A delicious, five-ingredient homemade cranberry sauce with the warmth of ginger and the divine aroma of cardamom. Serve this at your Thanksgiving table and it might just steal the show!
Looking for more cranberry recipes? You might love this vegan cranberry breakfast bread, vegan cranberry sourdough scones and vegan cranberry upside-down cake.
Everyone has their favorite cranberry sauce recipe, but try mine this Thanksgiving and you could have a new favorite!
You need just five ingredients for this dish - it is likely the easiest recipe you will make for your holiday dinner. Dump the cranberries and other ingredients in the saucepan and you are almost done.
This recipe also doesn't veer far from a classic cranberry sauce but it has a couple of those ingredients that take it above the ordinary and beyond delicious: ginger and cardamom. Both are not just tasty companions for cranberries, they also cut through their intense tartness.
I like using whole oranges in the recipe, blitzed in a blender, and I also like using their zest to add more aroma and complexity to the sauce.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Cranberries. Buy fresh cranberries that are deep red, plump and opaque. Pick over them before using to remove any that are soft or shriveled.
- Oranges. Zest the oranges before you peel and blend them up. Pick oranges that are sweet rather than tart.
- Sugar. A richer-flavored sugar, like coconut sugar or turbinado sugar, is ideal. Brown sugar works too. Or use granulated cane sugar. Maple syrup is a nice option and wonderful with the tart cranberries. If using maple syrup, reduce the water in the recipe to ¼ cup.
- Ginger powder. This adds so much warmth to the recipe, and a bit of spice. It's also so seasonal.
- Cardamom. The cardamom adds sweetness and more richness to the cranberry sauce.
- Optional ingredient: Pure vanilla extract. This is not necessary but it adds a nice hint of sweetness, also so good with the cranberries.
How to make cranberry sauce
Pick over the cranberries to remove any that are soft or shriveled. Rinse them thoroughly.
Place the cranberries in a saucepan along with the sugar, orange juice, half the orange zest, sugar, ginger, cardamom, optional vanilla, and ½ cup water.
Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Lower heat to a simmer and cover the saucepan with a lid. Stir occasionally, until all the berries have burst and the sauce looks smoother. This should take about 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat. The pectin released from the cranberries will continue to thicken the sauce as it cools Garnish the cranberry sauce with remaining orange zest before serving.
Uses for cranberry sauce
Cranberry sauce is not just a delicious and traditional holiday side dish. You can use it to enhance other meals as well. For example, it's wonderful as a spread in sandwiches or on toast, like jam, or spooned over salads. Or serve it alongside vegan steaks, like these tofu steaks or lentil and quinoa steaks, or vegan Swedish meatballs.
You can also drizzle the cranberry sauce over oatmeal or on desserts, including ice cream, to complement the sweetness.
Recipe FAQs
You can make the sauce up to a week ahead of serving it. Refrigerate it after it has cooled down.
Spices are wonderful in cranberry sauce. You can add a cinnamon stick to the saucepan, or half to one teaspoon of ground cloves, instead of the cardamom and ginger. You can also throw in a tablespoon of vegan butter toward the end of cooking to add more smoothness and creaminess to the recipe.
Yes, frozen cranberries are just as good for making this sauce, no adjustments necessary.
The sauce can be refrigerated for up to a week and frozen in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to six months. Thaw before serving.
Recipe card
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 oranges
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Optional ingredient
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Zest the two oranges and reserve the zest. Peel the oranges and place them in a blender. Blend until juiced.
- Pick over the cranberries to remove any that are soft or shriveled. Rinse them thoroughly.
- Place the cranberries in a saucepan along with the sugar, orange juice, half the orange zest, sugar, ginger, cardamom, optional vanilla, and ½ cup water. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cover, turn heat to medium-low or low, and let the cranberries cook, stirring occasionally, until all the berries have burst and the sauce looks smoother. This should take about 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat. The sauce will continue to thicken after cooling. Garnish with remaining orange zest before serving.
Nutrition Information
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