Basic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Some things go hand-in-hand, like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, and, one of our favorites — cranberry sauce and Thanksgiving. Where did this tradition come from? Cranberry sauce has graced Thanksgiving tables for many, many years, and the dish provides some much-appreciated sweetness amongst a sea of savory foods.

Wellness coach Miriam Hahn is the brains behind this recipe and tells us, "Making homemade cranberry sauce is super easy and far superior than the canned type you often see cut into slices." Hahn goes on to say, "There are so many health benefits of cranberries and I love this time of year when the bags of fresh cranberries are plentiful. Since they have a long shelf life, I buy several bags and pop in fresh cranberries to my daily smoothie." Cranberry sauce goes great with turkey (obviously), but it is also a great topper for oatmeal, toast, or yogurt. Who would have thought we could use cranberries for so many other things?

If you love a short ingredient list, we are going to make your day. To make this recipe you will need one bag of fresh cranberries, sugar, water, and an orange. Pretty simple right? "Cranberries are very tart, so you need quite a bit of sugar to sweeten them up," Hahn explains. "If you are trying to reduce your sugar intake, you can get away with adding half the amount and still enjoy this wonderful Thanksgiving treat."

We're going to start by adding the sugar and water to a small pot and bringing this mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 more minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, at which point you can add in the cranberries. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. The cranberries will start to break down at this point and you can give them a little help with a potato masher or wooden mallet.

The cranberries will start to break down at this point and you can give them a little help with a potato masher or wooden mallet. Hahn says, "You still want a chunky mixture so no need to over-mash."

When the cranberries have been cooking for 15 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest. This will give our cranberry sauce some fresh citrus flavor and the fragrant smell will make you happy you went the homemade route.

Then to put the sauce in a glass container with an air-tight seal and refrigerate for at least an hour so it can thicken. It's a nice touch to add some extra orange zest before serving. Hahn says you can make this cranberry sauce up to 5 days in advance of the big day and leftovers should be kept in a sealed container.