HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE
If you’ve never made homemade cranberry sauce because you thought it was too complicated, I’m going to show you just how easy it is to make. This simple cranberry sauce recipe is perfect! All you do is add fresh cranberries, orange juice, and sugar (both brown and white) to a pan and cook the berries until the break down into a beautiful vibrant red cranberry sauce.
Served alongside roasted turkey an gravy, cranberry sauce is a favorite Thanksgiving recipe that is so easy to prepare and happens to be amazing! Only 15 minutes to cook, I love this sauce because it is not overly sweet and the combination of cranberry and orange give it a subtle citrus, sweet tang that makes a regular turkey dinner go from ordinary to extraordinary.
The vibrant deep red color and texture of the cranberry sauce is in stark contrast to the Ocean Spray canned cranberry sauce so many of us remember in its jellied molded form. One cannot even put them in the same category on many levels of comparison. From color, taste, texture, and overall pleasantness, homemade cranberry sauce wins by a landslide.
Trust me after you try this sauce, you will never buy canned cranberry sauce again. Be prepared when friends and family “Ooooh and Awwww” over the mere fact you made fresh cranberry sauce from scratch. They will call you “Martha” and hate you for it. But that’s okay.. your secret is safe with me.
I won’t tell how you didn’t spend hours over a hot stove making this. In all honesty, if the world only knew how easy this was cranberry sauce was to make, 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 homemade cranberry sauce.
For those of you wondering if you can make this in advance – YES!!! Up to two weeks sealed in a container and stored in the refrigerator!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is cranberry sauce?
Cranberry sauce is a popular condiment made with fresh cranberries, sugar, and water. It is most commonly served alongside turkey on Thanksgiving at room temperature but can also be served slightly warmed up.
Because cranberries are naturally low in sugar and tart in flavor, most cranberry sauce recipes include sugar to make the sauce both sweet and tart.
How long will the cranberry sauce keep?
Cranberry sauce will last two weeks in the refrigerator or up to two years if properly preserved and canned.
What can I do with leftover cranberry sauce?
- Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on sandwich bread followed by a layer of cranberry sauce when making turkey sandwiches like this Turkey Cranberry Sandwich recipe. The combination of cream cheese and cranberry sauce makes regular turkey sandwiches taste dull in comparison.
- Mix in a tablespoon or two into plain Greek yogurt along with granola, like my favorite Perfect Granola recipe, for a nice breakfast parfait.
- Add a spoonful to your favorite cocktail using vodka.
- Add a dollop of sauce to cottage cheese or oatmeal for breakfast or a snack.
- Replace cranberry sauce for any recipe calling for jam.
- Cranberry sauce over oven baked brie makes a great appetizer when served alongside crackers for your holiday gathering.
- Top off your favorite cheesecake recipe (like my Black Tie Cheesecake recipe) with cranberry sauce instead of the more common varieties of blueberry, cherry, raspberry, or strawberries. The sweet and tart flavor of the cranberry sauce compliments the richness of the cheesecake for a winning combination.
Other Cranberry Recipes to Consider
Apple Cranberry Crisp
Honey Satsuma Cranberry Sauce
- 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- Optional: 2 oz gold rum
- Add the cranberries, juice, sugars, and optional rum to a sauce pan.
- Cook the sauce on medium-high for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced – stirring occasionally. You’ll hear the cranberries bursting open – don’t worry, that’s what you want them to do.
- Remove from the heat and serve. Cranberry sauce can be made days ahead and brought to room temperature or slightly heated before serving.
Talon Ireland says
My wife and I have used a variation of this recipe the past two years and it’s been perfect every time. It tastes better and better each day after it’s made. We add a little pumpkin pie spice and the zest of an orange, along with Captain Morgan Private Stock (there may be better, but we haven’t found a lesser quality one that’s an acceptable substitute).
Absolutely incredible and I will be hard pressed to alter it in the future!
alice says
Hi Caroline,
I have never tried dried cranberries but my guess is no.
alice says
Hi Annie,
Yes, you can use frozen. I keep a bag of cranberries in my freezer just for this reason.
Annie says
Can you use frozen cranberries?
Sue says
I’ve never made cranberry sauce before and found many recipes from basic to over the top with ingredients. I was put off by most of them and then came across your recipe. All of the positive remarks and possible variations have me convinced…this is the recipe I’ll use this Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for posting it!
Stephanie says
Hi Alice,
I was searching the web for some of the best thanksgiving recipes, and I’ve featured this recipe as one of them! I’ve sourced it over at my blog. Thanks so much for sharing!! 🙂 Will definitely try this soon!
caroline says
Can I use dried cranberries in this recipe? We can’t get fresh ones in South Africa.
Dazzly says
The beauty of this recipe is the flexibility of ingredients – so many variations using this as a base – like a launch pad. (plus the photos are enticing) Since I didn’t have OJ or brown sugar, I used pomegranate/blueberry juice and a little lemon juice and 3/4 cup raw sugar – lip smacking. So keep perfectly awesome as is or experiment a little 🙂 …can’t really go wrong.
debbie says
I made this recipe for a thanksgiving recipe test run. I must say it is truly amazing and simple. I have never replaced water with orange juice and I have got to say its genius. If anyone is out there listening PLEASE choose this for your cranberry staple. Its fantastic.
Ashley says
I love how easy this was! The pictures are beautiful! It smells amazing, I can’t wait to try it! Thank you!
mary says
I didnt have orange juice so i used fresh pressed apple cider. Didnt have golden rum so i used Captain Morgans coconut flavored rum. This was awsome.
Mark says
This is not only the easiest recipe for cranberry sauce, but the BEST. I made this last year and it was such a big hit at my fiancee’s family’s house, I am now in charge of it every year. Thanks for posting, along with the pics! MAKE IT A DAY OR TWO EARLY and it gets better and better. Spread it on Crescent Rolls, and your eyes will roll back in pleasure!
alice says
Laila: Glad it worked out for you.. it is the most easiest condiment to make. So much better than canned! Happy Thanksgiving!
Laila says
I have never made or eaten homemade cranberry sauce before but wanted to try to make some for a Thanksgiving pot-luck at work. I’m so glad I found your recipe! This sauce came out beautiful and tasted amazing. I had to share this link with quite a few co-workers that wanted the recipe. This is a keeper..thank you!
alice says
Hi Harry,
Fresh cranberries you buy at the store in bags do not have any pits in them. Hope that helps.
Alice
HARRY says
I did not see the word ‘pit’ any place here….it sure sounds easy but…I thought cranberrys had pits…not a mention…..
Katie says
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!
Cydne says
Deeeelicious! Simply wonderful!
Mary Ellen says
My sister made this on Thanksgiving and it was great! I just posted it on my blog with a link back to yours!!
Foodeater says
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!
Amy says
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving. It turned out great! Thanks for the recipe.
alice says
Many thanks to everyone who commented about this sauce after making it.. I really appreciate your support and feedback – keep it coming!
SP says
Thanks, Alice. We had this for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and it was perfect! Beautiful site!
Sally says
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.
Suzanne B says
This was awesome!!!! I will make this again and again. LOVED IT!!