Name: Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 12 oz cranberries (rinsed and drained well); 1/2 cup water; 1/4 cup maple syrup; 1/4 cup orange juice; 1 tablespoon orange zest; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick); 1/8 teaspooon salt

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This simple recipe for easy homemade cranberry sauce is a holiday classic. Made with fresh cranberries and sweetened with maple syrup and fresh orange juice, this recipe is a must-have for your next holiday meal.

Skip the canned cranberry sauce and make a batch of homemade cranberry sauce instead. It's one of the easiest things to make this staple for your holiday meal.

Fresh cranberries will start to appear in stores early November and sometimes as soon as late October. If you pick up a few bags of cranberries, you can even freeze them for later.

What should cranberry sauce taste like?

Homemade cranberry sauce has the following characteristics:

It's tart and tangy
Because cranberries are naturally very tart, you'll want to sweeten them. but be sure not to add too much sweetener.
It should balance and complement the rest of your Thanksgiving meal

Bowl with cranberry sauce with a cloth in the background.

Ingredients you'll need

You only need a few ingredients to make cranberry sauce.

Raw cranberries: You'll need a 12-oz bag of fresh cranberries, which is approximately 3 cups of berries.
Maple syrup: To naturally sweeten the cranberry sauce.
A cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon
Zest from orange
Juice from orange:- this makes about ¼ cup of orange juice
Sea salt: a pinch of salt to add flavor
Water

Pro-Tip: While some cranberry sauce recipes use just water and skip the orange juice, I recommend using both. The juice adds flavor and helps cut down the bitterness from the cranberries.

How to make homemade cranberry sauce

Once you have the ingredients, making the cranberry sauce takes only 20 minutes using the following steps:

1. Combine ingredients: In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, water, cinnamon, orange zest, maple syrup, and salt. Squeeze in the juice from one orange.

Pot with fresh cranberries and cinnamon stick

2. Simmer: Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the cranberries start to pop and get soft, stirring frequently.

Pot with fresh cranberries and wooden spoon

3. Cool cranberry sauce: Remove from the heat and let the sauce cool to room temperature. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

Cranberry sauce is usually served at room temperature.

Storing and reheating

To store: Store in the refrigerator for a few weeks in an air-tight container.

To reheat: If you'd like to reheat the sauce later, warm in a saucepan over medium heat.

Making ahead of time

This sauce can be made up to a week in advance. Be sure to store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Serving suggestions

This homemade cranberry sauce will last for weeks in the refrigerator. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:

Add a layer on your sandwiches. I love adding some to my grilled cheese sandwiches!
Use it on your next cheeseboard or snack board
Use it in cupcakes and other baked goods
Add to pancakes and waffles as a sweet topping
Use in your next yogurt bowl with some granola!

A bowl of sauce with a spoon, sitting on a linen napkin.

More Thanksgiving recipes

Here are more holiday recipes that are easy to make and delicious:

If you tried this Homemade Cranberry Sauce recipe or any other recipe, be sure to rate the recipe and let me know what you think! Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for more delicious recipes.

Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published on November 13, 2019. Since then, it’s been freshened up with new pictures and more details to help you make the recipe.