This homemade cranberry sauce is my son’s favorite and it’s perfect with Smoked Miso Butter Turkey Breast. I didn’t grow up with cranberries or cranberry sauce in Japan. However, eating sweet and tangy cranberry sauce always reminds me of the first Thanksgiving I spent with my American host family. It makes my heart warm thinking about the kind host family who welcomed me into their home.
3 Reasons Why You Should Make This Cranberry Sauce
If you are not into cranberry sauce, maybe because you haven’t tried the delicious homemade cranberry sauce yet.
Quick— only 15 minutes on the stove! Easy— just throw 5 simple ingredients together in a pot! Make-ahead— this “homemade” sauce can be made ahead even before you get busy with holiday meals!
Cranberry Sauce Ingredients
Let’s break it down to 5 ingredients!
Cranberries: Use fresh or frozen cranberries. You don’t even need to fully thaw. Just rinse the cranberries with water before using them. Fresh Orange Juice & Orange Zest: Before you juice the orange, grate some zest off for flavoring and garnish. Then squeeze ½ cup of juice. If you don’t care for the zest, you can substitute it with orange juice (not from concentrate) instead. Sugar: For sweetening the sauce, I’ve tried white sugar, light brown sugar, a combination of white and light brown sugars, honey, and maple syrup. Each sweetener gives a different flavor profile, so choose what you like. This time, I use light brown sugar only. Mr. JOC prefers a combination of an equal part of white and light brown sugar and my kids like white sugar only. Grated Ginger: Grated ginger gives a nice kick and adds to the layers of flavor. Cinnamon Stick: We love the smell of cinnamon in the cranberry sauce. You can substitute with ground cinnamon for the stick but add to the sauce after removing from the heat. (Water): I usually add some water just to give more liquid in the sauce. If you want to increase the orange-y flavor, substitute more orange juice for water.
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