Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce

The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce is the easiest and most delicious recipe with only 3 simple ingredients. The combination of tart cranberries with the sweetness of apple cider makes this the perfect complement to your holiday dish!

Ever look at canned cranberry sauce on the table with disgust? Yeah me too! I never thought I would enjoy it until I made it fresh. WOW! It’s like the difference between fresh and canned peaches- you know what I mean! It’s like a sweet and tart jelly that tastes fantastic with savory foods. Honestly, once you have it you’ll never go back to the canned stuff again.

How to make cranberry sauce

This is so simple to make! All you have to do is:

Boiil– sugar and apple cider

Add– cranberries

Cook– until cranberries start to pop open. Be careful– the cranberries tend to splatter when they pop so do not have your heat on high. I have made this mistake a few too many times.

Stir– while cooking. I like to take a few cranberries and mash them against the side of my pan using the back of my spoon. It helps them to pop a little faster. You can cook it to your desired consistency. The longer you cook, the less chunky it will be. It does thicken as it cools so keep that in mind.

Refrigerate– if you like to eat it cool, which is most common, then allow to cool completely in the pan before transferring to an airtight container to place in the refrigerator. But sometimes I enjoy eating it warm, especially on a toasty sandwich or on hot turkey- YUM! Be sure to allow it to cool at least 20 minutes though so you don’t burn yourself.

Ingredients

Cranberries: fresh or frozen may be used in this recipe! No need to defrost if frozen. You may need to add a few more minutes cooking time while boiling for the berries to begin to pop.

Apple Cider: this is the secret ingredient that makes this dish so fantastic! Most recipes call for water or orange juice, which tastes good but apple cider makes it taste great! Any type of cider will work too.

Is cranberry sauce freezer friendly?

Yes it is! All you need to do is store cooled cranberry sauce in a freezer-friendly bag or sealed airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator when ready to use.

Leftover ideas

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