Today I’m sharing a very Easy Cranberry Sauce recipe.  I promise!

easy cranberry sauce in a dish

Seriously, if you think you cannot cook- you totally CAN.  Cranberry sauce is just about the easiest thing to make, and I’m not even kidding. It’s not as hard as making an apple pie, and it’s not anywhere close as difficult as roasting a turkey.

I grew up on the canned stuff- the jellied canned stuff if you want to get specific.  I actually loved it.  I loved eating little bites of the gelatinous blob on my plate, and I loved slicing it to add to “next-day” turkey sandwiches too.  

Nowadays, the cranberry sauce they sell in the can tastes a lot like the can to me.  It’s funny how you can detect things like that when you begin to make more recipes from scratch.  Here’s the (very simple) way to make a basic, delicious easy cranberry sauce recipe.

Adding cranberries to a pan

How to make Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe:

Add fresh cranberries to a pan.

Pouring orange juice into pan with cranberries

Add orange juice (if you take the time to freshly squeeze your orange juice, that’s the best way to do it).

Pouring sugar into pan with cranberries

Add sugar. I use white sugar. Some people say that they like using brown sugar instead.

Cranberry Sauce in a pan

Stir the ingredients together, and bring to a boil.

making Cranberry Sauce in a pan

As the mixture heats up, the cranberries begin to pop and break down. The mixture will begin to thicken, and it will thicken more when it has a chance to sit too.

easy cranberry sauce recipe

See?  Easy!  There really isn’t any excuse for buying the cans this year.  Try it homemade.

Do you make your own cranberry sauce?  Do you have a secret method or ingredient that you like to add to your recipe?  Let us know!

easy cranberry sauce in a dish
5 from 2 votes

Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Really love this easy Thanksgiving recipe!
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
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Ingredients

Instructions 

  • In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil until the cranberries begin to pop and break down. Simmer until slightly thickened. It will thicken more when left at room temperature or refrigerated. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1/4 cup), Calories: 130kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1mg, Potassium: 99mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 29g, Vitamin A: 88IU, Vitamin C: 21mg, Calcium: 7mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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5 from 2 votes

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21 Comments

  1. Kathie A says:

    5 stars
    The hardest thing is finding FRESH CRANBERRIES! I finally found some and bought 2 pkgs. They are very seasonal. I wonder if you could make it and then freeze it to have the rest of Winter time?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      I don’t know about freezing the cranberry sauce itself, but fresh cranberries can be frozen for a very long time!

  2. Farmersdaughter says:

    5 stars
    I make this in my small slow cooker, I use 1/2 white sugar 1/2 brown sugar, throw in 3-4 whole cloves, couple of cinnamon sticks and the orange peel none of the white pith. I pull out the spices before serving. With the leftovers, I run through the blender, then use as a ham glaze, pork tenderloin glaze, on turkey cream cheese sandwiches, warmed up and pour over vanilla ice cream, or use on pancakes/waffles…..

  3. Jack Shannon says:

    Made this last year and will be making it again this year.
    I have 4 bags and will be canning 2 of them when finished.
    Thanks for making it so easy for us.
    Jack

  4. Cindie says:

    Hey,
    I am making Thanksgiving dinner for the Family this year. First time any of us are going to try this, and this look like a really good recipe. But, how many people are it for? Would hate to make too little.

    1. Lori Lange says:

      The recipe makes two cups- so it all depends how much you want. My family LOVES cranberry sauce, so I always double the recipe so we have plenty!

  5. Mary K. Wessling says:

    Been making this same recipe for years, YUM!!

  6. Cheryl says:

    My WW leader had this recipe for cranberry sauce, I was going to try it too.
    1 Bag cranberries
    1 apple, peeled, cored & chopped
    1 orange, peeled, separated
    2 cinnamon sticks
    1 cup water
    sweeten to taste

    Boil all until cranberries pop, cool, remove cinnamon sticks and serve.

  7. joam pool says:

    Hi. I was looking for a basic recipe because my pkg. didn’t have one. Couldn’t remember from many times I’ve made them, but it is so basic I felt embarrassed to have to look up a recipe. Anyway, I ended up putting too much sugar (11/2 cups per that recipe on pkg.) and it is really sweet. Hope my husband will not notice.
    Thanks for your help.
    Joan

  8. Nutmeg Nanny says:

    I love cranberry sauce 🙂 this recipe really is so simple!