Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice

5 from 78 votes

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice

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.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Author: Laura Sandford

Cost: $5

Equipment

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

US Customary - Metric

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).

Video

Notes

Ingredient Notes & 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, 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.

Adding Orange Zest

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!

Make-Ahead

You can make this up to 3 days in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve

Serve

Serve this cranberry sauce chilled for the best flavor. Or room temperature if you prefer.

Store

Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Nutrition