This cranberry orange sauce is a 5 ingredient recipe that’s made with fresh cranberries, orange juice and orange zest for a sweet and tangy sauce. Cranberry orange sauce is a fresh, bright tasting accompaniment to any holiday meal.

I always make homemade cranberry sauce for the holidays, along with some of our other Thanksgiving favorites like rice pilaf and slow cooker turkey. This easy cranberry orange sauce takes just minutes to make and is way better than the store bought canned kind.

A bowl of cranberry orange sauce topped with fresh orange zest.

While it’s definitely easy to grab a can of cranberry sauce for the holidays, making your own fresh sauce takes just about 10 minutes and the flavors are just SO much better. It is one of my favorite side dishes for Thanksgiving. If you want more Thanksgiving recipes check out my slow cooker creamed corn, zucchini casserole and Thanksgiving stuffing. This sauce is also great for Christmas dinner.

If you have cranberry lovers in the house, you’ll also want to try my recipes for cranberry bread, cranberry muffins, cranberry orange pull apart monkey bread and eggnog cake which you can decorate with candied cranberries.

Cranberry Orange Sauce Ingredients

To make cranberry orange sauce you will need sugar, orange juice, cranberries, orange zest and salt.

A bowl of fresh cranberries.

How Do You Make Cranberry Orange Sauce?

To make this cranberry orange sauce dish, first place sugar and orange juice in a medium pan over medium high heat until it simmers. Add cranberries, orange zest and a pinch of salt and cook everything until the cranberries burst. Finally, let the sauce cool and store it for later or serve it for dinner!

Berries in a skillet with orange juice, sugar and orange zest.

Tips For The Perfect Sauce

  • You can either add all the cranberries in at once, or add 3/4, then stir in 1/4 later on so that there are some whole berries in the final sauce.
  • I like to use fresh squeezed orange juice whenever possible.
  • You can garnish your sauce with strips or orange peel or thin slices of orange.
  • I like to use a microplane to zest an orange. If you don’t have a microplane you can use a grater with fine teeth or a vegetable peeler. Just remove the orange part of the peel and avoid the bitter, white rind. If you use a vegetable peeler, you’ll want to peel off a chunk of orange peel, then mince it with a kitchen knife.

Quick Tip

I prefer fresh cranberries, but frozen cranberries will also work fine.

Cranberry orange sauce simmering in a skillet.

Recipe FAQs

Can you make cranberry orange sauce ahead of time?

You can make cranberry orange sauce up to 3 days before you plan to serve it. I always make my cranberry sauce at least one day in advance because I feel like the flavors have more time to develop as they sit in the fridge.

Can you freeze cranberry orange sauce?

You can freeze cranberry orange sauce for up to one month before you plan to serve it. Simply reheat your cranberry sauce over medium heat in a skillet. Freezing the sauce introduces more water into the mix, so your cranberry sauce will not be as thick as when it was originally made. You can simmer your sauce for about 5-6 minutes to let some of the liquid evaporate off.

How long does cranberry sauce last?

Cranberry sauce lasts in an airtight container in a refrigerator up to 7 days.

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A serving spoon in a bowl of cranberry orange sauce.

Flavor Variations

This is a delicious orange cranberry sauce recipe, but you can add other ingredients to customize it to your liking.

  • Ginger: Add 1 tablespoon finely minced crystallized ginger to the sauce.
  • Pineapple: Add 1 cup canned crushed pineapple.
  • Apple: Add one peeled and diced apple.
  • Pecans: Add 1/4 cup diced pecans.
  • Pear: Add one peeled and diced pear.
  • Maple: For a sweeter sauce, add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.
  • Honey: You can add a tablespoon of honey to the sauce.
Cranberry orange sauce, topped with fresh orange zest in a serving bowl.

How To Use Leftover Cranberry Orange Sauce

I typically don’t have a ton of cranberry sauce leftover, but if you find yourself with extra, you can spoon it over waffles or pancakes, serve it on top of oatmeal, or try one of these other delicious ideas.

The flavors in this cranberry sauce are so delicious that you won’t be tempted to buy the canned version again!

More Thanksgiving Recipes

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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.

5 from 30 votes

Cranberry Orange Sauce

AuthorSara Welch
A bowl of cranberry orange sauce topped with fresh orange zest.
This cranberry orange sauce is a 5 ingredient recipe that’s made with fresh cranberries, sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Cranberry orange sauce is a fresh, bright tasting accompaniment to any holiday meal.
Time
Prep Time3 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course Sauce
Cuisine American
Serves 8

Ingredients 

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup orange juice fresh squeezed is best
  • 12 ounces fresh cranberries frozen will also work
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest plus more for garnish
  • pinch of salt

Instructions 

  • Place the sugar and orange juice in a medium pan over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer.
  • Add the cranberries, orange zest and salt, then simmer for 8-10 minutes or until cranberries have burst. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, add 3/4 of the berries, then after the cranberries have burst, stir the remaining 1/4 berries in.
  • Let the cranberry orange sauce sit at room temperature until cool, then transfer to a container and store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.

Notes

  1. I prefer fresh cranberries, but frozen cranberries will also work fine.
  2. You can either add all the cranberries in at once, or add half, then stir in half later on so that there are some whole berries in the final sauce.
  3. I like to use fresh squeezed orange juice whenever possible.

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Potassium: 62mg | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 16.2mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Hello! I’m Sara!

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I’m making this for a second time. First for Thanksgiving, and now for Christmas. I added about 1 tsp of ginger to give it that extra kick. Delicious! And sooo simple. I won’t bother with other recipes because everyone loved this one.

  2. 5 stars
    I’ve made regular cranberry sauce and decided to try this recipe for a chance. The only recommendation I have is to at least double it. Make more than what you think you need. It was amazing. My family ate it up with our Thanksgiving leftovers. I’m planning on doubling the recipe and making it again tomorrow. 😋

  3. What is the yield on this recipe? I know it .Akers eight servings, but how big is a serving? How much sauce will there be in all?

  4. You have taken my two favourite ingredients and have converted them into a lovely sauce. What do you think one can pair this sauce with ?

  5. 5 stars
    I love cranberry souses. It works nicely with virtually any meat for me and you can easily use it as side pancakes, cakes and tarts. Simply perfect to me

  6. i wish i could try this, but i really cant do orange juice. most citrus juices give me terrible heartburn, but i’m wondering if the orange juice would be ok in this form. drinking it might literally kill me for the acid reflux!

  7. 5 stars
    This is such a perfect recipe this christmas a delicious sauce to make .,now i will look for the fresh and good cranberries.

  8. 5 stars
    I’ve tried this recipe and I absolutely love it. It’s such an easy fix and really is hands down better than what’s in a can!

  9. 5 stars
    Delicious! Have been looking for a great cranberry sauce recipe for a long time. So glad to have found this one. Love the pop of orange flavour!

    All the best,
    Alexandra