This Cranberry Sauce is only THREE ingredients and is the most flavorful fresh sauce recipe for Thanksgiving. You’ll never reach for the canned stuff again!
Move over, canned cranberry sauce! You can make a fresh sauce from scratch in no time. Bright and colorful, sweet and tangy, this delicious sauce is packed with flavor and is the perfect accessory to your Thanksgiving meal.
I have made this for the last three years. I have a grown son who eats every can of cranberry jelly he sees and is very fussy. It must be jellied. I made this recipe and now he only likes my homemade cranberry sauce with whole and pieces of the berry in it. Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe.
Cranberry Sauce in Three Ingredients
Here’s all you need for the most vibrant, fresh cranberry sauce ever. You ready? Here we go:
- Cranberries (fresh, whole, washed)
- Sugar
- Orange juice (your favorite brand, any kind will do)
That’s it! The orange juice punches up the flavor of this sauce in a big way, and it’s so easy! If you supervise at the stove top, you could even put one of the kids in charge of this one. My daughter, Piper, loves to whisk together the sugar and orange juice, then stir in the cranberries. I usually take over when everything gets hot and bubbly and when the cranberries start to pop, but she loves watching that process too.
Friends, how do you like to eat your cranberry sauce? With turkey? By the spoon? Comment below and we can share ideas together!
What to Serve With Cranberry Sauce
Because it only takes about ten minutes from start to finish, I make this sauce many times a year, and not just at Thanksgiving. It tastes delicious on toast, sandwiches, or chicken.
This fresh sauce would be perfect on a plate with these fast easy biscuits, these crock pot cheesy mashed potatoes, and this make ahead stuffing.
How to Store Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Once made, this cranberry orange sauce thickens as it stands. I generally transfer it to a bowl right after cooking and let it thicken at room temperature until it’s time to eat. Here are some simple storage tips for leftovers:
- Make sure you cover and refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking. So when the meal is over, make sure to stick it in the fridge.
- If it’s tightly covered, leftover sauce will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge!
- You can freeze it too! Sometimes I make a double batch and freeze one. Just make sure it’s stored in a freezer safe container. It’ll stay nice and fresh for up to two months.
- Thaw out the cranberry sauce in the refrigerator and then serve.
- For warm cranberry sauce, you can heat it up on the stove top over medium heat until it’s the consistency you like.
- If the sauce seems to thick, thin it out with a little more orange juice or water.
More Cranberry Recipes
If you can’t get enough cranberry flavor this holiday season, then make sure you try these:
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this super easy cranberry sauce. Invite your kiddos to help out in the kitchen and drop a comment below to let me know how it goes!
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 12 oz fresh cranberries washed
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, whisk together the orange juice and sugar over medium low heat.
- Pour in the cranberries. Stir to combine. Continue to cook until the cranberries begin to pop. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl. The sauce will thicken as it sits.
Pauline says
Thank you so much for this Cranberry Sauce recipe, I find it almost impossible to purchase Cranberry Sauce as it gets closer to Christmas, seems everyone wants it, but thanks to you I can now make my own. Here in Australia I haven’t seen fresh cranberries on our supermarket shelves so will try to make it from dried cranberries.
Hi Pauline! I don’t think this will work with dried cranberries. It’s the fresh cranberries popping that make this recipe work really well. Do you have frozen cranberries?
Wilkins says
I have never tried to make a Cranberry Brie Crescent Braid before, but it looks really good. I can’t wait to give it a try this week. Thanks for the list.
It was the first thing eaten the last time I made it for a party!
JUlie says
Can you make a day ahead and reheat?
I am way too late responding to this, but a day ahead is fine!
Nicole Torres says
Thank you so much. I want to have and enjoy cranberry for the holidays but never liked it from the can. Making them for Christmas. :)
I hope you love it!
Linda Rains says
I have used this recipe for the last two Thanksgivings’ and it is easy and delicious!! This year I added pecans after it cooled a bit and everyone loved it!! Thank you so much for the recipe! Wondering if adding pineapple juice and a small can of crushed would be a nice variation!?!
I’m so happy you like it! I actually think it would be amazing with a little pineapple!
Joyce says
Thank You for this easy Bhatia cranberry sauce that my family’s fight over constantly.
Thank you
So glad you liked it!
Donna says
I make mine like this,with some brown sugar also added,occasionally add some pine apple chunks, slightly shredded with little juice. And coconut and pecans.
Pauline says
Hi Lisa, I want to make this for Christmas but I would like a little thicker. How do I do this?
Just simmer it for longer, Pualine, until you get the consistency you like.
Carole Fernandes says
I have made this for the last three years. I have a grown son who eats every can of cranberry jelly he sees and is very fussy. It must be jellied. I made this recipe and now he only likes my homemade cranberry sauce with whole and pieces of the berry in it. Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe.
This makes me so happy! thank you for coming back to let me know!