Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Posted Nov 04, 2023, Updated Nov 16, 2024
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The best Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe you will ever make, and a must-have recipe for your holiday celebrations! This cranberry sauce with orange juice is made with only 5 ingredients in under 30 minutes, and it can be prepared ahead of time! You’ll never buy canned cranberry sauce in a can again!
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 (check out our Thanksgiving recipes) because everyone in my family loves it so much.
This year, I implore you to ditch the gelatinous canned sauce that masquerades as cranberry sauce, and make your own homemade cranberry sauce.
And there’s no need to be intimidated, because this cranberry sauce recipe is easy to make with 5 ingredients in under 30 minutes.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
- Fresh cranberries. This cranberry sauce recipe tastes best when it’s made with fresh cranberries. I have used frozen cranberries and while it still tastes great, it is a little “seedy” meaning the seeds don’t break down as well during cooking. If using frozen, I would recommend blending the sauce in a high-powered blende.r
- Orange Juice. choose a pulp-free variety for the best texture.
- 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.
I have tried playing with the ratio of orange juice and water, decreasing the amount of sugar, etc. and have landed on this recipe every. single. time. I do have a healthy cranberry sauce recipe (with a video) here that uses no refined sugar.
How to make Cranberry Sauce
Let’s 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.
Once the mixture is boiling, add the cranberries and stir to combine.
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 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
Next, you can make a chunky or smooth sauce in one of these two ways:
- Mash the cranberries with a potato masher. As pictured, this is how I make cranberry sauce with orange juice because we like our cranberry sauce a little chunky!
- Use a Blender. If you enjoy your homemade cranberry sauce extra-smooth use a blender! Simply put the mixture into the container of a blender (Vitamix) after it’s fully cooked, and blend to your desired consistency.
Mash the cranberries until you reach your desired consistency.
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
I suggest making this homemade cranberry sauce at least one day in advance so it can chill overnight.
I make this recipe a day or two 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.
Store/Freeze
Store cranberry sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 2 months.
Serve
Serve this homemade cranberry sauce chilled with your favorite holiday recipes (try all of our 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!
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!
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!
If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh cranberries (rinsed)
- ยผ cup water
- ยพ cup pure orange juice
- ยฝ cup granulated sugar
- ยฝ cup light-brown sugar
- โ 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, gently pour 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.ย
- 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).
Video
Notes
- Fresh cranberries.ย this recipe tastes best when it’s made with fresh cranberries. I have used frozen cranberries and while it still tastes great, it is a little “seedy” meaning the seeds don’t break down as well during cooking. If using frozen, I would recommend blending the sauce in a high-powered blende.r
- Orange Juice.ย choose a pulp-free variety for the best texture.
- Brown Sugar.ย Both light and dark brown sugar work well in this recipe. Dark brown sugar will impart a slight molasses taste.ย
- Granulated Sugar. white sugar or organic cane sugar are good choices. (or try this healthy cranberry sauce).
- Cinnamon.ย 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.ย
- Water.ย 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.
This looks so delicious! Will be a great addition to the Thanksgiving menu!
Thank you Lindsay!
Okay, I need to make cranberry sauce just for the looks! This stunning topper would seriously brighten my day on a lot of meals. I’m thinking whole grain post-Thanksgiving sandwiches (naturally!), rice bowls, the sky is the limit!
YES! We ALWAYS make grilled turkey and cheddar cheese (which you’d probably forgo ๐ ) sandwiches loaded with cranberry sauce after the big day! SO good!
This is just gorgeous! Homemade cranberry suace is non-negotiable at Thanksgiving, especially when it’s so easy to make!
Thank you Kaleigh! I agree it’s a definite must-have!
I love the beautiful color of this dish and the fact that it’s so easy to make! Yes, I do usually make my own cranberry sauce but I grew up eating the canned version. I’ll never go back!
I remember the first Thanksgiving my dad made homemade sauce…my life was forever changed!
Yummy, I love cranberry sauce! I make it every year. My mom and one brother like the canned weirdness though, lol.
LOL some people are set in their ways right?!
I never thought I liked cranberry sauce – cause I only ever had the canned stuff – until I had homemade. GAME CHANGER! Yours looks delish – I put ginger in mine sometimes too ๐
I love this! Adding a hint of orange is one of my favorites, and just a hint of cinnamon. I also like them plain, with ginger or lemon, and a family fav is a version of them I make with orange juice and brandy. ๐ This year I can’t get enough and I’ve been making cranberry sauce for over a month now, good thing I picked up 10lbs of fresh cranberries when I went to the Cranberry Festival in Sept!
Cranberry festival!?! I wish I went to one of those! I could eat cranberry sauce all winter long!
Well this looks absolutely amazing! I must admit, we aren’t huge cranberry sauce people but I definitely know a brother in law I will be pinning this for!
Every family has one person who loves the cranberry sauce, right?! ๐
This is super similar to one I made a few years ago that was such a big hit!! I need to try your version!
Truly a classic! ๐
I”m the only one in my family that loves cranberries. I guess more of this amazing sauce just for me then!!
OOooOOo if only I didn’t have to compete with my hubby for this sauce… ๐