Homemade Cranberry Sauce (naturally sweetened!)

Homemade Cranberry Sauce - tangy, naturally sweetened and perfect for Thanksgiving dinner and beyond.

I didn’t grow up eating cranberry sauce. It wasn’t a staple at our house, but when we did have it, it came from a can... That gelatinous blob was never my favorite turkey topping.

Years later I decided to try making it for myself to see what all the hype was about. Let me tell you, this Homemade Cranberry Sauce is a new staple for every Thanksgiving!

This Homemade Cranberry Sauce is made with whole-food ingredients, zero refined sugar and it’s totally delicious. Made with real fruits and spices, and a dash of rum 😉 for the adventurous among you!

Great with turkey, chicken, on a sandwich, even swirled in yogurt or oatmeal. It even comes together in about 20 minutes! A homemade cranberry sauce fit for the holidays, and frankly whenever else you want it too. 

Hi there! Below you’ll find affiliate links to great products that we enjoy using in our own kitchen.

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Ready to get to it and make this Homemade Cranberry Sauce? Let’s do it!

1 - Prepare cranberries. Rinse cranberries, removing any that are soft or squishy. 

2 - Simmer. In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, honey, water, orange juice and zest, rum/bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, rosemary, salt, allspice and cloves.

Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer 15-20 minutes or until the cranberries have all popped and the sauce begins to thicken. You may need to mash some of the berries with a fork if they don’t pop on their own. 

3 - Remove from heat and taste. This cranberry sauce isn’t sweet so feel free to add more honey to reach your desired sweetness. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Enjoy! 

Homemade Cranberry Sauce: Tips, Tricks and Tools 

This cranberry sauce is about as easy as it gets, but there are a couple tools and tips I recommend: 

Eco-friendly cookware: You’ll need a medium saucepan for this recipe - I like to use my stainless steel pan.

Recipe variations: Feel free to change it up - use lemon juice, apple juice or pomegranate juice. Also add in other spices like nutmeg. Or try different herbs like thyme or mint. 

This recipe is not super sweet; if you’d like it to be sweeter, feel free to add in more honey.

Make it in advance: This cranberry sauce can be made 3-5 days ahead of time and stored until you’re ready to serve! 

We hope you love this simple Homemade Cranberry Sauce, it’s a Thanksgiving staple in our house!

Want more Thanksgiving recipes? Check out our other delicious Thanksgiving recipes like this Epic Cranturkey Sandwich or our Roasted Pear & Parsnips.

Did you enjoy this Homemade Cranberry Sauce as much as we do?

Comment below! And rate the recipe to let us know how it turned out! Not cooking today? Save this Homemade Cranberry Sauce for later by pinning it to your Fall Recipes Board and make sure to tag us at The Crooked Carrot Instagram to show us your Homemade Cranberry Sauce creations!

"1 billion people in the world are chronically hungry. 1 billion people are overweight." - Mark Bittman

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