Name: Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound fresh cranberries; 2 each oranges, juiced and; 1/2 cup Sugar; 1 each cinnamon stick

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice is simple and classic. With hints of cinnamon and orange, this whole cranberry sauce is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

horizontal shot of cranberry sauce with orange juice in white serving bowl with orange zest on top

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Cranberries, oh how I love thee. So tart and yet so sweet! If done right, an easy cranberry sauce is a must that is enjoyed during the holidays. I’m gonna give you the skinny on how I make my cranberry sauce perfect for turkey.

How Long Will Fresh Cranberries Keep

shot of fresh cranberries for sweet potato bake with fresh cranberries and apples.

The key to making the best cranberry sauce around is to use whole and fresh ingredients.

I love using whole or fresh cranberries in this recipe because there isn’t any added sugar to them as opposed to dried cranberries. Around late October or November, you can find bags of fresh cranberries that are perfect for this sauce.

I like to buy a few bags and store them in the freezer, that way I can use them when I want instead of waiting for that golden time of the year when they come fresh.

However, if you are making this cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, you can buy a bag the week before and the cranberries will be good to use!

What is Cranberry Sauce Used For

Cranberry sauce is turkey’s best friend during thanksgiving. If we want to get super sciency and everything, cranberry sauce is the perfect counterpart to a meaty turkey because of the sweet and tartness going on. It cuts the turkey molecules down so that your tongue can taste more turkey and more cranberry. Crazy huh?!

spoon lifting cranberry sauce out of sauce bowl

How to Make Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice

The key element to making the best cranberry sauce is finding the balance between tart and sweet.

You don’t want it too tart or nobody is going to eat it at all. But you also don’t want it to be too sweet, that’s what the pies are for during the holidays, right?!

I accomplish this by using both the juice from oranges and white sugar. Oranges are sweet enough as it is so the more I use, the less processed sugar has to be in the sauce.

You still need a little white sugar to sweeten this sauce but orange juice really helps cut down the amount.

What to Add to Cranberry Sauce

I have seen lots of different recipes for cranberry sauce with many varied additives Such as port, red wine, nuts, apple cider, cherries, etc.

I chose to keep my additions simple so that they cranberries really shined in the sauce.

I love the pairing of oranges with cranberries, the flavors are so refreshing and complement each other very well. I also love the color of orange zest with the cranberries, it’s very festive!

When I zest for my cranberry sauce, I like there to be visually obvious flecks in the sauce. I use this tool to get my thicker zest flakes, it doesn’t take any of the white and bitter pith off though so don’t worry. However, if you really don’t care about the thicker zest, a Microplane works just as well.

How to Thicken Cranberry Sauce

Another reason for adding the orange juice to this simple cranberry sauce is that it gives the cranberries some extra liquid to be made into a sauce.

As the sugar dissolves and the cranberries cook, the sauce will naturally thicken. Especially when cooled. So make sure to not cook the berries for too long or the sauce will be just popped cranberries.

process collage of making cranberry sauce with orange juice

Make sure that the sugar completely dissolves in the sauce, nobody likes gritty cranberry sauce. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving and discard.

Can Cranberry Sauce Be Made Ahead of Time

Absolutely! Yes. If you’re making this for the holidays and want to save some time and stress, I would make this sauce ahead of the big day and just reheat with a little orange juice. This sauce will keep in the fridge for about a week.

You can also freeze it and it will keep in the freezer for about 3 months.

vertical shot of cranberry sauce with orange juice in white serving bowl with oranges in background

I really love this cranberry sauce and think you will too! Have this in your repertoire ready for holiday meals this season! If you have especially enjoyed this recipe, I want to hear all about it down below in the comments, along with a rating.

Happy Holidays!

Other side dishes to enjoy for the holidays:

For a full holiday dinner, be sure to check out these posts:

Check out more Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes here.

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Yield: 6 servings

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice is simple and classic. With hints of cinnamon and orange, this whole cranberry sauce is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound fresh cranberries
2 each oranges, juiced and
1/2 cup Sugar
1 each cinnamon stick

Instructions

Mix ingredients together in a medium sized sauce-pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat and let simmer until sauce thickens and sugar is dissolved, about 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick and serve warm (or cold). Garnish with orange zest.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice