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!
Easy Cranberry Sauce
Have you ever looked 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.
This cranberry sauce is so simple since there are only 3 ingredients. The warm spices from the apple cider bring out so much flavor and help balance the tartness of the cranberries. In just a few minutes, this side dish is ready to compliment your turkey or ham at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Flavorful! Full of sweet and tart flavors in every bite.
Easy! Only 3 simple ingredients and a few minutes to make.
Festive! The perfect compliment to any holiday meal.
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 of 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 apple cider will work too.
How to Make Cranberry Sauce
This is so simple to make! All you have to do is:
- Boil: Bring sugar and apple cider to a boil.
- Cook: Carefully add the cranberries and boil on medium-high until they 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 constantly 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.
Storage Options
To store: Allow the cranberry sauce to completely cool and then store in an air-tight container for up to 7 days.
Freeze: Store in an air-tight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Leftover Ideas
One of the best parts of cranberry sauce is that in can be used in a variety of different dishes. A few ideas are:
More Delicious Recipes
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Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup apple cider
- 12 oz fresh cranberries
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, bring sugar and apple cider to a boil. Continue to boil for 3-5 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add cranberries and reduce heat to a low boil on medium-high. Continue cooking for 8-10 minutes while cranberries begin to pop, stirring frequently.
- Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency, remove from the heat and cool completely.
- Store in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Enjoy!
