Easy Cranberry Orange Sauce
Skip the canned cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving and make this easy cranberry orange sauce instead. Not only it is scrumptious, but also there is no refined sugar added! You can feel the comfort in your tummy, celebrate the season of gratitude and totally use what the nature gives you in this recipe.
Sweetener 1. Using Maple Syrup Instead of Refined Sugar.
Please, note that when I talk about maple syrup, I mean the real maple syrup. I understand that it does cost more than the artificial one. However, one bottle of a maple syrup can last a while. Moreover, the artificial maple syrup is basically harmful ingredients like corn syrup and caramel color. Read more about real VS fake maple syrup here. Ultimately, you can adjust however you’d like in your kitchen.
Sweetener 2: Fresh Orange Juice
The little pulp in the juice helps your cranberry orange sauce thicken faster. And while the juice gives you the freshness flavor, the zest add the fragrance to the sauce. It is a very good use of a fresh orange in my opinion. In this recipe, I used juice from 2 oranges or 1 cup. It seems like a lot but remember that at least it is not a refined sugar. The sauce can be used in many dishes besides turkey. I hope the fact that you won’t be eating the whole jar of cranberry sauce by yourself will some what ease your mind about the sugar intake. However, I must say that I actually was tempted to just eat it all in one setting lol! Lastly,I want to remind you to wash your oranges well before using. Zesting the orange skin before juicing it will make less of a mess in your kitchen too.
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How to Store Cranberry Sauce and How Long Does Cranberry Sauce Last?
Option 1: Keep the cranberry orange sauce in an airtight container such as a Mason jar and refrigerated up to 2 weeks. In fact, the cranberry orange sauce taste better cold or after being refrigerated overnight or a week in advance. Therefore, you can totally make it way before your party start and less work on the day of the party!
Option 2: Keep it in an airtight container or a freezer safe bag. I recommend that you vacuum seal it so that it can last up to a year. Otherwise, try to finish it within a month to still be able to taste all the freshness and deliciousness! However, frozen cranberry sauce last up to a year. Simply thaw it in the fridge overnight and consume it the next day.
What I love about this recipe.
Of course, my number one reason is that it has no refined sugar as I mentioned above. Also, this is a no fuss recipe and no fancy kitchen gadget required recipe. If you have a stove, pot, and the ingredients above, you can make the best cranberry orange sauce from your kitchen! Lastly, there are only a few steps to this recipes and these main steps are mix, simmer, and stir occasionally. The cooking time is less than 15 minutes!
Again, I hope I didn’t miss any important tips for you before heading to the recipe card. If I did, feel free to comment or contact me. I’m always opened to hear your opinion on how to improve my recipes and contents. I will also come back here to add more recipes that you can utilize this cranberry orange sauce. But until then, let’s head to the recipe card.
Easy Cranberry Orange Sauce
Equipment
- 1 pot or a wok or cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 12 oz cranberries Fresh or Frozen (1 bag)
- 1 cup orange juice About 2 oranges
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
- 1 cinnamon stick or a dash of cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Wash the oranges really well. Dry the oranges, zest, and juice them.
- Mix the orange juice with maple syrup. Add the cinnamon stick to the pot. Simmer using medium heat 1-2 minutes.
- Add the cranberries to the pot and stir occasionally to make sure the sauce won't stick to the pan and burn. The cranberries will pop, breakdown, and thicken into a sauce or jam (about 8 – 10 minutes)
- Add the orange zest and transfer to an airtight container. Keep refrigerated.
Loved this recipe! I added a little lemon juice and had to use ground cinnamon but this was delicious!
Yay! So good to hear that and the lemon juice sounds even better. Happy Thanksgiving!