This delicious homemade cranberry sauce recipe is a quick and easy way to elevate your Thanksgiving menu and impress your guests! Using fresh cranberries along with a few other simple ingredients adds beautiful texture and rich color to your Thanksgiving table. You can even make it ahead of time so that there's one less thing you have to worry about on the big day.
Fun Facts About Cranberry Sauce
- The first Thanksgiving meal may have included cranberries, but they were not used to make cranberry sauce as we know it today. This was due to the scarcity of sugar in America at that time.
- The earliest cranberry sauce recipes came into existence about 50 years after the first Thanksgiving feast.
- Canned cranberry sauce was introduced in 1941, which enabled Americans to eat it all year round. Ironically, most Americans continue to eat cranberry sauce exclusively around the Thanksgiving holiday.
- Even though fresh cranberries are in season during the Fall, most Americans choose canned cranberry sauce over using fresh cranberries for Thanksgiving.
Why Should I Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- You can avoid health-diminishing ingredients found in canned cranberry jelly, such as high fructose corn syrup.
- You can customize the flavors to make the best cranberry sauce for your holiday feast.
- Even if you prefer a smooth jellied sauce, the high pectin content in cranberries will naturally cook down into a jelly without any extra effort or ingredients.
What Are the Health Benefits of Eating Cranberries?
Eating fresh cranberries can help reduce inflammation, maintain digestive health, improve heart health, prevent cancer, prevent cavities, prevent certain types of infections, and even improve your eyesight!
Ingredients
- Cranberries - be sure to use fresh cranberries as dried cranberries will not work with this recipe.
- Honey - choose local honey, if available. Did you know that local honey may help to reduce seasonal allergy symptoms? It also contains a number of antioxidants, which contribute to many health benefits. Darker varieties contain more antioxidants than lighter ones. Needless to say, honey is a far better alternative to using white sugar or brown sugar but should still be eaten in moderation.
- Orange - a large Navel orange works best, as it will produce about ½ cup of fresh orange juice. Did you know that eating one orange provides your body with more Vitamin C than the recommended daily amount? Not only does Vitamin C help boost your immune system, but it also helps to protect your cells from damage and even helps to absorb iron more easily.
- Orange Zest - use an organic orange to avoid exposure to pesticides.
- Star Anise - this ingredient takes a classic cranberry sauce to the next level. It comes from an evergreen plant native to areas in Vietnam and China and tastes similar to black licorice. As a bonus, it has medicinal properties and is a natural flu fighter!
- Ground Cinnamon - Choose the Ceylon variety as others can be toxic. If you have a cinnamon stick handy, you can use that instead of ground cinnamon. Did you know that consuming cinnamon regularly can lower your fasting blood sugar and reduce inflammation?
- Kosher Salt - while I typically use Kosher salt in most of my recipes, regular table salt works just as well, but make sure to reduce the amount due to its finer grain.
- Water
Instructions
Using a grater, zest the orange rind and set aside. Reserve the extra zest as a garnish for serving (see Top Tip). If you don't have a grater, you can use a slice of orange peel instead.
Cut the orange into quarter-sized wedges and press them through a lemon squeezer. This should make about ½ cup of orange juice.
In a small or medium saucepan, combine all ingredients, except for the cranberries and star anise, and bring to a boil.
Add the cranberries and star anise, then stir to combine.
Simmer on medium-low heat while stirring often, until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens into the consistency of jam. Remove from heat and discard the star anise.
Let cool before transferring to an airtight container. Refrigerate to chill. Serve chilled, at room temperature, or reheat. Top with reserved orange zest for an extra pop of color.
This recipe makes approximately 2.5 cups of cranberry sauce, which should be enough for approximately 10 guests.
Substitutions
- If you can't find fresh cranberries in your grocery store, you can use a 12 oz. bag of frozen cranberries.
- If you prefer the sauce to be more tart, try using maple syrup instead of honey. If you simply prefer to consume less sugar, try reducing your natural sweetener of choice to ¼ cup.
- Instead of using a zested and juiced orange, you can simply use orange juice.
Variations
- If you prefer jellied cranberry sauce over whole cranberry sauce, you can slice the cranberries in half before cooking and strain out the cranberry skins afterward. Just make sure to strain immediately after cooking as the sauce will quickly thicken as it cools.
- One of my favorite ways to switch up this recipe and add a little kick is to use ¼ cup of Triple Sec and ¾ cup of water instead of ½ cup of fresh squeezed orange juice and ½ cup of water.
Storage
Cranberry sauce can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months or 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Top tip
To keep the extra orange zest from oxidizing and turning brown, store it in the freezer until ready to use.
FAQ
- This recipe can be made ahead of the holiday season, such as in late October, and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer to the refrigerator 2 days in advance of serving to allow time to defrost.
- You can also make this recipe several days in advance as it will stay fresh for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.
- There are many different ways you can use cranberry sauce after a Thanksgiving meal! In addition to roast turkey, cranberry sauce can be a perfect complement to pork chops and Swedish meatballs.
- You can also add it to leftover turkey sandwiches, dinner rolls, Lefse, or even baked potatoes.
- Try it with a grilled cheese sandwich, or as a topping over a melted brie cheese wheel.
- As a breakfast option, you can use it on pancakes, crepes, English muffins, or toast. You can even stir it into yogurt, or a bowl of oatmeal.
Cranberry relish recipes are often similar in ingredients to cranberry sauce recipes, but they are typically made in a food processor and not cooked on the stovetop.
Recipe
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 12 oz cranberries
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest
- 1 large Navel orange juiced
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup honey maple syrup works as well
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt or just a pinch
- ½ cup water
- 3 whole star anise
INSTRUCTIONS
PREP
- Using a colander, rinse the fresh cranberries under running water and set aside.
- Using a grater, zest the orange rind and set aside. You can optionally reserve the extra zest to sprinkle over the sauce when serving to add a pop of color.
- Cut the orange into quarter-sized wedges and press them through a lemon squeezer to make about ½ cup of orange juice.
MAKE THE CRANBERRY SAUCE
- In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients, except for the cranberries and star anise, and bring to a boil.
- Add the cranberries and star anise, then stir to combine.
- Simmer on medium-low heat while stirring often, until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens. This takes 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and discard the star anise.
- Let cool before transferring to an airtight container. Refrigerate to chill. Serve chilled, at room temperature, or reheat. Top with reserved orange zest for an extra pop of color.
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