Super Easy Cranberry Sauce
Servings: 2 cups
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries (1 package)
- ½ cup sugar (or maple syrup)
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup orange juice, fresh
- pinch sea salt
Optional Add Ins
- orange rind or zest
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Add cranberries, sugar, water, and orange juice to a medium saucepan. Bring up to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium or medium-low for ~10-15 minutes until the cranberries burst and become jammy. Stir often to prevent sticking.
- Taste and adjust the level of sweetness (this recipe is a reduced sugar version of classic cranberry sauce). Add more sugar/maple syrup to increase sweetness or a splash of apple cider vinegar to cut the sweetness. Stir in a pinch of salt and the orange zest (if using).
- Cranberry sauce thickens as it cools. If it becomes too thick, add more water to correct. If it's too thin, put it back on the stove to simmer further (no lid).
Notes
- Tart or Sweet?: This healthier cranberry sauce recipe as written is semi-sweet tart. To make it sweeter, add more sugar/maple syrup. Too sweet? Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to cut the sweetness.
- Refined sugar free version: Use maple syrup in place of sugar for a naturally sweetened cranberry sauce.
- They pop and burst!: If this is your first time making cranberry sauce from scratch, be prepared for the cranberries to pop and burst while they cook. You may need to place a lid partially over the pot.
- Thick or berrylicious?: The longer you cook the cranberries, the more they breakdown and become jammy. So if you like a juicier cranberry sauce with chunks of berries, remove from the heat a little sooner.
- Make Ahead Friendly: Cranberry sauce can be made 7 in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use. You may need to stir in another splash of water to correct consistency before serving.
- Leftovers: Just like my homemade berry jam, leftover cranberry sauce is amazing on toast with peanut butter. It's also delicious in a homemade pop tart made with leftover pieces of pie dough or puff pastry from your apple pie or apple galette.