A Burst of Flavor: Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Thanksgiving would not be complete without sweet, tangy cranberry sauce. Here’s an easy recipe for this seasonal treat. The cranberry sauce you make yourself will delight you and your family, being from a way tastier universe than any store-bought version.

We have combined dozens of online cranberry sauce recipes for this quick cooking, simple creation. Your guests may think you worked all day, when in fact it was done in 15 minutes.

Here’s your recipe for this special cranberry sauce:

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cranberries (the amount in a 12-ounce package)

  • ¾ cup water

  • ½ cup sugar of your choice (less processed, unbleached sugar works well)

  • ½ cup agave nectar (cuts though the tartness of the cranberries)

  • 1 orange –zest the peel and juice the orange

  • ½ cup dried fruit – raisins or apricots are excellent, but use the dried fruit of your choice

  • ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Steps

Boil the water with ¼ cup of the fresh squeezed orange juice (1 cup of liquid total). When it boils, add the cranberries and stir. If the cranberries are very fresh, you will hear them pop. Otherwise, they will just get soft and start to lose their shape.

You can hasten the berry breakdown by pressing them against the side of the pot with the spoon you are using to stir. Immediately add the sugar and agave nectar and stir to dissolve. Simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the dried fruit, orange zest, and spices and stir. Simmer five to ten more minutes, stirring occasionally. Closer to ten minutes will make the sauce thicker. Remove from heat.

You can eat this warm, but it will thicken as it cools (take that into account in determining cooking time).

You can easily double this recipe, as it will go fast once it’s served. No reason to limit your enjoyment of cranberries to only Thanksgiving! You can use frozen cranberries, if fresh ones are not in season.

If you’re in San Diego, you can easily find more foods to pair your cranberry sauce with. Plant Based Meals is a meal prep company offering delicious whole-food, plant-based choices every week (including a special menu for Thanksgiving). Your food is delivered fresh, never frozen, for outstanding taste and maximum nutrition. Their tempting selection of meals changes weekly. Eating whole food, plant-based has never been more convenient.

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Post written by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. She is a nutrition educator, author, and speaker.

This is an educational article and does not provide medical advice. Results cannot be guaranteed, and may vary from person to person.

PBM