Deliciously flavored with cinnamon & orange juice, this Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe is ready in 20 minutes. Never serve it from a can again.
For as long as I can remember my holiday gatherings consisted of one family serving the jellied cranberry sauce, still shaped like the can and the other side of the family serving a beautiful bowl of homemade sauce.
Each year I would look forward to the opportunity to celebrate the holidays with the family that served the beautiful homemade recipe. So you can imagine how excited I was to finally get my hands on that family recipe – which I’m sharing here today.
I first learned to love cranberry sauce when my best childhood friend brought a leftover turkey sandwich to school for lunch. It had the perfect ratio of mayo, cranberry, and turkey.
I absolutely fell in love. At the time her mom made it with the canned cranberry sauce too- which is perfectly delicious on a sandwich.
Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce
But then many years later, living in NV, we found a sandwich shop in Vegas called Capriotti’s. Have you been there?
They have a sandwich called The Bobby – which is basically a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich that I absolutely fell in love with. (key ingredient for my obsession – homemade-style cranberry sauce)
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Cranberry Sauce Ingredients
So here we have the ingredients. Now – the family recipe (which is pretty traditional) calls for orange juice. We have some citrus allergies in our family – so we often make it with pineapple juice instead.
Just add the cranberries, sugars, and spices to the pot and stir.
Once you stir it up the sugar will coat the cranberries.
Cover with the juice and water and stir to combine. This will help dissolve the sugars.
making cranberry sauce
Bring the mixture to a slow boil and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the cranberries are soft enough to be smashed or pureed.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Now- I like to get it to almost jelly consistency with a little bit of texture left in there. You can leave it chunkier if that is your preference or you can use an immersion blender to get it really smooth.
Serve this with our Slow Cooker Turkey Breast recipe!
More Great Cranberry Recipes
- Cranberry Orange Mimosa
- Cranberry BBQ Meatballs
- Crockpot Cranberry Cider
- Apple Cranberry Spritzer
- Turkey Cranberry Sliders
- Quick Cranberry Bread
- Cranberry Cinnamon Roll Loaf
- Pumpkin Cranberry Granola
- Cranberry Butter
- Cranberry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sparkling Cranberries
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can this cranberry sauce be made ahead of time?
Yes, you can make this ahead of time. Just cook and then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve up to 3 days ahead. Be sure to stir before serving.
What is the best way to store leftover cranberry sauce?
Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Can I use frozen cranberries?
Yes, absolutely, that will work just fine. It will just take a little longer for the cranberries to cook.
HOW DO YOU MAKE Homemade Cranberry Sauce?
- In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to coat.
- Add the orange juice and water to cover the cranberry mixture.
- Cook over med heat and bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer the cranberries for another 10-15 minutes or until the cranberries are soft enough to mash and blend.
- Remove from heat and gently mash the cranberries with a potato masher or you can use an immersion blender to reach the desired consistency.
- Transfer to a serving bowl or airtight container. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Serve cold with an orange peel spiral for garnish.
Can I use a sugar substitute?
I have not personally tried it, so I can’t say how that would turn out. But if you would like to try it, I suggest a product that offers a 1:1 swap. Please let me know how it turns out.
To make Homemade Cranberry Sauce you will need…
- cranberries
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- salt
- orange juice
- water
Can this be made without the orange juice?
Absolutely! As I mentioned above, we often make this with pineapple juice instead of orange juice. You can also just replace the juice with more water if you don’t want to use juice. However- because the juice adds sweetness – I recommend increasing the sugar so it isn’t too tart.
This isn’t sweet enough. Can I increase the sugar?
Yes – you can increase the sugar. A lot of people don’t like the cranberry sauce too sweet, while others like myself really love that super sweet flavor to counter the tart bite of the cranberries. I recommend increasing by another 1/4 cup and taste testing from there – increasing to your likeness as needed.
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Products I love when making homemade cranberry sauce…
This cranberry sauce recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me this time of year, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made homemade cranberry sauce before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love it. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this holiday side dish recipe.
If you love this Easy Cranberry Sauce recipe, you’re going to love these other holiday sides too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to coat.
- Add the orange juice and water to cover the cranberry mixture.
- Cook over med heat and bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer the cranberries for another 10-15 minutes or until the cranberries are soft enough to mash and blend.
- Remove from heat and gently mash the cranberries with a potato masher or you can use an immersion blender to reach the desired consistency.
- Transfer to a serving bowl or airtight container. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Serve cold with an orange peel spiral for garnish.
Notes
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Weekend Maids says
Seems like yummy and delicious sauce recipe, I will try to make this at home. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.