Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Make this easy homemade cranberry sauce recipe in less than a half hour for better flavor and nutritional content than that commercially canned stuff! Plus, it makes the house smell divine this holiday season!
Equipment
- 1 Medium sized sauce pan
- 1 Heat proof spatula or spoon
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 Quarts Fresh of Frozen Cranberries
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
- 1 Stick Cinnamon
- 1/2 Cup Orange Juice
- 1 Tbstp. Fresh Citrus Zest
Instructions
- Add 1 1/4 quarts (about 5 cups) of fresh or frozen cranberries, 1/2 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of maple syrup to a thick-bottomed, medium saucepot. Mix it all together and place over medium heat.
- Add one cinnamon stick to the pot and cover to simmer for five minutes.
- Remove the lid and start stirring the cranberry pot. Watch for the berries to burst their skin as the mixture gently simmers. Continue stirring until all the berries have popped.
- Carefully remove the cinnamon stick and place to the side.
- Using a potato masher or immersion blender, smash or blend the berries until they reach the consistency you like.*
- Return the cinnamon stick to the pot.
- Continue to stir and simmer the mixture until it thickens, which usually takes 5-10 minutes.**
- Serve immediately in a heat-proof dish or cool and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the 1/2 cup of orange juice and the tablespoon of citrus zest.
Notes
*Some people really love chunky homemade cranberry sauce. If that's you, I recommend smashing the berries with a potato masher. This will flatten and smoosh them without completely masticating them.
If you like a smoother, jelly-like cranberry sauce, use an immersion blender to get the mixture as smooth as possible.
**If you want to quicken the thickening process, you can mix 1-2 teaspoons of pectin into the maple syrup or water before you place it in the saucepot. Whisk it in slowly to avoid lumps.
Cranberry has a lot of natural pectin, so this step isn't necessary. However, I will often add some of my homemade apple pectin to ensure a quick set and to add a bit of apple flavor. To be compeletely honest, I don't measure the amount - I just dump some in and look for the cranberry sauce to gel the way I like it.
Wash the cranberry pot immediately to avoid super-sticky cranberry sauce residue that is difficult to remove.
BE SURE to remove the cinnamon stick before you blend the cranberry sauce, if you're using an immersion blender. If youd don't, you'll end up with large cinnamon stick bits all through your homemade sauce. Ask me how I know.
You can subsitute the organge juice for grapefruit juice, if you prefer the flavor. You may also use any citrus skin zest - orange, lemon, grapefruit, etc.
We prefer orange, but favortie flavor is a personal preferrence, so feel free to experiment.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!