Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Spiced Cranberry Sauce is one of those “must-have” side dishes on the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table.
This fresh Cranberry sauce recipe is not tart or bitter and is much better than canned or jellied Ocean Spray™ cranberries- and it’s ready in minutes!
You’ll love this with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger and a hint of orange-and it pairs beautifully with turkey, 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.
This fresh cranberry salad recipe is not tart or bitter, but sweet and flavorful and is much better than Ocean Spray jellied cranberry or canned cranberries.
Fresh, whole berry cranberry sauce is one of those things folks love or hate. Those who don’t like it claim it’s “tart” or “bitter”, but this recipe is neither!
You probably have a few “not so Merry Christmas memories” of the proverbial “jello mold” of jiggly, tart cranberry at your Grandmother’s holiday table. This recipe is NOT that! There’s no jello mixture, jelly texture or bitter flavor, just fresh cooked cranberries seasoned to perfection!
The best part of this recipe is that you can make it a couple of days ahead of time! This frees of that valuable kitchen space while you work on your other holiday recipes.
Why this recipe works
- All-natural – made with whole fresh cranberries, this easy recipe uses fresh cranberries and has hints warm spices and a dash of sugar and orange juice.
- Not tart – sugar, cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg and allspice combat the natural bitterness of the berry, and the orange adds a nice touch of citrus!
- Quick and easy – ready in about 15-minutes!
- Make ahead – this is one less dish to make on the holiday! Store up to 5 days in the fridge
There are many variations of fresh cranberry recipes out there: some are more like a “cranberry jello salad” while others incorporate heavy whipping cream, CoolWhip, whipped cream or heavy cream and make some sort of “cranberry fluff” – this recipe uses only natural ingredients.
Here’s what you’ll need
Some grocery stores will have bags of fresh cranberries in the frozen section, but if it’s the right time of year, you’ll find them in with the fresh produce. To make this Thanksgiving favorite, you’ll need:
- 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!)
- A dash of salt
How to make cranberry sauce that’s not bitter
The secret to making fresh cranberry sauce that’s not bitter is to incorporate some warm spices, a little citrus juice and a dash of salt. The combination of these simple ingredients set off any tart or bitter flavor from whole fresh cranberries.
Rinse and drain fresh 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
If you want a creamy cranberry salad, process the cooked cranberries in a food processor or use a hand emulsifier
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!
Make ahead and storage
One of the best things about this easy cranberry salad recipe is that you can make it ahead of time. Just one less thing to prepare on a busy holiday!
Store the warm spiced cranberry sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, no need to reheat it-just let it come to room temperature, garnish with orange zest and serve!
Recipe FAQ
Yes. Place the cooled cranberry sauce in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Remove it from the freezer and allow it to come to room temperature or, place it overnight in the refrigerator to thaw.
Cranberries are naturally tart but the sugar and warm seasonings in this spiced cranberry sauce recipe outweigh the tartness of the berry, resulting in a sweet and flavorful cranberry relish that’s a great side dish with your turkey dinner and even better on a leftover turkey sandwich!
Try this spiced cranberry sauce with your turkey dinner or anytime of year!
Related recipes
- Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing
- 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 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup orange juice fresh (about 1 ½ navel oranges)
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger dried, not fresh
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon dried
- 1 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, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- Pour cranberries into 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 ounces fresh 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 small bowl, cover 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, they’ll start to pop; that’s good! Continue to cook them until the syrup begins to thicken…about 10-minutes
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!