Make this easy homemade jellied cranberry sauce or whole berry cranberry sauce using our fresh Cranberry sauce recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner.

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.
In the Fall of the year, cranberries start appearing in the produce department of the grocery store. And since this is a seasonal item, we try to make the most of them. We make Cranberry Muffins with an easy Streusel, a Cranberry Walnut Salad with Pineapple and Marshmallows, a Cranberry Bourbon Chiller and The Best Cranberry Jalapeno Jam, which is so good as an appetizer over cream cheese.

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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.
How to Make Jellied Cranberry sauce:
You will need:
- 12 oz. package fresh cranberries
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cups of water
- zest of one orange
- juice of 1/2 orange
Equipment Needed:
- zester
- juicer
- saucepan
- potato masher
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.
Thanksgiving Recipes:
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Jellied Cranberry Sauce or Whole Berry Cranberry sauce
Make this easy homemade jellied cranberry sauce or whole berry cranberry sauce using our fresh Cranberry sauce recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner.
Servings: 12
Calories: 65kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz. package fresh cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- zest of one orange
- juice of 1/2 an orange
Instructions
- 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
Nutrition
Calories: 65kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Sodium: 1mg | Sugar: 17g

Shauna Smart
Saturday 29th of November 2014
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 :)
Michelle Meche
Friday 28th of November 2014
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.
Betty
Thursday 27th of November 2014
Just finished making this. So done with the canned crap. You wouldn't believe the way the kitchen smells.
Joy
Sunday 23rd of November 2014
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! ♥
Jamie Sherman
Wednesday 19th of November 2014
Homemade cranberry sauce tastes soooo much better than the store bought stuff! Great recipe! :)