Look no further for the Best Ever Cranberry Sauce! This easy and delightful recipe takes only 15 minutes to make and a handful of ingredients! Spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with orange juice, it is the best combination of sweet and tart! The perfect complement to your holiday meal! Getting ready for Thanksgiving? Make sure to checkout the Best Turkey Gravy Recipe and this ridiculously easy Slow Cooker Citrus and Herb Turkey Breast for the best Thanksgiving yet!
Cranberry Sauce
Thanksgiving is almost here and I am running around like a crazy person making sure everything is ready to go! The turkey, the gravy, the potatoes, it’s all part of the “perfect” Thanksgiving meal.
One recipe that I feel often gets overlooked is the cranberry sauce. So many people go for the canned stuff, and while it’s great in a pinch, it doesn’t even come close to comparing to homemade.
This particular cranberry sauce recipe that I’m sharing with you today is fool-proof. It takes about 15 minutes, start to finish, and is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. It’s flavored with orange juice, orange peel and a cinnamon stick. So easy you guys!
I made this exact cranberry sauce for the these Cranberry Pecan Brie Bites that I shared with you last week and then realized… whoah! I’ve never even posted this recipe on it’s own and trust me, this Best Ever Cranberry Sauce deserves it’s own post!
Cranberry Sauce for the Holidays
Cranberry sauce is an essential part of every holiday meal for one simple reason – it cuts through the heaviness of all the other dishes. It’s light, it’s bright, and it’s actually pretty darn healthy. I add orange and cinnamon to my cranberry sauce which really gives it more depth of flavor and sweetens it just slightly. It’s still lovely and tart but not quite so tart that you’ll be puckering your lips.
What Do I Need To Make Cranberry Sauce?
This easy cranberry sauce recipe uses just a handful of real, whole ingredients:
- cranberries
- oranges
- cinnamon
- sugar
- and just a pinch of salt
Cranberry sauce is the perfect way to cut through the heaviness of a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and it adds a gorgeous pop of color and flavor to every bite. I hope you give this super easy recipe a try this holiday season!
Can Cranberry Sauce Be Make In Advance?
You betcha! In fact, this is my number one make-ahead recipe. It is served chilled so you need to make it at least one day in advance anyways. I find that the flavor is even better after two or three days so if you time beforehand, I would recommend just getting this recipe out of the way at the beginning of the week. One more note: you might want to double the recipe. I LOVE cranberry sauce in leftover turkey sandwiches the next day…and the next day…and the next day 🙂
Making Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner? Don’t forget these favorites:
- The Best Turkey Gravy Recipe
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Best Ever Broccoli Salad
- Slow Cooker Citrus and Herb Turkey Breast
How To Make Cranberry Sauce
Best Ever Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup water
- 12 oz fresh cranberries rinsed and picked through
- pinch of salt
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 piece of orange peel just use a potato peel or paring knife
Instructions
- Combine sugar, orange juice, and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine.
- Add cranberries, salt, cinnamon stick and orange peel.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Continue cooking, for about 10 minutes, or until all or most of the cranberries have popped. I like to leave a handful of berries whole.
- Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published November 22, 2016.
More cranberry recipes:
Cranberry Pecan Mini Goat Cheese Balls
White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake
For all appetizer recipes, go HERE.
For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
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Jill says
Wonderful and easy recipe! I’ve never eaten fresh cranberry sauce.. I added a little allspice. Absolutely delicious.
Georgia Mocanu says
Easy quick and tasty. I also used sunny D instead of orange juice because that’s what I had on hand and it worked great.
Rhonda G Lundy says
Can I make this in a crock pot???
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I actually have a recipe for that: https://www.momontimeout.com/crockpot-cranberry-sauce/
Molly Wood says
The only cranberry sauce recipe I use! For 3 years now – thank you for sharing 🙂
Carolyn says
I love this recipe and have been making it for some time. It’s a hit. I add chopped nuts and 1/2 chopped apple.
abrown says
The cinnamon and orange were quite overpowering compared to the taste of the cranberries. My batch also came out very watery so I had to simmer it for nearly triple the time.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I would definitely check the measurements again because this shouldn’t be “watery” at all. Thanks!
Laura says
Can you make this with regular cinnamon or do I need another trip to the store?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Someone else just asked this and although I’ve never tried it, it’s not worth a trip to the store. I would just add a quarter teaspoon or less of ground cinnamon.
Melissa Turner says
I made a test batch of this in preparation for Thanksgiving next week. (No one wants to find they have a loser dish on their hands ant the table.). Its construction is simplicity itself, the directs clear and easy to follow. I found the orange and cinnamon perfectly balanced against the tang of the cranberry. Don’t even get me started on the color… it’s glorious. But most importantly, it’s absolutely delicious.
Thank you for sharing.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you SO much Melissa!
Doreen Noble says
I made this for Thanksgiving 2023, and it was a major hit. I typically make the recipe that’s on the Ocean Spray bag of cranberries, which I believe is just cranberries, water and sugar. My family likes that just fine, but I was in the mood for something different. The orange juice and cinnamon stick makes this the best cranberry sauce I’ve ever had. My family noticed and loved it! Wish I’d discovered this years ago. Adding to my regular Thanksgiving menu. 💜💜
MamaL says
I was wondering if this recipe could be made with fresh cranberries? Mine are not frozen. It sounds like maybe you used the fresh ones?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I use fresh every time!
Suzanne says
Just made it. Excellent. And so very very easy. It’s a keeper …..fast too.
Sky says
This looks amazing. And the reviews attest to that! I was wondering if anyone has doubled this recipe? And if so, do the ingredients stay the same? Sometimes doubling sauces and such and be tricky. Thank you!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
This recipe can be doubled quite easily, I do that often!
Sharon Rogers says
This type of recipe can easily be doubled if you take volume/ surface area into account (use the right size kettle. ) You may want to adjust your cooking time slightly to achieve the desired result
Michael says
I am doubling it today on Christmas .. I used 2 navels and they produced a fresh cup of OJ .
Bunni says
Sky, it can be doubled. Cooking time is longer, Do not turn up the heat too high otherwise it will make the cranberries bitter.
Susan says
I am not a big fan of cranberry sauce, having never had fresh, only canned….but have several bags of cranberries in the freezer so I made a test batch today. My husband tasted and said “wow!” I agree! I could eat the whole batch, so delicious! I will be making this often for us and to share. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Cheryl says
I was thinking how good it would even be on toast. Yummy!
Alexis says
I have never been a fan of cranberry sauce. That is until my husband asked why I didn’t buy any for Thanksgiving a few years ago. Wouldn’t you know by the time he asked I couldn’t find any in the stores! So I found your recipe and now I eat more of it than he does!!! I have started canning in the last few months and wondered if you have ever canned this recipe? I thought I would get a big jump on the holiday preparation!
Donna Corbett says
I make freezer jam with this recipe and it is delicious. My family loves it with homemade biscuits, pancakes or waffles.
Maggie says
I’ve been using this recipe for a couple of years. Fast, easy and delicious!!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Woohoo! Love it! Thanks Maggie!
Christina says
Complete Heaven. This is now my go to and so easy
Sarah Laws says
I made this for Thanksgiving 2022, using fresh squeezed o.j. and oh my goodness this cranberry sauce was the ABSOLUTE BEST my family ever had! This is a new go-to for me now!
Amanda says
This is so easy to make and such a bright spot in the Thanksgiving day dinner. My brother could pick up the cinnamon and orange peel flavors. They give the cranberries a nice complexity. Love that you can make it ahead too!