This perfectly balanced sweet-and-tangy recipe will make both cooked cranberry sauce and raw relish lovers happy. Reserving some whole cranberries while others simmer and burst in the pot is the key. This adds a fresh pop to the sauce that Team Relish will appreciate. Make the sauce a day (or a couple days) ahead of Thanksgiving or any holiday celebration that calls for cranberries. The longer it sits, the more flavorful it gets. And don’t worry about leftovers – the sauce can be slather on a turkey sandwich, dolloped on pancakes and waffles or mixed with your favorite BBQ sauce and basted on chicken and pork.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 37 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 22 min |
Instructions
- Empty a 12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries into a saucepan and transfer 1/2 cup to a small bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, 1 strip orange or lemon zest and 2 tablespoons water to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste and cool to room temperature before serving.
Reviews
11-22-23 Used lemon peels. Just okay for me. Turned out a little thick. Still, nice and sweet and great accompaniment to my Turkey dinner.
I tried this recipe it was a good guide but I had a 2 lb. (32 oz.) bag and that serves about 8 people – 3/4 cup of cooked serving each. I used 2 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Added a 1 level teaspoon of cinnamon or sprinkle over. 5 navel orange peels. Squeeze the juice of the 1 navel orange in a bowl with some pulp to add. 3 tablespoons of water. At the end, I scooped out some excess cranberry juice to reach a thicker consistency while it cooked. I added the reserved 1 cup of cranberries at the very end. Don’t over cook. I added 1 shot of Orange liqueur.
I just made this and doubled the recipe. I used orange juice instead of water. I used half white and half brown sugar. It was a little loose , so I added 2 teaspoons of clear jell. It’s the best cranberry sauce EVER. I might have to make more for Thursday.
Simple, easy, and most of all delicious! Just the right flavor and texture I was hoping for!
I took out the water and added the juice squeezed from about half of the orange. Otherwise left unchanged. I also got my potato masher and did three “mashes” on the initial cranberries, before adding in the reserved fruit.
I had guests fighting over who got to take the leftovers home. 10/10 will do again, but maybe tripling the recipe.
Per reviews I replaced the water with fresh orange juice, added a couple strips of orange zest and reduced the amount of sugar. I prefer a more whole berry consistency rather than thick and congealed. I added all the berries at once cooking over medium heat. Once they started to burst I reduced the heat and simmered them for another 10 min until they were softened while still holding their shape.
I’ve never been a fan of cranberry sauce but I made this today for our Thanksgiving dinner for the first time and we loved it. The only thing I added was an additional teaspoon of sugar once it was finished cooking and it was delicious.
I will definitely be adding this to my holiday recipe collection.
I will definitely be adding this to my holiday recipe collection.
So easy and so delicious!!!
Absolutely perfect! I added an orange, cut into small pieces, in the last ten minutes. It is incredible!!
Comes out perfect every time