I am passionate about Thanksgiving, but if there’s one mistake I have made in my decades of cooking this special dinner, it’s letting cranberry sauce be an afterthought.
It wasn’t until I tried this jammy, spiced cranberry sauce that I finally understood my holiday table had been missing some razzle-dazzle.
This homemade version strikes a perfect balance between sweetness and tartness (neither cloying nor sharply sour), with fresh orange juice for brightness and ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg for cozy warmth. What’s more—it comes together in just 20 minutes and is make-ahead-friendly (perfect for hectic holidays!).
Spoon this festive beauty alongside gravy-drenched mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cornbread—and prepare to be wowed.
“Wait…cranberry sauce can be this good?”
…an actual sentence I uttered when I tried my first batch of this cranberry sauce.
Look, I’m not here to yuck anybody’s yum—if jellied canned cranberry is your thing, you do you!
But if you—like me—have spent years unimpressed by this Thanksgiving staple, perhaps you—like me—have just never experienced it reaching its true potential?
My case for homemade cranberry sauce, in three sentences:
- It’s drop-dead simple to make—one pot, 20 minutes total.
- You can make it up to a week ahead of time, reducing stress on the big day.
- Made like this—with warm spices, zesty citrus, and fresh cranberries—it is a genuinely special sauce that improves nearly every holiday dish with its sweet-tart pizzazz.
Ingredient notes
- Fresh cranberries: Because they are so naturally high in pectin, these festive berries thicken when heated (no thickeners or starches necessary!), almost as though they were destined to become a spoonable sauce. Look for bags of fresh cranberries (NOT dried!) in the produce section starting in October.
- Sugar: In addition to balancing the sharp sourness of the cranberries, sugar thickens the cranberries as they cook and cool, resulting in a sauce that’s lusciously jammy.
- A festive spice trio: A whole cinnamon stick, freshly-grated nutmeg, and fresh ginger team up to give this cranberry sauce some warm, zingy flair.
- Orange: Cranberries + orange = a match made in heaven. The zest adds a sophisticated, floral magic while the juice contributes natural sweetness which allows this recipe to use a bit less sugar (…I’ve seen recipes that call for twice as much sugar as this one!), and the zest adds a sophisticated, floral magic.
- Pear: Diced pears add a lovely textural interest to the jamminess of the sauce and complement the orange’s natural sweetness.
Substitutes
- Sugar: I didn’t want to introduce flavors that would compete with the cranberries and spices, so I didn’t test this recipe with maple syrup—but if you’re opposed to using white sugar, feel free to experiment.
- Pear: If you don’t have pears, feel free to use a tart apple (e.g., Granny Smith) or tart-sweet apple (e.g., Honeycrisp or Pink Lady) instead.
Orange zest = sweet treat MVP! I swear, every time I make a dessert or breakfast treat with orange zest, people ask, “What is that amazing flavor?!” It makes my ultimate vegan cupcakes brilliant and brightens the raspberry compote in my vegan chocolate mousse!
Step-by-step instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries (minus ⅓ cup reserved for the end), orange juice, pear, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, 2 pinches of salt, and 2 TBSP water.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium.
- Stir occasionally until the cranberries break down and start popping (4 to 5 minutes).
- Press the cranberries against the side of the pot with the back of a wooden spoon and cook for another 3 minutes, or until thickened.
- Add the orange zest and reserved cranberries. Cook on medium-low for 1 to 2 minutes more, until the consistency becomes jam-like.
- Remove from the heat and discard the cinnamon stick. Cool for 20 minutes before serving or refrigerating.
Tips for making and serving this cranberry sauce
Keep an eye on the heat
Lower the heat if the cranberries start to bubble vigorously. And whatever you do, don’t walk away—the sauce will boil over!
Make the cranberry sauce of YOUR dreams
This recipe is highly customizable:
- Did the sauce end up too tart? Add more sugar with a splash of water and simmer briefly to incorporate.
- Did the sauce end up too sweet? Add more water, more cranberries (if you have them), or a little bit of lemon juice.
- Not a fan of ginger? (or nutmeg)? Use less or skip it entirely.
- Tweak the texture! I like my cranberry sauce thick and jammy, but if you like a looser consistency, just add more water as the cranberry sauce cooks. The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it rests, but you can loosen it with water (or freshly-squeezed orange juice) when serving.
- Prefer your cranberry sauce warm? Gently heat it on the stove or in the microwave before serving.
Get creative with leftovers
The leftovers from recipe testing have been livening up my breakfasts and desserts to no end, so here are some ideas for leftover cranberry sauce:
- Add to overnight oats: I meal-prep high-protein chocolate overnight oats every few weeks, and just a spoon of this cranberry sauce has been changing the game so much that I don’t think I can ever eat overnight oats without it.
- Jazz up your parfait: Swirl a spoonful through yogurt and sprinkle with nuts and seeds.
- Pair with almond butter for a grown-up spin on PB&J: Spoon almond or peanut butter over a warm baked sweet potato and top with cranberry sauce.
- Upgrade your dessert: Fabulous stirred through vanilla ice cream (with brownies, omg omg omg) or dolloped on cheesecake.
- Bust it out for brunch: Spoon atop pancakes, french toast, or waffles (p. 446 of my cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor)
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Here’s what we recommend:
• No need to thaw, as they will get soggy—just add them frozen to the pot with the other ingredients. Keep in mind they will take a few minutes longer to come to a boil.
• Once they’re hot, they may break down faster than fresh cranberries, so go by the visual cues given in the recipe rather than the cook times.
• You may also want to skip adding the ⅓ cup (35g) cranberries at the end, as frozen cranberries won’t hold their shape as well as fresh ones. Instead, simply add all of the frozen cranberries to the pot from the start.
I tried this recipe with less sugar—with 1/2 cup (100 g)—and honestly, it was missing that sugar. The cranberries were way too tart and even slightly bitter, and the spices felt a bit overwhelming.
Yes, and I encourage you to! This is the PERFECT recipe to prep before Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, as leftovers will stay good in the fridge for up to 1 week (though the flavor is freshest within 5 days).
Sure! It’s best enjoyed within 2 to 3 months. The consistency will change a bit as it freezes, so I recommend reheating it on the stove over medium-low heat and loosening with freshly-squeezed orange juice as needed.
Did this homemade cranberry sauce dazzle at your holiday feast? Let me know by leaving a rating and review below! I’d love to hear about it 🥰
Introducing
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz (340g) fresh cranberries, separated
- 2 to 3 navel oranges
- 1 medium (~ 8 oz / 227g) pear, peeled and cut into ¼” pieces (a fine dice) (see Note 1)
- 1 tablespoon (7g) freshly grated ginger (use 2 tsp for a milder flavor)
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cinnamon stick (or ½ tsp ground cinnamon)
- Scant ⅔ cup (135g) organic cane sugar (see Note 2)
- Kosher salt (or fine sea salt)
Instructions
- Measure out ⅓ cup (35g) of the cranberries and set aside for the end.
- Zest an orange to yield 2 teaspoons; set aside for the end. Juice the oranges to yield ¾ cup (180 mL) juice.
- In a medium (3-quart / 3L) saucepan, combine the remaining cranberries, orange juice (but not zest), the pear, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, the sugar, 2 pinches of kosher salt (or 1 pinch sea salt), and 2 tablespoons (30 mL) filtered water.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and stir occasionally until the cranberries break down and are popping, 4 to 5 minutes.Use the back of a wooden spoon to press the cranberries against the side of the pot and cook for another 3 minutes or until thickened (if it's bubbling very vigorously, reduce the heat a touch).Add the orange zest and reserved cranberries and cook over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 more minutes, or until you have a jam-like consistency.
- Remove from the heat and discard the cinnamon stick. Cool for 20 minutes or until room temp. NOTE: the sauce will be quite thick, which is my preference, but if you want a looser consistency, return to the saucepan with a few splashes of water and simmer until well incorporated.
Notes
- I love the sweetness and texture of a pear, but if you don’t have pears, you could also use a medium-sized tart-sweet apple.
- This cranberry sauce is designed to be sweet but not too sweet and perfectly tart. If it ends up too tart for your taste, you can always add a bit more sugar, a splash of water, and simmer again. I don’t recommend reducing the sugar though—in my experience, the sauce turned out too sour and even a little bitter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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