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Will you trust me if I ask you to branch out a little in your Thanksgiving Day meal? It won’t be painful, I promise, and it will be delicious.
Do NOT buy a can of cranberry sauce to serve with your turkey. Instead, buy a bag of fresh cranberries, and make my favorite sauce, which is a sweet, spiced version. It takes all of 15 minutes to make it, so don’t even think of using lack of time as an excuse!
I’ve experimented with dozens of versions of cranberry sauce over the years – with Port, with Grand Marnier, with blueberries, with cherries, with raisins and nuts, making it a chutney, with sour cream and onions – even doing a cranberry sauce taste test with three different versions a few years in a row. While the taste tests were certainly fun and delicious, it soon became clear that everyone kept reaching for the same dish repeatedly, year after year.
This is the hands-down most requested recipe. If you make it today or this weekend, the flavors will meld by Thursday, which is important.
Put down that can. You can do better!
Recipe: Best Ever Cranberry Sauce – Hall of Fame version
The best cranberry sauce ever! Winner in countless taste tests over the years, this is my most-requested version. Don’t show up to Thanksgiving dinner without it, and make this a week ahead of your big dinner, for best flavor.
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
- Zest of 1 orange (orange part only)
In a large, heavy saucepan, add sugar, water and spices and cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves, syrup is clear and comes to a rolling boil, about 3 minutes. In a colander, rinse and pick over the cranberries to remove any mushy ones. Add cranberries to boiling syrup and continue cooking, uncovered, just until they begin to pop, about 2-3 minutes (set the timer). Be careful not to cook them too long or they will get mushy.
Remove from heat, stir in orange zest and cool to room temperature, uncovered. Ladle into clean jars or plastic containers, label and refrigerate until serving time.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups sauce, enough to serve 6-8.
Cook’s trick: Make two batches and stick one jar of it in the back of the refrigerator, to be discovered two months later. It will be an utterly delicious cook’s treasure!
Other recipes for your Thanksgiving feast
Welcome to my kitchen, where the oven is always on, and the fridge is packed with delectables! 
[...] pies to bring to my sister-in-law’s (one pumpkin pie already consumed by children….); a cranberry chutney that promises to be awesome, some buns, and two cans of olives that we can wear on our [...]
I just made it. Hopefully the flavors will meld enough by Thursday! I’m very excited. I found I love cranberry sauce! Who knew. BTW, I only boiled the berries for a 2:10. Is that enough? I just heard a few pops but wanted it to be al dente, so to speak. The berries were still whole and round (Did I cook them enough? Do they break down and get mushier in the frig?). Anyway, the suspense was killing me so I mashed some up. Was that ok??? It looks good, now, but I don’t know how they would have come together after a couple of days in the frig. Thanks. They taste great, already.
Alizabeth,
Give it a taste. If you like the berries as is, leave it. If you think they are not cooked enough, put it back on the stove and boil for another minute. No need to mash them, but since you did already, that’s OK. Just for next time. But truly, anything you want to do to this sauce will be fine.
Thanks, Dorothy. It tastes delicious! I can’t wait. I guess the berries just soak in the sugar and spices and orange and don’t need to cook all that much. Delicious. thank you so much.
Every other recipe asks to boil for ten minutes or more. Why is that do you think???
P.S. Happy thanks giving.
Alizabeth,
The long boiling called for in other recipes means the berries will break down completely, and you’ll have pretty much a mushy cranberry sauce like the consistency you get from canned sauce. This recipe wants the berries just popped, so the skin is just broken, which allows the sugar syrup to penetrate and infuse it. But if you prefer the mushier consistency, you can certainly cook it longer. So glad you like the flavor! I like to have this on hand all year long for roast chicken, etc. It’s good with EVERYTHING!
i KNEW you would have a good cranberry recipe! i am going to go make it right now for Thanksgiving… will keep you posted.
ps. i’ve done the brandy/ cranberry for years and it never seems to be that big of a hit ! xo
Beautiful photo!!! This is very similar to my traditional sauce – like you I am always experimenting – this year added dried sour cherries, tangerine juice and port to the sauce.
Excellent advice as well, there is no reason NOT to make this sauce!!
You cooks trick just reminded me of something. I froze a batch of cranberry sauce LAST year and it’s still in the freezer. It can’t still be good can it? GREG
Ok Dorothy…I am going to trust you this week and put down the can and try it fresh…I’ll let you know.
…And thank you for all the joy you bring my kitchen. Happy Thanksgiving
Oh Nena, once you make your own cranberry sauce, you will never go back to the can! I promise!
You are so right!!!….364 days later I am looking for this recipe – Again, Happy Thanksgiving 2011
[...] Hall of Fame Cranberry Sauce Shockingly Delicious [...]