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This Orange Cranberry Sauce tastes so much better than anything you can buy in a can. It is easier than you think to make homemade cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries.
Featured with this recipe
When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner — or any great turkey dinner — there is always that one part of the meal that you just can’t live without. Once you try this Orange Cranberry Sauce, it may become that one thing for your family, one of those perfect thanksgiving side dishes that everyone loves. This fresh cranberry sauce with a hint of orange is delicious on turkey and rolls, and even better on leftover turkey sandwiches! It tastes so good and smells so good that I have to stop myself from eating it right out of the pan. It has a zesty, tangy flavor from the orange peel. The fresh oranges in this give it a zing that makes this very traditional piece of thanksgiving refreshed and fun. I love it served warm, but cranberry sauce is traditionally served chilled. This recipe is one that can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for at least a week before a holiday dinner.
Have the kids help!
If you’re looking for a recipe that the kids can help prep, this Orange Cranberry Sauce is a great one to try. When the cranberries heat up in the pan they make a hissing noise just before they pop. It’s kind of exciting to watch. The anticipation is addicting. When all of the cranberries “pop” or burst and the sauce starts to thicken.
Can you freeze cranberries?
YES! I watch for fresh cranberries to go on sale, buy a bunch, and freeze them right away. Cranberries can be frozen in the bag they come in. Cranberries can be frozen for up to a year. I have used frozen cranberries from a previous year many times. The taste and texture is every bit as good when I want to make cranberry sauce.
Ingredients in Orange Cranberry Sauce
- Fresh cranberries
- Orange juice
- Sugar
- Orange zest
Give the gift of homemade cranberry sauce
With only a few ingredients, this sauce is inexpensive to make. This cranberry orange sauce recipe is a great gift for neighbors and friends during the holidays. Pour the sauce into decorative jars, keep chilled, and add a bow. You will be the favorite neighbor on the block!
Frequently Asked Questions
The classic meats like turkey, chicken, ham, and pork, make a turkey sandwich, mix it up with different cheeses and crackers, both hard and soft cheese, spoon over yogurt, dollop on top of warm pancakes, bake into a casserole, the limit is only your imagination.
When stored properly in an airtight container in the fridge, leftover cranberry sauce can last 10 days.
Yes, and it will last and stay fresh tasting in the freezer in an airtight bag for up to a month.
Read more: Thanksgiving Sides Ideas
Cranberry recipes
If you are looking for another tasty, easy cranberry sauce recipe to make at home, try our Raspberry Cranberry Sauce recipe. If you have leftovers, this sauce can also be used as the base for our Cranberry Vinaigrette Dressing. Some other cranberry recipes that we always are making over the Holidays are our Cranberry Almond Bread with Cream Cheese Swirl for breakfast, our Cranberry Salsa for a yummy appetizer, and our Cranberry Chicken and Cranberry-Sausage Stuffing are perfect for Holiday dinners.
Can’t get enough of cranberries? We also think think that they are berry delicious! Try some of these cran-tastic recipes:
Don’t forget the turkey
As amazing as our Orange Cranberry Sauce tastes, don’t forget about the main event of the meal: The turkey! If you are looking for the best way to cook a turkey, you’ve come to the right place. We have step by step instructions with photos, as well as a video. Don’t be intimidated by cooking a turkey. We’ve got you covered! You’ll be so pleased with the turkey and the Orange Cranberry Sauce, you just might decide to make it more than once a year at Thanksgiving.
How to Make Orange Cranberry Sauce
Orange Cranberry Sauce
Video
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries about 3 cups
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to a boil at medium heat, stirring occasionally. You will see the cranberries soften and hear them begin to pop. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with turkey and rolls.
I first made this 2 years ago…no idea why I never posted a review until now. But this is by FAR the best homemade cranberry sauce ever. We have it every year, both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I never liked canned cranberry sauce, so I didn’t think I liked cranberries. But this recipe converted me AND my canned-loving family! We haven’t bought a can of sauce since. It’s incredibly easy to make, or scale up/down depending on how much you need. That orange addition gives it a lovely holiday twist and more developed flavor. Do yourself a favor and make this….you won’t go back to canned ever!
I couldn’t agree more! I’ll be making it tomorrow morning. Thank you for your comment!
I love the “Sweet Potato Casserole” ❣️❣️❣️Last year my son in law mentioned how he liked his Aunts Yam recipe. So I was determined to make mine better. After searching
all my recipe files (many…many) and looking on-line, I found this recipe❣️
(I use your families recipes A LOT!
I have at least 4 books)!
I trust your recipes❣️). On Thanksgiving I discovered that I too, like this one better than my old recipe. It was perfect! Just the right seasonings and mashed “Yams” actually, I already these on hand. Even some of the kids tried it too. We all loved the yummy topping. We kind of both wanted the leftovers, so we split it‼️ Thanks!
(Sorry…. I guess I put this in the wrong slot)
OH WELL!! Happy Thanksgiving❣️
I know what I am making for thanksgiving! I love the orange twist on it! Thanks for sharing
I love making homemade cranberry sauce. I am definitely trying your recipe! The orange flavor is perfection!
This is a staple in my house around this time of year! Love the addition of orange, it looks delicious!
You’re so right in that this homemade sauce is better than anything you can get at the store! Love the use of orange juice and actually cut back on the sugar a bit just due to how sweet my juice was.
You just can’t beat homemade cranberry sauce! I can’t wait to try this for Thanksgiving!
I made it last Thanksgiving and cant wait to put it on my table again. All of the kids including my picky nephew were devouring it . They did not touch the can ones . Cant wait ! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Yay! We are glad you like it as much as we do! Thanks for the 5-star rating and Happy Thanksgiving to you too!
I want to make this sauce for Thanksgiving this year, and I am also making another recipe that calls for cranberry sauce to be used in it. I want to use this homemade sauce rather than store bought. I know the recipe says this makes 12 servings, but how large is a serving for this recipe? What would you say the total amount made is? 2 cups? 3 cups? Thanks so much!
Its about 4 cups. I hope you like the recipe! It is one of my all-time favorites!
An online friend said she adds two Gala apples to this, as well as cinnamon and nutmeg and it’s amazing!
Yum! That sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Great recipe. Made it for thanksgiving. Unfortunatly only two of the 5 people there likes cranberries. I was left with half left over which I did end up using most of. My question is how long will this sauce hold for in the fridge? Thank you
It should stay good for a couple weeks. You can also freeze it if you needed to!
My recipe is similar; just adds one cinnamon stick which is discarded after cooling…yummy
Yum, I’ll have to try that!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m always worried about trying new recipes on Thanksgiving! I’m so glad you can make ahead! I read one of the reviews where she said its better when left in the fridge for a couple days! Perfect!
We use this recipe every year and everyone loves it! I use less sugar but that’s just because we like it tart
I absolutely love this recipe. it is so very easy and delicious. I like to make it 2-3 days ahead of time. I think it tastes better the longer you let the flavors meld. Thank you for sharing.
This is so good! I made it for Thanksgiving and for a Christmas work thing, and it was recieved with great fanfare! Great recipe!
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Marisa! It is my absolute favorite cranberry sauce. I make it every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love it on turkey and rolls.
Do you mean orange juice bought or fresh squeezed oranges?
Store bought or fresh squeezed will both work fine in the recipe. Use what is most convenient for you. Thanks for asking!
Can this be reheated?
Absolutely! It is good cold or warm. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
My mom also added some chopped walnuts…that’s how I like it!
Oooh – yum! What a great idea!
We made this yesterday for Thanksgiving and it was delicious!!! I made the raspberry cranberry sauce last year, which is also fantastic but I like not dealing with The Raspberry seeds. I did add an extra cup of sugar bc I like it more sweet.