Description
This easy cranberry sauce recipe combines fresh cranberries with orange juice, zest, brown sugar, and vanilla extract to create a tangy, sweet sauce perfect for holiday meals or as a vibrant condiment. The sauce is cooked on the stovetop until thickened and bursting with flavor, offering a delightful texture with whole cranberries stirred in at the end.
Ingredients
Scale
Ingredients
- 12 ounce bag cranberries, rinsed (about 3 to 4 cups)
- 3/4 cup (150g) water
- 1/4 cup (60ml) fresh orange juice (about 1/2 large orange)
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare Orange and Cranberries: Zest one large orange first and set the zest aside. Then, cut and juice the orange to yield 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice. Rinse the cranberries and set aside 1/2 cup whole cranberries for texture to add later.
- Combine Ingredients and Simmer: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining cranberries, water, orange juice, and brown sugar. Stir occasionally as the mixture heats and comes to a simmer.
- Cook Sauce Until Thickened: Once simmering, reduce the heat to low-medium. Continue to cook while stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes until the cranberries burst and the mixture thickens and the liquid reduces.
- Finish the Sauce: Remove the saucepan from heat. Stir in the reserved 1/2 cup of whole cranberries, orange zest, and vanilla extract. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
- Serve or Store: Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently before serving if desired.
Notes
- You can prepare the sauce up to 3 days ahead. Cool completely, cover tightly, and refrigerate. Warm on the stove or microwave before serving.
- To freeze, cool sauce completely. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and rewarm before serving.
- Cranberries can be fresh or frozen; no need to thaw fully before use.
- Adjust sweetness by increasing brown sugar to 1 cup if a sweeter cranberry sauce is preferred.
- Recommended tools: citrus zester, citrus juicer, medium saucepan, and wooden spoon.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 23g
- Sodium: 1mg
- Fat: 0.1g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 0.2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
