Cranberry sauce is a staple at many Thanksgiving celebrations across America. It is also easy to make and incredibly customizable. The basic sauce starts with a 1:1 ratio of liquid and sugar by volume, then adds cranberries and adapts to taste from there (end ratio is 1:1:4). One cup water, one cup sugar, 4 cups berries (I’ve scaled the recipe at the end to fit one 12-oz bag of cranberries). There are also ways to use other sweeteners, such as maple syrup. I’ll address each ingredient, then present the recipe; feel free to skip to the end if that’s all you need.

Cranberries

For this recipe, feel free to use either fresh or frozen whole cranberries; either one works equally well. Before you cook them, sort the berries, wash them, rinse them and pat them dry. If they were washed before they were frozen, you can skip this step.* One 12-oz bag of berries will give you about 3 cups.

*If you are going to freeze your own cranberries, be sure to wash them, dry them, then pack them in a labeled freezer-weight ziptop bag before putting them in the freezer.

Liquid

This recipe calls for water but is easily adapted to a wide range of cooking liquids. Unsweetened fruit juice is a popular way to add flavor. DIfferent juices will have different effects on the flavor and you may wish to play with the amounts of each. 

I find that strong juices, like pomegranate or orange, work best when I use half juice and half water for the cooking liquid. Apple or pear juice is usually a subtle enough flavor that I can just use juice, without the water. 

Mixing juices with wine is also great, though be aware that the liquid will not cook long enough to “cook out” the alcohol (“cooking all the alcohol out” is a common kitchen myth, anyway). If you have children or others who prefer to avoid alcohol, start with a non-alcoholic wine or stick to fruit juices.

Sugar

For basic cranberry sauce, I typically use white sugar. A sugar substitute can also work, though you may need to make a few adjustments. Some sugar substitutes are much sweeter than table sugar, so you’ll use less than what is called for in the recipe. Most sugar substitutes will give directions on the packaging that will tell you how much to use in lieu of the sugar.

Also note that sugar in this recipe acts as more than a sweetener; it also helps thicken things slightly. Cranberries are chock-full of pectin, so they’ll thicken even with reduced sugar; however, if you like thick cranberry sauce and are using sugar substitutes, use a tablespoon or two less liquid to begin with. You can always add more later if you need it. 

Speaking from experience: testing and perfecting a recipe substitution before you are prepping your holiday meal is a very good idea.

A Note on Maple Syrup:

Maple syrup is liquid, but in this recipe, it acts as a substitute for sugar rather than water. If you use maple, you may want to use a bit of lemon to balance out the maple and cranberry flavors. Use slightly less liquid than normal, about ¾ of what you would otherwise use.

Add-In Ingredients

Spices, other fruits, and the colored part of citrus peels (avoid using the white part of the peel, called pith) are often found in sweet cranberry sauces, in seemingly limitless combinations. For a savory twist, try ingredients such as caramelized onions, paprika, peppers, or liquid smoke! 

Pro Tips

Give Yourself Some Time!

As I mentioned before, I highly recommend that flavor experimentation happens before your big day. The often high-pressure context of getting a holiday meal together is the time for tried-and-true recipes. Conveniently, this sauce can easily be made a few days in advance, so you have time to play around with it.

How to Fix Runny Sauce:

The sauce will thicken as it cools, but it may still be too thin for your preference. To combat this, you have a few options. You can: 

• Not mess with it because it’s still delicious, but make a note to start with less liquid next time.
• Blend up ½ cup or so of the cooked berries, then add them back to the sauce while reheating it gently.
• Make a slurry in a cup with 1 ½ – 2 teaspoons of corn starch and enough water to make a paste. Then reheat the sauce and add the slurry; simmer for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Basic Cranberry Sauce Recipe

¾ cup water

¾ cup white sugar

3 cups cranberries

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepot, heat the water and sugar together over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is steaming.
2. Add the cranberries carefully (they splatter). Cook, stirring constantly, until the cranberries burst (about 15 minutes). The sugar mixture can spit at you — and it can stain your clothes — so I recommend using a long wooden spoon and wearing a long-sleeved shirt you don’t really care about.
3. Cool the sauce completely. It will keep 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Variations:

Harvest Cranberry Sauce: Use 2 ½ cups cranberries and 1 cup chopped peeled pears. Add a cinnamon stick to the syrup mixture in step 1 and a ½ tsp freshly-grated nutmeg in step 3.

Wassail Cranberry Sauce: Use ½ c apple juice and ¼ cup orange juice for the cooking liquid. Add a ½-inch wide strip of orange peel, 2 large pieces of candied ginger, 1 star anise, and a teaspoon of apple pie spice to step 1.

Smoky Maple Cranberry Sauce (savory): Use ½ c white wine (or apple juice) and 2 tablespoons of water for the cooking liquid, but also add a pinch of salt. Use ¾ cup real maple syrup, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, a few hearty dashes of liquid smoke, and a dash of lemon juice in place of the white sugar. Mix in ½ teaspoon rubbed sage and a few grinds of fresh peppercorn at step 3. Can serve warm or cold.  Optional: add ¼ cup chopped caramelized onion at step 2. If you serve it warm, consider garnishing it with crumbled bacon.