It’s the prettiest addition to the Thanksgiving meal.
Cranberry Sauce is a must for Thanksgiving. Do you agree? It adds that subtle tartness and sweetness to a meal that is full of very savory dishes. It’s also goooorgeous. Cranberries are the most beautiful color and they get even prettier when they are cooked down.
There are two reasons why I love cranberry sauce. One being, it’s delicious with the Thanksgiving meal and two, it’s the best spread for turkey sandwiches, toast, rolls, etc. the next day.
Oh! And it’s crazy easy to make. My recipe simply calls for frozen cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange, vanilla and water. The vanilla is not absolutely necessary but I put vanilla in everything because I love it so much.
I bring the entire pot to a boil and let it do its thaaaang for about 10-12 minutes.
DONE!
The orange adds a sweet citrus to the tart cranberries and the cinnamon and nutmeg totally warm it up. Obviously the sugar balances out the tartness making this the ideal spread for toast, too!
In just about 15 minutes, the sauce it made. It simply needs to cool then chill making it a great make ahead addition to your Thanksgiving meal.
Cranberry Sauce can also be frozen! You may have leftovers…don’t throw it out, simply freeze it for a later date. It’s too pretty to throw away!
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- 16 ounce bag cranberries (frozen or fresh)
- 1 orange
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
- Place cranberries in a medium sauce pan.
- Cut orange into quarters and squeeze juices into pan then place oranges in the pan, too.
- Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and water. Bring to a boil then turn to a gentle boil and cook until cranberries burst and start to break down, stirring a few times, about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool completely then transfer to a bowl to chill in the refrigerator. Sauce will thicken as it chills.

Made it and everyone loved it! It was easy but would love a recipe of what to do with the left overs.
awesome! You can freeze it or use it for turkey sandwiches with harvati cheese. Also would be good on a bagel with cream cheese.