A simple recipe for fresh and easy homemade cranberry sauce. Made with real whole cranberries and just 3 other ingredients, this is an easy traditional must-have for your next holiday dinner.
This cranberry sauce is a holiday classic (like my roasted sweet potatoes) and deserves a place on your table. Be sure to check out the brief how-to video at the bottom of the post if you’re more of a visual learner!
Who here is hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year?
Don’t look at me, while I’d love to someday, my biggest contributions to holiday get-togethers usually land on the dessert table. Pecan pie , chocolate pie (with a side of homemade whipped cream!), these are my usual contributions, but recently I’ve branched out. This year, I’m on a mission to replace canned cranberry sauce everywhere with homemade cranberry sauce.
Do you know how easy it is to make homemade cranberry sauce? Just one saucepan and 4 ingredients (5 if you count water, does water count??), this recipe is easy.
No can necessary.
How Do You Make Fresh Cranberry Sauce
- Bring sugars (use a combination of brown and white for the best flavor!), water, and orange juice to a boil
- Add cranberries and return to simmer
- Cook until berries have burst and desired thickness has been reached.
- Transfer to a serving dish and chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Some cranberry sauce recipes use just water, and no orange juice, but I strongly recommend using both. The juice adds a nice bright flavor that really makes this cranberry sauce shine.
How do You Make Cranberry Sauce Thicker?
When cooking your cranberry sauce, you can simmer it as long as needed after your berries burst until the desired thickness is reached. Do keep in mind that your sauce will seem runnier while it’s hot and will thicken as it cools and sets.
Can Cranberry Sauce Be Made in Advance??
Yes! Cranberry sauce requires a minimum of 2 hours in the refrigerator in order for it to thicken and set properly. However, you can make this holiday side dish up to a week in advance. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container.
And that’s all there is to making homemade cranberry sauce, no can required!
If you prefer a more visual guide you can check out my cranberry sauce video at the bottom of the post. If you enjoy these videos, please consider subscribing to my YouTube Channel! <3
Enjoy!
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup (133 g) sugar
- ⅓ cup (67 g) light brown sugar, tightly packed
- ⅓ cup (78 ml) water
- ⅔ cup (157 ml) orange juice
- 12 oz (340 g) cranberries rinsed and picked through -- bad/bruised cranberries removed
Instructions
- Combine sugars, water, and orange juice in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until sugars are dissolved, and bring to a boil.⅔ cup (133 g) sugar, ⅓ cup (67 g) light brown sugar, tightly packed, ⅓ cup (78 ml) water, ⅔ cup (157 ml) orange juice
- Add cranberries and return to a boil.12 oz (340 g) cranberries
- Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook cranberries, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes or until all or most berries have burst (careful, there is some splatter) and the mixture is slightly reduced. The longer you cook your cranberries the thicker your mixture will be, but it will also thicken up after standing.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally published this Cranberry Sauce recipe 11/20/2017, post has been updated to include tips and more information.
Felicity Haller
Made it for the first time, so fun and easy, so good
Pat Armbrister
This was a delicious recipe. it had the perfect ratio of sweetness and tart. Thank you!
Lea
Loved the orange zest, I added a cinnamon stick to each jar – tripled recipe for friends and family.
Annie
Add a pinch of salt at the end and taste. It helps to balance the super sweet flavor to make it more well rounded. Other than that, this is my go to for cranberry sauce!
Sue
Hello! If i double the cranberries do i double everything in the recipe? Thx ahead of time!
Sam Merritt
Yes you will want to double all of the ingredients. 🙂
L Andrews
Excellent recipe. At the end I added zest of 1 small orange, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. So good!!!!
S
“Serving: 1serving” isn’t helpful. how many does this recipe serve?
Sam Merritt
You can typically find that information just above the video. It will make 6 servings. 🙂
Cyndi
For the past few years, I have been using your recipe as is and everyone loves it! I have requests lined up now. Thank you for posting and also replying with any questions or concerns Sam! 💕
p.s. When it cools down just enough, I use a hand blender to take out the chunks.
Rosemary C
Making your recipe for the third year in a row. So easy and delicious. It has become a favorite. Thank you!
Jennifer
Excellent, second year making this, crowd pleaser.
Sarah lambert
My kids (yes, Kids!) favorite dish on the Thanksgiving day table!!
Pam
Can you use whole frozen cranberries?
Sam Merritt
Hi Pam! Frozen cranberries will work. 🙂
Rachel Thomas
I’d like to try using honey instead of sugar, or to reduce sugar. Any thoughts?
Sam Merritt
Hi Rachel! I haven’t tried honey as a substitute, but I think it’s worth a try. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
Joshua
Just used 1/3 honey, 1/3, sugar, 1/3 brown sugar and it’s too much honey. If you really like the taste of honey it’s not bad, but next time I’ll try to do only 1/4 honey and 1/3 sugar, 1/3 brown sugar.
Susan Adrian
Hi,
I just made cranberry sauce with half the sugar called for, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar, no orange juice and 12 oz of cranberries and enough water to create the texture I was looking for. Turned out great. I find I can cut out 50% of the sugar in almost all recipes without affecting the taste or texture of the dish. Experiment. You can always add more sugar if it’s too tart for you or more water if it is too thick.
Ariella Schwell
I’m revealing a little secret I discovered many years ago – sprinkle a little bit of baking soda in to reduce the acidity. Start with a pinch and then add more if necessary. I use this trick for apple sauce and tomato sauce. It’s a fun chemical reaction to watch!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Nancy
This is delicious, has anyone used sugar substitute like stevia? Would like to reduce the sugar content if possible
Sam Merritt
Hi Nancy! I’m not sure. Stevia can be tricky. I think you’d need a bit less.
Igor
it’s delicious!
Cyndi
hiii! I bought two 2lbs bags of cranberries, what will new the portions of the ingredients be? thanks in advance 💕
Sam Merritt
Hi Cyndi! They are typically sold in 12oz bags so just make sure to check the bag. If you do have a full 2 pounds (32oz) I would recommend doubling all of the ingredients to make a double batch, but you will want to weigh out the cranberries and only use 24oz. Using the full 2 pounds could get into some tricky math to get the proportions correct.
TIM
A 32 oz bag is a triple recipe.
Jennifer
Hi Cyndi, if you truly bought 2 pounds of cranberries you would take her recipe and multiply it by 2.5. Using grams and ml will give you a much more accurate measure; but, if you’re going by “american measurements” 3 cups of sugar total: 1 cup brown and 2 cups white, and you would need approximately 2.5 cups of liquid a balance of OJ 2/3 of portion and 1/3 portion of water. As Sam mentioned this is where it may get tricky and why I’d use ML on a pyrex measuring cup if you have one. Good luck!
Jennifer
Cyndi,
Oops I meant 2.5 cups of sugar…NOT 3 that would be really sweet!
Lisa
If you have 2x 2 pound bags, you have 64 ounces, which is roughly 5x the recipe. You could weigh out 60 ounces of cranberries exactly, but a few more cranberries probably won’t hurt.
My D Ma
Taste better than ocean spray brand canned cranberry sauce
Jamie Smith
I’ve made this for a few years straight now, and it’s amazing. I can’t believe I ever ate this out of a can lol. Thank you for a simple delicious recipe. I pair it with homemade whipped cream and it’s better than a dessert!
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you enjoy it so much, Jamie! It’s sooo much better than the canned stuff. 🙂
Lisa McLeod
i’m probably missing something when I’m reading the recipe but how much water or orange juice do you start with? I guess I don’t know if I can’t see the total anywhere. I do see how much sugar.
Sam Merritt
Hi Lisa! All of the amounts are in the ingredients list above the written recipe. The amounts are also listed below each step to help so you don’t have to scroll. It’s 2/3 cup of orange juice and 1/3 cup of water. 🙂