When I was a kid, I always looked forward to the sweet and tart flavor of cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving dinner. In my littlest years, before I could even reach the counter, we would always go to my great aunt’s house. I have such vivid memories of the cranberry sauce adding sweet to the salty of the meal, and I loved making a turkey sandwich with the dinner roll and globs of tangy cranberry sauce. Though I loved cranberry sauce, not all sauces were created equal. Even as a kid, I knew that cranberry sauce should actually have cranberries in it, and I was always a little off put by the jello-like cylinder that would sometimes get plopped on a plate. Fortunately, my great aunt could make a mean cranberry sauce, and she is the inspiration for this recipe.
The good news is that the hubs and I have mastered a perfectly cooked, juicy, flavorful turkey that can stand alone without any coverup. The better news? This cranberry sauce is like icing on the cake. It takes minutes to prepare. It can be made a full week in advance. And your family will be pumped at a bowl of freshly made, nutrient dense cranberry sauce to top off a perfect holiday meal. I am challenging you to make this year’s meal from scratch and to join the anti-can movement. No matter what you’re making (from pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce to gravy or green beans), fresh ingredients will truly make a memorable meal and leave everyone around that table with so much to be thankful for.
Anti-Can Cranberry Sauce
WHAT YOU NEED:
- 12 oz of fresh organic cranberries
- 1/2 cup organic fresh orange juice (note: this Christmas I tried with apple juice and they were delicious!)
- 1/2 cup raw organic honey (we love Beekeeper’s Naturals)
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
WHAT YOU DO:
- mix all ingredients together in a saucepan over medium-high heat
- bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, and simmer until the berries begin to break open and the liquid cooks down (about 20 minutes)
- smoosh cranberries until you have the texture you love
- remove from heat and transfer to a glass tupperware to cool all the way
- cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight (or even a couple nights in advance)
- stir it up, move to a nice serving bowl, and ENJOY!
*you can make this a week in advance to save some steps on Thanksgiving!
Leftovers? Give my cranberry sauce scones a try! Happy holidays, friends!
I love cranberries! I just made some Cacao Cranberry Crunchy bars, but the sauce sounds like a good use for them too! It isn’t popular here in NZ, so might be interesting to give it a try!
Those sound delicious! I’ll also be posting a cranberry scone recipe soon using leftover cranberry sauce. Enjoy!
Oh yum! Thank you!