Cranberry Sauce
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I’m gonna ruffle feathers here, and I have NO shame about it.
Canned cranberry sauce is not good. It’s actually awful.
As a rule, I almost don’t eat things out of a can, and that weird giggly blob that keeps the shape of the can when you finally shake hard enough for it to fall out is a hard no from me.
This recipe is dedicated to kicking the can.
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Tips & Tricks
- I love using this easy cranberry sauce on a leftover smoked turkey and stuffing sandwich! Yum!
- Add even more festive cranberry flavor to the Thanksgiving table with this easy cranberry fluff recipe!
Key Ingredients
Cranberries: I like to use fresh cranberries for this recipe because they are easier to wash! But frozen ones work too. Discard any heavily bruised, wrinkled or discolored berries as they can impart undesirable flavors.
Cinnamon stick: Using a cinnamon stick allows for a more gentle infusion of it’s warming spicy qualities without overpowering the sauce.
Orange: We’ll use the whole orange in this recipe, from the zest to the juice. The sweetness in orange juice helps to tame the tartness of the cranberries while the acidity improves the overall brightness of the sauce.
How To Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Place a 12 oz bag of cranberries (about 3 cups) in a colander and rinse them thoroughly under cold running water. As you rinse, sort through the berries, discarding any that are heavily bruised, wrinkled, or discolored.
- Once cleaned, shake off the excess water then transfer the cranberries to a medium-sized pot.
- Using a zester or fine grater, zest 1 large navel orange, add half of the zest to the cranberries, and reserve the remaining zest for later. Cut the orange in half and juice it – I just use a citrus juicer, but a firm squeeze would also work. Pour the fresh orange juice over the cranberries in the pot.
- Add the 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar and a cinnamon stick to the pot.
- Place the pot on the stove over medium heat and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. As the cranberries start to pop open, reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, cooking until all the cranberries have burst and the sauce has thickened to your desired consistency.
- Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the reserved orange zest, and discard the cinnamon stick.
- Allow the cranberry sauce to cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. For later use, transfer the sauce to an airtight container and store it in the fridge. It will keep well for several days and tastes even better as the flavors meld.
Make Ahead Cranberry Sauce
This homemade cranberry sauce can easily be made up to 4 days in advance. Allowing the sauce to chill in the fridge actually allows the flavours to meld and intensify.
To make in advance, cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container and storing it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To serve, transfer the chilled sauce into a small saucepan and gently heat over medium-low heat until the desired temperature. The sauce can also be microwaved if desired.
Recommended Tools
Microplane: I use my microplane only occasionally, but my goodness, it does an incredible job whenever I take it out! It’s fantastic for getting the zest off of citrus fruits and even for use on spices like ginger and nutmeg.
Handheld juicer: This is another tool that is in my drawer and I don’t use it that often, but it’s super convenient to have a hand held juicer, especially because I don’t have a lot of strength in my dominant hand due to arthritis!
Got Leftovers?
This fresh cranberry sauce can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days after it’s been made. Unfortunately, this includes make-ahead time, so I generally only make my sauce the day or so before our Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.
More Holiday Recipes
Wondering what else to make to round out your holiday menu? Here are some tasty suggestions!
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📖 Printable Recipe
Best Ever Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 bag of cranberries approx 3 cups
- 1 large navel orange
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
Make it on the stove:
- Rinse 1 bag of cranberries under cold running water in a colander. Discard any heavily bruised, wrinkled or discoloured berries. Transfer the washed cranberries to a medium-sized pot.
- Zest 1 large navel orange and set aside half of the zest, then quarter and juice the orange. Add the orange juice into the pot with the cranberries, add ¾ cup packed brown sugar and 1 cinnamon stick.
- Bring the cranberries to a low boil and once the cranberries start to burst open, turn down the heat and allow the cranberry sauce to simmer for 10 minutes, or until all the cranberries have burst and the sauce has thickened.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and stir in the remaining orange zest.
- Cool the cranberry sauce for at least 30 minutes before serving, or store in the fridge for later use.
Make it in the instant pot:
- Rinse the cranberries under cold running water in a colander. Discard any heavily bruised, wrinkled or discoloured berries. Transfer the washed cranberries to the liner of your Instant Pot.
- Zest the orange and set aside half of the zest, then quarter and juice the orange. Add the orange juice into the pot with the cranberries, pour the brown sugar over the berries and top with the cinnamon stick. Do not stir!
- Close the lid on your Instant Pot and cook the berries on high pressure for 1 minute with a natural pressure release of at least 5 minutes before releasing any residual steam.
- Open the lid of the Instant Pot and stir in the remaining orange zest and remove the cinnamon stick.
- Cool the cranberry sauce for at least 30 minutes before serving, or store in the fridge for later use.
Notes
Make Ahead:
This homemade cranberry sauce can easily be made up to 4 days in advance. Allowing the sauce to chill in the fridge actually allows the flavours to meld and intensify. To make in advance, cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container and storing it in the fridge for up to 4 days. To serve, dump the sauce into a small saucepan and gently heat over medium-low heat until the desired temperature. The sauce can also be microwaved if desired.Recommended Equipment + Ingredients
Nutrition
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