Cranberry Sauce Recipe

A traditional handmade Cranberry Sauce Recipe. Ready in about 20 minutes from fresh or frozen cranberries, this side dish is a staple at every Thanksgiving table. Fast and simple to prepare in advance!

How about cranberry sauce, do you like it? At Christmas time, my father can’t get enough of it. When fresh cranberries become available in late October, he buys a lot of them and stores them in the freezer so he may enjoy them throughout the year.

The fact that he may eat as much cranberry sauce as he likes with his turkey and have enough left over for turkey sandwiches makes Thanksgiving a highlight of the year for him.

Sometime in the month of May, he will run out of frozen cranberries and switch to purchasing the canned kind. He’ll squirrel the tins away in a far corner of the cupboard, then devour the whole supply of canned cranberries by himself. He is, to put it mildly, fixated.

It took me a while to get used to the flavor. When I was a youngster, I couldn’t get my mind around the fact that something with such a rich maroon hue didn’t have the flavor of berry pie filling.

Because of their high acidity, cranberries are best when combined with a sweetener. The tartness is still detectable, though, even after adding sugar. I used to hate cranberry sauce as a kid, but as an adult I’ve grown to like it in all its forms, including a no-cook relish.

Cranberry Sauce Is Perfect with Thanksgiving Turkey

To complement the flavor of the turkey, cranberries are ideal. Like chicken with lemons. They complement one other so well flavor-wise. That’s why the sauce is perfect for making turkey sandwiches out of leftovers.

This is a basic cranberry sauce recipe that may be modified to suit your tastes. Let us know in the comments below if you have a preferred method of preparation!

Turkey and cranberries are a match made in heaven. Like putting lemon juice over chicken. There is a certain chemistry between the tastes that makes them a perfect match. For this reason, the sauce works well with turkey in sandwiches made from leftovers.

This is a basic cranberry sauce recipe that may be modified to your liking with the addition of a few simple ingredients. What’s your go-to method for creating yours? Share it with the community below!

Cranberry Sauce

Note: The recipe calls for a cup of water. You can easily substitute that with 1/2 cup of orange juice and 1/2 cup of water if you want to increase the orange note in the sauce (cranberries and oranges play well together!)

You can also reduce the sugar if you want. Start out with half as much and add more if you think it needs it. If you use less sugar, reduce the amount of water you add as well.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• 1 cup (250ml) water
• 4 cups (one 12-ounce package) fresh or frozen cranberries
• Optional: pecans, orange zest, raisins, currants, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice

Method

1. Rinse cranberries:Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse them. Pick out and discard any damaged or bruised cranberries.
2. Boil water with sugar:Put the water and sugar in a medium saucepan on high heat and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
3. Add cranberries, cook until they burst:Add the cranberries to the pot and return to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the cranberries have burst.
4. Stir in mix-ins, if using:Once the cranberries have burst you can leave the cranberry sauce as is, or dress it up with other ingredients. We like to mix in a half a cup of chopped pecans a pinch or two of orange zest.Some people like adding raisins or currants, or even blueberries for added sweetness. You can also add holiday spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice. If adding spices, start with a pinch of each and add more to your taste.
5. Let cool:Remove the pot from heat. Let cool completely at room temperature, then transfer to a bowl to chill in the refrigerator. Note that the cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

NUTRITION FACTS(PER SERVING)
103	CALORIES
0g	FAT
27g	CARBS
0g	PROTEIN

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.