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Cranberry Orange Sauce is my favorite cranberry sauce. Bursting with flavor, this easy recipe comes together in no time at all. Homemade cranberry sauce is so worth it, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Looking for a simple way to make your Thanksgiving dinner extra special? Make homemade cranberry sauce. I know, it seems like such a simple thing – and it is! But without fail, people are impressed when I break out my homemade cranberry orange sauce instead of opening a can of pre-made sauce.
My little secret? Cranberry sauce is EASY to make. Like, ridiculously easy. I should not be getting praise for making it from scratch, but I’m also not one to turn down a compliment. I just smile and say “oh, it was nothing,” and “so glad you like it!”
This cranberry-orange sauce is my Thanksgiving tradition. I love the contrasting flavors of cranberry and orange—sweet, tart, and vibrant.
Why Make Cranberry Sauce From Scratch?
I never understood why people would opt for canned cranberry sauce as opposed to making their own. I get that it takes like 10 seconds to open a can of cranberry sauce. But tack on maybe 5 more minutes to that 10 seconds and you can make fresh, homemade cranberry sauce from scratch.
The flavor is better. The texture is better. And homemade cranberry sauce just has a way of dressing up your roast turkey and creamy mashed potatoes that no can of pre-made gelatin ever could.
Plus, as I’ve mentioned, it’s super easy to throw together. This recipe yields plenty of sauce for those who love to smear it all over their turkey. It’s great to use for those leftover turkey sandwiches, too!
What You’ll Need
Here’s a quick review of what you’ll need to make my signature cranberry-orange sauce recipe for Thanksgiving. Make sure you scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.
- Fresh cranberries – Sometimes these are sold in bags, other times you’ll find them in the grocery store swimming in a vat of water. Scoop them out with the slotted spoon and place them in a produce bag.
- Orange – You’ll need zest and juice.
- Water
- Granulated sugar
Variation Ideas
The best thing about making your own cranberry sauce is that you can play around with different flavors. Here are some variations to try:
- Swap the orange juice and water with a strong ginger beer or apple cider.
- Or, add some freshly grated ginger.
- Add diced apples or pears.
- Dried cherries add texture and flavor.
- Place a cinnamon stick in the cranberry sauce while it cooks, then remove it afterwards. This will add cinnamon notes to your cranberry sauce.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Sauce
If you’ve never made your own cranberry sauce, you are going to be surprised by how simple it is! Here’s how to do it:
- Bring ingredients to a boil. Combine the cranberries, orange zest and juice, water, and sugar in a medium stockpot and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Simmer. Reduce the heat and cover the pot. Let the cranberries simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should be thick at this point, but you can add more sugar for thickening, if needed.
- Serve. Serve cranberry-orange sauce warm with turkey and all of your other Thanksgiving favorites.
Tips for The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Here are some tips for making homemade cranberry sauce:
- It will thicken. As the sauce cools a bit, it will get thicker. Don’t panic if it seems too thin after you turn off the heat, but do keep in mind that if it cools for a few minutes and it still seems runny, you can add more sugar.
- You don’t need to add cornstarch or other thickeners. Cranberries are high in pectin, which means they don’t need any added thickeners; combining pectin and sugar creates a gel reaction.
- You can thin the sauce, too. Cranberry sauce is really forgiving! If you forget about it and cook it a little longer than you meant to, you can thin it out by adding more liquid.
How to Store Leftovers
You can store leftover cranberry sauce in a sealed container for up to 7 days. If you’re making cran-orange sauce for Thanksgiving, this means you can also make it well in advance!
Ways to Use Leftover Cranberry Sauce
In addition to turkey sandwiches, there are so many ways to use leftover cranberry-orange sauce:
- Leftover turkey quesadillas. Add the cranberry sauce to the quesadillas or use it for dipping. I recommend a sharp cheddar for these.
- Grilled cheese sandwiches. Cranberry sauce is an excellent addition to grilled cheese if you haven’t tried it yet.
- Muffins. You can actually swirl a bit of cranberry sauce directly into your favorite muffin batter or just top muffins with a dollop of sauce.
- Breakfast. It’s also great when paired with breakfast foods like pancakes, waffles, quick breads, and oatmeal.
Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounce (340 g) bag of fresh cranberries
- Zest of 1 orange
- ½ cup (118 ml) fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup (59 ml) water
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a medium stockpot, add cranberries, orange zest, orange juice, water, and sugar. Bring to boil then turn heat down and let it simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.12 ounce (340 g) bag of fresh cranberries, Zest of 1 orange, 1/2 cup (118 ml) fresh orange juice, 1/4 cup (59 ml) water, 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- When mixture is done, it should be nice and thick. If you feel that you need to add more sugar, add more, a tbsp. at a time.
- Serve warm.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
This is the only way I make cranberry sauce now! And it’s always a huge hit with family and friends. It has the perfect combination of being slightly bitter from the fresh cranberries, but sweet and tangy from orange juice and sugar. Love it. It’s our go-to cranberry sauce recipe for thanksgiving!
THANK YOU for this recipe!! I made it for our Thanksgiving and it was a major hit! I served it warm for the main meal, but we had some cold later in the day; either way, it’s now a permanent part of my Thanksgiving menu!!
Awesome! So glad it was a hit! :)
This looks dee.lish!! Once again, my family was guilty of serving up the canned variety when I was growing up. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, pies and other desserts … all the “big ticket” dishes … made from scratch and heavenly. The “little things” like cranberry sauce must’ve been an afterthought. Oh well, I am making this this year!!
Good! Transform them from canned to fab :)