Search For Recipes

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

queenslee appetit

Bake it Beautiful

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
    • Privacy & Disclosure
    • Data Request Form
  • Browse Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Sweets and Treats
      • Brownies/Blondies
      • Cheesecakes
        • Mini Cheesecakes
        • No-Bake Cheesecake
      • Cakes
      • Cupcakes
      • Frostings
      • Donuts
      • Milkshakes/Freakshakes
      • Parfaits/Trifles
      • Pies/Tarts/Crisps
      • Pudding
      • Frozen Desserts
        • Ice Cream Sandwiches
        • Homemade Ice Cream
      • Truffles
      • Cookies
        • Cookie Cakes
        • Cookie Sandwiches
    • Holidays
      • New Years
      • Game Day
      • Valentine’s Day
      • St. Patrick’s Day
      • Easter
      • Cinco de Mayo
      • Mother’s Day
      • Father’s Day
      • Canada Day
      • Fourth of July
      • Birthday
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Christmas
    • Favourites
    • Vegan
    • Savory
      • Appetizers & Snacks
      • Dinner & Sides
    • Breakfast
    • Drinks
      • Hot Chocolate
      • Summer Drinks
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Resources for Food Bloggers
    • How to Start a Food Blog (Part 1)
    • Tutorials
  • Subscribe
Home » All Recipes » The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce

The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce

November 12, 2019 by Dedra | QueensleeAppetit 1 Comment

Jump to Recipe

This is the best Homemade Cranberry Sauce I’ve ever made! Made with only 4 simple ingredients and a few easy steps, this fresh cranberry sauce is the perfect addition to your Holiday dinner table.

homemade cranberry sauce in a bowl with a spoon

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.

Woo, here we go! Thanksgiving mode is in full effect here on Queenslee Appétit (even though Thanksgiving was a month ago here in Canada). I’ve got a full Thanksgiving menu ready to share with you all, from the main course to the side dishes, appetizers and of course, dessert! 

But for now let’s start with the simple stuff, cranberry sauce! 

homemade cranberry sauce in a bowl with a spoon

The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce

I think my entire family hates cranberry sauce, but you know what they’re gonna have to deal with it this year, because I’ll be making it from scratch over and over again! To be fair, their only experience is the stuff in the can. 

Though, just like every other store-bought food they claimed to hate, once they tried my homemade version they immediately changed their minds! So here’s to hoping they also change their minds about cranberry sauce once they try my homemade recipe. 

homemade cranberry sauce in a bowl with a spoon

Here’s What You’ll Love About This Cranberry Sauce Recipe

  • Only uses 4 ingredients (including water, which I’m sure you already have)
  • Ready in 5-10 minutes 
  • Tastes far better than the one you buy in a can
  • Totally customizable. I’ve included a list of optional add-ins you could throw in to add a different flavour! 

Ingredients Used in Cranberry Sauce

The 4 basic ingredients used in cranberry sauce are sugar, water, orange juice and cranberries. We use a cup of sugar in the sauce, but you can easily adjust the sweetness level by adding less (or even more) if you wanted to. You can also substitute the white sugar for brown sugar for an even different flavour!

As for the liquids, we use 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, not the bottled juice. You can swap the amounts and use a cup of orange juice and 1/2 cup of water. You could also use all water or all orange juice to give the sauce more of an “orange-y” flavour. 

cranberry sauce ingredients

fresh cranberries and squeezed oranges

How to Make Cranberry Sauce From Scratch

Making cranberry sauce from scratch is actually surprisingly easy! Start by combining the sugar, water and orange juice together in a saucepan and bringing them to a boil. 

Once the mixture begins boiling, add the whole cranberries and continue to cook until they all pop. The cranberries will break up and create a chunky sauce, but if you want whole berries in your sauce, you can stir some in after it’s done cooking. 

As for the add-ins, once the sauce has finished cooking, you can stir in some orange zest, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon or cloves. You can also throw in a cinnamon stick or orange peel while it’s boiling, then remove it when it’s done. And if you want to make a more adult version, a splash of wine or rum will definitely spice things up!

spoonful of fresh cranberry sauce

Can Cranberry Sauce be Frozen?

Yes! Cranberry sauce freezes beautifully. Put the sauce into a freezer safe ziplock bag, or an airtight container and freeze for 1-2 months. 

You’ll need to defrost it in the refrigerator overnight, but as everything that gets frozen and thawed, the sauce will be more watery. Just reheat it on the stove in a saucepan over medium heat and let it cook until most of the excess water evaporates and the sauce thickens back up. 

homemade cranberry sauce in a bowl with a spoon

What can Cranberry Sauce be used for?

Well cranberry sauce isn’t really something you eat by itself, it’s usually served alongside another dish, but what can you use it for? Here’s a few ideas:

  • Serve it with Turkey or Baked Ham 
  • Whipped Cranberry Honey Butter
  • Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwiches
  • Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Sliders
  • Cranberry BBQ Turkey Pizza (swap the cranberry bbq sauce for normal cranberry sauce)
  • Serve it over Eggnog Pancakes or Eggnog French Toast
  • Use it as a waffle or biscuit topping 
  • Or a cheesecake/mini cheesecake topping

So as you can see, cranberry sauce can be so much more than a side dish. Now go on, make a batch or two and say goodbye to the canned stuff for good! 

homemade cranberry sauce in a bowl with a spoon

Did you make this Homemade Cranberry Sauce? Let me know how they turned out in the comments below! And don’t forget to leave a rating!

>>PIN THIS FOR LATER<< 

homemade cranberry sauce pin image

FOLLOW QUEENSLEE APPÉTIT 

Like what you see? Make sure you‘re following Queenslee Appétit for more tasty recipes!

Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter |

Have any questions about the recipe? Contact me here, and I’ll be happy to help!

SHARE YOUR PICS!

Tag me on Instagram @queensleeappetit or use the hashtag #queensleeappetit so I could see your gorgeous creations!

SUBSCRIBE FOR THE LATEST RECIPES!


 
 

Continue to Content
homemade cranberry sauce in a bowl with a spoon

The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Yield: 2 and 1/2 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

This is the best Homemade Cranberry Sauce I’ve ever made! Made with only 4 simple ingredients and a few easy steps, this fresh cranberry sauce is the perfect addition to your Holiday dinner table.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup orange juice (optional)
  • 16 oz. fresh cranberries
  • Optional Add-ins [see notes]: 1 tsp orange zest, 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1 cinnamon stick or a pinch of ground cinnamon or cloves, an orange peel, or a splash of wine or rum, 1 split vanilla bean

Instructions

  1. Wash the cranberries and discard any ugly, bruised ones. Set aside.
  2. Add the sugar, water and orange juice to a small saucepan and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to boil.
  3. Add the cranberries and allow mixture to return to a boil. Once mixture is boiling, turn the heat down to medium and cook for 5-10 minutes or until all of the cranberries have popped.
  4. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

  1. Optional Add-Ins Instructions: If adding orange zest, vanilla, a pinch of cinnamon or cloves, wait till the end to stir them in. The splash of wine or rum can be stirred in after adding the cranberries. The cinnamon stick or orange peel can be added while the sauce is boiling, then removed once it cools. If adding a split vanilla bean, place it into the sauce and allow it to cool and chill completely before removing the bean.
  2. Make Ahead: Cranberry sauce can be made about a month ahead of time and stored in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Thawing/Reheating Instructions: place frozen cranberry sauce in the freezer overnight to thaw. Reheat on the stove over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes, or until most of the excess water evaporates.
  3. Frozen Cranberries: If using frozen cranberries, make sure to thaw before using.
  4. Whole Cranberry Sauce: if you want a whole cranberry sauce, reserve about 4 oz. of the cranberries (or buy extra!) and stir the whole berries into the sauce after it’s done cooking.
  5. Variations: You can replace the granulated sugar with brown sugar for a brown sugar cranberry sauce. You can also use all water or all orange juice for more of an orange flavour (recommend adding the zest too if you want this), you can also switch up the amounts and use 1 cup of orange juice and 1/2 cup of water.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Utopia Kitchen 2 Quart Nonstick Saucepan with Glass Lid - Induction Bottom - Multipurpose Use for Home Kitchen or Restaurant
    Utopia Kitchen 2 Quart Nonstick Saucepan with Glass Lid - Induction Bottom - Multipurpose Use for Home Kitchen or Restaurant
© Dedra | QueensleeAppetit
Cuisine: American / Category: Thanksgiving

BON APPÉTIT!

Love, Dedra

©QUEENSLEE APPÉTIT. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.

Filed Under: All Recipes, Dinner & Sides Recipes, Holidays, sides, Thanksgiving Tagged With: Cranberry, sauces, thanksgiving sides

Previous Post: « The Best Apple Crisp
Next Post: Creamy Mashed Potatoes »

Reader Interactions

Trending

Cajun Shrimp and Crab Mac and Cheese
Turtle Chocolate Layer Cake

You May Also Like:

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

ice cream cake on a white platter with mini marshmallows on the bottom of it

S’mores Ice Cream Cake

close up of multiple slices of banana bread lined up on each other

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Bananas Foster Cheesecake

Comments

  1. AvatarExemplary Essays On Line

    November 14, 2019 at 4:05 AM

    I think that the cranberry sauce is something every woman must know how to cook! Pleasant acidity, delicate texture and spicy aroma. So this is how we can characterize this sauce.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Dedra

Some may say I’m addicted to desserts, and they are absolutely right! Baking is my passion and has been ever since I was 6 years old, it just took about a decade for me to realize it. Now I am devoted to creating the BEST sweet and savoury recipes from my tiny little kitchen and sharing them with the world!

More about Dedra

LET’S CONNECT!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

SUBSCRIBE FOR THE LATEST RECIPES!


Footer

TRENDING

Cajun Shrimp and Crab Mac and Cheese
Turtle Chocolate Layer Cake
Loaded Cheese Fries
The Perfect Homemade Pizza Sauce
The Perfect Homemade Meat Sauce
Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

Copyright © 2021 · queensleeappetit.com·PRIVACY & DISCLOSURE·

Chocolate Chip aren’t the only kind of cookies we have on this site! This website uses cookies to provide you with the best possible experience. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.I'm cool with cookies Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.