Cranberry Orange Sauce

You’ll love this easy cranberry sauce recipe

Cranberry sauce is the little black dress of the holiday menu. It’s versatile, can be dressed up or down, and goes with absolutely everything. Sweet or savory, every dish can be improved with the sweet-and-sour punch of fresh cranberry sauce.

If your only experience with cranberry sauce is the gelatinous “cranberry” “sauce” that wiggles out of a can, get ready for your life to change!

REAL cranberry sauce, THIS cranberry sauce, is tart and tangy, with a vibrant berry taste that is boosted with orange juice and orange zest. It’s equally at home on turkey, goat cheese, or a buttery tart base, and the best part is, it’s SO easy to make!

This simple cranberry sauce recipe needs only 5 ingredients and 15 minutes to come together. It can be made with fresh or frozen cranberries, so you can stockpile berries when they’re in season, and enjoy this recipe all year long!

Cranberry lovers, don’t miss some of our favorite cranberry recipes, including Cranberry Curd Almond Cake, Apple Cranberry Gouda Puff Pastry Roses, and Cranberry Orange Trifle!

Zest and juice the orange

• Start by zesting a large orange with a microplane.
• Once zested, juice the orange and measure out 1/3 cup of juice. (Any remaining juice is for the cook to drink!)

Combine and cook

• Combine all of the ingredients — cranberries, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, and cinnamon — in a medium saucepan.
• Turn the heat to medium, and stir with a spatula to mix the ingredients well.

• Continue to cook the cranberry sauce, stirring frequently, until the cranberries pop and the mixture thickens, about 15-20 minutes.
• Once most of the cranberries have popped, remove the pan from the heat and let it cool a bit before serving.

🍽️ How to Serve Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce is traditionally considered a seasonal Thanksgiving recipe, but once you taste the sweet-tart citrus and cranberry flavor of this easy sauce, I think you’ll agree that it should be in regular rotation year-round. Here are just a few ways you can use this versatile recipe:

• Dinner side dish (aka the customary use): The bracing acidity is great for cutting through rich and salty foods at your next Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. A forkful of mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce is pure heaven.
• Appetizer: Pair your cranberry sauce with crackers and your favorite cheese as part of a holiday charcuterie board.
• Cake filling: I’ve added cranberry sauce to everything from dense chocolate truffle cake to a striking brown sugar layer cake. It’s also the star of the show in my Cranberry Sauce Cake! It improves any cake recipe you pair it with.
• Mousse topping: I love this light and airy orange mousse topped with tangy cranberry sauce, but you don’t have to stop there. Adding it to chocolate mousse or pumpkin mousse would also be delicious.
• Tart filling: Spread a thick layer of cranberry sauce on a chocolate tart, pistachio tart, or almond tart.
• Jam substitute: Sub in cranberry sauce anywhere you would use a chunky jam: linzer cookies, swirled brownies, or even PB&J sandwiches.

💭 Variations

This cranberry sauce is so good as it is, but here are a few different ways you can switch things up:

• Smooth it out: My personal preference is a thicker, chunkier cranberry sauce, so that’s how this recipe is written. However, if you prefer a thinner, more jam-like sauce, you can add up to 1 cup of orange juice, and blend the sauce with a blender for a smoother texture.
• Swap the sweetener. You can swap the granulated sugar out for brown sugar for a deeper, more caramel-y taste. You could also use maple syrup or honey to add additional flavor.
• Add nuts. If you prefer a cranberry sauce with a little bit of crunch, try mixing in toasted or candied pecans or walnuts.
• Change citrus: you can make this recipe with lemons instead of oranges. I recommend diluting the lemon juice with some water so it’s less sour, but you could also keep the lemon juice full strength and play with the amount of sugar to compensate.