Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice
This easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice is ready in just 20 minutes. It's chunky, fragrant, and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise. Serve it warm or chilled alongside turkey, ham, roast pork, or your favorite Thanksgiving sides.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 pear, finely diced
- 1 orange - pulp, finely diced
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 whole cloves, finely ground (or a small pinch of ground cloves)
- ½ cup dried apricots chopped (or other dried fruit - cherries, prunes, etc.)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¾ cup walnuts, chopped
- 2 TBSP brandy
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 large star anise
Instructions
- Zest the orange and lemon. Juice 1–2 oranges to obtain ½ cup of fresh orange juice, then scoop out the pulp from the oranges you juiced and finely dice it. Dice the pear, chop the apricots (or dried fruit), and the walnuts so they are easy to distribute throughout the sauce.If you are using fresh cranberries, rinse them and remove any soft or damaged berries.
- Combine the orange juice, water, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the cranberries, pear, orange pulp, dried fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and star anise. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often. The cranberries will begin to pop as they cook, releasing their juices and turning the mixture into a thick, chunky sauce. The pear and orange pieces should soften while still retaining some texture. Watch the saucepan closely toward the end of cooking. You want the sauce thick, but not dry.
- When the sauce is done, remove the pan from the heat and take out the star anise. Stir in the walnuts, fresh orange and lemon zest, brandy, and vanilla, and stir while the sauce is hot.
- Let the cranberry sauce cool for about 15 minutes. It will thicken as it sits. You can serve the sauce warm or chilled. For a firmer, more spoonable texture, refrigerate it before serving.