Recipe

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This orange juice cranberry sauce comes together quickly with a few simple ingredients. It’s the one everyone asks for at my Thanksgiving.

It's tart, slightly sweet, and super easy to make. Try this cranberry sauce with orange juice once, and the canned stuff just won't cut it.

overhead view of a bowl of orange cranberry sauce at a table

Cranberry sauce with Orange Juice from Scratch

This recipe has been on my Thanksgiving table since the 90s when my auntie first shared it with me. It's become a staple ever since, right up there with my cornbread dressing; two recipes I’m never mad about leftovers.

I usually make it a couple of days ahead while sipping on a Thanksgiving Margarita, and it stays fresh in the fridge for up to two weeks, which means one less thing to think about the day of.

Ingredients

Four ingredients make up this sauce. You'll need whole fresh cranberries, which I always buy extra and freeze whole to make this sauce a few months later. Orange juice, from a bottle or freshly squeezed, but preferably not from concentrate, for the best flavor. A bit of orange zest from a whole orange adds extra citrus brightness, and granulated sugar, although honey also works here, to balance the tartness of the berries perfectly.

How to Make Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice

If it’s your first time making this recipe, you’ll find a video in the recipe card. Here are some helpful tips in each step:

Make the sauce. Start out with rinsed cranberries. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often to prevent boiling over.
Simmer it until the sauce is thick. It will take about 12 minutes for all the berries to burst and cook down into a thick, preserve-like sauce.
Cool and adjust texture. When it’s ready, let the sauce cool completely. It will continue to thicken as it cools. You can keep it chunky or blend it for a smoother texture.
Store and serve. Transfer the cranberry sauce into serving bowls or a lidded jar, cover it, and refrigerate for up to 14 days.

close up view of the texture of homemade orange cranberry sauce

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Making This Sauce Ahead

This orange cranberry sauce keeps beautifully for up to 14 days in the fridge; it’s practically a preserve, so you can make it well ahead of time, as it tastes even better after a day or two.

Orange Juice Cranberry Sauce

Servings: 12

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 25

This orange juice cranberry sauce comes together quickly with a few simple ingredients. It's the one everyone asks for at my Thanksgiving.

5 from 18 votes

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Watch how it’s made:

Ingredients

12 ounce bag of whole cranberries
1 cup 100% orange juice- not from concentrate
2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
⅓ cup sugar

Instructions

Prep:

Rinse the cranberries.

Make the sauce:

In a medium saucepot, combine the cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, and sugar. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low to prevent it from boiling over, and continue simmering it for 12 minutes while stirring occasionally. Over time, you'll see the cranberries open up and their skin break up, then they'll break down into a thick, preserve-like sauce. Remove the pot from the heat and let the sauce cool to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools.
Keep it as is for a thick cranberry sauce with texture, or blend it until smooth. I like mine somewhere in between, like in the video.

Storage:

Transfer the orange cranberry sauce into a lidded jar or directly into serving bowls. Refrigerate it for up to 14 days. This also means you can make this sauce way in advance.