Best Ever Cranberry Sauce

Skip the can and whip up some incredibly yummy homemade cranberry sauce from fresh or frozen cranberries. This from-scratch sauce recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or anytime you're serving turkey.

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

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.