Cranberry Sauce
Homemade Cranberry Sauce is so quick and easy to make at home. Not just for Thanksgiving, but this Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe is a great jam for any sandwich!
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I did not grow up eating Cranberry Sauce. With my Caribbean parents, curry was more often on my Thanksgiving table than the usual American sides and desserts.
The first time I tasted Cranberry Sauce was when I was attending the University of New Mexico. Instead of going home across the country for just a few days, a friend invited my to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with her family.
That jellied things that squiches out of the can was what they had and it was an instant hate relationship and it took many years for me to ever try this traditional Thanksgiving side again.
As is usual the case when you work in the culinary industry, holidays are often spent working and one year I was having a staff meal on Thanksgiving, where all the traditional fixin’s were there. I tried the Cranberry Sauce and I didn’t know what it was since it wasn’t the jellied mass I associated with Cranberry Sauce.
From then on, I started my making my own and I have turned my entire family into Cranberry Sauce lovers with this Recipe and I am sure you will love it also.
Not just for Thanksgiving to go with your holiday Turkey, but homemade Cranberry Sauce makes a great jam for sandwiches and is a great accompaniment to these Pumpkin Cornmeal Scones for breakfast.
Substitutions
I had to add a little of my Caribbean heritage into this version and used mango juice, but you can also use orange juice and it is just as delicious.
You can make this with either fresh or frozen cranberries.
If you would like to speed up the cooking process or make yours a little thicker as some prefer it, you can use the optional agar agar. I did not use it.
In this version, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg is used. You can use other warm spices like ginger and cardamom also.
Now it’s time for our pantry check to make sure we have everything we need.
Ingredients
- fresh or frozen cranberries
- sugar
- mango juice or orange juice
- cinnamon sticks
- nutmeg
- ground clove
- salt
Now check out how easy it is to make the most delicious Cranberry Sauce!
How to make Cranberry Sauce
Dump everything in a pot.
Let it boil for 15 minutes, until the berries soften. Remove the cinnamon sticks if you prefer. Some people don’t like to see whole spices in their sauce.
Mash the cranberries. Cook it for another few minutes until it pulls away from the pan.
Let it cool and enjoy!
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 cups cranberries
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup mango juice
- 1 cup water
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon agar agar optional
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, freshly grated nutmeg, mango juice and water.
- Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil. Cook on medium high heat for 15 minutes, until the cranberries are soft.
- With a potato masher, crush the cranberries.
- Add the pinch of salt and stir to combine.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks, if desired for a more refined sauce.
- Return to the heat and cook another 5-10 minutes (add agar agar if using), until the sauce starts to pull away from the pan.
- Leave to chill.
Notes
Nutrition
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Very nice jam. I love cranberry dishes as they are sweet like candy. Can I use dried cranberries to make this as we don’t get fresh or frozen ones here.
Dried cranberries are sweetened so have a very different taste to fresh cranberries. The best way to substitute would be to use another berry like blueberries or blackberries and then replace the mango juice with cranberry juice. That would be the best work around.
I do love a good jam on my morning slice and this was very yummy! Easy to do as well! That picture with scones is absolutely irresistible.
thank you. I am so glad you enjoyed it!
I love fresh cranberries and this is a great recipe to use them. Loved the sauce recipe and it works so well with our Indian recipes like idli and dosai as well. Using agar agar is a great idea to thicken the sauce.
your post put me in the mood for Thanksgiving. I love this holiday since day after Thanksgiving I had my firstborn. Apart from that sauce is perfect for any kind of the meal.
I love cranberries and am always looking for new recipes with it. Your cranberry jam was a big hit with my family. It was tart, sweet and absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Those cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg really blended well with tart cranberries. I used it as a spread on my toast.
yes – I use it as jam also and not just as a traditional Thanksgiving side!
I love all the spices that have been added to flavour this delicious cranberry sauce . It looks perfect to serve with crackers .
yes its great with crackers and add some salty cheese for perfection. A great snacking platter!