You don’t need a fancy cranberry sauce recipe. My mother’s Thanksgiving dinner is the stuff of legend. Seriously, it’s the talk of the Dallas Indian aunty community during the holidays. It’s probably because my mom takes the meal very seriously, pulling out all her greatest hits: matar paneer stewed in a heady tomato gravy, sweet and tangy fenugreek-coated butternut squash, smoky roasted aloo gobhi, and puffs of puri, an Indian fry bread.
While there isn’t a Thanksgiving turkey in sight, the somewhat curious mainstay on our Thanksgiving table is the bowl of unadorned, burgundy-red cranberry sauce. We’re not talking the canned stuff—this is homemade cranberry sauce, and it’s probably the least elaborate dish on the table.
How did it get there? A few years ago, my mom was looking for a festive, seasonal, chutney-like condiment to add to her roster of Thanksgiving recipes—something to counterbalance all those spice-heavy dishes. Then she remembered the first time she tasted fresh cranberry sauce at a family friend’s place: Sweet, sour, good on everything. It was kind of like...well, chutney. So she bought a bag of frozen cranberries and followed the instructions on the back. The recipe was stupidly simple: white sugar, cranberries, and water. It was an instant hit, and now we can’t have Thanksgiving without it. Over the years she’s taken a few liberties, but my Mom’s easy cranberry sauce recipe requires minimal prep time: She uses less sugar than the original (my family loves the pucker-inducing tang) and stirs in a bit of orange zest for zip. That’s it!
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How to make classic cranberry sauce:
Total time: 10 minutes plus cooling
What you’ll need:
- 1 12-oz. bag cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp. orange zest
- Kosher salt
- 1–2 Tbsp. orange liqueur (such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier; optional)
What to do:
- Combine one 12-oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries (no need to thaw them if frozen), ¾ cup sugar (you can replace some or all of the white sugar with brown sugar for a deeper, more caramelly flavor), 1 Tbsp. orange zest, a pinch of kosher salt, and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan. If you’re feeling frisky, add 1–2 Tbsp. orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the cranberries start to pop and get soft and jammy—they should easily coat the back of the spoon—stirring frequently so nothing sticks and burns at the bottom. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature (or refrigerate if you like it cold; dealer’s choice).
You don’t need to add any thickener—as they pop, the cranberries release their natural pectin, and as the sauce cools, it gels into the texture you know. In my family, it has to be this basic version. I’ve tasted all the gussied-up cranberry relishes, sauces, competes, and more, with various spices, infusions, and toppings. But to us, this simple, easy recipe is best. Put the rosemary and chile flakes on the vegetables and that fancy maple syrup–pecan topping on the pie. The best cranberry sauce requires no dressing up. And while you could certainly replace the water with fresh orange juice, apple cider, or some other flavorful liquid, I’ve found that opting for anything more than H₂O dulls that bright cranberry flavor we love so much. As for canned cranberry sauce...it’s gonna be a “no“ from me, thanks.
You can definitely make this cranberry sauce ahead of time. Store the cooled sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days pre-Thanksgiving or 5 days post-Thanksgiving (and, honestly, it’ll probably be fine for a lot longer). As for what to do with any leftover cranberry sauce: Using it as a spread for your day-after turkey sandwich seems a natural fit, but I did say it goes great with everything, didn’t I?