This easy-to-make fresh Cranberry Sauce recipe with orange makes a delicious homemade fruit sauce with festive spices. The fresh orange juice and the flavour from the zest cuts through the tartness of the cranberries to give you a sublime sauce to go with all kinds of nut roasts, sandwiches, buns and salads.
This recipe uses 5 simple ingredients and is ready in half an hour. It uses fresh fruit and the instructions include some suggestions for one or two variations to keep it special. Be adventurous, and make your own fresh Cranberry Sauce with orange – you’ll be so pleased that you did!
As November edges slowly into December fresh cranberries begin to appear in the shops once more. These vibrant red berries are a regular powerhouse of antioxidants and other valuable health-enhancing properties. I confess I love them most for their flavour.
I’m a great believer in homemade food and although there isn’t always the time to make everything from scratch this homemade sauce is absolutely worth the effort.
Cranberry sauce adds so much extra decadent, fruitiness to any roast meal. I’m thinking of nut roasts, and lentil roast and it is also lovely included in a cheese sandwich instead of a pickle. What are your favourite ways to use Cranberry sauce?
Features of this fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe with orange
Flavour – a slightly sweet, deep fruity flavour of the cranberries with that dry tartness that they have. A hint of orange from the use of orange juice and zest plus the added richness of the spices; cinnamon and ginger.
Texture – Once the fruit has cooked and cooled it has a fairly loose texture which makes it more like a jelly than a jam. It makes the perfect side dish for any roast meal.
Difficulty – This recipe is pretty simple and doesn’t involve any unusual equipment or cooking techniques. If you can measure a few things into a saucepan and cook the contents until they’ve reduced, you can do this. Therefore, I believe that this recipe is suitable for beginners.
Cranberry Sauce recipe Ingredients
- Cranberries – Gorgeously deep red fruit that is quite tart and dry tasting. Fresh or frozen berries work well in this recipe. Cooked and sweetened they add a nice tartness that complements many foods brilliantly.
- Orange Juice and zest – to add flavour and a little citrussy sweetness to the sauce. It cuts through the tartness of the fresh cranberries so that the sauce doesn’t need heaps of sugar or maple syrup to be palatable. So, if you ever wondered how to get the bitterness out of Cranberry sauce, this is how you do it.
- Sugar – to add sweetness. Cranberries need sweetening they are far too astringent otherwise. You can adjust the amount to taste, so do sample it as you cook to make sure that it suits your personal tastes.
- Cinnamon and Ginger – add a little spicy, aromatic flavour.
How to make Cranberry Sauce with orange
This fresh fruit sauce doesn’t take very long to make, smells delicious and tastes far superior to the Cranberry sauce you buy ready-made in a jar. If you’re going to the trouble of making something then that’s good to know.
Variations
- reduce the sugar – modify the amount of sugar in the recipe to suit your own taste.
- make it boozy – add alcohol such as Grand Marnier or port. Two tablespoons will absolutely do the job. Makes it quite rich with a bit of a kick.
- omit the spices – It would be a shame to leave these Christmassy spices out of the recipe but if you don’t like these flavours then leave them out and enjoy your orange-flavoured Cranberry Sauce.
Uses for this fruity sauce?
I suppose that Cranberry sauce is mainly associated with Christmas-style roast dinners but you’d be surprised how many other uses it has. Here are a few of our ideas.
- Cranberries go particularly well with apples, chocolate, cinnamon, pears and all things citrus.
- They add a fresh note to roast-style dinners that can really enhance all the flavours of nut roasts and roasted vegetables.
- Ladle it onto fresh crusty bread and team it up with cheese. It’s amazing and quite sublime with brie.
How to store Cranberry Sauce
So now you have your delicious Cranberry sauce how do you store it. All you need to do is to store it in a sealed container… something like a jam jar with a lid or other food storage container that seals… and pop it into the refrigerator. It will last happily for up to 7 days this way.
Can I freeze Cranberry Sauce?
If you wish to store your Cranberry sauce for longer then the best thing to do is to freeze it. Cranberry Sauce freezes really successfully. To do so, put it in a freezer-safe container that allows a little bit of space for expansion during freezing and pop it into your freezer.
Cranberry Sauce will be happy in the freezer for up to 2 months. To defrost it, take it out of the freezer and let it defrost in the fridge overnight. You may then use it as if it was freshly made.
F.A.Q’s
My Cranberry sauce is too thin – what can I do about that?
The best thing to do about a Cranberry sauce which is too thin is to cook it for a little longer. As the berries cook and break down (you’ll hear the popping noise as they do so) they release pectin and it is this that thickens the sauce. The sauce also thickens as it cools down. Another solution is to thicken it a little using cornflour.
Can I add alcohol to this Cranberry sauce to make it a little more festive?
Yes, you abosolutely can add a little alochol to this sauce. Add the alcohol right at the beginning of the cooking process. The alcohol cooks off as the berries cook down leaving only the flavour behind. Try a tablespoon of Grand Marnier which goes perfectly with the orange flavours. Brandy and Port are other possibilities.
How do I know my Cranberry sauce is done?
As the cranberries cook, you will hear a popping sound. This is the berries realising pectin into the pan. This is what will thicken the Cranberry sauce. Your sauce is done when all the berries have popped and you can no longer see individual berries. This should take about 15 minutes, 20 minutes at the very most as long as you cook it at a simmer.
If you like this then you might like…..
Other dips and spreads
- vegan cream cheese (tofu based)
- homemade hummus
- homemade chocolate and hazelnut spread (like nutella)
Other Christmas recipes
Get in Touch … We’d love to meet you
If you like what you’ve read here, why not follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram
Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe with Orange
Equipment
- saucepan, measuring equipment, spatulas
Ingredients
- 3 cups cranberries washed
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 orange medium, zest and juice
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Wash the cranberries and put into a medium sized saucepan.
- Remove the zest from the orange and add that to the pan. Squeeze the juice into a measuring cup and make up the volume to approximately 60 millilitres (1/2 cup) and add this to the saucepan too.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer.
- Stir from time to time. You will hear the berries pop as they begin to cook.
- Cook for approximately fifteen minutes until it turns into a thick sauce and it is no longer possible to make out individual berry shapes.
- If the sauce becomes too dry before this happens just add a little water to loosen it and continue to cook until you have a sauce in a consistency you like.
- Check for sweetness, some berries are more tart than others. If they don't seem sweet enough for you, add a little more sugar. Go cautiously, add only a 1/2 teaspoon at a time and taste again. It isn't supposed to be as sweet as jam. It needs to have that tart, dryness to be a good Cranberry sauce.
- Take off the heat and allow to cool. Remove the cinnamon stick and store in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.
Notes
- reduce the sugar – modify the amount of sugar in the recipe to suit your own taste.
- make it boozy – add alcohol such as Grand Marnier or port. Two tablespoons will absolutely do the job. Makes it quite rich with a bit of a kick.
- omit the spices – It would be a shame to leave these christmassy spices out of the recipe but if you don’t like these flavours then leave them out.
Nutrition
Why not pin this Fresh Cranberry Sauce Recipe with Orange for later?
Leave a Reply