Homemade Cranberry Sauce

The easiest whole Cranberry Sauce ever. Sweet and tangy, this Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe is ready in minutes and can be made up to a week in advance. Perfect for your holiday table and even better with Thanksgiving leftovers.

Cranberry Sauce

For many years, the only cranberry sauce I knew of was the kind shaped like a can you find in many grocery stores. I LOVED it! The canned stuff is like eating jelly out of a jar with a spoon. I didn’t like it ON anything, I never was that person who mixed all their food together and covered every square centimeter of their plate with gravy. No way. 

I was the kid with the divided plate….until I was 30. (Actually, I still would prefer a divided plate.) I don’t like my food to touch.

For that reason, I never really knew the joy of the “Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Sandwich” the way I do now. And it all started with the canned cranberry sauce…because I knew no other. I was brave one day (or intoxicated) and mixed some of the cranberry sauce with some mayonnaise….next think I knew I was grilling my turkey sandwich with the cranberry mayo, sausage stuffing and gravy. It was crazy! And ridiculously amazing!

Ingredients For Homemade Cranberry Sauce

• Cranberries – Fresh cranberries are best but I’ve made this with frozen cranberries with great results.
• Sugar – White sugar is used for its neutral sweetness but brown sugar is a great substitute. You can also swap the sugar for pure maple syrup.
• Apples – I love the tart flavor of a Granny Smith but any firm, crisp, tart apple will work.
• Orange – Fresh orange juice and orange zest impart sweetness and fresh flavor.
• Lemon – Lemon juice and lemon zest balance the tartness of the cranberries perfectly.

For the full ingredient list and instructions, see the recipe card below.

How To Make Cranberry Sauce

Making fresh cranberry sauce from scratch is a very easy recipe. Basically, all you’re doing is stewing a bag of cranberries, fruit and sugar until everything breaks down into a sticky, thick sauce.

The original recipe used orange juice, sugar and cranberries. It was pretty good but over the years as I learned what the heck I was doing in the kitchen I tweaked it and revamped it and finally settled on this version of Easy Whole Cranberry Sauce recipe. This is an adaptation of Ina Garten’s Cranberry Compote. It’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes.

What I loved about this version is the fresh citrus juice and the chunky apples, it gives it more depth of flavor than just a cranberry sauce with orange juice only. The natural pectin in the apple helps it gel up like a quick jam recipe. Ina, also, adds raisins and nuts but I leave them out. It didn’t translate well into my “day after” sandwich and, honestly, everyone who has tried both versions found them totally unnecessary.

1. Simply stir all the ingredients together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Lower to medium heat and simmer your cranberry sauce until it starts to bubble and the cranberries begin to pop.
3. Keep cooking until the mixture is thick and sticky.
4. Remove the saucepan from the stovetop and allow let the sauce cool. The cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

You should serve your cranberry sauce chilled as it has a thicker consistency when it’s cold. It makes an amazing glaze for ham when warm or as a syrup for your Sunday pancakes.

What is Cranberry Sauce?

Cranberry Sauce, or Cranberry Jam, is a sauce made of fresh cranberries commonly found in North America. Cranberry Sauce is used as a condiment during the winter months and a holiday meal like Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas.

This recipe is very much like making a jam on the stovetop like my easy Blueberry Jam or this Strawberry Jam. It’s also know as Cranberry Compote in some areas of the country. It’s one of the staple side dishes for your Thanksgiving Turkey.

How To Freeze Cranberry Sauce

If you’re more than a week out from when you want to serve your Homemade Cranberry Sauce, you’ll be happy to hear that this cranberry sauce can be frozen easily. Simply transfer to an freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. 

Thaw your fresh cranberry sauce at room temperature and serve.

Leftover cranberry sauce can be transferred to an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 5 days.

What To Serve With Cranberry Sauce

We love to serve the best Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe alongside my favorite Roast Turkey recipe or this easy to make Crock Pot Ham. It’s also great with these easy Swedish Meatballs since they’re similar in flavor to lingonberries that you get at IKEA!

It also pairs well with The Best Beef Tenderloin Roast and Prime Rib Roast.

So, this is it…this is my Easy Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce recipe. It takes no time at all and you can make it several days in advance. Just remember to bring it out when you’re serving dinner because I’m going on three years in a row forgetting about it until my guests are finished eating.

More Easy Cranberry Recipes

But if you do forget and you find yourself with a big stash of it after the holiday you can whip up these Cranberry Cream Cheese Streusel Bars or these amazing Jalapeño Poppers!

If you want a no cook option, this easy Cranberry Relish is ready with just a few pulses of the food processor!

• Cranberry Orange Muffins
• Cranberry Bliss Bars
• Easy Cranberry Brie Bites
• Cranberry Orange Relish Recipe
• Cranberry Jalapeño Dip

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