Cranberry Sauce Tangy Sweet (Printable)

Vibrant cranberry sauce with fresh berries, citrus, and warm spices, perfect as a flavorful meal accompaniment.

# What You Need:

→ Fruit

01 - 12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries

→ Sweetener

02 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar

→ Liquid

03 - 1/2 cup water

→ Citrus

04 - Zest and juice of 1 medium orange

→ Optional additions

05 - 1 small cinnamon stick
06 - Pinch of salt

# How to Make It:

01 - Rinse cranberries, removing any soft or damaged ones.
02 - In a medium saucepan, mix water, sugar, orange juice, and zest until sugar dissolves.
03 - Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
04 - Add cranberries, cinnamon stick if using, and a pinch of salt to the boiling liquid.
05 - Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until cranberries burst and sauce thickens.
06 - Remove from heat, discard cinnamon stick, and let sauce cool to room temperature. Sauce will thicken further as it cools.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It comes together in twenty minutes, so you can skip the stress and make it the morning of dinner.
  • You get to taste that exact moment when the cranberries burst and everything turns glossy and thick.
  • It's naturally vegan and gluten-free, which means nobody has to sit it out.
02 -
  • The sauce will look too thin when it's hot—trust me, it thickens significantly as it cools to room temperature. This is the most common reason people think they did something wrong.
  • Tasting as you build the base (before the berries go in) is the only time you can adjust sweetness easily. Once the berries are in, it's harder to correct.
03 -
  • If you don't have fresh cranberries, frozen works beautifully—don't thaw them first because they'll hold their structure better as they cook.
  • The moment those cranberries burst and the sauce suddenly turns glossy is not just when you know it's ready; it's the actual magic of the dish happening in real time.

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