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Sweet and tart with some citrusy tang, this easy homemade cranberry sauce is heavenly on a holiday dinner plate and is a simple side to prepare ahead of time!
If there’s one thing I absolutely need on my plate for a holiday meal, it’s cranberry sauce. And I’m not talking the kind you get in a can that’s still perfectly can-shaped when you dump it out. Nope, that’s practically a sin in my kitchen. I mean, I’m all for kitchen hacks and cooking shortcuts, but you guys, making cranberry sauce from scratch is so easy that it’s silly to do anything else!
If you can stir things in a pot on the stove, you’re golden (ahem, that should be everyone reading this!). It’s also a perfect contender to make ahead of time for less stress on the day of the occasion itself. It keeps for up to 3 days, so go ahead and knock it off your to-cook list early!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- I love this sauce because it’s sweet from the sugar, tart from the cranberries, and zesty from the orange juice and peel used as flavorings.
- It has all these rich and bright fall flavors, yet it doesn’t take a professional chef (or a food blogger) to make it perfectly every time.
- Cranberry sauce is a special Thanksgiving dish that elevates the rest of the meal with its bright flavors and color, and this recipe is the best for making ahead and having a simple and rich cranberry sauce.
🦃 My family loves all things cranberry-flavored so I always have a cranberry-themed dish at each Thanksgiving & Christmas holiday meal!
Recipe Ingredients
- Cranberries – fresh or frozen
- Oranges – 3 to 4 oranges for the juice and peel
- Sugar
- Cinnamon stick
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Add the cranberries, orange juice, water, and sugar to a saucepan and stir.
- Then add the salt, cinnamon, and orange peel.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Let cool and remove the orange peel and cinnamon stick
Recipe FAQs
Cranberry sauce is a traditional Thanksgiving dish in America. It’s thought that a cranberry dish may have been served at the first Thanksgiving, as the Wampanoag tribe used cranberries for a variety of things, like dye, medicine, and food. Today, it’s a sweet and tart dish served up at most Thanksgiving tables because the bright flavors complement the heavier, saltier, richer Thanksgiving foods, like turkey, potatoes, and stuffing.
Yes, homemade cranberry sauce freezes beautifully! Store it in an airtight container, and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge when you’re ready to serve it.
This is totally up to you! You can serve it warm, at room temperature, or chilled. It will also keep in the fridge for up to 4 or 5 days, so take advantage of it for all your holiday leftover meals!
Expert Tips
- For a sweeter cranberry sauce, add an additional 1/4 cup of sugar at the start of cooking to cut some of the tartness.
- Homemade cranberry sauce freezes wonderfully! Keep it stored in an airtight container, and it can be kept frozen for up to 3 months. Then thaw overnight in the fridge when you’re ready to serve it.
- Cranberry sauce can be served hot or cold, depending on your family’s preference.
More Thanksgiving Recipes to Consider
Cornbread Recipes
Southern-Style Cornbread Dressing (With Make-Ahead Tips)
Appetizer Recipes
Fresh Cranberry Salsa Recipe | Sweet & Spicy Holiday Dish
Pies, Crisps & Tarts
Healthy Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Pies, Crisps & Tarts
Homemade Coconut Cream Pie
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Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, (about 3 cups)
- 1/2 cup orange juice, juice from 3 to 4 oranges
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 piece of orange peel, about 1/2-inch wide and 3 inches long (just shave a little off with a knife)
Instructions
- Add the cranberries, orange juice, water, and sugar to a medium to large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to combine.
- Add the salt, cinnamon, and orange peel.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, and reduce the heat to medium.
- Simmer, stirring often, for 10 to 12 minutes or until most of the cranberries have popped. The mixture will thicken.
- Let the mixture cool for 30 minutes, and then remove the orange peel and cinnamon stick.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
- This can be made up to 3 days ahead of time.
Notes
- I have found no difference between using fresh and frozen berries—just use what you can find!
- If you like your cranberry sauce very sweet you can add an additional 1/4 cup of sugar when you add the sugar.
- Simmering together a handful of ingredients on the stove is all it takes to make an irresistible cranberry sauce that you’ll be dying to make for every holiday celebration!
- It’s a perfect make-ahead dish because it keeps for up to 3 days, so go ahead and make this one ahead for less stress on the day of!
My 11 year old daughter chose this recipe to make for thanksgiving and everyone loved it!! The instructions were simple and easy for her to follow and she was excited to be a part of the meal prep process. We are still looking for the cinnamon stick 😉.
Making this now for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I love your recipes; basic readily available ingredients and real food that you have made special with your creativity. I also appreciate how easy this site is to navigate. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! Robbin
I appreciate the feedback and the compliment on the site, that means so much to me!