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Basic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Basic Cranberry Sauce is a traditional accompaniment to holiday meals in the United States. Making a basic homemade cranberry sauce from fresh seasonal cranberries is very easy. The bright red color is perfect for your holiday table.

Thanksgiving side dish

Now I know that there area  lot of big fans of the canned cranberry sauce. It drops out of the can and you can slice it up. I have nothing against the canned stuff, I like it in fact. During the season of fresh cranberries however, I choose to make my own. This basic recipe only requires three ingredients.

I do keep a can of the jellied canned stuff on hand though because I have some guests from time to time who prefer it. I have another recipe available on the blog for cranberry relish, which requires a few more ingredients. If I’m honest, I like the basic version much better.

Cranberries are naturally high in pectin which help you get that “jellied” consistency once it sets up. Cranberries themselves taste bitter. A touch of sweetness will offset the bitter. A small amount of sweet with all of those savory holiday dishes just work so well together.

As a time saver, I make the cranberry sauce a few days ahead of the holiday meal. I tend to be in the kitchen for a couple of days ahead of any holiday meal to prep cook so that I’m not over-whelmed on meal day. You can store the homemade cranberry sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator and transfer it to your serving dish when needed.

Basic Cranberry Sauce

“The Indians and English use them much, boyling them with Sugar for Sauce to eat with their Meat, and it is a delicious sauce.” ~ John Josselyn, while visiting New England in 1663

Cranberries

Ingredients

  • 12 oz Fresh Cranberries
  • 1 c Water
  • 1 c Granulated Sugar

Rinse cranberries and add to a sauce pot.

Basic Cranberry Sauce recipe

Add one cup of water and one cup of sugar to the cranberries.

Cook over medium low heat. The berries will pop and the mixture will thicken slightly. This only takes around 5-7 minutes.

holiday side dish

Remove from heat and add to a storage container. The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

Printable Recipe Card for Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Yield: 1 Side of Cranberry Sauce

Basic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Basic Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Easy recipe for a basic homemade cranberry sauce to accompany your holiday meal

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 12 minutes

Ingredients

  • 12 oz. Fresh Cranberries
  • 1 c Water
  • 1 c Granulated Sugar

Instructions

  1. Rinse cranberries and add to a sauce pot.
  2. Add one cup of water and one cup of sugar to the cranberries.
  3. Cook over medium low heat. The berries will pop and the mixture will thicken slightly. This only takes around 5-7 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat and transfer the cranberry sauce to a storage container. The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 58Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 0g
Basic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

You might also enjoy this recipe for Candied Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies from Soulfully Made.

Meet Julia

Author of Julia's Simply Southern

Sharing is Caring

Nikki

Monday 19th of October 2020

Cranberry sauce is a must for Thanksgiving or a turkey dinner! We had a hankering for some last week and I made a small turkey breast and just had to have this sauce!

Julia Jordan

Tuesday 20th of October 2020

Nikki, I'm with you girlfriend, got to have that cranberry sauce with my turkey.

The Better Baker

Friday 2nd of November 2018

Thank you! Thank you! for this simple recipe. I am SO in love with cranberry sauce and have looked for a recipe I could use my sweetener instead of sugar. This is it! And it's so simple! I'll be making it soon to enjoy for a while. =)

Julia Jordan

Friday 2nd of November 2018

I'm so happy that you'll be trying this recipe. Sometimes simple is best and I know you'll find it delicious.

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