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A quintessential Thanksgiving recipe — the perfect Homemade Cranberry Sauce to pour all over your Roast Turkey!
Making your own cranberry sauce from scratch is so easy, and you can make it days ahead. With only THREE ingredients plus optional flavour suggestions… you’ll never want to buy store-bought again!
I can’t have a good Thanksgiving or Christmas without an incredible homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe! This is what my readers have been screaming at me through emails.
You asked — we delivered!
Cranberry Sauce
A classic sauce made from fresh or frozen cranberries, commonly served as a side with Thanksgiving dinnerthat seems to be forgotten about or preferred by many to grab a can from the store. However, homemade just doesn’t compare to anything in a jar or can.
Cranberries are tart and scream the need for sugar to balance out the sourness. The tartness never really disappears, which makes it the perfect sweet/tart sauce to serve with Turkey.
Some love it, some hate it. Others swear by it, believing wholeheartedly that thisis the perfect sauce for a holiday meal!
How To Make Cranberry Sauce
Just like making jelly or jam, our sauce is done in only a few easy steps:
Cook all ingredients together in a small pot Season with salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and/or a pinch of ground cinnamon if you wish.
For our recipe, we throw in a few whole cranberries right at the end once the sauce is nearly done. If you love the bursts of fruit, you will love this method!
Our recipe is quick to throw together, easy and uses only a handful of ingredients:
Cranberries — use fresh or frozen
Brown sugar — or white granulated sugar. I find brown sugar creates the best flavour.
Orange juice — sub out the juice for water if you don’t like citrus flavours
Orange peel or lemon zest — both are optional but provide an even better flavour that pairs so well with cranberries. You could also add in 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice instead of using strips of peel or zest.
A pinch of salt and pepper
Optional add in’s: Pecans, cinnamon (ground or stick), nutmeg, all spice or finely chopped rosemary.
Is cranberry sauce supposed to be hot or cold?
Either! Some prefer to have it served fresh and warm, straight out of the pot, while others need it completely cooled down to enjoy the flavours. Personally, we prefer cooled sauce.
How long does homemade cranberry sauce last?
If stored in airtight jars or containers, sauce can be refrigerated for up to10 days.
Can I make it ahead?
Typically served chilled, our recipe can be made up to 3 days ahead. You may find the flavour has settled after two days, which makes it the perfect recipe to get started on ahead of time.
1strip orange rind or ½ teaspoon lemon zest(optional for added citrus flavour)
Instructions
Transfer ½ cup of cranberries a small bowl, set aside.
Cook remaining ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, while stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft (about 10 minutes).
Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst (a further 10 minutes).
Reduce heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries. Add in a couple tablespoons of extra water, if needed.
If you don't have maple syrup (pancake syrup WILL NOT do, y'all), try honey or a more neutral sweetener like agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or even simple syrup. All of these syrupy ingredients are a perfect quick fix for bitter cranberry sauce.
Canned cranberry sauce is delicious on its own, but there are ways you can dress it up for any meal. Adding fruits like oranges or berries brings different flavors and acidity to the sauce. Folding in crushed nuts at the end adds texture variety.
When it comes to choosing between canned and fresh cranberry sauce, taste and nutrition are often key factors. Let's break down the differences: Taste: Fresh cranberry sauce typically has a brighter, more tart flavor taste, while canned sauce is often sweeter and has a more uniform texture.
The major variation you're likely to come across is "whole berry" versus "jellied." The only difference between them is that the jellied sauce is cooked until the berries have completely broken down. They both slide out of the can as a wobbly red cylinder.
"Resist adding granulated sugar—you won't get the full effect unless you reheat the sauce and the sugar dissolves," writes Kelsey Kloss. "Instead, start by stirring in one tablespoon maple syrup and one teaspoon of a sweet drink like apple juice, orange juice, or fruity white or red wine. Add more to taste.
If you'd prefer, you could use simple syrup, coconut sugar, cane sugar, sugar-free sweetener, maple syrup, or raw honey. You could also omit the added sugar and make an unsweetened cranberry juice if you'd prefer. Fresh Citrus: oranges and lemons add sweet and acid to balance the cranberries tartness.
Cranberry sauce can be served either as a gooey liquid or as a solid jelly. The jellied version is solid enough to retain the shape of the container in which it's placed whereas the sauce version is much more fluid. The difference between the fluid sauce and the jelly versions comes down to pectin.
For the best consistency, make sure the cranberry sauce is thoroughly chilled before serving so it has time to set up. Making it the day before Thanksgiving gives it plenty of time to chill and saves you a task on the day itself. You can make this cranberry sauce up to 1 week before serving.
Maple syrup, brown sugar and even honey can make your cranberry sauce more dynamic. And don't forget the spices! Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, citrus zest and star anise all work well with cranberries and can be added while the sauce cooks to infuse your sauce with flavor.
Adding a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon or orange zest, a tablespoon of chopped candied peel, or even a splash of juice to your canned sauce will brighten flavors and bring in some homemade flavor.
4. Cranberries. Cranberries are low in potassium and high in vitamin C, making them another great choice for people with kidney disease. Cranberry juice has also been shown to help prevent urinary tract infections, which are typical for people with kidney disease.
The cans are "filled and labeled upside down with the rounded edge on top and the sharp can-like edge on the bottom to keep the jelly whole." This creates an air bubble vacuum on the rounded side (the top) so customers "can swipe the edge of the can with a knife to break the vacuum and the log will easily slide out."
Should cranberry sauce be served warm or cold? You could, of course, serve it straight out of the pot, but I think it's best after it's chilled in the fridge. Chilling it helps it firm up some more in the fridge, plus, serving it this way means you can make it days ahead of a holiday.
One possibility is that you may not have used enough sugar: Sugar helps the sauce firm up, so be sure to use the full amount called for in a recipe. Another possibility is that the cranberries need to boil for longer, releasing their pectin and ensuring a jelly consistency.
If your tomato sauce is too acidic and verging on bitter, turn to baking soda, not sugar. Yes, sugar might make the sauce taste better, but good old baking soda is an alkaline that will help balance the excess acid. A little pinch should do the trick.
The Fix: Balance bitter flavors by introducing something salty, sweet, or sour. For naturally bitter foods such as kale, you can soften the flavor by add a lemony vinaigrette, Parmesan cheese, and pomegranate seeds.
Salt suppresses the bitter flavors and can help release some more of the natural sweetness that comes with cranberry. Although, make sure you only add a tiny bit, a light sprinkle, because too much salt will overpower the juice and ruin it completely. Just do a small pinch at a time until you find the right amount.
Cranberries are generally considered safe whether they are cooked or raw. However, because of their notoriously bitter, sharp taste, most people prefer not to eat them raw or unsweetened. This bitterness is due to the high tannin content of cranberries.
Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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