Our “Famous” Cranberry Sauce

This homemade, naturally gluten-free, cranberry sauce is one of the most requested dishes at our holiday table. Fresh plump cranberries, lots of orange zest and the perfect balance of sweet and tart. We've been serving it for 20 years and it is always a huge fan favorite!

homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest gluten-free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com
Our “Famous” Cranberry Sauce

A seaonal favorite and holiday must have!

New! I’ve added a cooking video so you can see how easy it is to make our favorite Cranberry Sauce!

As with all our recipes, there is a printable recipe with exact measurements and directions at the bottom of the page.

Hope you love it!

homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest gluten-free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Original post…

No Thanksgiving feast is complete without Cranberry Sauce!

And this homemade, naturally gluten-free, version with lots of orange zest will be a hit at your Thanksgiving table, even among people who think they don’t like cranberry sauce.

I’ve been bringing this to Thanksgiving for 20 years.

True story— I grew up on the canned cranberry sauce and one year, my mom and I decided we should “just to try something new”.

My mom got this recipe from her friend Molly and asked me to make it.

It was such a hit, I owned it from then on!

Now, I’m not sure I’d be allowed at the table if I were to show up without it.

It is THAT good.

Fresh plump cranberries, chopped walnuts, lots of orange zest and the perfect balance of sweet & tart.

homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest gluten-free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

And it’s made with just 7 ingredients:

fresh cranberries

orange juice,

cranberry juice

sugar

chopped walnuts

raisins

and orange zest.

homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest gluten-free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

I’d like to say it’s some sort of magic that makes it so good, but it is really the easiest recipe ever.

All you do it bring the juices and sugar to a boil to dissolve the sugar.

Add in cranberries and cook!

homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest gluten-free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Within minutes they will start to “pop”.

homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest gluten-free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Then you lower the heat, add in the walnuts, raisins and orange zest and let simmer for 20-30 minutes.

homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest gluten-free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Remove from heat and let cool. It will continue to thicken.

An easy and delicious make-ahead side dish that everyone will be raving about!

So go ahead and make- you’ll be a rockstar at Thanksgiving.

But be forewarned, you’ll be asked to make it again, year after year…

Bonus: recipe doubles well and freezes well!

Hope you love it as much as we do!

For more Thanksgiving recipes, click here.

Some favorites include:

The Best Gluten-Free Stuffing

Sweet Potato Casserole with pecan crumble

Easy Cornbread

Easy Dinner Rolls

Desserts!

Pecan Bars

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Apple Crisp

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with cream cheese frosting

PIN it!

Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce glluten-free www.healthygffamily.com

Scroll down to see the recipe and leave a comment if you try.

Recipe

 
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5 from 2 votes

Famous Cranberry Sauce

Lots of fresh, plump cranberries, lots of orange zest, and the perfect balance of sweet & tart. Recipe from a family friend, this has been a most requested side dish at our Thanksgiving table for years! Recipe doubles easily and freezes well.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Sides, Holidays
Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Nut-Free optional, Vegan
Servings: 6 -8 servings
Author: Healthy Gluten-free Family

Ingredients

  • 4 cups fresh cranberries
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar original recipe calls for 2 cups. You could cut back to 1 cup if you want it on the tarter side (NOTE: I've made it using 1/2 coconut sugar/ 1/2 cane sugar and it tastes good but the color is more brown, less bright)
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup cranberry juice cocktail
  • 1/2 cup raisins feel free to use less if you want a tarter sauce or are not a fan or raisins
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 tablespoon orange rind or more to taste

Instructions

  • In a large saucepan, add orange and cranberry juices, and sugar. Dissolve sugar in juices while bringing to a boil.
  • Add cranberries and cook until the berries start popping (generally medium low flame, stir frequently)
  • Add raisins, nuts and orange rind
  • Continue heating on low for 20-30 minutes
  • The sauce will thicken while cooling.
  • Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Extras freezes well too.
Tried this recipe?Mention @HealthyGFFamily or tag #HealthyGFFamily!
 

3 thoughts on “Our “Famous” Cranberry Sauce

  1. 5 stars
    I am never going to be able to go back to canned cranberry sauce. This was so simple and they were a good balance of sweet and tarte! Yum:)

  2. 5 stars
    I just made this delicious and easy recipe for Thanksgiving. It’s been my go-to for several years now! One small variation this year: I subbed strawberry nectar for cranberry juice. It’s still as delicious as ever. ❤️😋

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