Homemade Maple Cranberry Sauce

A serving dish of cranberry sauce with a spoon digging in.

Homemade Maple Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce takes all of 15 minutes & 5 simple ingredients to make, and it kicks the canned stuff to the curb! It's the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and it's and flavored with a little maple syrup, allspice, and orange zest. You'll want to eat this fresh cranberry sauce straight out of the bowl with a spoon - it's THAT good!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce, Easy Thanksgiving Side Dish, Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes, Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Servings servings

Calories 134kcal

Author Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries If using frozen, do not thaw
1 cinnamon stick optional
2 tsp bourbon Omit if needed
2 tsp orange zest adjust to taste
2 tsp orange juice adjust to taste
1 pinch allspice adjust to taste

Instructions

Make the Cranberry Sauce: Rinse your cranberries.
Add the water, maple syrup, and sugar to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved (this will only take a 1-2 minutes). Once the sugar is dissolved, lower the heat to a simmer (low heat) and add the cranberries and a cinnamon stick. Bring the mixture to a boil again, and then reduce the heat to a simmer over medium low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are mostly broken down and thickened - about 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick, and taste to see how much more spice it may need before you add anything else.
Next, stir in your mix ins! Taste, and adjust as desired.
Serve + Store: The sauce will thicken a bit more as it cools but it's technically ready to eat once your mix-ins have been stirred in!
Store leftovers tightly covered in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Make Ahead Tips: Cranberry Sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the fridge. Gently reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop when ready to serve.
Yield: 1.25 cups or about 6 servings, assuming people are adding a dollop to their plates at thanksgiving.
Troubleshooting Tips: If your cranberry sauce hasn't cooked down or thickened by the end of the 10 minute cook time, never fear - you probably didn't let the mixture come to a boil before simmering for the 10 minutes. It's easily fixed! Turn the heat back up a bit until the mixture just starts to boil, then reduce back to a simmer and continue cooking until the cranberries break down and thicken up more.

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