Cranberry Sauce

Easy to follow, step-by-step, photo illustrated instructions show you how to make Cranberry Sauce from scratch. We used fresh berries. Printable recipe included.

Old Fashioned Cranberry Sauce, made from fresh cranberries.

I admit it. I love the cheap, canned style of Cranberry Sauce that I expect to be on the dinner table each Thanksgiving Day. Is it just me?

When Mama was no longer with us to prepare Thanksgiving meals, the family started going to my older brother’s house for the holidays. We’ve continued to do so for many years now.

I might be guilty though of carrying a can or two of Cranberry Sauce with me, just to make sure we have it, or have enough of it, to go along with the Turkey, Dressing, and Gravy that always is served for Thanksgiving Day meals. To me, it’s a required part of the meal. Smile.

So, having said that, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that I only recently tried this homemade version of Cranberry Sauce. I have no memory of Mama ever making this during my younger years.

Readers of my Newsletter know that I experienced a severe bout of Vertigo during most of the middle of 2018. It wasn’t any fun, and I’m thankful it finally decided to move on.

During that time however, I often reverted back to having frozen TV style dinners. I’d given them up for years since I’d been posting recipes here on Taste of Southern. But, health issues made it much easier to throw a frozen meal in the microwave than to try to cook something on my on.

One of those meals was a Turkey with Dressing and Gravy meal, that included a small portion of Cranberry Sauce that was made with Cranberries as opposed to my favorite canned version. It was sweet and it was tart, but I liked it.

So, I decided that it was time to cook up a batch here at home since Thanksgiving is just a few days away. It was so easy to make, and this too was both sweet and tart. And, I liked it. Smile.

This is so basic. Just fresh cranberries, sugar, and water. But, you could also use frozen berries if you can’t find fresh one’s.

You’ll find versions that call for lemon or orange zest and juice, cinnamon, and other spices, but this is a good way to start. I hope you’ll give it a try, and I hope you’ll like it.

I’m thinking I’ll prepare another batch for the Thanksgiving meal with my family so they can try it too.

Ready to give it a try? Alright then, let’s head out to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking!

Cranberry Sauce Recipe – You’ll need these two ingredients, plus some water.

Start by placing the water and the sugar in a medium sized sauce pot.

Place this over Medium heat on your stove top. Stir to dissolve the sugar as it heats up.

While the sugar is dissolving, sort through the berries to remove any bad one’s that might be in the bag, especially any soft one’s.

Wash the cranberries under cold running water, then let them drain.

Stir the sugar well until it’s fully dissolved.

Add the cranberries to the water and sugar.

Bring the berries up to a low boil, stirring often.

You’ll start hearing the cranberries “pop” as they get hot. They don’t splatter, but you do need to stir them often so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

Let the berries simmer just below Medium heat for about 30-40 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. The sauce is done when it reaches the consistency that you prefer. It will thicken a bit more once it begins to cool off the heat.

Enjoy!

Serve it warm, or serve it cold. I prefer it cold, but hey, that’s just me. Smile.