Look no further for the Best Ever Cranberry Sauce! This easy and delightful recipe takes only 15 minutes to make and a handful of ingredients! Spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with orange juice, it is the best combination of sweet and tart! The perfect complement to your holiday meal! Getting ready for Thanksgiving? Make sure to checkout the Best Turkey Gravy Recipe and this ridiculously easy Slow Cooker Citrus and Herb Turkey Breast for the best Thanksgiving yet!
Cranberry Sauce
Thanksgiving is almost here and I am running around like a crazy person making sure everything is ready to go! The turkey, the gravy, the potatoes, it’s all part of the “perfect” Thanksgiving meal.
One recipe that I feel often gets overlooked is the cranberry sauce. So many people go for the canned stuff, and while it’s great in a pinch, it doesn’t even come close to comparing to homemade.
This particular cranberry sauce recipe that I’m sharing with you today is fool-proof. It takes about 15 minutes, start to finish, and is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. It’s flavored with orange juice, orange peel and a cinnamon stick. So easy you guys!
I made this exact cranberry sauce for the these Cranberry Pecan Brie Bites that I shared with you last week and then realized… whoah! I’ve never even posted this recipe on it’s own and trust me, this Best Ever Cranberry Sauce deserves it’s own post!
Cranberry Sauce for the Holidays
Cranberry sauce is an essential part of every holiday meal for one simple reason – it cuts through the heaviness of all the other dishes. It’s light, it’s bright, and it’s actually pretty darn healthy. I add orange and cinnamon to my cranberry sauce which really gives it more depth of flavor and sweetens it just slightly. It’s still lovely and tart but not quite so tart that you’ll be puckering your lips.
What Do I Need To Make Cranberry Sauce?
This easy cranberry sauce recipe uses just a handful of real, whole ingredients:
- cranberries
- oranges
- cinnamon
- sugar
- and just a pinch of salt
Cranberry sauce is the perfect way to cut through the heaviness of a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and it adds a gorgeous pop of color and flavor to every bite. I hope you give this super easy recipe a try this holiday season!
Can Cranberry Sauce Be Make In Advance?
You betcha! In fact, this is my number one make-ahead recipe. It is served chilled so you need to make it at least one day in advance anyways. I find that the flavor is even better after two or three days so if you time beforehand, I would recommend just getting this recipe out of the way at the beginning of the week. One more note: you might want to double the recipe. I LOVE cranberry sauce in leftover turkey sandwiches the next day…and the next day…and the next day 🙂
Making Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner? Don’t forget these favorites:
- The Best Turkey Gravy Recipe
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Best Ever Broccoli Salad
- Slow Cooker Citrus and Herb Turkey Breast
How To Make Cranberry Sauce
Best Ever Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup water
- 12 oz fresh cranberries rinsed and picked through
- pinch of salt
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 piece of orange peel just use a potato peel or paring knife
Instructions
- Combine sugar, orange juice, and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine.
- Add cranberries, salt, cinnamon stick and orange peel.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Continue cooking, for about 10 minutes, or until all or most of the cranberries have popped. I like to leave a handful of berries whole.
- Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published November 22, 2016.
More cranberry recipes:
Cranberry Pecan Mini Goat Cheese Balls
White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake
For all appetizer recipes, go HERE.
For all dessert recipes, go HERE.
Sign up to get emails when I post new recipes!
For even more great ideas follow me on Facebook – Pinterest – Instagram – Twitter – Bloglovin’.
Colleen says
Second year I’ve used this recipe! Love it. I add 1/8 tsp of cground clove, 1/8 tsp nutmeg too!
Brooke says
My boyfriend ate my orange right before I went to make this ☹️ Will it still turn out without the orange peel?
Julie Ann says
I made this last year for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it!!!! So I cant wait it to be a show stopper this year too!!! Thank you so much for posting this!!!
Courtney says
Just made this today so it can sit awhile before Thursday. It. Is. So. Good!!!! I seriously could eat the entire batch right now. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Brittany says
This sauce is amazing! I had to prep early this year since I am at the end of the semester for ny masters program and we are traveling for Thanksgiving with a couple more things to make by Tuesday night! Thanks for the grest recipe. I left out the orange peel and cinnamon stick and just added cinnamon!
Lauren says
When it says orange juice do you mean fresh squeezed juice or oj in a bottle? Can’t wait to make this next week!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You can use either! Enjoy!
Stephanie Manley says
I love this isn’t too tart, or too sweet.
Jan says
How many points is this on the Freestyle program on Weight Watchers?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s a great question! I’m sure they haven an app for you to plug in the ingredients and find out!
Diane says
I just used WW calculator and it’s 6 points per serving. How big is a serving?
Sandy says
This is the best cranberry sauce EVER. Thank you!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thanks Sandy!
Ben Rayl says
Wow, just wow. This sauce is perfect, and so easy to make!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Super easy, super delish.
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
This cranberry sauce looks absolutely amazing! Can’t wait for Thanksgiving to make this!
Lori says
It’s my favorite way to make it!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I want to dive face first into a big bowl of this!
Brenda says
Easy, fresh, and delicious. Thank you so much!
Joanne says
I love the texture and “thickness” of this sauce. It’s perfect!