Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe
This year, skip the canned cranberry sauce and make it homemade instead. This Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe is made with fresh whole cranberries, orange juice, and orange zest, and goes perfectly with your holiday meal. Be sure to double the recipe and make it ahead of time for the busy holiday season.
Cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries always shows up on the table around the holidays. Whenever you make this Thanksgiving dressing recipe, you will find fresh cranberry sauce. In my house, you can’t have dressing unless there is cranberry sauce to go with it. I’m not sure who made that rule, but it’s a rule.
This whole-berry Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce is quick and easy, making the holidays a lot less stressful. It can be made ahead of time, just like my famous green bean casserole with cheese, old-fashioned sweet potato casserole, oven-baked candied sweet potatoes, and easy chocolate pecan pie.
And let’s not forget an excellent appetizer: Cranberry Cream Cheese Spread.
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💗 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Cranberry sauce has always been a staple of our holiday tradition and a traditional side dish. I usually make a double batch because it tends to disappear quickly.
- Made with Fresh Cranberries: A fresh, tart, and seasonal dish.
- Simple Ingredients: Only 4 ingredients plus water.
- Make Ahead: This recipe can be prepped several days in advance.
- Versatile: This dish pairs well with savory dishes, leftover turkey sandwiches, or even over ice cream.
🥘 Ingredients Needed for Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Making cooked cranberry sauce is simple and only requires a few ingredients you may already have on hand. See the printable recipe card below for the complete ingredient list with amounts for the best homemade cranberry sauce recipe.
- Sugar – Sugar is needed for sweetness. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar in this recipe to find the balance that suits your taste.
- Water – A little water to get things simmering.
- Orange Juice – Fresh orange juice adds sweetness and brightens the dish.
- Orange Zest – Just a little zest will add a pop of flavor.
- Fresh or Frozen Cranberries— You can find fresh cranberries in the produce department. Cranberries are in season for a short time during the holidays, but frozen ones will also work. Stock up during the holidays and store them in the freezer to make this cranberry sauce or Orange and Cranberry Bread Recipe year-round.
Learn How to Bake a Turkey in the Oven for the Best Thanksgiving Turkey. A moist and tender holiday turkey is the star of the show, so it should be delicious.
📋 How to Make Cranberry Sauce with Orange
Once you’ve tasted orange cranberry sauce, you’ll want to serve it every year during the holiday season. This recipe is so easy and is now my favorite tangy cranberry sauce, hands down.
Step 1: Gather Ingredients. Gather the ingredients, then juice and zest the orange.
Step 2: Wash Berries. Wash cranberries and remove any soft, bad, or bruised ones.
Step 3: Bring to a Boil. Bring water, orange juice, orange zest, and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan.
Step 4: Add Cranberries. Add cranberries and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until cranberries have burst. Mash gently with a wooden spoon.
Step 5: Cool. Remove from the heat and cool completely to room temperature.
Step 6: Refrigerate. Transfer the sauce to an airtight bowl or a covered serving dish and refrigerate until ready to use.
💭 Recipe Tips
- Use fresh orange juice: It brightens the flavor and adds a slight citrusy flavor.
- Use fresh or frozen cranberries: Both will work well for this recipe.
- Chill: Allow time to cool and chill before serving. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Make a double batch: If you are expecting a crowd, make a double batch.
- Stock up: Cranberries are in season during the holidays; therefore, I like to buy several bags and freeze them for recipes throughout the year.
🍽 How To Serve Cranberry Sauce
- Sandwich: Cranberry sauce goes well on a sandwich or wrap. You are missing out if you’ve never tried it on leftover turkey sandwiches.
- Side Dish: You’ll mostly see cranberry sauce during the holidays as a side to dressing and turkey. However, I prefer to make it year-round to serve with a variety of other dishes.
- Breakfast: Add a spoonful or two to Greek yogurt, oatmeal, or overnight oats for a burst of flavor. Spread some on your toast, bagels, or muffins instead of jam.
- Dessert: Drizzle leftover cranberry sauce over easy no-churn ice cream, pound cake, cranberry bread with orange glaze, cheesecake, or a Danish.
Be sure to check out 10 Thanksgiving Hacks to make your day Stress-Free.
❔ Recipe FAQs
You sure can! Feel free to prepare this up to a week in advance. This will free up your time in the kitchen during the holidays.
Refrigerator: Store cranberry sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezer: Place the cranberry sauce in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before serving.
Yes, you can use frozen cranberries if fresh ones are not available. I usually buy several extra bags when they are in season and freeze them to use later in the year.
Absolutely. Orange is added to this recipe, but some blueberries would also be nice.
The cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools. You can simmer the sauce longer, but keep in mind that it will be thinner while it is hot and thickens as it cools.
Adding sugar will help get the bitterness and tartness out of your cranberry sauce.
More Thanksgiving Side Dish Ideas
If you’ve tried this Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it turned out in the 📝 comments. Thanks for visiting!
👩🏻🍳 Recipe
15 Minute Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup orange juice juice from 2 oranges
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
Instructions
- Wash cranberries and pick out bad or bruised ones.
- Bring water, orange juice, orange zest, and sugar to a boil.
- Add cranberries and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until cranberries have burst. Mash gently with a spoon. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
- At this point, you can transfer the sauce to an air-tight bowl or a covered serving dish and place it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Notes
- Use fresh orange juice: It brightens the flavor and adds a slight citrusy flavor.
- Use fresh or frozen cranberries: Both will work well for this recipe.
- Chill: Allow time to cool and chill before serving. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Make a double batch: If you are expecting a crowd, make a double batch.
- Stock up: Cranberries are in season during the holidays; therefore, I like to buy several bags and freeze them for recipes throughout the year.
I love how tasty and FAST this is. I love homemade cranberry sauce, but I don’t have a ton of time to devote to it.
Love this easy homemade cranberry sauce recipe. It’s so quick and simple.
Simple ingredients and simple to make. Really like that I can use frozen cranberries so I can make this year round.
This was so good and easy to make! My new go to for the holidays thank you!
Can’t beat homemade cranberry sauce as it ‘s just so easy. This version is delicious and so quick too.
Never buying store bought cranberry sauce again!
This is so worth making than buying the store version. Its so easy to make and can be done within minutes!
I love making homemade cranberry sauce! This recipe was so easy to make. Definitely going on our Thanksgiving menu!
Cranberry sauce is a thanksgiving staple in our home, and this is no exception! Turned out perfectly sweet and delicious; can’t wait to enjoy it at this years feast!
Homemade cranberry sauce is so much better than store bought!! This recipe is going on our Thanksgiving menu for sure!
Fresh sauce is definitely the best!
such a time saver recipe and great taste too!
I love making my own cranberry sauce and always add orange zest to mine as well. Great recipe!
Love this homemade cranberry sauce, so easy and tastes much better then buying it from the store in a can. Definitely making it for Thanksgiving!