Cranberry Orange Sauce – an incredibly simple + flavorful homemade cranberry sauce that is made in under 30 minutes and with less than 5 simple ingredients. This fresh cranberry sauce will be the perfect addition to your next holiday meal!
Best Ever Cranberry Orange Sauce Recipe
Forget that canned stuff, it’s time to upgrade the traditional cranberry sauce! I know cranberry sauce can be a hit or miss and, honestly, I haven’t always been its biggest fan … but that was until I added in some fresh squeezed orange juice to make a homemade cranberry orange sauce! That extra sweetness is just the right addition to bring your classic cranberry sauce to the next level. Making your own cranberry sauce brings so much flavor, it really is the best cranberry sauce recipe!
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- Flavor: The sweetness of fresh oranges is the perfect balance to the tart cranberries! Such a great flavor.
- Fast + Easy: With just a few ingredients and only about 30 minutes – this recipe is a piece of cake.
- Make Ahead: This is one of those Thanksgiving recipes you HAVE to make ahead! Check it off your list the day (or two) before and then take out and serve day-of!
What You Will Need:
- whole cranberries – we love using fresh but frozen cranberries work great too!
- apple cider – brings some moisture plus flavor and can be used to thin out your sauce if you prefer it to have a thinner consistency.
- coconut sugar – just a little bit for the perfect for a touch of sweetness!
- orange zest & fresh orange juice – a bit of citrus to really amplify all the amazing flavors in this sauce.
- other optional flavor additions: we love keeping it simple, just the way it is, but other flavors that might also be good in this sauce include lemon juice, a cinnamon stick, pinch of salt, or increase the sweetness with some maple syrup.
How To Make Cranberry Orange Sauce
Pour your bag of cranberries in a medium saucepan.
Then add the rest of your ingredients, mix with a spoon, bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer uncovered on medium heat for 30-35 minutes.
Remove it from the stovetop and let it cool before serving at your holiday table.
Storing Cranberry Orange Sauce
One of the best things about this easy cranberry sauce is that you can easily make it ahead of time. Simply prepare your cranberry sauce, let it cool, place it in an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for 10-14 days. We love making a few days before our holiday meal so that it is ready to go and we can focus on all the other cooking that needs to be done. Perfect for your next Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner!
Other Thanksgiving Side Dishes For The Dinner Table
Here are some other fun side dishes for your Thanksgiving table to help inspire you:
- Dairy-Free Green Bean Casserole
- Gluten-Free Stuffing
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (stove top recipe here)
- Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Goat Cheese Potatoes Au Gratin
- Brussels Sprouts + Pancetta
- Roasted Carrots + Beet Pesto
- Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Apple Yam Bake
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Other Delicious Recipes You Might Like:
Cranberry Orange Sauce Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cranberry Orange Sauce – a wonderfully flavorful and delicious cranberry sauce, a classic Thanksgiving side dish!
Ingredients
- 10oz fresh cranberries (frozen works too)
- 1 cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- the zest of one orange
- the juice of one orange
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a medium saucepan. Stir to combine.
- Bring to boil and then immediately reduce to simmer. Let simmer, uncovered, for approximately 25-35 minutes.
- Remove and let cool before serving.
Notes
- Consistency: If you like your cranberry sauce thicker simply let it simmer a little longer (just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get TOO dry). If you like your orange cranberry sauce thinner either don’t let it simmer as long or add an additional splash or two of apple cider to thin it at at the end.
- Make ahead: This is the perfect dish to make ahead for a Thanksgiving dinner! Simply store in the fridge overnight in a covered container.
- Leftovers: leftover cranberry sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 10-14 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 138
- Sugar: 31.8 g
- Sodium: 5.3 mg
- Fat: 0.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.2 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Originally published November 11, 2020.
Mike says
Made this for our Thanksgiving this year and absolutely love it. Great balance of tart and sweet!
Lauren Collentine says
I accidentally read ‘apple cider’ as apple cider vinegar 😂😂😂. Thus needing to add a bunch of sugar but it still turned out great!
Ali says
Absolute crowd pleaser at thanksgiving dinner!
Dorothy Morgan says
So easy and delicious! Thank you!
Nadine says
Perfect cranberry sauce! Flavorful and great combination of sweet and tart. This is my son’s favorite dish for Thanksgiving! Enjoy!
Faith Burlingame says
Cranberries are my favorite and once I realized how easy they were to make, I started making them for myself. I was so glad I could make them refined sugar free with this recipe. I made them ahead of time and they were enjoyed by everyone. I might make a second batch just for myself.
Erin says
Thanks so much, Faith! And I agree – so nice to make these ahead of time. So glad you enjoyed them!
Victoria says
So yummy & simply! My new favorite!
Erin says
So happy you enjoyed this, Victoria! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback 🙂
Renee says
Made this for thanksgiving and we all loved it!
Erin says
Yay!!! So happy to hear that 🙂 Thanks, Renee!