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5 from 3 votes

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

My favorite cranberry sauce recipe ever! Nothing beats a classic when it comes to cranberry sauce. All you need is a little bit of orange juice and zest, some cranberries and sugar! It is so good when you just keep things simple!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time13 minutes
Total Time18 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6
Calories: 197kcal
Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

  • 1 (12-oz) bag cranberries divided*
  • big strips of orange zest from one orange
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon optional

Instructions

  • Wash the cranberries and remove any stems. Set aside 1 cup*. Add the rest of the bag (It should be about 2 and 1/2 cups) to a medium saucepan.
  • Use a peeler to peel large strips of orange zest from 1 orange. Don't press too hard, you only want to peel off the orange part (avoid the white pith). Add all of it to the saucepan.
  • Juice the orange. Add 1/2 cup orange juice to the pan with the cranberries. You might need to juice another orange to get to a 1/2 cup. (I used orange juice from a carton I had in the fridge. Either way will work fine, just make sure you have 1/2 cup liquid.)
  • Add 1 and 1/4 cups sugar to the pan. Add up to 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, if you're using it. Set over medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes, until most of the cranberries have popped.
  • Add the remaining 1 cup cranberries. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until the fresh cranberries have softened but not popped.
  • Remove from heat. At this point you can remove the pieces of orange zest if you like. I like to leave them in for an extra punch of flavor!
  • Serve immediately, or store covered in the fridge for up to 1 week. The cranberry sauce can be served warm or chilled. Re-warm in a pot on the stove over medium low heat.

Notes

*I like to reserve 1 cup of cranberries to add at the end, so that they soften but don't pop. I love the flavor of fresh cranberries! If you're not into the "whole berry" texture, then add all the cranberries in at the beginning. But I'm telling you, you should try it at least once :) 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 76IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg