Our Favorite Cranberry Sauce Recipe

This is our family’s favorite cranberry sauce recipe, and it’s such a simple upgrade from anything store-bought. It’s perfect for Thanksgiving.

It only takes about 15 minutes, so it’s genuinely easy. Thanks to the high pectin content of cranberries, all you need to do is add them to a saucepan with some sugar, let them cook for a few minutes, and you’ve got cranberry sauce.

Our simple recipe calls for a little bit of orange juice and lemon juice, plus sugar to balance the tart cranberries. It’s quick, bright, beautiful on the table, and pretty much my ideal homemade cranberry sauce for the holidays and roast turkey. For more, see all our favorite Thanksgiving recipes!

Key Ingredients

• Cranberries: Use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries that have been thawed. Dried cranberries won’t work here since they don’t break down the same way.
• Sugar: We use a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar for extra flavor. Cranberries are naturally very tart, so you do need a good amount of sugar to balance the sauce. We keep ours on the tart side, but if you prefer a sweeter cranberry sauce, add an extra tablespoon or two of sugar to taste.
• Orange: Orange and cranberries are a classic pairing. We add a small amount of fresh orange juice to the base of the sauce. You only need one orange.
• Lemon: A tablespoon of fresh lemon juice brightens the sauce and brings out the flavor of the cranberries even more.
• Salt: A pinch of salt ties the flavors together and keeps the sauce from tasting flat.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Cranberry Sauce

Tip 1: Simmer the cranberries. Add the cranberries to a saucepan along with the sugars, orange juice, lemon juice, and salt. Heat over medium until the mixture begins to simmer, then cook until the cranberries start to burst, 5 to 10 minutes. To help things along, use the back of a spoon to press some of the cranberries against the side of the pan until they pop.

Tip 2: Add orange zest. Stir in the orange zest after the cranberries have broken down into a sauce. I usually add about 1/2 teaspoon. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but the orange flavor really comes through. If you love cranberry orange sauce, feel free to add more.

Tip 3: Chill until ready to serve. I prefer serving cranberry sauce chilled straight from the fridge. Once the sauce has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to a bowl or an airtight container and refrigerate. As it sits, the sauce thickens, sets, and becomes even more flavorful.

Make Ahead Tips

Cranberry sauce is one of the best Thanksgiving dishes to make ahead. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. You can also freeze it. Simply transfer the cooled sauce to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use it, thaw the sauce overnight in the refrigerator.

Ways to Use Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is far more versatile than most people realize. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it beyond the Thanksgiving table:

• Serve with roasted meats. This is the classic pairing, and it works just as well with roast chicken and baked pork chops as it does with Thanksgiving turkey.
• Spread on sandwiches. Add it to leftover turkey sandwiches, grilled cheese, or a turkey-and-brie panini.
• Use as a topping for breakfast. I love spooning leftover cranberry sauce over yogurt, oatmeal, buttermilk pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
• Swirl into baked goods. You can fold it into muffin batter, swirl it into quick breads, or serve it alongside scones.
• Pair with cheese boards. Cranberry sauce is really good with soft cheeses like brie or goat cheese and great on a holiday charcuterie board.

More Homemade Sauce Recipes