Look no further for the Best Ever Cranberry Sauce! This easy and delightful recipe takes only 15 minutes to make and a handful of ingredients! Spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with orange juice, it is the best combination of sweet and tart! The perfect complement to your holiday meal!
Recipe by Trish - Mom On Timeout on November 10, 2025
Prep time: PT1M
Cook time: PT10M
Total time: PT11M
Rating
4.97 stars (484 reviews)
Keywords
cranberry sauce
Ingredients
¾ cup sugar
½ cup orange juice
½ cup water
12 oz fresh cranberries (rinsed and picked through)
pinch of salt
1 cinnamon stick
1 piece of orange peel (just use a potato peel or paring knife)
Categories
Side
Cuisine
American
Steps
Combine sugar, orange juice, and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine.
Add cranberries, salt, cinnamon stick and orange peel.
Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently.
Continue cooking, for about 10 minutes, or until all or most of the cranberries have popped. I like to leave a handful of berries whole.
Let cool for at least 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 100 kcal
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Sodium: 2 mg
Sugar: 21 g
Reviews
A C on 2025-11-20 (5 stars): Family and self love this. Great sweet and tart cranberry sauce. Slight orange flavor. Great
Stacy on 2025-11-19 (5 stars): My first time making homemade cranberry sauce and it was soooo good! Only tiny tweak I did was add about a tablespoon of light brown sugar. I used a potato masher and did a rough smash! Thanks for sharing! Definitely making again!
Jeff on 2024-11-27 (5 stars): So easy, I used fresh squeezed for one patch and orange juice on the second, The Second patch won best flavor.
Kim on 2024-11-26 (5 stars): I have made this recipe every year for the last four years or so. It's so easy, and so good! My husband will ask for it randomly throughout the year and will buy me cranberries for the freezer when they're on sale. I like making it two days before Thanksgiving, it's perfectly thick and the flavor is on point.
Kylie on 2024-11-26 (5 stars): I've made this for the past 5 years. Grandma asks for it every year. I do a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and always end up adding a bit more sugar to my liking 👍
Ann on 2024-11-26 (5 stars): Delicious!
Amy on 2024-11-26 (5 stars): Love this recipe!! Easy and delicious! This is my 4th year making it. I doubled the recipe. Used 5 naval oranges because I like a bit more and I drink the extra. 😉. It is plenty thick after sitting for 30 minutes. First rule of cooking with a sugar syrup…IT THICKENS ON ITS OWN!! lol
