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Cranberry Orange Sauce is a delicious combination of sweet and tart, with a refreshing orange flavor, and the perfect accompaniment to all your holiday meals.
This sweet and tangy homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce will be the perfect compliment to your Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing and it makes a fantastic relish for leftover turkey sliders. Plus you can make a double batch and use it for Cranberry Fluff Salad, too!
Why We Love This Recipe
Say goodbye to cranberry sauce from a can and hello to this perfectly sweet and tart homemade cranberry sauce. With just a few ingredients and about 15 minutes of cooking time, it’s so easy to make at home.
Want a delicious holiday breakfast idea? Try topping Pumpkin Pancakes with cranberry relish, or mix it into your oatmeal, yogurt or smoothies. It will blow your mind!
recipe walkthrough
Cranberry Orange Sauce Recipe Ingredients
- Fresh Cranberries – this is the base of your sauce. Make sure you buy fresh and not frozen.
- Oranges – You need two mandarin oranges. Peel them, removing as much of the strings of white pith as you can.
- Orange extract or orange zest – If you don’t have orange extract, or don’t want to purchase a bottle, you can zest a couple of navel oranges and use that instead.
- Water – for boiling.
- Sugar – to sweeten the sauce.
How To Make Cranberry Orange Sauce From Scratch
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- Add sugar and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add oranges, cranberries, and orange extract and continue to simmer over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes. Stir it around a few times. The cranberries will begin popping and releasing all of their yummy juices.
- Remove from the heat and let sit for about 20 minutes to cool. Once the sauce is completely cooled, store it for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Cranberry sauce is best served as a chilled relish or side dish. It can also be served at room temperature.
Don’t forget the turkey!
Get the best roast turkey recipe, plus TONS of tips!
Storage Tips
Storing and Freezing Leftovers
Refrigerate: Leftover cranberry sauce should be refrigerated in an airtight container and will last for up to a week.
Freeze: Pour into a freezer safe container or bag (squeeze out extra air), label it, and place it into the freezer for up to 2-3 months for the best quality. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and you are ready to roll.
Recipe Tips
- Adjust the Sweetness – We think this sauce has just the right amount of sweetness; however, if you want a more tart flavor, reduce the amount of sugar to ½ a cup or less.
- Remove the Pith – When you peel and chop the oranges, be sure to remove the white pith as it is quite bitter.
- Use Canned Mandarin Oranges – Instead of fresh ones, you can use the sweeter canned oranges. Just be sure to drain them really well and cut back on the sugar at least by half. Taste test to be sure it’s sweet enough.
- Add Fall Spices – For a warm holiday flavor, add a cinnamon stick or cloves to the sauce as it’s boiling.
- Double the Recipe – You can easily double the recipe, just make sure your pan is big enough.
- Make Ahead Instructions – Make this recipe a few days ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge. Keep in mine that this will reduce the amount of time it can be kept once you store your leftovers.
101+ Thanksgiving
Side Dishes
Find all the sides you could possibly want for the perfect Thanksgiving menu!
More Holiday Side Dishes to Discover
- 101+ Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe
- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic Rosemary Skillet Bread
- Cranberry Pecan Roasted Vegetables
- Green Bean Casserole (From Scratch)
Homemade Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Fresh Cranberries
- 1 teaspoon Orange extract or 2 teaspoons fresh ornage zest
- 2 Mandarin oranges peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Sugar
Instructions
- Add water and sugar to a medium saucepan. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Add cranberries, oranges and orange extract and boil gently for about 10-15 minutes; until most of the liquid has reduced and most of the cranberries have burst open.
- Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Store in an airtight sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
- Instead of fresh oranges, you can use ½ cup orange juice and ½ cup water. Omit the extract and add zest instead.
- When you peel and chop the oranges, try to avoid the bitter white pith, and remove as much as you can.
- Instead of fresh oranges, you can use canned (10-15 ounce). Just be sure to drain well, or use the juice in combination with the water.Â
- Try adding a cinnamon stick or cloves to the sauce as it’s boiling.
- Make this recipe a few days ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge. Keep in mine that this will reduce the amount of time it can be kept once you store your leftovers.
- Refrigerate: Leftover sauce should be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freeze: Transfer to a freezer-safe airtight container or resealable plastic freezer bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 2-3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Love the taste and easy but won’t gel. What to do?
I’ve never had that problem and without being there in the kitchen with you I can’t say exactly what could have happened. I would suggest maybe letting it simmer for longer.
This is the best cranberry sauce recipe I have tried. While preparing the recipe on Thanksgiving morning, I realized that I inadvertently purchased a grapefruit instead of an orange. Oops! I substituted 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. The vanilla extract balanced the flavors nicely.
Oops! Glad it worked out. I bet the grapefruit was delicious!