Homemade Cranberry and Orange Sauce

Tired of stodgy store bought canned cranberry sauce? Here’s how to make the tastiest homemade Cranberry and Orange Sauce with fresh cranberries, a touch of sugar, and fresh orange in under ten minutes. Finish it off with a splash of orange liqueur for a little extra holiday magic.

No turkey dinner is complete without the tangy zip of cranberries. The vibrant sauce cuts through the salt and highlights the flavour of brined roast turkey perfectly. I suggest mixing the leftover cranberry sauce with an equal portion of aioli for the ultimate leftover turkey sandwiches.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange

I host an annual Friendsgiving meal at my home for friend who don’t cook but love to eat. One year I was so busy I almost forgot to make the cranberry sauce.

In a hurry, I threw some cranberries and sugar into a saucepan cooked up this exact cranberry and orange sauce recipe. It was ready to go before anyone finished their welcome cocktail!

One friend was astonished at how easy it was, especially since he’d been eating sauce from a can his entire life. He made me promise to share the recipe on my blog so that he’d never have to buy canned cranberry sauce again!

I mean it when I say that this Cranberry and Orange Sauce is so simple and so much more flavourful than store bought cranberry sauce. You can make the classic cranberry sauce without fresh orange juice and zest but citrus (including lemon) goes so well with cranberries. It’s so good, you’ll say goodbye to that congealed sauce in a can forever!

Now, I like to finish my fresh cranberry sauce with a splash or orange flavoured liqueur for a little extra oomph. However, the sauce is perfectly fine without it, if you prefer to abstain from alcohol.

Cranberry and Orange Sauce Ingredients

With only four ingredients and under ten minutes total time, this recipe can’t get any easier! The most difficult part of the process is zesting and juicing an orange. Before long, you’ll be impressing your friends and family with this easy recipe.

• Cranberries
• Sugar
• Orange
• Orange Liqueur

Try to use fresh cranberries to make cranberry sauce if you can find them. However, frozen cranberries and even dried cranberries will work just fine. To make this sauce using dried cranberries, simmer 2 cups dried cranberries with 1 cup of water until they are plump and juicy then proceed with the rest of this recipe.

Granulated sugar works best in this recipe, and I think 1/2 cup sugar is just about right. However, sometimes I’ll add 2 tablespoons of honey and that works well too. If you find the sauce is too tart, add more sugar. If it’s too sweet feel free to reduce the amount of sugar as desired.

Feel free to use limes or a lemon in place of the orange, though it’s worth noting that oranges have a sweeter more mellow flavour which rounds out the tartness of the cranberries. Limes and lemons will play a similar, yet different role in the sauces flavour profile.

As previously mentioned, the orange liqueur is purely optional but if you want to include it feel free to use Cointreau, Curaçao, Triple Sec, or Grand Marnier.

Also optional are warming spices such as cinnamon, cloves, or star anise. Feel free to simmer the sauce with a whole cinnamon stick, whole cloves, or whole star anise for an extra flavour boost. Just don’t forget to remove the whole spices before you serve the sauce.

What are Cranberries?

What are cranberries? Are they real berries? How did they become a quintessential part of holiday tables throughout North America?

Cranberries are true berries, meaning they contain multiple seeds within a fleshy fruit body. They grow on low, creeping evergreen shrubs in cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The love acidic soils and are flood harvested in the fall.

These native North American berries were eaten throughout the first nations communities and shared with colonists upon arrival. They contain many nutritional benefits, including moderate levels of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and manganese as well as a variety of polyphenols which may beneficially affect the cardiovascular system, immune system and cancer.

How to Make Cranberry and Orange Sauce

All you need to make this stovetop cranberry orange sauce is a saucepan, a citrus zester, and a spoon!

To begin, place cranberries and sugar together in a small saucepan. Add the orange zest and juice of one orange. Cover and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat then remove the lid and turn the heat down.

Allow mixture to simmer slowly for a few minutes or until the cranberries burst then add 1 – 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur (if using). Continue simmering on low for a few minutes until it thickens slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Store any leftover Cranberry and Orange Sauce in the fridge for up to one week. Freeze cranberry sauce for up to 6 months.

What to Do with Leftovers

Since this cranberry and orange sauce recipe makes enough for a crowd, you may have leftovers. Feel free to halve the recipe if you like. However, Thanksgiving leftovers and especially leftover cranberry sauce are truly one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Because of that, there are a wealth of leftover cranberry sauce recipes here on the blog. Choose from appetizers like Baked Turkey Sliders and Baked Brie en Croute to Cranberry Orange Bourbon Smash cocktails and adorable Christmas Trifles. There are so many ways to use up leftover Orange Cranberry Sauce. 

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I am the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

If you make this Homemade Cranberry and Orange Sauce recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in a recipe rating. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!