Just as the name implies, this Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce recipe is made special with a hint of cinnamon. It’s perfect for Thanksgiving dinner! Everyone will be reaching for this fresh cranberry sauce on your Thanksgiving table this year.
This holiday season, ditch the canned stuff because it’s time to make a new kind of delicious homemade cranberry sauce for your Thanksgiving meal or Christmas dinner. It has the perfect combination of warm spices and simple ingredients to make the best cranberry sauce with delicious flavor. The store-bought variety just doesn’t compare at all. Cranberry sauce happens to be my favorite holiday side dish when I cook up a traditional Thanksgiving meal. This is the real deal!
Ingredients needed:
- fresh cranberries
- fresh orange juice
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- ground cinnamon
How to make Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce:
The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.
This is such an easy recipe to make, and you need just a handful of ingredients! Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until many of the cranberries have burst, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. If you’d like, you can use a potato masher to mash the berries down a little bit more.
Let the cranberry sauce cool in the pan, then transfer it to another container, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The sauce may appear soupy at first but should thicken upon refrigeration. It’s okay to set it out at room temperature for a while when you’re setting up your holiday table.
Tips:
- You can sub orange juice from a carton in a pinch instead of using fresh squeezed. Though I fully recommend using fresh squeezed navel oranges because that will lend so much great orange flavor to the sauce. And if you really love the flavor of an orange cranberry sauce, add in some orange zest too!
- If you really want the cinnamon flavor to pop, add a cinnamon stick to the pot while simmering!
- Make this sauce a couple days ahead and up to one week ahead of serving. That’ll help you out when preparing your holiday meal. Thanksgiving day is stressful enough. Make this one ahead of time. You may even wish to make a double batch. Keep the sauce covered and refrigerated.
- When you see fresh cranberries at the store during the holiday season, grab a few bags of them. Cranberries keep very well in the freezer. Just toss the bags of fresh cranberries in the freezer, and you will be able to use them any time you need them for a recipe during the year. There are lots of ways to use fresh cranberries. Imagine making Cranberry Orange Bread and Cranberry Upside Down Cake!
Not to worry if the grocery stores run out of the canned stuff. This is an easy homemade cranberry sauce recipe. Even if it’s your first time making it homemade, I think you will want to make it a family tradition from here on out. This is a chunky cranberry sauce. Leave the jellied cranberry sauce in the can at the store.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This holiday cranberry sauce is the perfect condiment to use as a side dish for your holiday dinner, but it’s also the perfect complement for adding to turkey sandwiches or for topping your morning yogurt on the following day.
Here are some reviews of this Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe:
Lori’s Cinnamon-Kissed Cranberry Sauce has been a part of our family’s Thanksgiving tradition for over 10 years now. Thanks for always providing incredible inspiration for the kitchen!
As I’ve been making this recipe for the last 5 years, I figured I should at least stop in and tell everyone how yummy it is! So simple and so good. I double the recipe, putting half out with our meal, and using the other half to top a homemade cheesecake.
I made this today for Thanksgiving 2013 and my family loved it. I think they were skeptical of me making it (instead of serving the canned cranberry sauce) but they all said they really liked this version much better! I will definitely make this again and again. Thank you for the simple & delicious recipe!
The Best Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes:
- Fresh Green Bean Casserole
- Slow Cooker Stuffing
- Honey Butter Skillet Corn
- Cranberry Jello Ring
- Creamy Oven Baked Mashed Potatoes
Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- One 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a heavy medium-sized saucepan, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until many of the cranberries have burst, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
- Let the cranberry sauce cool in the pan, then transfer it to another container, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The sauce may appear soupy at first but should thicken upon refrigeration.
Notes
- You can sub orange juice from a carton in a pinch.
- Make this sauce up to one week ahead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Lori’s Cinnamon-Kissed Cranberry Sauce has been a part of our family’s Thanksgiving tradition for over 10 years now. Thanks for always providing incredible inspiration for the kitchen! Happy Thanksgiving.
As I’ve been making this recipe for the last 5 years, I figured I should at least stop in and tell everyone how yummy it is! So simple and so good. I double the recipe, putting half out with our meal, and using the other half to top a homemade cheesecake.
Excellent- thank you!
Heavenly!! I used a cinnamon stick and substituted some of the white sugar with honey. One of my favorite parts of the holiday meal. This sauce is AWESOME on vanilla bean ice cream (if you have any leftovers that is). I pinned this so I won’t lose it ever!
Can apple juice be substituted for the orange juice? Do you think this would work well as a pie filling? Would it make enough for a pie? I made this cranberry sauce a few years ago that was truly amazing and can not find the recipe 🙁 I think yours is close. Wanted to try making a pie with the sauce.
I’m not sure about apple juice- probably, but would give it a different flavor. I would not use it for pie filling myself!
Can this be made in the microwave?
I guess you could try!
I made this today for Thanksgiving 2013 and my family loved it. I think they were skeptical of me making it (instead of serving the jarred cranberry sauce) but they all said they really liked this version much better! I will definitely make this again and again. Thank you for the simple & delicious recipe! 🙂
This was the most delicious sauce EVER! I make it every year. I have thought about canning it, also. Would you happen to know how this would hold up? I have never canned before, so I’m still not sure how to can what, and what is canable. Thanks in advance!
I’m afraid I don’t know a thing about canning, so I can’t help you there!
I made this – and your entire Classic Thanksgiving Dinner for that matter – and my guests have commented on how delicious the Cranberry Sauce was along with the Shiitake Mushroom Stuffing that I am making the Cranberry Sauce again for Christmas. See – guys can cook too! 🙂
My husband INSISTS that he never likes homemade cranberry sauce and the stuff out the can is tradition. I made this last night and let him taste test it….he loves it! No more slimy perserved cranberry sauce! Yay! This is my forever recipe….thanks so much!
so easy, isn’t it??
This was super amazing for Thanksgiving this year! I loved it so much, I’m making it for Christmas too!