Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Easy homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries, orange zest and cinnamon makes the perfect side dish for your holiday plate. You will never eat store bought again!
Prep Time 10 minutes mins Cook Time 15 minutes mins
12 oz fresh cranberries 1-1/2 cups sugar 1 cup cranberry juice Zest and juice of one large orange 1 cinnamon stick (or 1/8 tsp cinnamon if you don’t have a stick)
Add the cranberries, sugar, cranberry juice, orange zest, orange juice and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan.
Bring to a light boil then reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer till slightly thickened, about 10-15 minutes. (Stir frequently.)
Carefully remove the cinnamon stick with tongs.
Mash up the sauce to desired consistency, (with a potato masher), cover and let it sit in the saucepan until cool.
Transfer sauce to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator till you need it!
A couple of tips for this recipe:
Use a large saucepan because this stuff can bubble up fast. Make sure and keep an eye on it, stirring frequently.
Make sure you throw the cranberries in to a colander, rinse them well and pick out any that don’t look lovely before throwing them in the pot.
You can absolutely use water instead of juice if you don’t have any – but I love the extra kick the juice gives it.
Zest the orange before juicing it – it’s just easier!
If you don’t have a cinnamon stick, just throw in 1/8 tsp cinnamon.