Cranberry Sauce is key to just about every Thanksgiving table. But with how easy it is to make at home, this is a recipe you will definitely want to make from scratch. Skip the can this year, and make your cranberry sauce from scratch with this delicious five ingredient recipe.
Sugar in Cranberry Sauce
As mentioned above, this recipe does call for a full cup of sugar. My thoughts on that are that the cup of sugar are needed to offset the tartness of the cranberries and the orange juice. The final result is a sauce that is perfect and not overly sweet. Additionally, I really believe that there isn’t such a thing as bad food, rather food that we should eat in moderation. You’ll notice the serving size here is only 1/3 cup.
Cranberries: We are using fresh, whole cranberries that have been thoroughly washed. Make sure to remove any cranberries that look wilted; we want to use cranberries that are nice and plump.Sugar: This recipe does call for a whole cup of sugar. Like in many sauces, this is needed to balance the tartness of the fresh cranberries and orange juice, which are both quite acidic. See suggestions below if that is too much sugar for your diet.Orange juice: The base of the sauce, your favorite orange juice punches up the flavor of this sauce in a big way.Orange zest: The zest from a fresh orange adds flavor that the orange juice can’t do alone. See more on zesting oranges below.Cinnamon: Adds some spice to balance the other ingredients and will make your kitchen smell so amazing while the sauce cooks.
Combine the orange juice and sugar. Whisk them together in a saucepan over medium-low heat.Add the other ingredients. Add the cranberries, cinnamon, and orange zest and stir to combine. Cook until the cranberries begin to pop, about 10 minutes.Serve the sauce. Remove the sauce from the heat and transfer to a serving bowl. The sauce will thicken as it sits.
If you are new to zesting, it is basically the skin of the orange (or a lemon or lime) grated into small pieces. The zesting creates small shreds that when added to a recipe, give you a great burst of the citrus flavor without the weird texture of the peel. Anytime you are zesting fruit, it is important to use a good quality zester. I share my recommendation for one I love below. You also want to only zest the bright orange of the peel. Once you get through that and into the white, stop and move on to a different part of the orange. If you are cooking for someone who has diabetes, a sugar substitute would be a great idea here. For example, monk fruit would work really well here. That being said, cranberries and orange juice also contain a lot of sugar, so even with that swap, cranberry sauce might just not be the best recipe to serve someone with blood sugar issues.
Using Frozen Cranberries
This recipe uses fresh cranberries. If you want to make homemade cranberry sauce with frozen cranberries because that is what you have or fresh cranberries are out of season, there is no need to thaw them before adding them to the pan. It will just take a little bit longer to cook the sauce.
Freezing Cranberry Sauce
You can freeze it too! Sometimes I make a double batch and freeze one for our Christmas meal. Just make sure to let it cool and store it in a freezer-safe container. It’ll stay nice and fresh for up to two months in the freezer. Thaw the frozen sauce in the refrigerator and serve or warm it on the stovetop and then serve.
Make sure you cover and refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking. As soon as the meal is over, make sure to stick it in the fridge.If it’s tightly covered, leftover sauce will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.For warm cranberry sauce, you can heat it up on the stovetop over medium heat until it’s the consistency you like.If the sauce seems too thick, thin it out with a little more orange juice or water.
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I can’t wait to hear what you think of this super easy cranberry sauce recipe. Drop a comment below to let me know how it goes!
Add it to this Turkey Bacon Brie Grilled Cheese, which can also use up some of your leftover turkey.Top your Orange Honey Baked Brie once it is baked for the perfect appetizer.These Cranberry Brie Bites are so simple to make but look and taste like a fancy appetizer.
