Learn how to make basic homemade cranberry sauce with just 3 ingredients as well as 8 different flavor variations. There’s sure to be one you love!
Ah, cranberry sauce. Growing up, we just assumed that a gelatinous tube was our only option. We didn’t realize that cranberry sauce could actually be made from…you know…cranberries. We would slice it at about an inch thick and just stared at that circle on our plate, hoping it wouldn’t invade the rest of the meal.
When you know better, you do better. Today we present cranberry sauce made from just 3 ingredients! 1 of which is real, fresh cranberries! We can now very proudly say that we love cranberry sauce, and with so many flavor variations on this classic recipe, we know you’ll love it too!
Can cranberry sauce be made ahead of time?
Yes! There is so much to worry about keeping your eye on in the middle of a Thanksgiving feast, we don’t want you to worry about this one. Prepare your cranberry sauce either the night before or in the morning before you’re preoccupied with turkey and pies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Can I reduce the sugar or replace with honey?
We love a sweet cranberry sauce, but if you prefer a bit more tartness you can always reduce the sugar. We don’t recommend going below 1/2 cup of sugar though, as that would be quite tart. If you prefer to use honey rather than granulated sugar, you can do so with a 1:1 ratio, and that can also be reduced down to 1/2 cup as well.
Storage Instructions:
Cranberry sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 to 7 days. It is fantastic on its own, as a layer in a leftover turkey sandwich, or swirled into some plain yogurt!
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious holiday recipes:
Watch the video below where we will walk you through every step of the recipe with a video demonstration.
I have always bought the canned Cranberry Jelly for the holidays. This year I decided to try the regular and the Cran/Orange Cranberry Sauce recipes and it was a big hit at my Thanksgiving dinner. I love that I can watch a video and that the instructions are easy to understand and follow! Thanks so much.
Make it the regular way and peel, core and chop up and apple or a pear and cook it along with the cranberries. Mmmmmm Great.
Has anyone tried to sweeten it with Monk Fruit powered no calorie sweetner….Monk fruit does not raise blood sugar and is recommended for diabetics….
Yes I have, used Swerve powdered sugar, it is made from monk fruit. There was no blood sugar issues using it.
The recipe states “2 servings,” but it really does go much farther than that; especially the version that calls for pineapple chunks.
Can you “ can” this cranberry sauce in water bath in jars?
I make mine with fresh pomegranate juice because I have a pomegranate tree! Talk about tons of antioxidants! You just still use a cup of the juice!!
I made the Cran-Orange cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving and it was absolutely awesome thank you for the recipe
I dislike canned cranberry sauce but after watching the video I thought I’d give it a try. I made mine with orange juice version instead of water. It was a hit! I loved the taste. Almost everyone made great comments about it. One person was reading about it as his wife commented that hers was homemade and he said, “Yeah, but this is better.” Now that was my best review!
Thank you for the video!
Looks delicious, This year it will be just hubbie and me for the Holidays. Do you know if this freezes well for the leftovers?
Happy Holidays to you and your family.
Yes I froze it in a canning jar. It keeps well in the fridge, just like jam. My youngest son likes cranberry sauce on his hot dogs. Lol
I love this stuff, but I grind in oranges and apples also. Usually two oranges and two apples with every 12oz bag of cranberries.