This homemade cranberry sauce is a 6 ingredient recipe that’s made with fresh cranberries, sugar and a hint of spice. Homemade cranberry sauce tastes so much better than store bought, and it takes just minutes to make.
There are a few foods that are must-haves at my Thanksgiving meal. My family always requires that I make butterflake rolls, pumpkin cheesecake and fresh cranberry sauce.
It’s so tempting to just pick up a can of cranberry sauce for the holidays, but once you try making homemade cranberry sauce, you’ll never go back to the store bought stuff! The flavor is so much better with fresh cranberries and you can customize the sweetness level to your liking.
How do you make homemade cranberry sauce?
The first step is to get some cranberries. I prefer fresh cranberries, but frozen cranberries will also work fine. The cranberries are simmered with sugar and water until the cranberries burst, then a few aromatic spices are added to the mix. You can either add all the cranberries in at once, or add about 3/4 of the berries, then stir in the other 1/4 later on so that there are some whole berries in the final sauce.
What ingredients are in cranberry sauce?
The basic ingredients in cranberry sauce are cranberries, sugar and water. I also add a pinch of salt, sprinkle of cinnamon and drop of vanilla extract to enhance the flavors of the cranberries.
Can you make cranberry sauce ahead of time?
You can make cranberry 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 sauce?
You can freeze cranberry sauce for up to one month before you plan to serve it. Store your sauce in a resealable freezer bag or airtight container. 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 Freezing the sauce introduces more water into the mix, so your cranberry sauce will not be as thick as when it was originally made.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 so that the sauce can get thick again.
Homemade cranberry sauce variations
This is a basic cranberry sauce recipe, but you can add all different ingredients to cranberry sauce to customize it to your liking.
- Brown Sugar Cranberry Sauce: Substitute brown sugar for the granulated sugar.
- Cranberry Orange Sauce: Use orange juice instead of water and stir in 2 teaspoons of orange zest.
- Vanilla Cranberry Sauce: Add one split vanilla bean to the sauce and let it sit overnight in the fridge.
- Cranberry Cherry Sauce: Add 1 cup of chopped frozen dark cherries to the sauce.
- Cranberry Apple Sauce: Use apple cider instead of water and add 1 diced peeled apple to the sauce.
How to use leftover cranberry sauce
I typically don’t have a ton of cranberry sauce leftover, but if you find yourself with extra, here are some ideas to use it up.
- Cranberry Meatballs
- Cranberry Yogurt Parfaits with vanilla yogurt, cranberry sauce and chopped pecans.
- Cranberry Jello Salad
- Turkey and Cranberry Sauce Sandwiches.
- Pour leftover sauce over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers.
Now that you know how to make homemade cranberry sauce, you can bypass the canned stuff forever!
More Thanksgiving Recipes
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Bacon Green Bean Bundles
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
- Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
Homemade Cranberry Sauce Video
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries frozen can also be used
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the water and sugar in a medium pot over medium high heat. Bring to a boil.
- For a traditional cranberry sauce: Add the cranberries to a pot and boil for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries have burst.
- For a whole berry cranberry sauce: Add 3/4 of the the cranberries to a pot and boil for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries have burst. Add the remaining 1/4 of the cranberries to the pot.
- Add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract to the sauce, then cook for 1 minute.
- Let the sauce sit at room temperature until cool. Transfer to a storage container and place in the fridge until ready to use.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on October 18, 2018 and was updated on October 14, 2021 with new content.
Erin says
This homemade cranberry sauce is seriously making me hungry!
Beth says
I make this every year and I don’t think people realize just how easy and tasty it is! It really is so much better than the canned version!
Toni says
This is amazing! A great addition to our holiday menu!
Katerina says
This looks incredibly delicious!! I love homemade cranberry sauce!
Lora says
Such great instructions and so good! Way better than canned any time!!
Tiffany La Forge-Grau says
I absolutely love making homemade cranberry sauce. You make yours different than I’m used to and I would love to try it your way!
Deb says
So good! So easy! Love this recipe!
Jesse says
Just wondering, when you make the cranberry apple sauce, when do you put in the diced apples, at the end of cooking it?
Sara says
You’re going to want to add the apples at the very beginning so that they have time to get soft, make sure they’re cut small so that they cook through at the same rate as the cranberries!
Nina says
it is easy to follow the recipe. I definitely need to try this out at home. I love cranberries.
Princess Quinn says
Yum! It looks so easy to do. I will surely try this recipe. My kids will be happy
Lexi says
This looks absolutely DELICIOUS omg, I am about to incorporate this recipe in my dishes! Love eating it with chicken!
Lotta andersen says
Oh. Can’t wait to try this for Halloween. Thanks for sharing.
Lotta Andersen says
Oh sorry. To much thinking of Halloween these days. I will definitely be using this recipe for thanksgiving. It looks delicious.
maysz says
Wow Love this HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE! I would try to make this one. so YUMMY <3
Kiwi says
Thanks for this homemade cranberry sauce recipe! I hate canned cranberry sauce not the same.
stacey says
Not a huge fan of canned cranberry sauce. But I might like it if it were homemade.
Brittany Vantrease says
Cranberry meatballs? Yum! I think I would have to either make extra cranberry sauce or put some to the side. I love cranberry sauce, but the rest of my family doesn’t . Oh well, more for me!
fran says
I am looking for great recipes in the lead up to christmas! Thank you so much for sharing this! I love cranberry
Tara Pittman says
I love when the stores have fresh cranberries. Homemade cranberry sauce is the best.
Terri says
I am hosting Thanksgiving for the first time ever this year. This cranberry sauce looks so delicious! This is must for my Thanksgiving table!
Cara says
This looks so good! I’m not a huge cranberry sauce person but this recipe might change my mind!