Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce
This homemade cranberry orange sauce couldn't be easier to make; it requires just 5 ingredients and less than 15 minutes of your time. With its vibrantly tart-sweet flavor and deep red color, it's an absolute must-have dish for your holiday table!
- Prep Time: 2
- Cook Time: 13
- Total Time: 15
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: sauces and spreads
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 ounces (1 cup) freshly-squeezed orange juice
- 5 1/4 ounces (3/4 cup) cane or granulated sugar
- 1” piece of fresh ginger root, grated
- heavy pinch of salt
- 12 ounce bag fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 teaspoon freshly-grated orange zest
Instructions
- Make a syrup: Combine freshly-squeezed orange juice, sugar, grated ginger root, and salt in a medium saucepan. Place on stove over medium to medium-low heat and let the mixture cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is starting to simmer.
- Add cranberries to the mixture in the saucepan. Cover and let cook at a simmer or low boil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have burst and softened. Once done, the mixture should be saucy and thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Remove from heat and stir in orange zest. Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled.
Notes
Ingredient notes:
- You'll need about 4 whole oranges for a single batch of this cranberry sauce.
- If using frozen cranberries, you may need to cook the sauce for slightly longer to get the cranberries softened and the sauce thickened.
- If for some reason you can't find fresh ginger root, try swapping out finely-minced crystallized ginger, or simply stir some ground ginger into the finished sauce.
Modifications:
- Use water instead of orange juice and no orange zest to make a classic, straightforward cranberry sauce.
- Use half brown sugar for a richer molasses flavor.
- Stir in vanilla extract, spices, or chopped nuts in step 3 if desired.
Storing, freezing, and reheating:
- Cranberry sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Reheat on the stove over low heat, stirring often, until warm.