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Our Love Language is Food > Recipes > Soups & Sides

Published: Nov 16, 2021 · Modified: Nov 18, 2024 by Meredith · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

Dave’s Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce

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Homemade cranberry orange sauce is a Thanksgiving favorite for many, including for my husband Dave. This cranberry sauce recipe is easy, fresh, tart, and darn delicious.

Glass dish of cranberry sauce, surrounded by fresh cranberries a dark red napkin, and a larger serving dish filled with cranberry sauce.

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, especially when paired with sweet potato casserole and all the other great Thanksgiving sides, even if he only enjoys once a year. We hope you find it irresistible too!

Jump to:
  • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients Needed
  • Step-By-Step Instructions
  • What Pairs Well with Cranberry Sauce?
  • Expert Tips
  • Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
  • Dave’s Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce

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

Ingredients for cranberry sauce. Image includes 3 large oranges, a bowl of fresh cranberries, brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and ground cinnamon.
  • 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

  1. Add all ingredients into a large saucepan
  2. Stir to combine
  3. Bring mixture to a soft boil over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, then simmer on medium low for 10 minutes
  4. 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 and can also be used in our cranberry and cheese puff pastry bites appetizer too!

Top down view a glass dish of cranberry orange sauce. The dish is surrounded by fresh cranberries and a dark red napkin.

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
  • Cranberry Puff Pastry Bites
  • Cauliflower and Potato Mash (Lightened Up Mashed Potatoes)

Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating & comment below! You can also tag @ourlovelanguageisfood on Instagram & Facebook. Be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get free recipes sent directly to your inbox!

Close-up view of Dave's homemade cranberry orange sauce with cranberries scattered around the dish.

Dave’s Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce

Meredith
Homemade cranberry sauce is a must at any holiday gathering! This easy side dish recipe is tart and sweet accented with warm winter spice.
5 from 7 votes
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Prep Time 3 minutes mins
Cook Time 17 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 94 kcal

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!

Notes

*Recipe modification option: add bourbon! 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 94kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 151mgPotassium: 127mgFiber: 2gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 96IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    5 from 7 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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  1. Greg R says

    August 29, 2022 at 9:34 pm

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
    • ourlovelanguageisfood says

      August 29, 2022 at 9:37 pm

      Great tip on adding this to pork tenderloin and note on adding a little more sugar if preferred – thanks Greg!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Meredith!

I am a Midwest-based foodie and mom working full time by day and sharing my passion for all things food by night. Follow along for great recipes to share with your family and friends. I've got you covered for breakfast, dinner, snack-time, parties, desserts, drinks, and more!

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