Cranberry sauce is easily one of the simplest things on earth to make, and somehow, it seems to be often the one thing that people decide to pick up pre-made for their holiday gatherings. Why is that? Well, no more: today we’re going to fight back against can-shaped cranberry and learn how to make this delicious homemade cranberry sauce recipe ourselves.

How this recipe came to be

I grew up in a family that always made everything from scratch, so homemade cranberry sauce was a pretty normal part of our holiday meals. One year, however, I remember that my mom found a recipe in a magazine for cranberry sauce with orange and apple chunks, which we tried that year and enjoyed very much. Typically, my family still makes the regular plain cranberry sauce, but every so often I like to make it special and add the magic of added orange or other fruit as a throw-back to that one year where we mixed it up and made it special. Today I’m going to stick with just orange, since that still keeps it pretty simple, and the flavour is just wonderful.

Can I make this recipe without orange?

Absolutely. Just sub the orange juice for water, omit the zest, and follow the directions as listed. Most cranberry sauce is made with more sugar than this recipe, which is delicious, but I find this still perfectly sweet enough, and it’s generally my preference to cut down on sugar wherever I can.

Can I substitute honey or maple syrup for the sugar?

I have definitely seen it done. I can’t vouch for the results for sure (since I haven’t done it), but I feel pretty comfortable saying that yes, you’ll still have a delicious outcome with one of those substitutes.

What you will need to make this recipe:

A small, heave bottomed saucepan
A zester
A juicer (if using real orange juice)
Measuring cups and spoons

And that’s it! Super simple, and I’m pretty sure you already have all of that. Here’s the recipe!

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange

This recipe is a slight twist on regular cranberry sauce, with reduced sugar and added orange juice and zest.

Ingredients

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries washed (about 340g)
3/4 cup brown sugar
zest of 1 orange
1 cup orange juice

Instructions

In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, combine all of the ingredients.
Cook over medium heat until them mixture comes to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until the cranberries have burst and the sauce thickens (about 15-20 minutes). Remove from heat.
Pour into a heat-proof bowl or container and refrigerate until use. Serve cold.

Recipe Notes

Tip: Don't cover your pot with a lid for this whole process. Cranberries tend to bubble up a lot while they are cooking, and it's a pretty common problem to have the sauce boil over! Prevent this by keeping the lid off until the sauce is done.

So pretty, and so delicious! Cranberries have got to be one of my favourite holiday things. They are so easy to use, so pretty, and so yummy.