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This is the Best Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe that anyone can make. Healthy, vegan, and it only requires a few simple ingredients like fresh cranberries, maple syrup and orange juice and zest. You can easily make it sugar free or even use frozen cranberries. A Perfect side dish for the holidays.
Every holiday, well Thanksgiving and Christmas that is, we always have cranberry sauce. It is kind of a staple for our holiday meal but nobody ever really eats much of it at all.
This past holiday season, I made my homemade cranberry sauce and there was nothing left at the end of the day, so I am taking that as a hint that my family loved it.
This cranberry sauce is tangy, yet sweet with the perfect hint of orange from the orange juice and zest. Literally the best side dish for your next holiday meal or the off chance that you make turkey some other time during the year.
Why you will love this recipe
- It’s easy to make, I mean really, really easy.
- You can impress your whole family and they won’t even know that it took you 10 minutes to make it.
- It is vegan, low in sugar, and has the perfect mix of tangy + sweet flavor
- You can make it ahead and chill it or freeze it.
- It only requires 4 ingredients.
- Plus, it is crazy delicous
Is cranberry sauce good for you?
Cranberry sauce is actually pretty healthy if you don’t load it up with sugar. Since cranberries are naturally low in fat and have no trans fat or saturated fat they make this delicious sauce healthy too.
Look out for canned cranberry sauce though, since it can be loaded with extra unhealthy ingredients especially sugar. Skip the canned stuff and make this 10 minute recipe instead.
What ingredients are in homemade cranberry sauce?
How to make homemade cranberry sauce
Making homemade cranberry sauce is very simple and easy to do in 10 minutes or less.
- Heat up a pot to medium heat, add in the orange juice, maple syrup, vanilla, and cranberries. Stir that all together and let the mixture come to a boil.
- Then reduce the heat to low , cover it and let it simmer for about 8 minutes. The cranberries will pop and burst a little which is supposed to happen. This will also allow the sauce to thicken a little bit.
1. Add the cranberries, orange juice, syrup, and vanilla to a pot 2. Bring it to a boil then cover and simmer for 8 minutes.
3. Remove it from the heat, stir it a little and use a masher to bring it to your desired consistency by mashing up the remaining cranberries. I like mine a little chunky so I left some cranberries whole.
Pour it into a serving bowl and top it with some orange zest. So beautiful!
What to do with leftover cranberry sauce
- My favorite way to use up leftover cranberry sauce is to pair it with turkey meatballs or on a turkey or chicken sandwich. It is also super great with this homemade chickpea chicken salad.
- You can use it as a topping on pancakes, waffles or oatmeal.
- It is also delicious on top of yogurt with a little bit of homemade granola.
Recipe Tips
- You can use fresh or frozen cranberries but I think fresh cranberries make this recipe way better.
- I used store-bought orange juice but fresh squeezed also works. If you use fresh squeezed then make sure to filter out the pulp first.
- To reduce the sugar in this recipe you can sub the maple syrup with 1/4 cup of stevia or 1/2 cup of munkfruit. It will alter the taste a bit but still come out super delicious.
- This cranberry sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can also freeze this cranberry sauce. To freeze: Transfer the cranberry sauce to a mason jar or freezer-friendly container and freeze for up to a month. Perfect for Thanksgiving since you can make it in advance and have it ready to go on the big day.
Did you try this recipe? If you did, then please leave a rating and comment below.
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The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is the Best Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe that anyone can make. Healthy, vegan, and it only requires a few simple ingredients like fresh cranberries, maple syrup and orange juice and zest. You can easily make it sugar free or even use frozen cranberries. A Perfect side dish for the holidays.
Ingredients
- 1lb fresh or frozen cranberries – I used Ocean Spray brand
- 1 cup of orange juice – store-bought or fresh squeezed
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- The zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Heat a medium-size pot to medium heat. Add the cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup, and vanilla to the pot. Stir and bring it to a boil.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 8 minutes. The cranberries will start to pop open. This is supposed to happen and will help the sauce thicken. Watch the pot to make sure it does not boil over.
- After 8 minutes, check the consistency of the sauce. I like mine a little chunkier so I will mash up some of the remaining whole cranberries with a masher and leave some whole.
- Turn off the heat, transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and top it with the orange zest.
- Serve warm, chilled, or at room temperature.
Notes
- You can use fresh or frozen cranberries but I think fresh cranberries make this recipe way better.
- I used store-bought orange juice but fresh squeezed also works. If you use fresh squeezed then make sure to filter out the pulp first.
- To reduce the sugar in this recipe you can sub the maple syrup with 1/4 cup of stevia or 1/2 cup of munkfruit. It will alter the taste a bit but still come out super delicious.
- This cranberry sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can also freeze this cranberry sauce. To freeze: Transfer the cranberry sauce to a mason jar or freezer-friendly containter and freeze for up to a month. Perfect for Thanksgiving since you can make it in advance and have it ready to go on the big day.
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Dressings, Dips, and Sauces
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Could you put the leftovers into a mason jar? If so, how long would it keep for? (Either at room temp or refrigerated)?
Hi Laura, yes the leftovers can be put into a mason jar and stored in the refrigerator or the freezer. You just want to make sure to let it cool completely first.