Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Brown Sugar
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Thank you!
This homemade cranberry sauce starts with two full bags of fresh cranberries, a whole orange (zest and juice), and a mix of white and brown sugar warmed up with vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon. It’s a big batch on purpose, so there’s plenty for the holiday table and some left over for later.
Cranberry sauce is an essential part of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and I ditched the canned stuff years ago. Fresh cranberry sauce has a brighter flavor and one of the things I like best about it is that I can control the sweetness. A little less sugar for a nice tart sauce or a little extra for a sweet sauce. I land on 1½ cups of sugar, which gives you a sauce that leans a little sweet but still tastes like cranberries.
If your family grew up on the canned stuff, go up to 2 cups. If you like it tart, drop to 1 cup. The brown sugar and vanilla give it a deeper, rounder flavor than a straight orange-and-sugar sauce, and the pinch of salt keeps all that sweetness from tasting flat.
The best part of making this much is the leftovers. Once the turkey is gone, scoop the extra into our Crock Pot Cranberry Sauce Meatballs in place of the canned sauce. The sauce itself takes only a few minutes of simmering and can be made up to 5 days ahead, which frees up the stove when you need it most.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Fresh cranberries: You’ll need 24 ounces, which is two standard 12-ounce bags. Frozen whole cranberries work too, and there’s no need to thaw them first. Pick out any soft or shriveled berries before cooking.
- Water: Water gives the berries enough liquid to burst and turn into a sauce.
- Orange: One large orange, zested and then juiced. The zest adds bright orange flavor that juice alone can’t.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the sauce and helps it set. See the sweetness guide below to adjust it.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark both work. Brown sugar adds a gentle caramel note that plays nicely with the vanilla and cinnamon.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract softens the cranberries’ sharp edge.
- Salt: Just enough to balance the sweet and tart.
- Cinnamon: A small amount adds warmth without tasting like pie spice.
How to Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Step 1 – Add everything to the pot. In a large saucepan or pot, add the cranberries, water, orange zest, orange juice, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Use a pot with plenty of room. Two bags of berries plus the sugar will foam up as it boils.
Step 2 – Boil until the berries pop. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly so the sugar doesn’t scorch on the bottom. In a few minutes you’ll hear the cranberries start to pop as their skins split. Once you hear popping, turn the heat down to medium-low and keep cooking for 10 minutes.
Step 3 – Mash and check the thickness. As the sauce cooks, press berries against the side of the pot with the back of your spoon to break them down. The foam will settle and the sauce will turn a deeper, glossy red. It’s done when you drag a spoon across the bottom of the pot and the sauce slowly closes back up behind it. If it rushes right back in, give it another minute or two. The sauce will look looser than you expect while it’s hot. It thickens a lot as it cools.
Step 4 – Cool and serve, or store. Take the pot off the heat and transfer the sauce to a refrigerator-safe dish. To serve it the same day, refrigerate it for 30 minutes, then spoon it into your serving dish. If you’re making it ahead, cover it tightly and refrigerate for up to 5 days. On the big day, move it to your serving dish and let it sit out for a bit to take the chill off before serving.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Trust the spoon test, not the look. Hot cranberry sauce always looks thin. If you keep cooking until it looks like jam in the pot, it can set up stiff and gummy in the fridge.
- Zest the orange before you juice it. It’s much easier to zest a whole orange than a squeezed-out half.
- Taste before it cools all the way. Sweetness is easier to adjust while the sauce is warm. Stir in a little more sugar until it dissolves if it’s too tart for you.
How Sweet Should Cranberry Sauce Be?
Cranberries are very tart, so the sugar decides what kind of sauce you end up with. Here’s how the range works with this recipe:
- 1 cup sugar: Tart and bright. A good match for rich, salty foods like ham or a cheese board.
- 1½ cups sugar (as written): A little sweeter, with the cranberry flavor still front and center.
- 2 cups sugar: Closest to canned cranberry sauce, for families who expect that familiar sweetness.
Keep the brown sugar the same and change only the granulated sugar.
What to Serve With Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce is made for turkey, whether it’s a whole bird or our easy slow cooker turkey breast. It’s also great next to Southern cornbread dressing, where the tart sauce cuts through all that savory richness. Building the rest of the menu? Browse our favorite Thanksgiving side dishes for the casseroles and potatoes to round out the table.
Ways to Use Leftover Cranberry Sauce
A two-bag batch usually means extra, and that’s a good thing.
- Party meatballs: Use it in place of the canned whole berry sauce in our cranberry sauce meatballs. Plan on about 1½ cups of homemade sauce for each 14-ounce can.
- Day-after sandwiches: Spread it on a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich with turkey and dressing.
- Breakfast: Swirl it into yogurt or oatmeal, or spoon it over pancakes.
Storage & Reheating
- Refrigerator: Let the sauce cool, then keep it in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It firms up as it chills. Stir it before serving.
- On the table: Like other holiday leftovers, refrigerate it within 2 hours of serving, according to USDA food safety guidance.
- Serving temperature: Serve it chilled, or let it sit out briefly to take the chill off. To serve it warm, heat it gently in a saucepan over low heat, stirring, and add a spoonful of water if it’s too thick.
- Freezing: USDA’s FoodKeeper doesn’t recommend freezing cranberry sauce because it can turn watery after thawing. For make-ahead, the 5-day fridge window is the better bet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Add them straight from the freezer with no thawing. They’ll take a few extra minutes to come to a boil and start popping, so go by the popping sound and the spoon test, not the clock.
Yes. Halve everything to use one 12-ounce bag. A half batch comes to a boil and thickens faster, so start checking with the spoon test a few minutes early.
It probably came off the heat a little early. Pour it back into the pot and simmer for a few more minutes until it passes the spoon test, then chill again. If it’s too thick, stir in a spoonful of water or orange juice.
Cranberry sauce is cooked until the berries burst and thicken. Relish is usually made from raw cranberries chopped with fruit, so it’s crunchy and fresh. If you want the raw style, try our fresh cranberry salsa.
You can swap in bottled juice for the fresh juice, but still use a fresh orange for the zest. The zest carries most of the orange flavor.
Like this recipe?
Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more recipes like this.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Brown Sugar
Ingredients
- 24 ounces Fresh cranberries, you can substitute with frozen whole cranberries if needed
- 1.5 cups Water
- 1 large Orange, zested and juiced
- 1.5 cups Sugar
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- To a large sauce pan or pot add the cranberries, water, orange zest, orange juice, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon.
- Bring to a boil and stir continuously, once you hear the cranberries popping turn your heat down to medium low and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes.
- As the cranberry sauce cooks use the back of your spoon to press on the berries breaking them down. They cranberry sauce is finished cooking when it has thickened up so that when you drag a spoon through it the sauce slowly closes back up behind it.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and transfer to a refrigerator safe dish. If serving the same day place in the refrigerator and let cool for 30 mins then place in your serving dish to serve. If you are making it ahead of time cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- When you are ready to serve remove from the refrigerator, place it in your serving dish and let it come closer to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
