You can also freeze cranberry sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
📋 Recipe
Great Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz bag cranberries, fresh or frozen
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 pinch of salt
Directions
- Start with the cranberries. Pour a 12-ounce bag into a fine mesh strainer and rinse them, then pick out any that don’t look too great, or pour them into a large bowl, fill with water, and do the same. If you prefer a cranberry sauce with a little more texture and whole cranberries, reserve at least a ½ cup of cranberries for later.
- Zest the whole orange and set a teaspoon of the zest aside, reserving any extra for garnish. Slice the orange in half and juice it until you have a ¼ cup. Add the ¾ cup water and ¼ cup orange juice to a medium saucepan or pot and place over medium-high heat. Add the ½ cup white and ¼ cup brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, add the cranberries, even if the liquid hasn’t come to a boil. Keep the heat high until the liquid begins to boil. Once the liquid starts a low boil, add the teaspoon of orange zest, cinnamon stick, and a pinch of salt, stir together, then turn down the heat to a simmer.
- Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally and pressing cranberries against the sides of the saucepan if they haven’t burst. When most of the cranberries have burst, and the sauce is starting to thicken, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the reserved cranberries.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and transfer the hot cranberry sauce to a serving bowl and garnish with any extra orange zest. As the sauce cools, it will thicken a lot more. Serve warm or at room temperature with the meal.
Equipment Used
Notes
- Cranberries – Fresh cranberries have a short sales season, usually early to mid-November until a little after Christmas in the US. Bags usually come in 12oz packages which is roughly 3-4 cups. You can also use frozen cranberries for this recipe. If frozen, do not thaw or rinse, simply add to the saucepan when you would add the fresh. Do not use dried cranberries.
Your Notes
Nutrition
Comments
No Comments