Homemade cranberry sauce is a Thanksgiving favorite for many, including for my husband Dave. This homemade cranberry orange sauce recipe is easy, fresh, tart, and darn delicious.
Dave’s cranberry sauce recipe is based on one his mom made when he was growing up. It was a pivotal moment in his young life when the family switched from canned cranberry sauce to homemade (ask him, he’ll tell you a much longer version of the story). He describes this cranberry sauce recipe as “based on my mom’s, but with a deeper spice profile that I think makes it just irresistible”.
He’ll tell you that this is one of his favorite foods, even if he only enjoys it at Thanksgiving time. We hope you find it irresistible too!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Level of difficulty: Easy. Put ingredients in a pan, boil, simmer, and enjoy!
Flavor: Tart cranberries, sweet orange juice, and all your favorite holiday flavors like brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla combine into one celebration of the season.
Time: You’ll need about 20 minutes to make this homemade cranberry sauce recipe.
Ingredients Needed
Fresh cranberries
Oranges (juice and zest)
Salt
Vanilla
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a large saucepan
- Stir to combine
- Bring mixture to a soft boil over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, then simmer on medium low for 10 minutes
- Allow to cool, and enjoy!
What Pairs Well with Cranberry Sauce?
Cranberry sauce is a classic Thanksgiving side dish. The sweet and tangy berries make a perfect companion to savory turkey. But cranberry sauce works well with a lot of meats too. Try pairing it with chicken, pork, and sausage! This cranberry sauce is also great in this fun cranberry crostini appetizer recipe.
Expert Tips
Want to change it up a bit? Add bourbon! Cranberry sauce is a great dish to experiment with, and bourbon adds a fun depth of flavor to this Thanksgiving side dish. Start by removing 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice from the recipe as noted and replacing it with your favorite bourbon. Add more to taste. Enjoy your bourbon cranberry sauce as you normally would.
Looking to cut carbs? There are a few ways to do this. You can replace half the orange juice with water, or cut the brown sugar in half. When doing this, you may want to taste it and add a little stevia into your cranberry sauce to balance out tartness of the berries.
Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
- Cranberry Crostini with Whipped Goat Cheese
- Cauliflower and Potato Mash (Lightened Up Mashed Potatoes)
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Dave’s Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ingredients
- 16 oz fresh cranberries, rinsed
- 1 C fresh squeezed orange juice (from approx. 3 large oranges)
- zest of 1 large orange
- ½ C brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a large saucepan
- Stir to combine
- Bring mixture to a soft boil over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, then simmer on medium low for 10 minutes
- Allow to cool, and enjoy!
Greg R says
Wonderful sauce with any kind of meat (a great side for turkey, but I like mine with pork tenderloin). I prefer my cranberry sauce tart, so this sauce is perfect for me. If you like yours sweet, maybe add just a bit more sugar. Not too much, though.
ourlovelanguageisfood says
Great tip on adding this to pork tenderloin and note on adding a little more sugar if preferred – thanks Greg!