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How To Make The Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe

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This Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe is made with cranberries, sugar, allspice seasoning, and orange juice. The combination of flavors blend beautifully and will complete your holiday dinner table.

How To Make The Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe - Learn How To Make The Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce and your holiday table will be complete. It's made with lots of yummy flavors that blend beautifully. #cranberry #holidayfood #thanksgiving #easy #homemade #homefreshideas

Where are my cranberry lovers at? You are bound to enjoy this tangy, sweet, and a little bit tart cranberry orange sauce. You can make it with just 20 minutes of prep time and have a Happy Thanksgiving and Christmas with all this yummy goodness.

If you are hosting some events, this homemade cranberry sauce is a must. I love serving cranberry anything to my friends and family. It’s so flavorful and is always a hit in the fall and winter. You can even serve it as an appetizer for New Years!

🍊 Ingredients

There are only 7 ingredients needed to make this incredible side dish. You can swap the sugar, so you are using one kind or stick with brown and white together. Totally up to you and will be yummy. Add a little bit of honey or maple syrup if it needs to be sweeter once it’s done.

  • Cranberries
  • White Sugar
  • Brown Sugar
  • Orange Juice
  • Water
  • Allspice Seasoning
  • Orange Zest (optional, to taste)

🥐 Directions

If you haven’t broken down and made cranberry sauce yet, this is the best time to do it. It’s the perfect time of year, but it’s also really easy and delicious.

  1. Start off by cleaning the fresh cranberries and toss any that are bad.
  2. Pour the orange juice, water, white sugar, and brown sugar into a medium saucepan. Add in the cranberries.
  3. Heat until the cranberries have popped open. I recommend a wooden spoon when stirring so you can help mash the cranberries. Cook for 15-20 minutes and frequently stir, so they don’t stick.
  4. Remove from heat and add as little or as much orange zest that you want. Sprinkle in the allspice seasoning and stir.
  5. Cool the homemade cranberry sauce recipe for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour in the fridge covered lightly with a piece of plastic wrap.

⏲️ Storage

After the homemade sauce has cooled down, keep the leftover cranberry orange sauce in the fridge in an airtight container. It will last 1-2 weeks as long as it’s airtight.

You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. I recommend pouring it into a freezer bag and filling it 2/3 full. Let out any air and lay it flat until it’s frozen. After it’s solid, you can stand it up or move it to make more room in your freezer. It’s nice to plan ahead and have it ready when you need it last minute. This is a great way to save cooking time on the day of your event too.

📌 FAQs

Can you use frozen cranberries?

Oh absolutely! Frozen cranberries are a lovely option when you can’t find fresh cranberries. They will taste great as well. You may need to cook the cranberries a little bit longer as they are frozen.

How do you make cranberry sauce thicker?

The easiest way to thicken the sauce is to let it cook long enough to reduce. You can also add in a little bit of gelatin to the sauce as well.

Another thing you can do is add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir well, and pour into the sauce. The sauce will also thicken as it cools.

How can I sweeten the sauce?

While the fresh cranberry sauce does have sugar in it, it’s still not sweet enough for some peoples taste buds. That’s not a problem. The easiest way to make it sweeter is by drizzling in some maple syrup or honey.

What do I serve with easy cranberry sauce?

You can serve this homemade cranberry sauce in a variety of ways. I enjoy putting it on some cream cheese and eating it with crackers. You can add it to a charcuterie board, eat it on these Turkey Sliders, add it to some bread, or any other way you like it.

We like to eat it on our Thanksgiving turkey or on some spiral ham. Honestly, I can eat it with a spoon. 🙂 So, go wild and put it on all sorts of recipes and foods that you enjoy.

🔖 Helpful Supplies

It’s no secret that I always want all the latest kitchen gear and supplies. (my poor hubby 🤣) Here are some things you may enjoy as well. These things aren’t necessarily required if you already have them, but I thought I would share in case you have an obsession like I do.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.


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Yield: 12

How To Make The Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe

How To Make The Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe - Learn How To Make The Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce and your holiday table will be complete. It's made with lots of yummy flavors that blend beautifully. #cranberry #holidayfood #thanksgiving #easy #homemade #homefreshideas

Incredible Fresh Cranberry Sauce is perfect for all your holiday events and entertaining. Eat it on some crackers, or enjoy it on some warm bread. YUM!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • Fresh Cranberries (12 ounces)
  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 1/2 cup prepared or fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon Allspice Seasoning
  • Orange Zest (optional)

Instructions

  1. Start off by cleaning the fresh cranberries and toss any that are bad.
  2. Pour the orange juice, water, white sugar, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan.
  3. Heat until the cranberries have popped open. I recommend a wooden spoon when stirring so you can help mash the cranberries. Cook for 15-20 minutes and stir frequently so they don't stick.
  4. Remove from heat and add as little or as much orange zest that you want. Sprinkle in the allspice seasoning and stir.
  5. Cool the homemade cranberry sauce recipe for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Notes

You can make this cranberry sauce with frozen cranberries if you'd rather.

Store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 76Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 35mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 18gProtein: 0g

I'm not a dietician, these numbers can change based on the actual ingredients used. They are here as a guide to help you.

How To Make The Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe - Learn How To Make The Ultimate Fresh Cranberry Sauce and your holiday table will be complete. It's made with lots of yummy flavors that blend beautifully. #cranberry #holidayfood #thanksgiving #easy #homemade #homefreshideas
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