The best whole berry cranberry sauce recipe is made by simmering cranberries with the juice and zest of an orange and then sweetened with honey. It is the perfect side dish for your holiday meal and will become a tradition you will want to make every single year.
Cranberry sauce is always a holiday favorite served alongside roasted turkey, sourdough stuffing, and sweet potato pecan casserole. This recipe is created with fresh whole berries simmered down with zesty orange juice and sweet honey and apple cider for a festive side dish that will be an immediate crowd pleaser at your thanksgiving meal. It is one of the easiest from-scratch dishes to bring to any holiday meal, and the best part is, it tastes so impressive for how simple it is to make!
Not only is this delicious sweet and tart sauce tasty over your favorite thanksgiving recipes, but it’s delicious on its own, or you can have it over homemade yogurt or as a jam on sourdough biscuits. It also tastes amazing as a spread on leftover turkey sandwiches nestled between sourdough dinner rolls.
Once you taste this homemade cranberry sauce, you’ll be dreaming up all the ways to have more of it in your life.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple – This easy cranberry sauce recipe is so easy and quick to whip up and is made up of only 4 simple ingredients!
Versatile – There are an abundance of ways to use this sauce, making it a great versatile side dish for thanksgiving dinner and beyond.
Better than store bought – This recipe has a hint of orange flavor mixed with the tart berries that adds a sweet complexity to this dish. It is so much better than the canned stuff!
Ingredients
Fresh cranberries – Fresh whole cranberries are essential to this recipe. You can usually find them during the winter months in the produce area of the grocery store.
Apple cider – If you do not have apple cider, or you don’t want to use it, you could just use the juice of an orange to provide the sweetness you need.
Zest and juice of 1 medium orange – Use organic oranges since you are using the peel for orange zest. If you’re not using organic, make sure to wash them really well. The orange juice is not optional because it pairs so nicely with the tartness of the cranberries.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
Step 1: Add cranberries to a medium saucepan with the zest of a whole orange.
Step 2: Slice the orange in half and squeeze the juice into the pot. Add apple cider and honey or maple syrup.
Step 3: Bring to a simmer. Allow the mixture to cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries start popping open, about 10 minutes or so.
Step 4: Take off heat, and allow to cool a bit. It will thicken as it cools. Serve.
Tips
- You can double or triple this easy recipe and freeze leftovers for later.
- A 12 ounce bag equals about 3 cups of fresh cranberries.
- This recipe could be considered vegan if you use maple syrup rather than honey, since honey comes from bees.
Recipe FAQs
The tartness and sweetness of the dish pairs well with the savory, salty turkey during holiday meals.
Don’t let the holidays be the only time you enjoy this side dish! It is really yummy over yogurt, used as a jam with cornbread, or served with roasted chicken and green beans. Your imagination is the limit.
Leftover cranberry sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 – 4 days.
To freeze, place cooled cranberry sauce in an airtight, freezer-safe container or freezer bag, and freeze. Be sure to use it within 2 – 3 months.
To use: Pull cranberry sauce out of the freezer the night before you intend to use it and place it in the fridge to thaw. Place it into a saucepan and heat over low to medium heat until bubbling.
Serve it warm, room temperature, or chilled. All options are delicious. It is really based on preference.
If you want to make this dish extra fancy, you can add fresh pineapple, grapes, orange slices, chunks of apple, pecans, or walnuts.
Cranberry relish is a fresh and tart condiment made from raw cranberries blended together. Cranberry sauce, on the other hand, is cooked and tends to be much sweeter than relish.
More Holiday Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Pumpkin Cobbler Recipe
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- The Best Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe
- Best Deviled Eggs Recipe
- Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot or dutch oven
- 1 microplane or zester
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- ½ cup apple cider
- Zest and juice of 1 medium orange
Instructions
- Add cranberries in a medium stockpot.
- Zest an orange right into the pot.
- Slice an orange in half and squeeze the juice into the pot.
- Add apple cider and honey or maple syrup.
- Bring to a simmer. Allow the mixture to cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries start popping open. About 10 minutes or so.
- Take off heat, and allow to cool a bit. It will thicken as it cools.
- Serve.
Notes
- Please double check amounts when using the multiplying feature in the recipe card.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe and freeze leftovers for later.
- A 12 ounce bag equals about 3 cups of fresh cranberries.
- This recipe could be considered vegan if you use maple syrup rather than honey, since honey comes from bees.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I make this every year. Absolutely delish!
Can this be fermented? If so how would I go about doing that?
I have never tried it, so not sure.
Hi Lisa! We made this last year for Thanksgiving (it was delicious!), and I’m looking forward to having it this year as well. Do you know if it can be canned as is?
I do not. It has not been tested for canning safety.
I love this recipe! I’m the only cranberry sauce fan in my family though, so I have a lot of leftovers when I make it. This year I used the leftovers to make fruit leather and my daughter loved it!
I love how easy it is to make a delicious side to add to my dinner. Was too sour for my little one so I added 1/2 a can of crushed pineapple and it’s juice to your recipe and he loves it. Ty
I really think you should make a printed recipe book. It is so nice to open a book instead of go on the the electronics again and again.
Hi, thanks for the recipe. We love cranberry orange relish, but it’s not easy to find commercially anymore, but I love the idea of making it at home with fresh ingredients. My question is, can I substitute apple juice for the apple cider? Thanks! It sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try i!
This cranberry sauce is delicious and yes, it tastes great with yogurt too! 😊 This Thanksgiving was a first for me as the cook and this cranberry sauce was so simple and made me feel like an old timer, in a good way. It was a beautifully colorful addition to the plate. No more UTIs over here! Ha!
This is such a great recipe to add to our Thanksgiving table! So good!
Love, love, love this easy and flavorful sauce! It being so pretty is a bonus!