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If you’ve never tried making homemade cranberry sauce before, give this easy recipe a try and you’ll be hooked. Fresh ingredients always yield more flavor and with a homemade recipe like this one, you can make it your own by adjusting the sweetness or switching up the flavors (see ideas below).
Notes From the MGC Kitchen
We know loads of people swear by the canned, jellied cranberry sauce of their youth, but for us, homemade cranberry sauce from scratch is the clear winner in that taste test. All of our holiday celebrations include either our fresh cranberry orange relish or this cranberry sauce recipe. Not only is it a cinch to prepare, but it can also be made ahead of time for easier entertaining.
Key Ingredients & Shopping Tips
This is an overview of the key ingredients for this recipe. Please see the printable recipe card below for the complete listing, including quantities.
- FRESH CRANBERRIES: Fresh cranberries are readily available from October through December. When shopping, look for deep red berries that are firm and smooth, not puckered, and check to be sure there aren’t red juices in the bag. Store fresh, unwashed cranberries in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. You can also freeze them for up to a year. Rinse them first and dry them thoroughly, then pack them in a tightly sealed freezer bag. You can use them straight from the freezer for most recipes (no defrosting necessary).
- CINNAMON STICK: Adding a cinnamon stick to the sauce as it cooks lends a warming hint of spice to the tartness of the cranberries.
- FRESH ORANGE PEEL: Cranberries and oranges are a classic flavor pairing, and the addition of fresh orange peel adds a bright citrus note to the cranberry sauce. Whenever we cook with orange peel, we always try to buy organic.
How to Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce: An Overview
This is an overview of how this recipe is prepared. Please see the printable recipe card below for detailed step-by-step instructions.
COMBINE INGREDIENTS AND BOIL: Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan.
SIMMER: Add the cranberries, cinnamon, and orange peel and reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have “popped” and the mixture has thickened.
COOL AND SERVE: Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover, and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cool, remove the cinnamon stick and orange peel. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make Ahead Instructions
Cranberry sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead, and it will continue to develop even more flavor in this time. Allow the sauce to cool completely before refrigerating it in a tightly sealed container. It will last about a week in the fridge.
Make It Your Own: Flavor Variations
Here are a few ideas for customizing homemade cranberry sauce.
Spiced Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce
Our favorite twist is this one made with pomegranate juice and vanilla. Just follow the original recipe instructions and make these few adjustments:
- Replace the water with pomegranate juice.
- Reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup (the pomegranate juice acts as a sweetener).
- Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice.
More Simple Add-Ins
- Add some ginger, fresh or ground
- Use honey instead of sugar for complexity
- Stir in some diced apples or pears
- Add a splash of port wine
- Add sprig of fresh rosemary
More Cranberry Recipes You’ll Love
Homemade Cranberry Sauce With Orange
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh whole cranberries, (1 bag, about 3 cups)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 or 4 strips fresh orange peel
Instructions
- Sort through the cranberries to remove any mushy, shriveled, or unripe (white) berries, then rinse in cool water.
- Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries, cinnamon stick, and orange peel.
- Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the cranberries have "popped" and the mixture has thickened.
- Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and orange peel. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was really easy to make and I liked it alot. Do you think cardamom would be good with the cranberries? I have whole pods and was thinking of trying that next.
Hi Emily,
I definitely think cardamom would be a nice flavor to complement the cinnamon and orange. I would lightly crush 2 or 3 whole pods and add them to the mixture while it cooks. Let us know how it works out!