Spiced Cranberry Sauce
This fresh Spiced Cranberry sauce recipe is not tart or bitter. Warm spices: ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, Allspice, orange and sugar neutralize the natural bitterness of cranberries, resulting in a delicious must-have holiday side dish.
Cranberry sauce is best when made in advance. You can make it up to 7 days in advance.
Can I use frozen cranberries for cranberry sauce?
Yes. Whole frozen cranberries work beautifully in this recipe.
Do I need to thaw frozen cranberries first for cranberry sauce?
No. Rinse frozen cranberries first then add them directly to the saucepan They will thaw while cooking and are perfectly safe to eat without thawing first.
This pairs beautifully with candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and good ole Southern cornbread dressing! It’s not really a “sauce,” per say, but more of a cranberry relish or cranberry compote.
Ingredients
Fresh cranberries are usually in the produce section.
- A one pound bag of fresh cranberries
- Granulated sugar
- One or two large navel oranges – for fresh squeezed orange juice
- Ground spices: allspice, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves and nutmeg. (I use ground nutmeg, but if you have fresh nutmeg, that’s even better!)0
- A dash of salt
How to make cranberry sauce
- Rinse and drain fresh or frozen cranberries and place in large saucepan on medium heat
- Add water and sugar; bring to boil.
- The cranberries will start to pop and thicken; turn the heat to medium-low and cook the cranberry mixture for 8-10 minutes; use the back of a wooden spoon to pop any whole berries.
- Cook the cranberry mixture about 8-10 minutes on low heat, then remove saucepan from heat; add orange juice, spices and a dash of salt; combine well
- For best results, allow the warm spiced cranberry sauce to cool, then place it in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- When ready to serve, drain off any liquid and stir the cranberry relish well; spoon the cranberry relish into a pretty small bowl and allow to come to room temperature Garnish with orange zest and serve
Recipe tips
- Feel free to adjust the spice amounts of warm spices in this recipe to your liking; however, I strongly urge you, do not omit the ground ginger. It really adds a nice spin to the dish and makes it even more scrumptious!
- You can substitute the granulated sugar with brown sugar if you like
- Cloves have a unique, strong flavor – if someone in your family doesn’t like cloves, go easy on it or omit it
- While cooking the cranberries, let the majority of them pop, but keep some whole for texture.
Make ahead and storage
Store the warm spiced cranberry sauce in an airtight container for up to 7 days in the refrigerator.
Apply plastic wrap directly to the surface. This prevents a “skin” from forming;
When ready to serve, no need to reheat it-just let it come to room temperature, garnish with orange zest and serve! Freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without fresh whole cranberry sauce! If you’ve never had traditional spiced cranberry sauce, then you don’t know what you’re missing!
Related recipes
- Southern Pecan Pie
- Apple Crisp
- Perfect Deviled Eggs
- Salted Caramel Cheesecake
- Turnip Green Cornbread Dressing
- Maple Pecan Carrot Souffle
- Fresh Apple Cake
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! I love to hear from you!
Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounce pkg. cranberries , fresh or frozen
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup orange juice fresh (about 1 ½ navel oranges)
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger dried, not fresh
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon dried
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves dried
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg dried
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice dried
- pinch of salt
- orange zest for garnish
Instructions
- Mix spices in a small bowl and set aside¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- Rinse cranberries and put in a medium saucepan on medium heat;add water and sugar; bring to boil; stirring occasionally (Allow cranberries to "pop"; cook until the mixture begins to thicken)-about 10 minutes12 ounce pkg. cranberries, 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar
- Continue to cook on low for about 10 minutes until the mixture begins to thicken; use the back of a wooden spoon to mash any whole cranberries
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes; add orange juice, spices and salt; combine well⅓ cup orange juice, pinch of salt
- Place in a bowl; place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cranberry sauce and refrigerate for at least 30-minutes.
- When ready to serve, drain off any liquid, stir well, place in pretty serving bowl
- Garnish with orange zest or chopped pecans; serve slightly chilled or room temperatureorange zest for garnish
Notes
- Make in advance and store in refrigerator for up to 3-5 days
- When cooking the cranberries, leave a few whole so your sauce will have a nice texture.
- If it’s too thick, add more water or orange juice
- If it’s too thin, add more sugar and/or a cornstarch slurry: mix together 1 cup cool water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch; add to sauce and cook until sauce thickens
Nutrition Estimate
How to thicken cranberry sauce
- Cranberry sauce naturally thickens upon refrigeration, however, if you sauce is too thick while it’s cooking, add a little more water or orange juice.
- Add a cornstarch slurry: the ratio is 1 cup cool water to 1 tablespoon cornstarch; you may not need the wholoe cup to thicken your sauce
- Add more sugar in small increments
How do I fix thin cranberry sauce?
- If the cranberry sauce is too thick while it’s cooking, add water, orange juice or apple cider vinegar in 1 teaspoon increments
- If you need to thin cranberry sauce that has thickened from refrigeration, add warm liquid in 1 teaspooon increments (water, orange juice or apple cider vinegar)
Im not normally a fan of sweet potatoes but decided to try your recipe and it was a hit!!!!
Thank you!
An absolutely delicious side and a real treat served vanilla ice cream. I’ve tried other spiced cranberry recipes and found this less tart and simple to prepare. Thank you
Thank you, Maggie!
I LOVE your ice cream idea!!! I think I’ll have to try that on my next Spiced Cranberry Sauce!!!! Happy Holidays and thank you for taking time to share your comments!