Your Thanksgiving meal would not be complete without this delicious, super easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce!
If you’ve only had the canned ones, you need to at least try making it at home at least once!
Fresh, flavor-bursting, filled with chunks of fresh cranberries…and you can control the amount of sweetness!
When they say there is nothing like homemade, cranberry sauce definitely falls into that category.
With the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday around the corner, it’s time to show case my delicious, tried and true, stupid easy cranberry sauce recipe.
This recipe is so simple I almost didn’t want to share it, but I changed my mind because you totally need this. Everyone needs a bit of this cranberry sauce goodness in their lives!
Confession: I did not like cranberry sauce for the longest time…
I did not like cranberry sauce…until I had homemade cranberry sauce.
I’ve always been obsessed with gravy, but I never quite get the need for cranberry sauce to go with my turkey and stuffing and all that good stuff.
That is until I had homemade cranberry sauce and realize it makes such a difference!
So now, along with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole and gravy (duh), cranberry sauce has become another essential item on the Thanksgiving menu.
Cranberry Sauce Ingredients
This homemade cranberry sauce recipe only calls for four ingredients and is so easy to make!
- Fresh cranberries
- Sugar
- Orange Zest
- Water
The only other thing you need is a pot and you are all set!
Bring everything to a boil and then lower heat and simmer until sauce thickens to desired consistency. Then cool and refrigerate.
It is that simple!
The product is a sweet, tart, and full flavor cranberry sauce with chunky juicy semi in-tact cranberries.
It’s so good I may or may not have eaten it by itself.
Variations and substitutions
If you want to switch up the flavors of your cranberry sauce, consider adding or replacing with some of these ingredients:
- lemon zest / lemon juice
- cinnamon bark
- vanilla extract
- other fruits: apples, cherries, blueberries, grapes etc
- a splash of brandy or bourbon (make sure to cook down the alcohol)
Play around with it and make this cranberry sauce your very own!
Other Ways to Use Cranberry Sauce
Is cranberry sauce just for the holidays?
Err no way!
In my humble opinion, it’s so good it should be eaten year round!
Here are some other ways I use cranberry sauce:
- on cheese platters
- serve with chicken, pork or other meats
- as jelly on toast, croissants or biscuits
- as an ice cream topping
- pancake and waffle topping
- grab a spoon and eat it on its own!
Can you make ahead cranberry sauce?
Absolutely yes! In fact, I strongly recommend making this ahead for the holidays.
Since it is typically served chilled or at room temperature, it’s the perfect dish to make ahead to make time for cooking other items that needs to be served warm on Thanksgiving (or Christmas) day itself.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve!
Other Holiday Recipes
More holiday recipes that I think you will love (some more traditional than others):
- Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Gravy from Scratch
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecans
- Brown Sugar Pecan Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Honey Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Caramelized Onions Green Beans
- Bacon Deviled Eggs
