Bid adieu to canned cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving! Discover the joy of making your own homemade jellied cranberry sauce or whole berry cranberry sauce with our simple and fresh cranberry sauce recipe. Bursting with the goodness of fresh cranberries and a hint of orange, it takes just a few minutes and basic kitchen tools. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is and the taste will surely make your turkey dinner even more memorable.
Every Turkey needs to be accompanied by a great cranberry sauce, not the kind that pops out of the can still retaining the shape of the can, no way. We want the kind that is made from fresh cranberries, with a touch of orange flavor. It’s easy and so worth the time.
This is an easy-to-follow recipe for homemade jellied cranberry sauce, sure to level up your Thanksgiving meal. We dispel the myth that fresh cranberry sauce is complicated to make and guide you through the process using fresh cranberries and a touch of orange zest. It’s a fun, interactive experience that results in a tasteful and authentic cranberry sauce, far superior to the store-bought canned option. Use our recipe to prepare it ahead of time, ensuring one less thing to stress about on the big day.
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This Jellied Cranberry sauce is very easy and just takes minutes. For years we would buy the canned only because it thought Fresh Cranberry sauce would be too difficult. Boy, was I wrong! And this whole berry cranberry sauce doesn’t take any special equipment, only a saucepan, and a fork. Ok, you do need an orange zester and juicer. And it can be made prior to the turkey coming out of the oven and refrigerated and until ready to serve so it’s not one of those last-minute dishes that give us added stress when we are trying to get Thanksgiving dinner on the table.
Using your zester, zest one whole orange and then juice one half of the same orange. We use this zester (shown above) because it never reaches so far as to cut into the bitter white part of the orange. Easy to hold and it’s safer.
Place a package of fresh cranberries in a small saucepan and add the water and sugar.
Add the zest of 1 orange and the juice of 1/2 an orange and bring to a boil or medium-high heat.
After bringing them to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the berries break down and burst about 10-12 minutes.
Finish by crushing any whole berries with a potato masher. If you wish to have whole berry cranberry sauce then less mashing or if your family would rather have jellied cranberry sauce then mash them completely.
Cool to room temperature before serving or it may be placed in the refrigerator. And this jellied cranberry sauce recipe is simple enough that it would be delicious served with chicken or pork. The leftovers can be made into sandwiches or brushed on before grilling chicken or pork.
Using your zester, zest one whole orange and then juice one half of the same orange. We use this zester because it never reaches so far as to cut into the bitter white part of the orange. Easy to hold and it’s safer.
Place a package of fresh cranberries in a small saucepan and add the water and sugar
Add the zest of 1 orange and the juice of 1/2 an orange and bring to a boil or medium-high heat.
After bringing them to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the berries break down and burst about 10-12 minutes.
Finish by crushing any whole berries with a potato masher. If you wish to have whole berry cranberry sauce then less mashing or if your family would rather have jellied cranberry sauce then mash them completely.
Cool to room temperature before serving or it may be placed in the refrigerator
I've never been a big cranberry jelly person. My family loves that canned stuff (yuck). But this looks amazing! I want to slather it on a piece of bread right now!
I've never eaten cranberry sauce any way but from a can – and then, I only like it on my turkey/stuffing/gravy sandwich! But this looks BEAUTIFUL – I'd even give it a try 😉
Evelyn, you always have the best Thanksgiving recipes. This is exactly the way I like my cranberry sauce, but I've never tried it with nutmeg- where have I been?? Thank you for sharing your beautiful cranberry sauce with us at Treasure Box Tuesday- pinned! ♥
Lol! My grandpa always had to have the canned stuff. With the ridges from the can. Ick. Making it yourself doesn't look so hard and definitely much more attractive. Thanks for sharing with See Ya in the Gumbo.
ooo yummy!! We are having our big dinner early this year on Sat… can't wait to eat all these tasty Thanksgiving foods!!
Looks absolutely delicious, Evelyn!! I can't wait for Thanksgiving!
I've never made cranberry sauce. so this recipe is perfect! Thanks!
I can't wait for Thanksgiving! Thanks for the great recipe!
This looks like an excellent recipe! Yum!
Maybe I would actually like cranberry sauce because the kind from the can always scares me!
Yum! We always have it from the can, I've never had it homemade, I bet it is good!
My most favorite part of Thanksgiving! I could eat it alone with a spoon.
I've never been a big cranberry jelly person. My family loves that canned stuff (yuck). But this looks amazing! I want to slather it on a piece of bread right now!
Yummy! I loved the little bit of orange. This was delicious!
I've never eaten cranberry sauce any way but from a can – and then, I only like it on my turkey/stuffing/gravy sandwich! But this looks BEAUTIFUL – I'd even give it a try 😉
This may seem weird to others, but cranberry sauce is my favorite side dish on Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing a very yummy looking version!
I had been wanting to make my own sauce, thanks for sharing!
I cannot wait for cranberry sauce! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Homemade cranberry sauce tastes soooo much better than the store bought stuff! Great recipe! 🙂
Evelyn, you always have the best Thanksgiving recipes. This is exactly the way I like my cranberry sauce, but I've never tried it with nutmeg- where have I been?? Thank you for sharing your beautiful cranberry sauce with us at Treasure Box Tuesday- pinned! ♥
Just finished making this. So done with the canned crap. You wouldn't believe the way the kitchen smells.
Lol! My grandpa always had to have the canned stuff. With the ridges from the can. Ick. Making it yourself doesn't look so hard and definitely much more attractive. Thanks for sharing with See Ya in the Gumbo.
Don't laugh but I've never made homemade cranberry sauce, lol. I'll have to remember this for Christmas and give it a try 🙂