Let’s address the obvious: cranberry sauce gets a bad rap thanks to that gelatinous, sorry excuse for cranberry sauce in a can. This home cooked holiday cranberry sauce with brown sugar and citrus could not be more different!
Besides tasting AMAZING, cranberry sauce actually serves a purpose on your plate.
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Why You Need Cranberry Sauce On Your Plate This Holiday Season
One of my favorite books about cooking, “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat”, details these 4 elements of good cooking.
This book changed the way I think about cooking. I learned SO much! Including the importance of cranberry sauce.
One huge takeaway from the book is that acid is sometimes missing from traditional American holiday meals.
When turkey, dressing, and rich casseroles pile up on your plate, the elements of the “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” are often heavily unbalanced.
Not with this tart cranberry sauce!
I promise once you have cranberry sauce with your plate of turkey, you’ll never go back.
My cranberry sauce has citrus, sweetness, and spice, and is sure to impress at your gathering this year!
With just 4 ingredients, this cranberry sauce is a quick + simple fix that will become a staple on the holidays.
Ingredients For Holiday Cranberry Sauce with Brown Sugar
- 3 cups cranberries
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Steps To Make Holiday Cranberry Sauce with Brown Sugar
In a medium saucepan, add cranberries, orange juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Bring to a low boil using medium heat.
Once bubbling, reduce heat and cook until the mixture has thickened, stirring frequently. Around 2-4 minutes.
Once cooled, refrigerate for several hours before serving. We like it as much hot as we do cold- give it a taste and figure out your preference!
Tips For Making Cranberry Sauce with Brown Sugar
- Not too hot! By using high heat, you risk scorching the mixture. This means burnt, sticky fruit goop and hardened sugar at the bottom of the pan- no fun! To prevent this, use medium heat, and stir frequently.
- Repurpose! My favorite way to use this holiday cranberry sauce with brown sugar is by putting it on a leftover turkey sandwich. Nothing brings those leftovers back to life on Black Friday like cranberry sauce!
Substitutions For Ingredients In Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries: While you must obviously use cranberries, frozen or fresh are fine. I’ve used both, and have actually been more impressed with the frozen ones where we live!
Orange Juice: Again, I don’t recommend substituting orange juice in this cranberry sauce, but fresh squeezed or bottled will both work. Due to the price of produce where we live overseas, I use bottled.
Brown sugar: If you don’t have brown sugar, regular sugar will work. I prefer brown sugar almost ALWAYS, so that’s why I use it in this cranberry sauce recipe.
Ground Cinnamon: 1 tsp of ground cinnamon can be substituted for a stick of cinnamon if you prefer cooking with those!
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
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