Homemade Cranberry Sauce made with fresh cranberries, orange juice and Grand Marnier is a sweet and incredibly flavorful Thanksgiving side dish.
Homemade Cranberry sauce is so much better than anything you can find at the store, and this recipe is an absolute favorite in our house. Growing up, we used to crack open a can of that jelly stuff at Thanksgiving. I have memories of only a couple people touching it, usually the older folks, but that wiggly cylinder shaped cranberry sauce in a can remained mostly untouched. I can’t remember when we first started making our own homemade fresh cranberry sauce with orange juice, but if you’ve never done it, boy are you in for a treat. This is the best cranberry sauce recipe out there.
Starting the first day in November, people go on the hunt for cranberry sauce recipes for Thanksgiving. Each fall, I am overjoyed the moment I see that fresh cranberries are available. Now, if you’re thinking that you don’t need one more thing to worry about on Thanksgiving day, let me tell you that this really is easy cranberry sauce. You can easily prepare your homemade cranberry sauce a day or two in advance so that you have one less pot to clean on the day of. And, yes, all you really need to make this recipe is a saucepan, measuring cups, and a spoon.
If you can ignore the dirty cooktop in the photo above, I want you to take a minute to imagine how wonderful this concoction of orange cranberry sauce smelled. If heaven has a smell, and I believe it does, it smells like these cranberries cooking in fresh orange juice, orange zest, and sugar. What makes this irresistible is that it’s cranberry sauce with orange zest that is finished off with a hefty splash of Grand Marnier. YUM!
How to make Cranberry Sauce:
- My preference is to use fresh cranberries, but you can also use frozen cranberries and it will turn out the same. I just have a preference for watching the fresh cranberries burst as they cook.
- I also recommend using freshly squeezed orange juice instead of OJ from a bottle. The recipe calls for the zest from an orange, so you might as well squeeze the juice out of it. The flavors of orange and cranberry go hand in hand.
- To make your homemade cranberry sauce, all you need to do is combine the cranberries, orange juice and zest, sugars, and pumpkin pie spice over medium low heat until the berries pop. As the fresh cranberries explode and the mixture cools, it will thicken.
- I prefer to add the Grand Marnier, which is a lovely orange liqueur, at the end of the cooking process and only allow a little of the alcohol to burn off.
- You can then serve your homemade cranberry sauce slightly warm, at room temperature, or even chilled. The taste will blow your mind!
But wait! We always think of cranberry sauce as something we can enjoy at Thanksgiving, but once you make your own from fresh ingredients, you’ll want to make double, triple, or even quadruple the amount the recipe calls for just so that you’ll have leftovers.
Ways to use leftover homemade cranberry sauce:
- If you want a little variety on your Thanksgiving table, you can transform this sauce into a sliceable gelatin mold
- Use your leftover homemade cranberry sauce to make cranberry meatballs, or as I like to call them, Holiday Schweddy Balls (if you’re a fan of Saturday Night Live and NPR, you’ll understand)
- I make double or even triple of this recipe for a Make Ahead Stuffed Cranberry French Toast (recipe video coming soon)
- How about a lip smacking mouthwatering Cranberry Martini? Yes, please!
- Warm Cranberry Pecan Brie en Croute wraps buttery puff pastry around brie, fresh cranberry sauce, and candied pecans to make the perfect holiday appetizer.
Watch the recipe video below to see how I make my Homemade Cranberry Sauce!
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- zest from one orange
- juice from 2 large valencia oranges about 3/4 cup
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries rinsed
- 1/8 cup Grand Marnier
Instructions
- In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice with the orange zest and pumpkin pie spice. This has to be what heaven smells like.
- Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Turn heat to low and add Grand Marnier, stir, and cook for another minute or so.
- Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
I would love to try a homemade sauce. Do you think it would freeze well so that i could make it ahead off time?
Absolutely! I actually double or triple the batch and freeze the rest because I use it in other recipes (which will be posted on the blog soon). 🙂 -Krissy
We don’t have easy access to pumpkin pie spice mix in the uk. Is there an alternative ingredient you’d suggest?
Hi Imogen, Pumpkin pie spice is basically a blend that consists of 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice and 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves. I should create a post for it since I use it so much and take the fact that I can just buy the blend here for granted. Thanks, Krissy
Do I have to use Grand Marnier?
Hi Shalee, you don’t have to use Grand Marnier – it doesn’t effect how the sauce turns out or sets, it just adds that extra yum factor. Krissy
When making your Cranberry Vodka do you use all the cranberry sauce from this recipe or part of it? Looking forward to making and drinking it!
Just part of it! A little goes a long way. -Krissy
Working a cranberry bog is on my bucket list too!! ❤I have already milked a cow and a goat lol I was looking for a recipe for my first Thanksgiving making everything from scratch (I make about 90% from scratch including pies) but wanted EVERYTHING this year to be homemade. This sounds divine! Can I omit the Grand Marnier or does it add something to it? Thank you again for posting it! Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Heather! You can totally omit the Grand Marnier. I just adds flavor and doesn’t change the texture. Thanks! krissy
Hello! Can you use frozen cranberries?
hi Tabitha, You sure can! Krissy
Hello,
Can I use Cointreau instead of Grand Manier?
Absolutely – totally up to preference.
Hi! I’m hoping to make this for my family dinner this year. We always fix the same dishes every year, so I’m switching it up a little (with permission, of course!). This is kind of a dumb question, but should I cover the cranberries while they cook? When they pop, do they hop out of the pan, or will they be fine uncovered? Thanks!
Hi Shelby, Not a stupid question! I don’t cover the sauce because it won’t thicken and gel the same if you trap the moisture in. Just make sure your pot is big enough so that the popping cranberries don’t escape. If I make a small batch, a small saucepan works. But if I double or triple it so that I can use the leftovers in other recipes, I’ll bring out the big pot. I usually set the heat just high enough so that they burst but not jump out of the pan. Make sense?
I’m sorry not making fun of the question but I seriously lol’d visualizing cranberries hoping out of the pot and chasing them all over the kitchen!🤣🤣🤣
They can get scary! 🙂
Thinking about using this sauce this year! I have a younger nephew who loves cranberry sauce. How long should I cook the orange liqueur so it burns off the alcohol completely?
Hi Kelsey, I recommend just tasting as it cooks down. You’ll know when it has cooked enough to burn off all the booze. Enjoy!
This will be my first year making cranberry sauce, I’m planning on making it a day before. Do you have any recommendations on how to heat it up or can I serve it cool? Thanks & happy thanksgiving!
We always serve it at room temperature!
So if you serve it room temperature do you keep it refrigerated?
Yes – I’ll keep it refrigerated but then set it out early enough so that it can come to room temp.
Great recipe! I started making fresh cranberry sauce about 6 years ago! This recipe is pretty much what I use .. minus the liquor.. I also add fresh pomegranate seeds and the just .. that give the sauce a little crunch!
Hi Krissy, I will verify to try your cranberry recipe. It sounds and looks delicious. BTW, I’ve tried a similar sauce but with uncooked cranberries. A friend grinds the cranberries, a couple of oranges, adds a cup sugar, mixes everything together and let’s it marinate for 2 to 3 days. The flavor is amazing! I will have try your recipe though. Thanks for sharing!
Since you serve it warm, do you cook it last minute? I normally cook my cranberries the day before and refrigerate until about an hour before I plan to serve TG or Christmas dinner. There is so much going on with getting the food on the table, do you cook the cranberries the day (or two) before and leave them out, without refrigerating them, for a day or two? Looks like a delicious recipe!
Hi Maryann, I try to cook everything except the turkey the day before, so I’ll usually just warm the sauce up over very low heat in a pan before serving!
How ‘lumpy’ will this be? Can you mash or strain the mix at all? Thanks!
Hi Catherine, The skins definitely give the sauce some texture. I wouldn’t really call it lumpy, however it is not perfectly smooth. Kind of like how preserves are compared to a jelly. Because the cooked sauce is thick, you can’t really strain it. You can definitely mash the cranberry sauce which would help. I’m thinking you could also process the raw cranberries through the food processor or blender before cooking if you’re looking for a smoother consistency.
How long do you keep this in your fridge once made?
I’ve kept it in the fridge for a couple weeks before and it kept well.
Will it make a difference if I don’t put the Grand Marnier in?
You can totally omit. It won’t make a difference in how it turns out. It’s just a matter of taste.
I just made this! Delicious!
I made this as a gift for my ladies at work for Thanksgiving and it came out amazing!! The only thing I changed was I used was orange juice instead of fresh oranges. Thanks for the recipe!!! It was a HIT!! I’m a big gift giver with my baking and food giving and this one went over big I put it in individual mason jars was so cute.
Just made this and it is amazing! Look forward to tasting it on my turkey Thursday!
Hi Krissy
How many does this recipe serve?
Hi Sandra, Sorry for the late reply. This recipe makes about 3 cups and I figured about 1/4 cup per person, so it should serve 12 (without leftovers).
I just made this and I am so impressed! So much better than canned cranberries. Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to share this with my family tomorrow!
Is it okay if I don’t use pumpkin pie spice ?
Yep!
So I just made this, but I accidentally dumped a 32oz bag of cranberries in instead of the 12 oz. I didn’t notice that until after the fact!! What do I need to do?😔
Hi Jo, So sorry for the late reply – I took a few days off for the holiday. I used more cranberries this year as well, but I just scaled up the other ingredients. You used a little more than 2.5x the amount of cranberries in the recipe, so I would have just increased all the other ingredients 2.5x. Did you do something similar?
Hi Krissy, I’m always in search of a perfect cranberry sauce recipe. I’ve tried so many through the years. Thanks to you, I have finally found my keeper! I made this yesterday and I loved it! By far the best I’ve ever made. It jelled up quickly, not too sweet, not too tart – just perfect. And the Grand Marnier at the end – perfect compliment! My constant search for something different is over. Yay! Thank you!
So glad you liked it! We make it every year too.
Best cranberry sauce ever!
Krissy,
Wow! I’ve made many cranberry sauces for many Thanksgivings. My husband and I (we’ve been married 48 years) think this is the best recipe of all. We loved it! I used Cointreau, as I didn’t have Grand Marnier. But next year, it will be your recipe plus the Grand Marnier!
Thank you!
Eda
Such a great comment! So glad you enjoyed it!