↑
  • Start Here
  • Recipe Index
  • Travel Index
  • Lifestyle
  • Disclosures
  • Contact
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Easy Peasy Meals

Easy Recipes, Slow Cooker Meals, Meal Planning & Meal Prep

  • About
  • Contact
  • Start Here
  • Disclosures
    • Privacy + Ad Policy
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Nav Widget Area

  • Start Here
  • Recipe Index
  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Sides
    • Dessert
  • Method
    • Air fryer
    • Instant Pot
    • Skillet
    • Sheet Pan
    • Slow Cooker
    • Grill / Smoker
  • Holiday
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • NYE
  • Protein
    • Chicken
    • Beef
    • Turkey
    • Pork
    • Fish
    • Vegetarian
  • Low-Carb
Home » Holiday » Cranberry Orange Sauce
This post may contain affiliate links. See my Full Disclosure for further details.
Holiday

Cranberry Orange Sauce

By Rachael | Updated on May 18, 2020

4.2Kshares
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly
Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

A fun spin on the traditional Thanksgiving cranberry sauce. You will never want any other kind of cranberry sauce again.

A homemade cranberry orange sauce perfect for Thanksgiving

Okay, confession time. I actually like the cranberry sauce that comes in a can. You know what I am talking about, that jelly consistency, that cylindrical shape. If I am being completely honest, I never once ate any cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving before I got married. I never knew what it was for.

Is it for the rolls? Do you eat it like Jello? Do you put it on something? I was clueless. And no one in my family ate it either. I am pretty sure my mom could have skipped a step and saved a dish just by throwing the whole can straight in the trash, as that is usually where it ended up after dinner.

Click here to get great tips for using and storing your Thanksgiving leftovers.

BUT THEN… okay, tangent for a second, I feel like this “but then” should have some sort of sound track to it, a “duh, dun, dun” or something to show its significance! Tangent now over…But then, I was at my in-laws, enjoying my first Thanksgiving as a married person, a whole 12 years ago, and woah, people were spreading that stuff on their turkey. Like it was NBD. Like that is how it has always been meant to be. Almost like it had a purpose.

What, it wasn’t meant to smooth the way in the garbage can for the scraping of the plates? I mean, here I was thinking it was some kind of festive trash liner lubricant. Yeah…go with me here… that could be a thing.

cranberry-sauce-1

Anywho…And so 12 years ago I was introduced to the wonderful world of the tart, sweet, flavors of cranberry sauce on turkey.

I slowly learned it had a lot of uses, and some great leftovers applications, like adding it to a turkey, brie sandwich. Uh hello most amazing thing ever! And after that a world of possibilities opened, including a world that involved thinking beyond the can to a fresher, homemade version of the stuff.

cranberry-sauce-in-bag

My mom is and was a great cook, but she never made homemade cranberry sauce because she simply had too many other pots, pans, and dishes going. So we opened a can, slopped it onto a dish, and set it on the table. But you guys, the beautiful thing about homemade cranberry sauce is that with the help of an awesome freezer bag, you can make it ahead, freeze it, and just defrost on Thanksgiving, sparing yourself the dishes and time.

putting-cranberry-sauce-in-a-bag-for-freezing

I have learned there are several things you can make ahead of time and freeze to lighten the load, and make Thanksgiving far more family oriented and enjoyable on the day of. You can get a whole host of ideas and tips from Hefty here.

bags-are-ready

How do you make jellied cranberry sauce?

  •  Gather your sugar, liquid, and fresh cranberries
  • Mix them together over heat
  • Bring to a boil
  • Let simmer

How do you make cranberry sauce?

  • Check the recipe below to see how to make this amazing cranberry sauce. The orange zest, the spices, and orange juice just amplify the amazing flavor of the cranberries.
  • One tip is to zest directly into the pan.

 How do you make fresh cranberries?

It is far easier than you would ever think! Making fresh cranberry sauce starts with fresh cranberries. So buy a bag, and get to work!
A homemade cranberry orange sauce perfect for Thanksgiving

Cranberry Orange Sauce

A fun spin on the traditional Thanksgiving cranberry sauce. You will never want any other kind of cranberry sauce again.
4.58 from 7 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cranberry orange sauce, cranberry sauce, thanksgiving
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 136kcal
Author: Rachael

Ingredients

  • One 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
  • 2 large oranges
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • a pinch of nutmeg

Instructions

  • Rinse the cranberries under cold water.
  • Zest the oranges, into a medium sized, heavy bottom saucepan.
  • Add the cranberries into the same saucepan as the orange zest.
  • Juice your oranges, and add the juice into that pan.
  • Add in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and turn saucepan on to medium heat.
  • Bring to a gentle boil, give it a few stirs.
  • Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until thick.
  • Simmer longer if needed to reach your desired consistency.
  • Pour into a dish, cover, and store in fridge for at least 2 hours to cool.
  • Transfer to Hefty bags and put in the freezer until the day before you want to use it, at which time, put it in the fridge and let it defrost overnight.

Nutrition

Calories: 136kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Sodium: 7mg | Potassium: 155mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 34.8mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

Tried this recipe?Mention @ezpzmealz or tag #ezpzmealz!
Want to use this recipe in a meal plan?Try PrePear, my FREE Meal Planning App that allows you to save your recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries, and cook simply in one place. Join Here!

Cranberry Orange Sauce Nutriton Facts

4.2Kshares
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly

Related

Related categories:
Christmas Christmas Holiday Sides Thanksgiving Thanksgivingcran-orange cranberry cranberry sauce thanksgiving

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cathy Trochelman says

    November 9, 2015 at 11:39 pm

    I love cranberry sauce! I can do straight from the can....but I definitely prefer homemade. Love the addition of orange to this!!!
    Reply
  2. marcie says

    November 12, 2015 at 2:01 pm

    I prefer fresh cranberry sauce but some family members still go canned! This is right up my alley -- I love these flavors!
    Reply
  3. GoMovies says

    November 6, 2017 at 3:34 am

    Love this cranberry orange sauce!
    ★★★★☆
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 6, 2017 at 11:57 am

      Thank you so much, it is one of our favorites too! So much flavor.
      Reply
  4. Ivory says

    November 10, 2017 at 7:01 pm

    Your cranberry sauce looks so tastily & delicious. Can hardly way to make this for Thanksgiving.
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  5. Ivory says

    November 10, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    Tasty & delicious
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      November 13, 2017 at 4:24 pm

      Thank you! We love it, and it is so easy and fun.
      Reply
  6. Amybaby says

    November 21, 2019 at 4:32 am

    So easy and so delicious! I added pomegranate syrup and it came out great. Thanks.
    Reply
    • Rachael says

      December 3, 2019 at 6:34 pm

      I am so glad you liked it. And the addition of pomegranates sounds awesome.
      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Rate this recipe: ☆☆☆☆☆

Primary Sidebar

Rachael from Eazy Peazy Mealz

Welcome, I'm Rachael!

I’m a mom of 4 great kids that keep me super busy.

My philosophy is cooking has to be easy, tasty, kid approved, and fit between homework, piano practice, soccer, and the MOUNTAINS of laundry in my life! Read More Work With Me
Take the Hassle Out of Meal Time!
FREE EMAIL COURSE + Printable Recipe Binder!
 
Easy, quick prep meals your family will want to eat sent straight to your inbox!
Thank you for subscribing!

Crock Pot Meals

Crockpot grape jelly meatballs are the perfect party appetizer.

Crockpot Grape Jelly Meatballs

A bowl full of bolognese made in the slow cooker.

Bolognese Slow Cooker

A bowl of chicken parmesan casserole

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

Slow Cooker BBQ Drumsticks on a brown plate.

Slow Cooker BBQ Drumsticks

20 Minute Meals

A hot stack of buttermilk pancakes and syrup being poured over the top
air fryer chicken tenders coated in a crispy coating of cheez-it crackers
Texas toast pizza, the quickest and easiest pizza made in minutes in the air fryer.
Lemon Basil Chicken with crunchy panko coating

Free Kitchen Binder eBook

Let's Do This!

browse allRecipes By Method

slow cook

Sheet Pan

Air Fryer

Instant Pot

Grill/Smoke

One Pot

Skillet

Let's Work Together

Hi, I'm Rachael, and I am obsessed with sharing quality products and solid recipes. I can work with you to develop, test and create original recipes and content using YOUR products, and share it across Eazy Peazy Mealz blog and social channels, reaching thousands of dedicated readers.

Let's Do This

Footer

Eazy Peazy Meals
  • About
  • Contact
  • Start Here
  • Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright ©2022, Easy Peasy Meals. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly