Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
I Finally Made Cranberry Sauce From Scratch and Thanksgiving Changed Forever
27
items Every year I'd grab the canned stuff, slice it out of the can, and watch it sit there jiggling on a plate while nobody touched it. Last year I decided to actually make cranberry sauce from scratch with fresh cranberries, orange zest, and real sugar. ...
Sections
9
Fresh Cranberries and Citrus for the Base
Sugars and Sweeteners That Actually Balance the Tart
Spices That Make It Smell Like a Holiday
Cooking Pots and Pans for Simmering
Stirring and Prep Tools
Straining and Serving
Fresh Cranberries and Citrus for the Base
The whole recipe lives or dies on the fruit. I spent years thinking cranberry sauce was supposed to taste like sugary jelly, and then I bit into a spoonful made with actual cranberries and fresh orange zest. Completely different food.
Grab two bags if you're feeding more than six people. I ran out my first year and had to stretch what was left with extra sugar, which defeated the whole point. Fresh cranberries pop when they cook and that texture is what makes homemade sauce worth ...
Fresh Produce, Fresh Cranberries, Whole Fruit, 12 oz Bag
Use these for both the zest and the juice. I zest one whole orange right into the pot and squeeze half of it in too. The citrus cuts through the sweetness in a way that made my brother-in-law go back for thirds. Stock up because you'll snack on the r...
Pound (mass)
Toss in a squeeze of lemon juice right at the end of cooking. It brightens everything up. I skipped it the first time and the sauce tasted flat. Added it the second batch and my mom asked if I used a different recipe. Same recipe, just lemon.
Your Fresh Market Organic Lemons, 2 lb Bag
Sugars and Sweeteners That Actually Balance the Tart
Plain white sugar works fine, but mixing in other sweeteners gave my sauce this depth that people kept asking about. One guest literally wrote down what I used on a napkin.
Keep this as your base sweetener. I use about ¾ cup per 12 oz bag of cranberries, but taste as you go. My sister likes it more tart so I pull some out before adding the last bit of sugar. Easy to adjust when you're making it yourself.
Domino Pure Cane Granulated Sugar, 4 lb. Bag
Swap in two tablespoons of brown sugar for some of the white sugar. It adds a slight caramel note that nobody can quite identify but everyone loves. Tried this on a whim last year and now it's non-negotiable.
Wholesome Live Sweetly Organic Light Brown Sugar, 24 oz
Drizzle a tablespoon in during the last few minutes of cooking for a rounder sweetness. Perfect if you're cooking for someone who finds regular cranberry sauce too sharp. My dad used to skip cranberry sauce entirely until I started adding this.
Nate's, Raw Unfiltered Honey, 32 fl oz, Gluten-Free
Spices That Make It Smell Like a Holiday
Walking into a kitchen where cranberry sauce is simmering with cinnamon and ginger is the smell of the holidays. My neighbor knocked on my door last Thanksgiving because she thought I was baking pie. Nope, just cranberry sauce.
Use about half a teaspoon. Cinnamon is sneaky, it goes from warm and cozy to overpowering fast. I dumped in a full teaspoon once and it tasted like a candle. Half teaspoon, trust me on this one.
Pack Of 2 McCormick Ground Cinnamon
Try a quarter teaspoon for warmth without making it taste like gingerbread. It pairs with the orange zest in a way that's hard to describe but impossible to miss. For anyone who thinks cranberry sauce is boring, this is the fix.
McCormick Ground Ginger, 1.5 oz Bottle
Toss three or four whole cloves into the pot while it simmers, then fish them out before serving. Biting into a whole clove is not fun, learned that the hard way at my own table. The flavor they leave behind is worth the extra step.
McCormick Whole Cloves
Cooking Pots and Pans for Simmering
You don't need anything fancy, but the wrong pot will scorch the bottom and leave you scraping burnt sugar while your guests arrive. Ask me how I know.
Use a 3-quart saucepan so the cranberries have room to pop without splattering everywhere. I used a tiny pot my first time and spent 20 minutes wiping cranberry off my backsplash. This size is perfect for one batch.
The Pioneer Woman Timeless Beauty 10-inch Aluminum
Keep this one on standby for a half batch or for warming up leftover sauce the next day. Cranberry sauce on leftover turkey sandwiches is the real reason to make extra. Lighter than my big pot so cleanup is faster too.
Farberware, Saucepan, 2 Quart Stainless Steel
Grab this if you're doubling the recipe for a big crowd. The heavy bottom distributes heat evenly so nothing scorches. I switched to this after burning two batches in a row with a thin-bottomed pot and haven't burned one since.
Lodge Cast Iron 5.5qt Oyster White Enameled Dutch Oven
Stirring and Prep Tools
Cranberry sauce sounds simple until you're zesting an orange with a butter knife because you forgot to check your drawer. Having the right small tools saves you from those frantic five-minutes-before-guests-arrive moments.
Stir with the medium one. Wooden spoons absorb cranberry stains like nobody's business. I ruined two wooden spoons before switching to stainless. These rinse clean and don't hold onto last week's garlic smell either.
KitchenAid Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons - Walmart.ca
Zesting an orange takes about 30 seconds with this. Before I had a proper zester I was using a vegetable peeler and mincing the peel by hand, which took forever and gave me uneven chunks. Night and day difference in texture.
Deiss PRO Lemon Zester & Heavy Duty Grater
Squeeze every drop out of your oranges and lemons without seeds falling into the pot. Picking seeds out of hot cranberry sauce is annoying and I've done it more times than I want to admit. This has a built-in strainer so seeds stay put.
OXO Good Grips Small Citrus Juicer
Straining and Serving
Some people like chunky sauce, some want it smooth. I make one batch each way so nobody has to compromise. The smooth version converts the canned-sauce loyalists every single time.
Push the cooked sauce through the fine mesh strainer for a silky smooth version. It takes a few minutes of pressing with a spoon but the result looks and tastes like something from a restaurant. Worth it for impressing in-laws.
Kitchenaid 7-inch Stainless Steel Mesh Strainer in Black
Serve the sauce in this and it actually looks like you tried. I used to dump it in a cereal bowl and wonder why nobody cared. Presentation matters, especially when you spent 30 minutes making something from scratch.
Anchor Hocking Presence Glass Large Trifle Bowl
Use this to store leftover sauce in the fridge. Cranberry sauce gets better after a day or two as the flavors settle. I make mine two days before Thanksgiving now and it tastes deeper and more balanced by serving time.
Customer reviews for Pyrex Simply Store 2-Cup Glass
Extras for Fancy Variations
Once you nail the basic recipe, start throwing in fun stuff. My cranberry sauce with bourbon and pecans almost caused a fight over who got the last spoonful at Christmas dinner.
Splash in two tablespoons during the last minute of cooking. The alcohol cooks off but the vanilla and caramel notes stay behind. For anyone who wants a grown-up version of cranberry sauce, this is it. Keep the rest for yourself after dinner.
Maker's Mark, Straight Bourbon, 750 mL Bottle, 45.0% ABV
Chop these roughly and fold them into the finished sauce for crunch. Cranberry sauce with pecans sounds weird until you try it. Brought this version to a friendsgiving potluck and someone asked me for the recipe before I even sat down.
Fisher Chef's Naturals Pecan Halves 24 oz Resealable
Stir a small handful into warm cranberry sauce and let them melt. Sounds wild but dark chocolate and cranberry is a real combination that works. Made this as a dessert topping over vanilla ice cream and people lost their minds.
Ghirardelli, Dark Chocolate Chips, 10 oz Bag, 52% Cacao
Canning and Gifting Supplies
Homemade cranberry sauce in a jar with a ribbon is the kind of gift that makes people think you have your life together. Takes ten extra minutes and costs almost nothing.
Fill these with warm sauce, seal them up, and hand them out to guests as they leave. My aunt cried the first time I gave her one because it reminded her of her grandmother. Fair warning, people will expect this every year now.
Ball, Mason Jar, Quilted Crystal, Regular Mouth
Print little labels with the recipe name and date. It takes the jars from looking homemade to looking intentional. I just write the name in marker and it still looks cute. For anyone who hosts regularly, these are good to keep around.
Avery, Shape Labels, Round, 2 inch Diameter, White
Tie a piece of twine around the jar lid and you've got a gift that looks like it came from a farmers market. Took me about two minutes per jar. My coworkers thought I bought them from a specialty shop until I told them I made it all in my kitchen.
1mm 328 Feet Natural Jute Twine, for Crafts Gift
Leftover Cranberry Sauce Recipe Ingredients
Nobody talks about what to do with leftover cranberry sauce. I started using it in other recipes and honestly some of them are better than the original Thanksgiving plate.
Spread cranberry sauce on puff pastry, fold it over, bake at 400 for 15 minutes. You get these flaky cranberry turnovers that disappear in seconds. Made them the morning after Thanksgiving and my kids asked if it was a holiday again.
Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Frozen Pastry Dough Sheets
Layer cranberry sauce over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers. This is the laziest appetizer that gets the biggest reaction. Brought it to a Super Bowl party in February using frozen leftover sauce and people thought I was a genius.
Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spread, Original, 8 oz Tub
Swirl a spoonful of cranberry sauce into plain yogurt for breakfast. It's tart and sweet and way better than those pre-flavored cups with fake fruit. Perfect for anyone trying to use up leftover sauce before it sits forgotten in the back of the fridg...
Great Value Greek Plain Nonfat Yogurt, 32 oz Tub