Perfectly Sweet and Tart Cranberry Sauce

The most delicious Cranberry Sauce with the perfect ratio of sweetness and tartness. It’s made in 20 minutes using just 3 ingredients. Perfect for your holiday table, as a spread, or as a quick snack fix to eat by the spoonful – it’s that good.

I’m sure many of you have grown up with the canned version of cranberry sauce. Sure, you can just open up a can and figure out how to slide that jellied cylinder of cranberry sauce out in one fell swoop. But don’t you deserve much better? It’s not a big deal to make. You’ll need three ingredients –

• fresh cranberries
• frozen orange juice for that concentrated flavor 
• sugar

That’s it. Nothing else. Using frozen orange juice is my preference because the orange flavor is concentrated which pairs well with the cranberries. You don’t need to add any water to this. The frozen orange juice will melt and create just enough liquid along with the sugar for the perfect consistency. No other liquid is needed.

To make:

• Combine the cranberries, sugar, and frozen orange juice in a 2 quart saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat and simmer, stirring a few times to combine. Let it simmer for 15 minutes.
• The cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
• Now let’s talk texture. There are two camps – chunky (whole berry) or smooth (jellied).
• If you prefer chunky, serve as is after it has cooled and set.

If you prefer a smooth texture, pass the cranberry sauce through a fine sieve. Don’t want to go through that trouble? No problem. If you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, then you can blend it until smooth. This pulverizes the skin and creates a smooth texture. If you want it super easy, use an immersion blender and blend the heck out of it. It works! Either way, when set, it will have the same texture as canned jellied cranberry sauce except you don’t have to watch it slide off that plate and onto the floor. Yes, that’s happened to me. How about trying to slice the canned stuff? You have to hold it in place or off it goes!

Want a fancy shape? Use a small jello mold and store in the fridge for a few hours to set. I’m telling you this is good stuff! You’re gonna love this homemade, incredibly delicious, cranberry sauce.

Try some of my other sauces:

• Simple authentic chimichurri
• Creamy tangy Alabama white BBQ sauce
• Quick BBQ sauce
• Homemade tartar sauce
• Homemade horseradish sauce
• Quick tomato sauce
• Homemade applesauce
• Spinach pesto
• Italian pesto
• Peruvian pesto

Life is too short for mediocre food.

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Cranberry Sauce

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This simple Cranberry sauce has three ingredients, takes 20 minutes, and can be made days ahead. 

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cranberries, Cranberry Sauce

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Servings: 6 - 8 servings

Author: Natalie

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package of fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup frozen concentrated orange juice

Instructions

• In a 2 quart saucepan, combine all the ingredients.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the cranberries pop, about 15 minutes. Mixture will start to thicken.
• Serve as is if a chunky consistency is desired.
• If a smooth consistency is desired, pass through a fine sieve. Alternatively, you can use a high performance blender or an immersion blender to pulverize the sauce until smooth.
  
• Allow to cool before serving. The cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
• This sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated.

Did you make this recipe? I would love to see how it turns out. Tag me on Instagram @thegeneticchef or tag #thegeneticchef and tell me all about it!