Easy Orange Cranberry Sauce (video)
Cranberry sauce is a staple sauce for holiday turkeys! My easy, homemade orange cranberry sauce is a low-sugar version of everyone’s favorite sauce, made with orange juice, orange zest and cranberries! I love this chunky and tart sauce – it’s very aromatic and so easy to make! This recipe takes just a few minutes to put together and you’ll have an amazing cranberry sauce for your Thanksgiving turkey! Use it with my ‘Garlic Butter Turkey’ recipe – super juicy and flavorful!
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Ingredients of Cranberry Sauce
My orange cranberry sauce is super easy to make! You’ll need just a few ingredients: oranges, sugar and cranberries. For the orange flavor, I like to add both orange zest and orange juice. I like to use fresh cranberries because they’re always in season around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Frozen berries will also work well for this recipe; they will take a few minutes longer to cook though.
How To Make Orange Cranberry Sauce
- Place the cranberries and sugar into a medium saucepan. I only use 1/2 cup sugar for this recipe. You can add more sugar if you want a sweeter sauce.
- First, zest the orange – you’ll need about 1 tablespoon of zest for this recipe. Then, slice the orange in half and squeeze the juice out, about 1/3 cup.
- Bring this mixture of berries, sugar, juice and zest to a simmer. The sauce needs to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the berries burst open and reduce. As the cranberry sauce cooks, add more orange juice or water if necessary. The berries need to be very soft but may need additional liquids.
- Once the berries are soft and cooked, take a rubber spatula and press on the berries to burst them, until a chunky sauce forms. Transfer the sauce into a serving bowl and enjoy! If desired, garnish the top with orange zest and fresh cranberries!
Serving Cranberry Sauce
Enjoy this easy orange cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving or Christmas with these delicious recipes!
- Butter & Thyme Mashed Sweet Potatoes – the best potato mash made with loads of butter and thyme, cooked in chicken broth.
- Bacon & Cheddar Garlic Rolls – the most amazing dinner rolls, stuffed with bacon and cheese!
- Garlic Butter Turkey recipe – the one and only turkey recipe you’ll ever need!
- Maple Syrup Pecan Pie – a classic pecan pie recipe made without any corn syrup!
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More Recipes
Enjoyed this easy recipe? It’s part of my ‘Back to Cake Basics’ series, where I teach you how to make basic cake, frosting and filling recipes that you can mix and match! Here are some recipes you’re sure to enjoy!
- Easy Lemon Curd Recipe – the one and only lemon curd recipe I ever use! It’s creamy, zesty and delicious!
- Creamy Pineapple Curd – this tropical and fruity curd is also great for filling cakes and desserts!
Homemade Orange Cranberry Sauce (video)
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- zest from 1 large orange, about 1 tbsp
- 1/3 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Place the cranberries into a medium-sized saucepan and add the sugar. If you want a sweeter cranberry sauce, add more sugar. Sugar replacement such as Swerve will also work well for this recipe. Use a zester to zest the orange and add about 1 tablespoon zest to the sauce. Slice the orange open and squeeze to juice into a measuring cup. Add 1/3 cup orange juice to start.
- Cook the cranberry sauce over medium heat. Once the sauce starts to simmer, continue to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the berries burst open, soften and the sauce thickens. As the sauce cooks, add more orange juice or water if it’s too thick. Stir occasionally with a rubber spatula. Once the sauce is done cooking, use the spatula to press the cranberries until a chunky sauce forms. Transfer into a serving dish and garnish with orange rind.
Can this sauce be frozen?
Sure! Just keep it in a well sealed container. Enjoy!