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This homemade cranberry sauce recipe is delicious, simple and perfect for Thanksgiving. Fresh cranberries are simmered on the stove with cinnamon, sugar, vanilla and orange zest and juice. Serve these with my famous stuffing muffins and creamy baked macaroni and cheese.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, I’m all about the classics—stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes. For years, I was devoted to canned cranberry sauce, slicing it along those nostalgic can-ridges. But I’ve finally converted to homemade, and there’s no going back.
Ingredients for Cranberry Sauce
- Fresh cranberries – This is an absolute must. If you can’t find cranberries, frozen will absolutely work.
- Vanilla extract – I love vanilla in my cranberry sauce. It adds a depth of flavor that is very lovely.
- Kosher salt – We need a balance of salty and sweet and a pinch of salt adds just enough.
- Brown sugar – I love the caramel notes brown sugar adds.
- Orange juice and zest – The flavors of orange and cranberry are a perfect fit.
- Grated ginger – I love fresh ginger in this recipe. It adds a element of spice.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe card below!
How to Make Classic Cranberry Sauce
- Wash your cranberries. I like to do this even if the bag says they’ve been pre-washed. You truly never know!
- Add the cranberries to a saucepan.
- Zest the orange and then juice the orange. Be sure to zest it before you slice it.
- Add the zest, juice, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, water, vanilla extract, ginger and cinnamon stick.
- Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and cook it until it begins to bubble up and soften, about 10 minutes.
- Using your spatula, pop and agitate the cranberries a bit. I like when it’s a mix of whole cranberries and sauce.
- Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. From here you can store it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. Or serve it right away.
Recipe Tip
To Make this Recipe Ahead – Cook it and allow it to cool to room temperature completely. Transfer it to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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Cranberry Sauce
Equipment
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 silicon spatula
Ingredients
- 1 (12-ounce) bag of fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- Juice from 1 orange, about 3 to 4 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, (from 1/2-inch knob of ginger)
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, set over medium heat, add the cranberries.
- Zest the orange and add the zest to the cranberries.
- Squeeze in the orange juice, along with all of the other ingredients.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the cranberries have burst and the sauce has reduced slightly. Give it a taste (be careful, it'll be hot!) and adjust the seasonings. You may want it to be a bit sweeter.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and discard. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill. The cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Keeps in the fridge when stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love homemade cranberry sauce, simple like this. So sad that I can’t find fresh/whole/frozen cranberries here in the UK…
Try Morrisons… I don’t know where you live but there is one in Peterborough and I saw cranberries there a few days ago… I am going tonight to buy some I hope they have them
Yummy, I’m getting excited here! This is what I always bring to a friend’s house every year, and it is always a big hit. There’s something about the combination of turkey and cranberry sauce that’s made in heaven. But I’ll have to try incorporating brown sugar too. Orange zest really kicks it over the top! As far as the canned stuff goes…YES! The little girl in me still secretly hopes that it will be there. Along with the canned Lindsey black olives.
I definitely need to attempt real cranberry sauce this year!
xo Jennifer
http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com
This sounds a lot like the cranberry sauce I make every year! I also have those Heath salad plates 🙂
I love that you consider the orange essential, I do too!
I never knew I loved cranberry sauce until a few years ago. I think the can glop always freaked me out as a child rather than fascinated me. Homemade is so much better and not all alien-looking! Yay!
PIE WEEK! YESSSSS! Getting ready to test out pie recipes for T-Day. You rock my mismatched socks! I’m excited. 🙂
I loved canned cranberry sauce too! Now I make my own, but there is definitely a flashback to childhood when you think of canned cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.
Cranberry sauce is my favorite part of Thanksgiving. I have to make it every year! And I am so looking forward to pie week.
I got excited this week and ordered a Thanksgiving sandwich at a local deli. Thick turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce on a pretzel roll. Amazing! Yes, it definitely needed cranberry sauce. I like the classic too.
Pretzel roll?! YES YES YES YES