Cranberry Sauce is bursting with flavor and rich color to dress up any holiday table. This easy recipe is ready in under 20 minutes and can be made ahead to simplify your holiday planning.
If using fresh cranberries, rinse the cranberries and discard and shriveled or brown ones. Reserve a handful of cranberries and place the rest in a medium saucepan. (If using frozen cranberries, you don’t need to rinse or thaw them.)
Add the sugar, orange juice, water, and orange zest. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberry mixture starts to simmer, about 10 minutes.
Decrease the heat to medium-low and stir occasionally, cooking until the berries burst and the liquid thickens the desired amount, 5 to 10 minutes. (Keep in mind the sauce will thicken as it cools.) Stir in the reserved berries. Remove from the heat. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Notes
Make this recipe ahead. Save valuable time on the day of your holiday celebration by preparing the fresh cranberry sauce ahead of time. Many people think buying the canned stuff will save them time, but this recipe is so easy to make ahead and store, that you won’t have to compromise flavor.
Enjoy year-round with fresh or frozen cranberries. This recipe works equally as well with fresh or frozen cranberries, so don’t worry if you’re craving this sauce and can’t find cranberries in the produce section. Fresh cranberries are typically available beginning in mid-October, but frozen cranberries are available year-round.
Add some cinnamon spice. Add one cinnamon stick to the sauce as it cooks for some extra holiday spice. Discard the stick before serving.
Cook until desired thickness. The thickness of the sauce is a personal preference, so base your doneness on consistency instead of cooking time. After reducing the heat to medium-low, cook until the desired consistency keeping in mind that the sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.