If you’ve never made homemade cranberry sauce because you thought it was too complicated to make, I am going to show you just how easy it is. Not only is this recipe easy, it is amazing! I love this sauce because it is not overly sweet and the combination of cranberry and orange give it a nice tang. The color of the sauce itself is so vibrant compared to its canned counterpart -one cannot even put them in the same category.
Trust me after you try this sauce, you will never ever buy canned again. Be prepared when friends and family “Ooooh and Awwww” over the mere fact you made homemade cranberry sauce. They will call you “Martha” and hate you for it. But that’s okay.. you’re secret is safe with me – I won’t tell how you didn’t slave over making this. In all honesty, if the world only knew how flippin’ easy this was.. no one would ever buy canned again! Do yourself a favor and leave that good-for-nothing sauce in the can on the grocery store shelf and for this Thanksgiving make your own homemade cranberry sauce. And for those of you who are wondering if you can make this in advance – YES!!! Just heat before serving. Enjoy!
Alice’s Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Makes approximately 2 cups
INGREDIENTS:
12 oz bag fresh cranberries
3/4 cup orange juice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
Optional: 2 oz gold rum
DIRECTIONS:
Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium-high for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced – stirring occasional. You’ll hear the cranberries popping – don’t worry, that’s what you want them to do. Remove from heat and serve. Cranberry sauce can be made days ahead and brought to room temperature or slightly heated before serving.
{Related Post: Cranberry Apple Crisp – This recipe uses this cranberry sauce as a base}
-
-
-
Print This Post
{ 5 trackbacks }
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks incredible. Perfect for Thanksgiving!
Alice, the fotos are stunning. The red just pops off the page. Brilliant & the Cranberry Sauce is ah-mazing. I love the addition of orange!
I have over the years begun to enjoy cranberry sauce on thanksgiving. I like to eat it with piece of cornbread. Yum!! Now I don’t have to look for a recipe. I know you say it’s simple, but I hope I don’t screw it up when I do make it.
Yum! Send some of that my way! I found out that I’m hosting Thanksgiving and haven’t done a single thing to get ready yet. I’m thinking your cranberry sauce will come in handy.
simply beautiful – who knew cranberry sauce could look soooo good?!
I might just have to run to the store and grab some cranberries after work! I love that the ingredients are things I normally have around.
I have a confession…I have never tried cranberry sauce. It was something that was never even present at my families Thanksgiving. I think it’s high time I try I give it a try because this looks amazing.
I must confess that I’m not a lover of cranberry sauce (although I do enjoy cranberries), but these photos could almost convert me. Looks quite yummy!
When I make this cranberry sauce it doesn’t last more than a day since we eat it so fast.
But if you keep it in a sealed container it should be good for up to a week.
Regards,
Yummy, Alice! I think I’ll make that this Thanksgiving!
Wow…I made this yesterday for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve never had homemade cranberry sauce before. I don’t think I can ever go back to eating turkey breast without this now. Very tangy and not too sweet (probably helps I had low-sugar OJ). I’m in charge of cranberry sauce for this Thursday – I know my family will love this. Thanks!
Lovely, I just finished a batch for our Thanksgiving and the balance of flavors is a delight.
Ive never made cranberry sauce before and I was assigned to make it for 25-30 people for this Thursday. Does anyone have any insight on increasing the recipe? Can I just multiply the recipe and cook it in a pot or should i make many individual batches in the saucepan then combine? THANKS! The pics are amazing!
Has anyone tried any variations with this? I will definitely be using the rum, and might add a pinch of cayenne. But has anyone tried a different juice, or used more or less sugar? Experimentation in the kitchen is key! Hoping some people have something to add here prior to the holidays. Whatever the case…. thank you for this! IT’S STUNNING! Can’t wait to be back and post the results.
I just made this with two variations. I used about 1 Tb less of each brown sugar and white sugar and I added about 1-2 Tb of shredded ginger (I used a cheese grater). It came out sooooo good! I went heavy on the ginger because I like that kick, but you can use less depending on your liking.
Hi Dee This recipes makes 2 cups or sauce (roughly). I would NOT recommend making this in one batch. I would double the recipe and make 2 batches. The cooking time may take longer but it will work beautifully. Hope this helps – Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Katy: Thanks for your tips – Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Michael: This recipe is really forgiving. You can reduce the amount of liquid and sugar to your liking as well as substitute partial white sugar for brown. However, you should not completely omit sugar as sugar is a natural preservative (similar to making jam). If you do not have orange juice, water can be substituted. Some other ways to change this recipe up slightly is:
-add couple tablespoons of orange or lemon zest
-few teaspoons of cinnamon, ginger, or a pinch of nutmeg
-Use Grand Marnier instead of rum – Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Shelley: No, you don’t need the rum. Most of it burns off in the cooking but there is a faint taste of it in there. I make it all the time without the rum. Of course if you prefer to have it more rum like, add more of it towards the end of the cooking process. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Amber: Maple syrups sounds wonderful. Make sure to still add some sugar to help it all gel up. Thanks for sharing your variation -Happy Thanksgiving!
Madzia: So glad you liked it.. enjoy your first American Thanksgiving!
Alice
*Another great tip: You can can cranberry sauce and give them as a host(ess) gift and cranberry sauce can be made days ahead!
If other people have suggestions on variations, please share here! Love reading your comments too! Happy Thanksgiving!
Alice,
Thanks so much for this recipe…I am making it for sure! Just wondering, is the rum an important taste for this? I will buy some if it makes a difference? Just wondering!
Shelley
Thank you, thank you! I can’t wait to try this tomorrow. I’m playing with the idea of using real maple syrup. I wonder if that’s too gutsy for my first time making cranberry sauce.
Hands down, the best cranberry sauce i’ve ever made/tasted!
I liked it so much that i made an extra batch to use as filling in simple jam cookies…so sweet & tangy. I also substituted the rum for a bit of mead (honey wine). The flavour is very reminiscent of jellies etc. i enjoyed in Europe. Thanks for the simple yet delicious recipe.
ms
ps. a wonderful start to my first American Thanksgiving
I added a few raspberries too. Came out great! Can’t wait for tomorrow!
Oh I also smushed and strained the berries so there was no skin in the sauce!
I just made this {with the addition of a cinnamon stick} and it is delish! Can’t wait to eat it for real tomorrow!!
I’ve since used this as a filling for baked brie…OM NOM NOM NOM
I just made this and added some orange zest and chopped pecans after it was done cooking…yummm.. can’t wait for the turkey and stuffing to go with it tomorrow!
Just made this and it’s great! Boyfriend has a cold so we couldn’t go up to Connecticut and visit his family. Now it’s here at our house with just the two of us. This is going to go great with our turkey thighs
Thanks for the recipe, I had a bombass cranberry sauce to bring to the table this 2009 Thanksgiving =).
This was awesome!!!! I will make this again and again. LOVED IT!!
With the exception of the rum, that’s almost exactly how I make my cranberry sauce. I don’t like rum, but some orange liqueur might be good.
Thanks, Alice. We had this for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and it was perfect! Beautiful site!
Many thanks to everyone who commented about this sauce after making it.. I really appreciate your support and feedback – keep it coming!
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving. It turned out great! Thanks for the recipe.
I just hosted a post-Thanksgiving dinner party and made your recipe, it was so awesome! Having never made cranberry sauce before (or anything with fresh cranberries for that matter), I was surprised at how easy it was. I spiced things up a notch by adding in some salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and cayanne (I wanted it both sweet & hot) … sooooo good!
My sister made this on Thanksgiving and it was great! I just posted it on my blog with a link back to yours!!
Deeeelicious! Simply wonderful!
WOW. Found this by the almighty Google. Made it with some cranberries that had been hibernating in the freezer for a too-long winter’s night… added a two star anise and some cinnamon — there. were. no. leftovers!!! (Darn…and I have so much turkey left!) Thanks!
I did not see the word ‘pit’ any place here….it sure sounds easy but…I thought cranberrys had pits…not a mention…..
Hi Harry,
Fresh cranberries you buy at the store in bags do not have any pits in them. Hope that helps.
Alice