When I first started hosting Thanksgiving, I learned to cook the stuffing and sweet potato casserole first. Then I got brave enough to roast the turkey. Little by little I learned to bake pies and green bean casseroles, but the cranberry sauce was something I always bought canned. Until I learned to make this homemade cranberry sauce!!!
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A Happy Discovery
I don’t think there’s a Thanksgiving dinner table that doesn’t have cranberry sauce. I’m not sure if it was only my impression, but I always assumed cranberry sauce was complicated to make. To my surprise, one day while I was mixing a cranberry drink, I read the back of the bottle and it listed a simple to make cranberry sauce. I was honestly surprised, that’s it? It was only a few lines long recipe!! I knew I had to give it a try.
My First Cranberry Sauce
Well, next day I went to buy a bag of cranberries and made my first cranberry sauce with water and sugar. I loved it but I felt I could add few more ingredients. We used that first batch to make peanut butter sandwiches with cranberry sauce:). I got a second bag of cranberries and experimented a bit with cinnamon, nutmeg, oranges and tangerines. The version you see below is what my family likes best, but I encourage you to try to make your own. It’s easy to make, inexpensive and tastes delicious.
As most of you know, I didn’t grow up in United States but I love Thanksgiving and I try to build my own family traditions. My kids are getting exposed to ethnic traditional food from Bolivia and Albania, but they also get to have Thanksgiving & Christmas as any American child. My son loves my sweet potato casserole (LOADED in marshmallows and pecans) while my daughter can’t get enough of mashed potatoes with gravy!!
Thanksgiving Tips
Even though this cranberry sauce is very easy to make and requires almost no time at all, I still suggest you make this sauce the night before. See my post on how to make your hosting easier here. Some of my friends gave me some awesome tips that I decided to share with my readers. Basically, a lot of them suggest making the sauce and the pies ahead of time.
I’ve made this cranberry sauce a night or two in advance, but not any more than that so I’m not able yet to say how long can it last. We usually serve it on Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners (yes, we do dinner on Christmas Eve) and the next day for left overs. If I ever need it again, I make a fresh batch.
What Goes with Cranberry Sauce?
- Serve with roasted or fried poultry
- Cranberry sauce tastes great with ham too
- Leftover turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce
- Peanut butter sandwich with cranberry sauce
- Butter toast topped with cranberry sauce
- Crackers, cheese and cranberry sauce
- Muffins with leftover cranberry sauce
Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe Notes
Here are several tips to make the best homemade cranberry sauce:
- Make a night or two ahead, refrigerate and serve on Thanksgiving.
- Get more than 1 navel orange just in case they’re not too juicy. You only need one, but on one occasion the orange didn’t yield enough juice so I sliced up another orange.
- Zest as much orange as you like.
- Cover up the pot once it boils, lower heat a bit. You want to cover it up because cranberries will pop.
- I don’t use a spoon to smash the cranberries on the side of the pot. If you don’t like chunks of cranberries and want a smoother sauce, use a big spoon and once sauce is ready smash the cranberries on the side to get the consistency you like.
- You can also use lemon or pomegranate juice, I like to experiment sometimes and I have made the sauce with lemon or pomegranate juice. When I use lemon, I add a bit more sugar. I keep same amount of sugar when I add few tbsps of pomegranate juice.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 14 ozs cranberries Adjust as needed, my store only sells them in 14 ozs bags
- 0.5 cup sugar if you like a sweeter sauce add a bit more sugar
- 1 big navel orange
- 1 cup water
- 1 stick cinnamon
Instructions
- Wash and clean the cranberries, put them aside.
- Squeeze the orange, put the juice aside. Then zest the skin.
- Put a medium size pot in the stovetop, turn heat to medium. Add water and sugar and mix well until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Add orange juice and let it boil.
- Then add cranberries, orange zest and the cinnamon stick. At this point the house will smell amazing:))).
- Cover the pot and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. First time I didn't cover the pot and i was surprised at the popping sound of the cranberries, i had not idea that that could happen. You don't want to get burned!!
- Let the sauce thicken a bit then turn the heat off.
- Put in refrigerator to chill for at least 90 minutes. For best results i recommend to let chill overnight!! Enjoy it as a side dish with your favorite holiday food:))
Video
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Gina Shirley
I can’t wait to try this – never made it before. Thought it would be complicated or hard. You make it look so delicious and easy!!
admin
Thank you Gina, it was surprisingly easy!!! I too thought it was a complicated side dish.
Holly Bird
I just love this recipe! Thank you so much for all of your fantastic recipes!!
Linda
I always bought canned cranberries. Then a few years ago my daughter-in-law said she was going to make it. I thought wow, that is a lot of work for cranberry sauce. I was flabbergasted at how quick and easy it was to make! And it tasted so much better than canned…I love it when it is still warm. Thanks for sharing this recipe, I am going to add cinnamon this time!
admin
Thank you Linda!!! Me too, i bought canned for few years because i thought making it was so difficult. So surprised it’s so easy!!!