Spiced Cranberry Sauce

It’s time to make your homemade cranberry sauce the centrepiece of your roast dinner! Adding just a few spices will really take your cranberry sauce to the next level.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

The first thing you’ve gotta make sure when serving up cranberry sauce is that it’s homemade. It’s SO easy to make cranberry sauce and the difference between homemade and store bought is crazy.

To make a really basic cranberry sauce, you only need 3 ingredients:

• Cranberries
• Sugar
• Juice

And that’s it! Of course it’s best to add a few more goodies, which we’ll talk about in a sec, but for a basic cranberry it’s just that trio of ingredients. Plus, it’s a super easy process that takes 10mins. 

How to make Cranberry Sauce (quick summary)

1. Add all ingredients into a suitably sized saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and stir to combine.
3. Reduce to a simmer until cranberries pop and the sauce thickens.
4. Grab a spoon and tuck in!

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

There’s quite a few spices that work nicely with cranberry sauce, but here’s my spices of choice:

• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Cayenne Pepper

Cinnamon works so perfectly with the sweetness of the sauce, nutmeg adds a nice bit of festivity and cayenne pepper injects a good bit of heat. Other spices that work great with cranberry sauce are cloves, allspice and ginger.

How do I thicken cranberry sauce?

Cranberries have a lot of natural pectin, so when they burst and mould with the sugar, the sauce will naturally thicken. No need whatsoever for cornflour, gelatin or things like that. 

Can I use frozen cranberries?

Yup, it may just take a little while longer for them to burst and form a sauce.

What juice to use in cranberry sauce?

The classic option is orange juice. I tend to use a 50/50 ratio of orange juice and either water or another juice such as pomegranate or cranberry. I find that using full orange juice turns it too ‘orangey’. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but just not to my taste buds. Each to their own! 

How long does cranberry sauce keep?

As always I’m not the best person to ask this question, because for me it’s good until it grows legs and stalking walking out the fridge. But it’ll definitely keep for a week if covered and left in the fridge.

What to serve cranberry sauce with?

• Herb Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
• One Pan Roast Dinner
• Homemade Pigs in Blankets
• Cranberry Turkey Meatballs

What to do with leftover cranberry sauce?

Brie, Bacon and Cranberry Grilled Cheese anyone?

And breathe.. We made it. That’s all the extra top tips from me, now it’s all down to you! Let’s tuck into the full spiced cranberry sauce recipe shall we?!

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How to make Spiced Cranberry Sauce (Full Recipe & Video)

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

It's time to make your homemade cranberry sauce the centrepiece of your roast dinner. Adding just a few spices will really take your cranberry sauce to the next level!

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Christmas / Roast Dinner / Thanksgiving

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Servings (click & slide): 1 heaped cup

Calories: 80kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost per serving: 50p / 50c

Equipment:

• 1 Medium/Large Pot
• Wooden Spoon

Ingredients (check list):

• 12oz / 350g Fresh Cranberries (see notes)
• 1/2 cup / 100g Brown Sugar (see notes)
• 1/2 cup / 125ml Fresh Orange Juice
• 1/2 cup / 125ml Water or more juice (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper, or to taste (see notes)
• squeeze of Lime Juice
• Salt, to taste

Instructions:

• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Simmer over medium heat until the cranberries pop and the sauce thickens. Taste for seasoning/sweetness/spice and adjust accordingly.

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) Can I use frozen cranberries? - You absolutely can, it may just take a few more minutes for them to pop and form a sauce.

b) How sweet should a cranberry sauce be? - It's completely down to preference. Using 1/2 a cup in the recipe will actually give you quite a tart cranberry sauce, which I prefer. But feel free to adjust to your sweet tooth as necessary.

c) What juice can I use? - I find using all orange juice results in it being a little overpowering, so I tend to use half orange juice and half either water, cranberry juice or pomegranate juice.

d) How spicy will this be? - I love spice, and especially in cranberry sauce. So I actually add a little more than 1/4 tsp. 1/4 tsp will give a good amount of heat, which actually will reduce as the sauce cools down. But if you are at all hesitant please only start with a pinch and work your way up. It's MUCH easier to increase the spice than take it out.

e) How long will this keep? - First of all, definitely make this ahead of time. No need to take up space when trying to juggle the rest of your roast dinner festivities. I'm quite liberal when it comes to leaving this in the fridge, so unless it grows legs and walks out the fridge, I'm gonna eat it. But it will definitely keep for a week if covered up.

f) Calories - Based on a division of 8 people and using 1/2 orange juice and 1/2 water.

Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 80 Calories from Fat 1

% Daily Value*

Fat 0.11g0%

Saturated Fat 0.029g0%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.034g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.016g

Sodium 5mg0%

Potassium 84mg2%

Carbohydrates 20.67g7%

Fiber 2.1g8%

Sugar 16.36g18%

Protein 0.31g1%

Vitamin A 150IU3%

Vitamin C 12.4mg15%

Calcium 20mg2%

Iron 0.2mg1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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