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.
Sign up to get emails when I post new recipes!
For even more great ideas follow me on Facebook – Pinterest – Instagram – Twitter – Bloglovin’.
Anne says
The absolute BEST cranberry sauce I’ve ever had. I usually don’t like chunky cranberry sauce. As a girl who grew up in the 70s I tend to just like the canned cranberry jelly, but this is AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
Kayleigh Martin says
Hiya
How many oranges do you generally need for 1/2 cup of juice? Definitely going to give this a try!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I would say have 3 on hand!
Christy S says
Can I use frozen cranberries? If so, how would that alter the recipe?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yes you can and it will just take a bit longer for it to come to a simmer.
Mary Elftman says
Planning on trying this recipe for Thanksgiving and wanted to know if I should remove the orange peel before serving?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s entirely up to you. It’s not meant to be eaten though.
Gina says
Do you think this is something I can freeze, if I make it a week in advance?
I’ve made this the last 2 holidays and it’s fabulous!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I think so Gina! I don’t see why not. Just give it a good 24 hours to defrost in the fridge. Enjoy!
Laura says
Can you add more sugar. If so how much.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Sure! You could add up to 1/3 cup more with no problems at all. Enjoy!
Maggie says
Can this cranberry sauce be frozen? Have you tried it?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I don’t see why not. Just give it a good 24 hours to defrost in the fridge. Enjoy!
Emily says
This looks delicious! I haven’t made this particular recipe yet, but I’m hoping to get some fresh cranberries in WI this year for the sauce. Here’s my question – have you ever tried using a little ginger as well? I use it often in my fall recipes (apple jam/ apple pie, pumpkin pie, etc) and I find it adds another flavor dimension to fruit recipes. I’m not sure if it would do that in this sauce though; just thought I would ask before I try it!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I think that’s a great idea Emily, especially if you like ginger. I wouldn’t go too overboard, maybe a half teaspoon or so.
Lori says
What if I don’t have cinnamon sticks? How much cinnamon should I use?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
A 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon would be great.
Cinthia says
I love this sauce with the citrus herb turkey and gravy recipes! Always our go to on the holidays.
Thanks for sharing!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks so much Cinthia!
Jill says
Love this recipe!! It uses ingredients I almost always have on hand and it comes together so quickly and easily. We just finished up our oranges so I had to skip the orange peel, but an extra splash of orange juice more than made up for it.
This will be our new go to recipe for cranberry sauce.
Layne says
I can’t wait to try this recipe – we love cranberry sauce!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I know you’re going to love it!
Christy Denney says
I’ve been searching for the best cranberry sauce and this is it.
Kristen says
This truly is the best cranberry sauce recipe I’ve tried! Thanks so much for sharing!
Mandy @ South Your Mouth says
I made this last Thanksgiving and my whole family fell in love! I never knew homemade cranberry sauce was SO EASY to make! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
kim holdbrook says
Best cranberry sauce ever! Have been making it for years, never thought to add a cinnamon stick! Brings it to a new level, will never go back. Thanks!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you so much Kim!