Last updated on June 25th, 2018 at 08:42 pm
World’s Best Cranberry Sauce – Your Thanksgiving table is not complete without this cranberry sauce made from scratch. A hint of nutmeg, lots of orange zest and a bit of vanilla complete this incredible cranberry sauce.
Perhaps it may be a bit presumptuous of me to name this recipe world’s best cranberry sauce, but it wasn’t me that decided upon this name but everyone who has tried this recipe, so that name stuck. And trust me when I say that it is incredibly delicious, and I’m not usually a fan of cranberry sauce, but I can’t stop eating this one. Neither could hubs, and he couldn’t stop boasting about how good it was.
As I said, not a big fan of cranberries here whereas my husband can eat them raw right out of the bag. I simply can’t understand that, I need lots of sugar on my cranberries before I can eat them. For example, I love sugared cranberries, or I love this cranberry sauce but could never eat them raw because of their tartness.
This cranberry sauce is extremely simple to make and it’s made with ingredients you probably have in your pantry right now. We’re talking sugar, you need lots of sugar to balance out the tartness of the cranberries, orange juice, because I just love the combination of cranberries with orange juice and lots of orange zest. I also added a pinch of nutmeg, because it’s the holidays and nutmeg is a must in almost anything, plus it adds that nice nuttiness to the sauce. Then the last ingredient I added which was almost an afterthought was a bit of vanilla extract, but gives the sauce that homey vanilla smell which again smells like the holidays for me.
You cook this on medium heat for about 10 minutes, and at the end you end up with the perfect cranberry sauce. Of course other ingredients can be added like some chopped pecans, which I have done before and it was really nice, you can also add some raisins or other spices like cinnamon. However, this is my basic cranberry sauce which you can’t go wrong with. It really is delicious and a must on every Thanksgiving table.
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
Your Thanksgiving table is not complete without this cranberry sauce made from scratch. A hint of nutmeg, lots of orange zest and a bit of vanilla complete this incredible cranberry sauce.
- 12 oz cranberries (1 bag), rinsed
- 1/2 cup orange juice store bought or freshly squeezed
- 3/4 cup sugar granulated
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg ground
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp orange zest
Add all the ingredients to a smaller pot and stir to combine. Turn the heat to a medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Reduce the heat to a medium and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You will notice the cranberries will burst as they cook.
Let cool completely at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Video
Store the cranberry sauce in a bowl wrapped with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Please note the sauce will thicken as it cools.
Other optional ingredients to add to the sauce are pecans, raisins, cinnamon.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
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Dear Jo,
I love your recipes, each one I have made has been a total successful in my family! 🙂
I love the way you explain everything, your recipes are so clear and so foolproof that it is impossible for me to think they will go wrong! Thanks for the confidence!!!
Now I would like to ask you a question… I made recently a pork loin stuffed with dried cranberries and it seems that I waited too much to be cooked in the oven, although I followed the recipe exactly, as I usually do, the first time I make it, I see it was wrong…
The thing is that it came too overcooked for our taste, and a bit dry and tough. Now, I cut it and kept it frozen and wait to see hoe tendereize it a bit before serving it to my family this week-end…
I am thinking about cooking it in this sauce, once defrosted the noght before in the fridge, but I don’t know if it will taste toooooo muuuuuch to cranberries 🙂
Do you think I could improve the slices a bit, trying to make it tender letting it simmer in a more a neutral sauce or some kind of marinate that “breaks” a bit the fibres in the cooked meat?
Please, let me know. Your sauce could be delicious in my stuffed pork loin but I need to tenderize it first…
Can you please help me?
Thanks and a big kiss from Barcelona!
Sílvia. [email protected]
That’s probably the best way to revive dry pork is to cut it up and use it in something like stir fry or fried rice. Cooking it in this sauce will definitely flavor it and might save it a bit. 🙂