The Best Orange Cranberry Sauce

This is the best Orange Cranberry Sauce recipe and it’s so easy to make! With only four simple ingredients, this simple make-ahead dish will help you rock the holidays.

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Ok friends, let’s be clear about one thing. This is not the canned cranberry sauce that your great aunt slops into a bowl for Thanksgiving. This is not that sauce. This cranberry sauce has depth and flavor. It is homemade cranberry sauce…like cranberry was meant to be.

The Case For Making Cranberry Sauce Ahead of Time

There is enough cooking to do on big holidays. Cranberry sauce does not need to be one of those things! You’ll also love my free Thanksgiving Checklist printable for all your Type-A holiday planning needs!

You can keep cranberry sauce in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it for 3-6 months. I freeze mine in wide-mouth canning jars. I use pint jars for smaller servings and quart jars for large gatherings.

Just allow the sauce to fully cool before adding it to the canning jars. And leave 1-inch of space between the top of the food and the top of the jar.

And if you need to free up your stove while making it, check out our Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce. If you want to make it shelf-stable, check out this tutorial on Canning Cranberry Sauce.

VARIATIONS 

• Add 1-2 cinnamon sticks to the pot prior to cooking if you prefer spiced cranberry sauce.
• Sub in maple syrup, honey, or even coconut sugar in place of the regular sugar.
• Stir in a little homemade Strawberry Puree to take your sauce to the next level.
• If you have leftover cranberries after making this, learn all about Freezing Cranberries to save the extras for another time.

MORE THANKSGIVING IDEAS

• Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
• Crispy Fried Onions
• Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
• Cheesy Garlic Bread
• Amazing Vegan Gravy
• Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
• Turkey Bone Broth
• Chipotle Instant Pot Turkey Chili
• Creamy Whole30 Mashed Potatoes

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Orange Cranberry Sauce

Prep Time1 min

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time16 mins

Four simple ingredients create a deliciously easy make-ahead cranberry sauce.

Servings: 16

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Make Ahead Cranberry Sauce, simple cranberry sauce

Calories: 31kcal

Author: Sarah Cook - Sustainable Cooks

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup orange juice
• ▢ 1/2 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 tbsp orange zest
• ▢ 1 12 oz bag cranberries

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

• Dutch oven
• Mixing bowl
• Silicone spatula
• ZipTop

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, combine orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil.
• Add the cranberries, and reduce the heat to medium.
• Allow it to cook until you start to hear the cranberries popping.
• With a wooden spoon or potato masher (what I use), smash down the cranberries until it reaches your desired texture.
• Remove from heat and stir in the orange zest.
• Allow sauce to cool for 20 minutes at room temperature. It will thicken as it cools.
• Transfer to an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for 3-6 months.

Notes

This recipe is super easy to scale. The ingredients listed make one batch but simply double or triple to create enough for a big crowd.

 

Nutrition Facts

Orange Cranberry Sauce

Amount Per Serving (0.25 cup)

Calories 31

% Daily Value*

Fat 0g0%

Saturated Fat 0g0%

Cholesterol 0mg0%

Sodium 0mg0%

Potassium 31mg1%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 0g0%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 0g0%

Vitamin A 30IU1%

Vitamin C 8.3mg10%

Calcium 2mg0%

Iron 0mg0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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