Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe (With Orange Juice)
Updated Aug 28, 2026
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This homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice is the best cranberry sauce recipe and a must-make Thanksgiving side dish! It’s sweet and tart with a bright orange flavor, and it’s made with just 6 ingredients in 25 minutes and it can be prepared ahead of time! You’ll never buy canned cranberry sauce in a can again once you make this recipe.
I know it’s a bold claim, but this truly is the best cranberry sauce recipe. I have been making it for almost 20 years and usually make a triple batch on Thanksgiving because everyone in my family loves it so much.
This year, I implore you to ditch the gelatinous canned sauce that masquerades as the real thing, and make your own homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice instead.
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Sauce Recipe
- Bright orange flavor. Orange juice adds sweetness and a bright citrus flavor that perfectly compliments the cranberries.
- Perfectly sweet. This recipe uses both brown sugar and granulated sugar – but not too much.
- Quick & easy. It takes about 25 minutes to make with only 6 ingredients.
- Make-ahead holiday side. Cranberry sauce tastes even better after chilling overnight, so it’s one dish you can completely check off your Thanksgiving list ahead of time.
- Customizable texture. Leave it chunky, mash the cranberries or blend it smooth depending on how your family likes it.
I made a double batch today. Have been making cranberry sauce for over 50 years and this is the first time I have tried your recipe & it is delish! Will make it from now on! Thank you! ❤
– Sherri
Cranberry Sauce Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
- Fresh cranberries. Fresh cranberries are my first choice for this recipe, but frozen cranberries work well too. There’s no need to thaw frozen cranberries before cooking.
- Orange Juice. I recommend pulp-free, 100% orange juice. It gives the cranberry sauce a bright citrus flavor and helps balance the tart cranberries. If you squeeze fresh orange juice, you can strain out the pulp!
- Brown Sugar. Both light and dark brown sugar work well in this recipe. Dark brown sugar will impart a slight molasses taste.
- Granulated Sugar. white sugar or organic cane sugar are good choices. (or try this healthy cranberry sauce).
- Cinnamon. Ground cinnamon really takes this cranberry sauce from good to phenomenally great. I don’t recommend omitting it, but it can be left out with delicious results.
- Water. you can substitute water with more orange juice, or apple cider.
How to Make Cranberry Sauce
We will walk through how to make cranberry sauce together, and be sure to watch the video for additional help.
The first step in this cranberry sauce recipe is to whisk the water, orange juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a saucepan over medium-high heat. I like to do it in small steps to make sure everything is dissolved – but you can just dump and whisk if you prefer!
So, first pour the orange juice into the pot. I suggest pulp-free juice for the best texture.
Why Make Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice?
Orange juice is the secret to the best homemade cranberry sauce. It complements the tart cranberries with a bright, fresh citrus flavor and adds natural sweetness.
After making this recipe for almost 20 years, I use ¾ cup orange juice and ¼ cup water because I’ve found this ratio gives the sauce the perfect orange flavor without overpowering the cranberries. You can replace the water with additional orange juice for an even stronger citrus flavor.
Then, add the white and brown sugar to the orange juice and start warming over medium-high heat.
Heat the mixture over medium-high heat, whisking often to dissolve the sugars.
Once the sugars are dissolved, add the cinnamon and whisk to combine.
Bring the mixture to a low boil over medium-high heat. Once the mixture is boiling, add the cranberries and stir to coat them with the orange juice mixture.
Turn the heat down to simmer and simmer the mixture uncovered for 10 – 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cranberries begin to pop. (You will hear popping noises and the berries will burst open).
One of my favorite parts of making this homemade cranberry sauce recipe is that the cranberries “talk” to you as they cook. As they warm up they start popping and snapping. Keep cooking until most of the berries have burst.
Mash or Blend Sauce
Once most of the berries have popped, it’s time to mash or blend the sauce. My family prefers cranberry sauce slightly chunky, so I use a potato masher rather than blending it completely smooth. Here’s how to achieve your desired consistency:
- For chunky cranberry sauce: lightly mash the berries with a potato masher.
- For smoother cranberry sauce: mash more thoroughly.
- For completely smooth cranberry sauce: transfer it to a blender and blend until smooth.
Simmer for another 3 minutes and then turn off heat but leave the pot uncovered on top of the burner to cool and thicken for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
How Do You Know When Cranberry Sauce Is Done?
The sauce should look thick and a little bit like jam. It will still look thinner while hot. But it thickens considerably as it cools so make sure you don’t keep cooking it trying to achieve the final consistency while it’s warm.
This cranberry sauce recipe thickens as it cools. So Let it cool to room temperature in a pan, then transfer it to an airtight storage container to chill completely in the refrigerator.
Make Ahead Cranberry Sauce
I always make this at least one day before Thanksgiving. Not only does it save time on Thanksgiving morning, but I think the flavor is even better the next day.
So, make this cranberry sauce 1 to 2 days before Thanksgiving and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. You might even argue that it tastes better after siting for a couple days because the flavors become richer as they have time to blend.
Cranberry Sauce Troubleshooting
The best news is that this recipe is so forgiving! It’s really difficult to mess it up. But here are some common troubleshooting issues and tips:
- Cranberry sauce is too runny: Continue simmering uncovered for a few minutes, but remember that cranberry sauce thickens a lot as it cools.
- Cranberry sauce is too thick Stir in a small amount of orange juice or water until it reaches your desired consistency. And next time, be careful not to cook it as long.
- Cranberry sauce is too tart. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time while the sauce is still warm and taste as you go to make sure it doesn’t get too sweet.
- Cranberry sauce is too sweet. You can reduce the sugar slightly next time you make it.
How to Store or Freeze Cranberry Sauce
Store homemade cranberry sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Or, store in a freezer-friendly container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Thaw: overnight in refrigerator.
How to Serve Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce can be served cold, at room temperature or warm. My family prefers it chilled, and I think the flavor and texture are best after it has refrigerated overnight.
Serve homemade cranberry sauce with your favorite holiday recipes (try all of my delicious Thanksgiving Recipes). Here are my top suggestions:
- Oven Roast Turkey Recipe
- Best Mashed Potatoes or cream cheese mashed potatoes
- Roasted Green Beans or Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Slather it on the best dinner rolls.
- Sweet potato casserole or candied yams.
- Use leftovers to make cranberry cream cheese dip or turkey cranberry sandwiches.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe FAQs
We prefer to server our cranberry sauce cold! But really it’s up to you. I do recommend serving it cool or room temperature, but not heating it up.
Yes, fresh or frozen cranberries both work well in this homemade cranberry sauce recipe. If using frozen cranberries, you do not need to thaw them before cooking. You may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time.
Let the mixture simmer with the lid removed until it’s thickened. The sauce also cools as it thickens.
This recipe lasts for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Continue cooking it over medium-low heat until the water is cooked off.
Make cranberry orange bread, cranberry cream cheese dip, or cranberry cookies!
Other than just eating it with a spoon – our favorite way to enjoy leftover sauce is making this Turkey Cranberry Sandwich. It’s also great to spoon over pancakes, waffles, OR on top of ice cream!
For an even stronger orange flavor, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of finely grated orange zest. I prefer this cranberry sauce without zest because I like a more subtle orange flavor. But if you want it to really shine through, adding orange zest is the way to go!
Yes – this recipe actually uses both, but you can replace the water with more orange juice if you prefer. Orange juice adds natural sweetness and a complimentary citrus flavor. This recipe uses ¾ cup orange juice and ¼ cup water, which is my favorite ratio because you can taste the orange without overpowering the cranberries. For a stronger orange flavor, replace the ¼ cup water with additional orange juice.
Yes! Homemade cranberry sauce thickens significantly as it cools. It will still look somewhat thin when it’s warm, so don’t overcook it trying to achieve the final consistency in the saucepan. Once it cools and chills in the refrigerator, it will thicken to the perfect consistency.
Yes. Cooking cranberry sauce for too long can make it too thick once it cools. Remove it from the heat when the cranberries have burst and the sauce has thickened slightly. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Cranberry sauce is a great make-ahead Thanksgiving side dish. I usually make it 1-3 days before Thanksgiving and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I actually prefer making it ahead of time because the flavor and texture are even better after it chills overnight.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice
Video
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries (rinsed)
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup orange juice (100% orange juice, pulp-free)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light-brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium sauce-pan, whisk together water, orange juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon over medium-high heat.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the cranberries into the saucepan and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Simmer the mixture uncovered for 10 – 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cranberries begin to pop. (You will hear popping noises and the berries will burst open).
- Once most of the berries have popped, use a potato masher to gently mash the cranberries. The more you mash, the smoother the mixture will be. If you prefer extra-smooth cranberry sauce, blend the mixture in a blender until smooth.
- Simmer for another 3 minutes and then turn off heat but leave the pot uncovered on top of the burner to cool and thicken for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Transfer the cranberry sauce to an airtight container to chill overnight (or for at least 6 hours).
Notes
- Fresh cranberries. Fresh cranberries are my first choice for this recipe, but frozen cranberries work well too. There’s no need to thaw frozen cranberries before cooking, but you might need to cook slightly longer.
- Orange Juice. I recommend pulp-free, 100% orange juice. It gives the cranberry sauce a bright citrus flavor and helps balance the tart cranberries. If you squeeze fresh orange juice, you can strain out the pulp!
- Brown Sugar. Both light and dark brown sugar work well in this recipe. Dark brown sugar will impart a slight molasses taste.
- Granulated Sugar. white sugar or organic cane sugar are good choices. (or try this healthy cranberry sauce).
- Cinnamon. Ground cinnamon really takes this cranberry sauce from good to phenomenally great. I don’t recommend omitting it, but it can be left out with delicious results.
- Water. you can substitute water with more orange juice, or apple cider.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you Laura for sharing your amazing cranberry sauce recipe. Quick easy no need to change a thing. Loved by all. Will be making this every chance I get delish and easy.
Thank you Mary! I’m so happy you love it!
I had some leftover cranberries from another recipe, and decided to give this cranberry sauce a try. I swapped the white granulated sugar for a few tablespoons of maple syrup, and it was absolutely amazing served on top of pork chops. I’ve been adding a big spoonful of the leftover sauce to my plain greek yogurt every morning this week, and am going to be so sad when it’s gone! So tasty!
Love the use of maple syrup, sounds delicious!
Good evening
I surprisingly found fresh Cranberries from Canada in my grocery here in Switzerland. So I liked to give it a try. Your recipe is fantastic: easy, quick done and really delicous and the consistene is perfect.
I love the taste of a little bitter, but for my sister it will be too much, so I will try to boil 1 jar again, adding some coconut blossom sugar or dates sugar and a little lemon juice.
We usually eat the sauce with game meat like saddle of venison, but this sauce fits also perfectly to a cheese platter.
Thank you for sharing te recipe, if I find fresh Cranberries I will make it again, also for friends.
Have a good day, Merry Christmas
Helena
I’m so happy you found fresh cranberries and tried (and love) this recipe! You could increase the sugar if your sister likes her sauce a little sweeter, although to me – it’s perfect! 😉
Hi Laura
I made it again and added some lemon cest, in both way it went delicius and my sister loves and eat it every morning with my homemade spelt bread.
Thanks again for the recipe and merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Thank you so much Helena! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well!
I have made the cranberry sauce every year, because my mom always made it from scratch. I wanted to mix things up this year for Thanksgiving, and boy howdy was it a HIT. My family loved it! Even those that don’t normally eat the sauce. Saving this for a later date for sure. THANK YOU!!
Thank you! I’m so happy your family love this recipe as much as we do!
I’ve made this every year for the last 5 or 6 years. We have a huge Thanksgiving gathering usually somewhere around 60 people! It’s always a hit and I always have a little left over. I know I saw somewhere on here what I could do with the leftovers so I’m here looking for that now!
Thank you so much Donna. It means so much to me to know you have been making this recipe for so many years! I suggest using one of these recipes, yum! Turkey Sliders, Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip, Turkey Cranberry Sandwich.