4-Ingredient Homemade Cranberry Sauce
This simple 4-Ingredient Homemade Cranberry Sauce is straightforward and so much better than the canned stuff! Make it days or weeks in advance and impress your guests.
My 4-Ingredient Homemade Cranberry Sauce is one of those dishes no one can believe I make from scratch. Can I let you in on a secret, though? It’s actually one of the easiest dishes I make for Thanksgiving!
Canned Cranberries vs. Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Are you Team Canned Cranberry or Team Homemade? You can probably guess by this post that I’m Team Homemade! The taste…you guys, the taste is so much better! If you’re Team Canned simply because you’re intimidated by making homemade cranberry sauce, you HAVE to give this one a try. Let this recipe be your push to make the real thing!
Making Cranberry Sauce Ahead of Time
This is one of the coolest things about my sauce. It doesn’t need to be made Thanksgiving Day. You have enough going on in the kitchen already! You can make it the day before. The week before. Two weeks before! Whip it up TODAY, toss it in the freezer, and forget about it until Thanksgiving week. Then all you have to do is scoot it into the fridge to defrost.
Ingredients in Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Buy a bag of cranberries and you probably have the rest of the ingredients at home already! I really like keeping the flavors simple here. It’s all about the cranberry, and just bit of orange juice helps the berries shine.
- Cranberries
- Orange juice
- Sugar
- Cinnamon (just a pinch!)
More Delicious Thanksgiving Sides
The sides just might be the best part of Thanksgiving Dinner! Here are some really great ones you might want to add to the menu:
- Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranates
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Chestnut Herb Stuffing
- Baked Butternut Squash Hash
- Oven Roasted Carrots with Cilantro Mint Sauce
- Whipped Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble Topping
- Comfort Corn Bread
4-Ingredient Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Stove Top
Description
This simple 4-Ingredient Homemade Cranberry Sauce is straightforward and so much better than the canned sauce! Make it days or weeks in advance and impress your guests.
Ingredients
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 12 ounce fresh cranberries
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
Instructions
- Add the orange juice and sugar to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium/high heat for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the cranberries and cinnamon. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, until the cranberries begin to pop.
- Remove from the heat and mash the cranberries a bit more with a fork if desired. Let cool completely and store for up to 5 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.
When you try a recipe, use the hashtag #lifeisbutadish on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured in my stories! Follow Life is but a Dish on PINTEREST | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM for all the latest content and behind the scenes!
Remember to subscribe to my free Life is but a Dish Weekly Newsletter and receive easy recipes delivered to your inbox every week!
This is my 4th year making this recipe. Everyone BEGS for it every year! Sooooo yummy!
Oh wow!!
SO EASY, and the BEST cranberry sauce I’ve ever eaten let alone served!!! 😍😍
Such a compliment thank you!
3rd year in a row making this cranberry recipe! So simple and SO delicious! My family, who has never cared for cranberries in the past, now insists I don’t come to Thanksgiving without them! *note – my personal preference is to double the cinnamon.
I always double the cinnamon!!
It was so easy to make and was so delicious! Everyone enjoyed it!
I’m so glad! Thanks for leaving a review, Lori!
Love this recipe! Very easy with minimal ingredients required and doesn’t take long to make- my kind of recipe!
Thank you Reanna!
Oh my!! I don’t ever grab for the cranberry sauce during Thanksgiving… until this! Wow!! So simple, yet so yummy! The flavors are not overly sweet or sour, it’s just perfection! Thanks for an easy recipe we can do for years to come.
I used to be the same!!
The first time I made this sauce I was so nervous it would be hard! It absolutely was not! Laney gives great directions! And now, I always asked to bring fresh cranberry sauce to family gatherings. It’s got a permanent place in my recipe collection.
Yes, it soooo easy!! Glad it has a new spot at the table!
Crazy simple and delicious. I can’t believe I did canned cranberry sauce before this. Never again.
Never again!!
So easy and so delicious!
Thank you Wendy!
I made this for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was a huge hit! So easy to make and super tasty! The kitchen smelt amazing while it simmered … best part is that you can make it ahead of time too!
Yessss, the smell is amazing!
Very easy to make and delicious!
Thank you Amy!
The best cranberry sauce! Super easy to make and freezes well.
Thanks Amanda!
This cranberry sauce is a family favorite and so easy to make. The cinnamon makes this extra delicious!
So happy the family loves it too!
Laney,
Thanks for your simple but delicious cranberry sauce recipe. It was a hit with my family. I look forward to making it again.
Thank you Stefanie!
Súper simple and absolutely delicious! Was a hit this Thanksgiving
I’m so glad! Thank you Emily!
Delicious! Everyone enjoyed!
So glad!
This is such an easy recipe and so delicious! I’m never going back to the canned cranberries.
Hooray!!
I loved it
I’m so glad!
easy and delicious. My husband used to be a ‘Ocean Spray canned only’ for thanksgiving and christmas – but now he asks me just to make this every holiday!
That’s great news Janet!!
Delish!!!
So good!
What kind of orange juice do you recommend? Since there’s like 200 kinds to choose from!
I squeeze my own! But any should be fine
Hi Laney! Just wondering if it’d be okay to make this recipe with frozen cranberries? It’s near impossible to come across fresh ones here in Ireland! Thanks 🙂
Should be fine!
Hi! How long would you allow a batch of the cranberry sauce to defrost? Thanks!
About 2-3 days depending how big the container is
So easy and tastes amazing. I can’t stop myself from eating a little every day.