Not to toot my own horn, but this is the Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe that I have ever tasted.
Believe it or not, I used to think all cranberry sauce that wasn’t canned cranberry sauce was gross. I had not found a cranberry sauce recipe that I liked, but I think I just don’t like chunky cranberry sauce.
This sauce has such a bright, fresh flavor and tastes almost like a combination of that familiar taste of canned cranberry sauce mixed with applesauce. It’s made using freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh cranberries, sugar, and an apple – and it is so delicious.
I like to strain my cranberry sauce because – as I said, I like the smoother texture – so I include that step below in the instructions. Feel free to keep it chunky if desired.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients in Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Why Use Orange Juice?
- How to Make Cranberry Sauce from Scratch
- Make a Copycat Jellied Cranberry Sauce
- Recipe Variations
- How to Store Leftover Cranberry Sauce
- How to Freeze Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice (Jellied Recipe) Recipe
- More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Ingredients in Homemade Cranberry Sauce
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for the best homemade jellied cranberry sauce. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Fresh Cranberries – You can also use frozen cranberries.
- Large Oranges, juiced – I prefer using freshly squeezed orange juice, but you can also use bottled orange juice. (Just make sure that it is real orange juice – not something like Sunny D.)
- Water
- Granulated Sugar – I have not tested this specific recipe with a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or honey. I think it would taste good, but I’m not sure the pectin from the apple would be enough for it to set up fully – you might need to cook it down a lot more.
- An Apple – The apple adds a little pectin to the cranberry sauce and that gives it a little bit of that jelly kind of texture – kind of like canned cranberry sauce. Dice it up into little cubes. If you want to make the cranberry sauce more tart, use a tart apple like a Granny Smith, but I like to use a sweeter apple to balance out the cranberries, so I use a Gala or Pink Lady.
Why Use Orange Juice?
Orange juice adds such a brightness to cranberry sauce. It is a little acidic, but there is something about the combination of orange, apple, and cranberry – and of course, sugar – in this recipe that is just so good. If you’ve ever had a cranberry and orange muffin – the two just belong together!
Equipment Needed
You’ll need a metal (mesh) sieve or a strainer, a saucepan, a wide mouth mason jar, and a rubber spatula.
How to Make Cranberry Sauce from Scratch
This fresh cranberry sauce is super easy to make.
- To a medium saucepan, add the orange juice and water.
- I use the juice from two oranges plus 1/4 cup of water, which comes out to 3/4 cup of liquid altogether.
- Turn on the heat to medium or medium-high heat. Bring this to a boil, then add the cranberries, the diced apple, and the sugar. (Pictures 1-2)
- Stir to combine, then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes. (Picture 3-4)
- As it simmers, the liquid should reduce, the apples will soften, and all of the cranberries will burst open. (Like shriveled raisins.)
- When the sauce is ready to strain, the liquid around the fruit should just about stick to your spoon as you stir.
Make a Copycat Jellied Cranberry Sauce
If you want your sauce to form more of a thick jelly, like the canned sauce, cook it until the liquid thickens enough to fully coat a spoon. If you pick the spoon up out of the pot, the sauce shouldn’t drip.
The longer you cook the sauce before straining it, the thicker the sauce will be once it cools.
- Remove the pot of cooked cranberries from the hot stove and pour the mixture through a metal sieve over a heat-safe bowl. (Picture 5)
- Use the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to press the pulp through the sieve, swirling it around to press as much through as you can.
- Discard the cranberry skins, then transfer the strained contents to a WIDE MOUTH glass jar. (This will shape the sauce into that “canned” cranberry sauce shape.) If you don’t want to do that, you can also just put it into a serving dish, just remember that it will set in that shape.
- Refrigerate for at least two hours – it thickens as it cools, so it will seem on the thin side until it sets.
Be sure to allow the cranberry sauce to cool completely, then serve topped with a bit of orange zest.
This recipe should make one wide mouth pint-size mason jar of cranberry sauce which is about two cups. When testing the recipe, I ended up with a pint and a little extra when I used a really big apple and my cranberries were extra juicy. If that happens, just pour the extra into another container to use with leftovers.
Recipe Variations
- If you can’t find fresh cranberries, you can replace them with frozen cranberries.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg to change up the taste.
- To add a little extra brightness to the cranberry sauce, you can stir in about one teaspoon of orange zest after you strain out the pulp.
How to Store Leftover Cranberry Sauce
Store cranberry sauce in the glass jar that you used to shape it in the refrigerator. It will keep for 5-7 days. For maximum freshness, you can press a piece of plastic wrap down over the top of the leftover sauce before shutting the jar.
How to Freeze Cranberry Orange Sauce
To freeze cranberry sauce, just place it in an airtight container – your wide mouth jar will work fine as it won’t expand much – and just place it in the freezer.
It will last for 3-4 months. Thaw the cranberry sauce overnight in the fridge and enjoy!
Pin this to save it for later!
Pin It
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice (Jellied Recipe)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup orange juice freshly squeezed from 2 oranges
- ¼ cup water
- 1 medium-sized apple finely diced up (excluding the core/seeds but it does not need to be peeled)
Instructions
- To a medium saucepan, add the orange juice and water. (It should be ¾ liquid.) Turn on the heat to medium or medium-high heat.½ cup orange juice, ¼ cup water
- Bring this to a boil, then add the cranberries, the diced apple, and the sugar.12 ounces fresh cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 1 medium-sized apple
- Stir to combine, then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes.
- As it simmers, the liquid should reduce, the apples will soften, and all of the cranberries will burst open. (Like shriveled raisins.)
- When the sauce is ready to strain, it should just about stick to your spoon as you stir.
To Make Jellied Sauce
- If you want to make THICK cranberry sauce, like the canned stuff, cook it until the liquid thickens enough to fully coat a spoon. If you pick the spoon up out of the pot, the sauce shouldn't drip much at all.
- Remove the pot of cooked cranberries from the hot stove and pour the mixture through a metal sieve over a heat-safe bowl.
- Use the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to press the pulp through the sieve, swirling it around to press as much through as you can.
- Discard the cranberry skins, then transfer the strained contents to a WIDE MOUTH glass jar. (This will shape the sauce into that "canned" cranberry sauce shape.) If you don't want to do that, you can also just put it into a serving dish, just remember that it will set in that shape.
- Refrigerate for at least two hours – it thickens as it cools, so it will seem on the thin side until it sets.
- Be sure to allow the cranberry sauce to cool completely.
- Serve topped with a bit of orange zest.
Notes
Special Equipment Needeed
- 1 large mouth mason jar
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without cranberry sauce, but we also need:
