I hope that everyone that celebrated the Canadian Thanksgiving over the weekend had a great one filled with tons of tasty food! This year I made my favourite herb roasted turkey breast and of course no turkey holiday dinner would be complete without cranberry sauce! Cranberry sauce and turkey are meant to be together and I always enjoy a healthy spoonful of it served either right on top of the turkey or just on the side for easy dipping.
This is the basic recipe for a cranberry sauce and it is very easy to make. You simply simmer some water, sugar and the cranberries until they burst and the sauce starts to thicken. Once you have mastered the basic recipe you can start playing with it and simple additions like a touch of citrus make it even better. Over the years I have experimented with various things like replacing the sugar with maple syrup or adding ginger, or spicy jalapeno peppers or even pino noir.
Tip: You can make the cranberry sauce a day or two ahead of time to lighten the load on the day that you make your big holiday dinner.
Cranberry Sauce
A sweet and tart cranberry sauce that makes a perfect addition to any holiday table or any other time for that matter!
ingredients
- 4 cups (1 12 ounce bag) cranberries
- 1 cup water or orange juice
- 1 cup sugar
directions
- Bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce starts to thicken, about 10-15 minutes.
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Karen says
October 11, 2011 at 11:02 amCranberry sauce is one of my favourite parts of Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner and I have been making my own homemade version for years. For an extra bit of zip, I add orange zest and freshly grated ginger! Always a huge hit amongst family and friends.
manu says
October 11, 2011 at 11:42 amGreat recipe!! LOL
Kay Heritage says
October 11, 2011 at 11:53 amOh, wonderful! It's the season for cranberry sauce! 🙂
Michael says
October 11, 2011 at 1:09 pmif you use orange juice instead of water, it is extra tasty.
jillian says
October 11, 2011 at 3:13 pmI love cranberry sauce, and I too have experimented with a bunch of different versions. The basic one is the best! My add ins are usually orange zest and pineapple.
Twin Tables says
October 11, 2011 at 8:47 pmWe like to add chipotle to ours. Other times we keep it simple with raisins and oj. We eat it on everything from toast to turkey. 🙂
Ali says
October 12, 2011 at 10:03 amWe use our sauce on about everything we eat, my kid loves peanut sauce so much I think I should make this for him sees how it goes. Looks really good.
The Dinner Belle for Kimberlybelle.com says
October 12, 2011 at 6:44 pmI never used to like cranberry sauce until I started to make a sweet and spicy version. We add orange juice for a bit more sweetness and chipotles to turn up the heat! I think my family licked the bowl clean the first time I made it.
The Dinner Belle for Kimberlybelle.com
Lizzy M. says
October 14, 2011 at 12:43 amI added candied ginger to mine and it gives is a yummy and unique taste. Cranberry Sauce with Crystalized Ginger
Anonymous says
November 17, 2012 at 11:54 pmThis is similar to the way that I make it but m cooking directions are to cook the cranberries until they pop (no fair popping them with a spoon or fork), then take them out, run them through a sieve, then add the sugar(or Sugartwin and unflavored gelatin for diabetics)and boil for five minute, skimming the "gunk" off the top as it boilsHere's my recipe:
1 pkg cranberries
1 C boiling water
Let boil until cranberries pop (do not pop them yourself), then take off and run through sieve.
Add 2 cups of sugar and boil five minutes
Note: To make dietetic cranberries, use 2 C SugarTwin and 1 pkg Knox Unflavored gelatin to they’ll set.
Germaine says
October 7, 2013 at 1:32 amI have only recently started to enjoy cranberry sauce. I will tackle fresh made one this year. But I don't know ho much will be eaten. So I'm wondering how long will it last in the fridge or can the left overs be frozen for later use. I'm thinking of freezing it in a ice tray for future usage.
kevin says
October 7, 2013 at 3:45 pmGermaine: Cranberry sauce will keep in the fridge for at least a week and it freezes well. Enjoy!
jana says
October 9, 2013 at 8:01 pminstead of water I use cranapple juice.
Catherine Pflum says
November 18, 2013 at 11:42 pmI have recently started to like cranberries. I cant wait to try it. It sounds so good.