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
- Yield: 10 1x
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
- ⅛ 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.
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Comments
Monica
This is such an easy recipe and so delicious! I’m never going back to the canned cranberries.
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
Hooray!!
Regina
I loved it
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
I’m so glad!
Janet Gilfillan
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!
★★★★★
Laney Schwartz
That’s great news Janet!!
Carrie
Delish!!!
★★★★★
Alyssa
So good!
Kat
What kind of orange juice do you recommend? Since there’s like 200 kinds to choose from!
Life is but a Dish
I squeeze my own! But any should be fine
Vicki
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 🙂
Life is but a Dish
Should be fine!
Amanda
Hi! How long would you allow a batch of the cranberry sauce to defrost? Thanks!
Life is but a Dish
About 2-3 days depending how big the container is
Faith Burlingame
So easy and tastes amazing. I can’t stop myself from eating a little every day.
★★★★★