This whole berry cranberry sauce, made with fresh cranberries and cranberry juice, is slightly tart and pairs beautifully with many turkey, chicken, or pork dishes. Easy to make ahead of time, too.
Which cranberry juice should I use?
Depends on how tart or sweet you’d like the resulting cranberry sauce to be! For those who prefer a bracing tartness in contrast to a rich meal, opt for unsweetened cranberry juice with no added sugar. If you care for a touch more sweetness, go ahead and make it with cranberry cocktail…perhaps while lip-syncing to Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams or even singing along to it.
Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the juice, sugar, honey, lemon zest, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Add the cranberries to the saucepan and return the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until the cranberries begin to split and break down but still retain some shape, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and serve warm, cool to room temperature, or cover and stash it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Recipe Testers' Reviews
Sweet, tart, bright, and refreshing—this recipe makes cranberry sauce at its finest. It comes together quickly and easily with minimal fussing. And there truly is nothing like ruby red cranberry sauce to bring color to the plate and provide a contrast to roasted meat. The honey was wonderfully aromatic while the mixture was cooking. There wasn’t much honey flavor in the finished cranberry sauce.
I used frozen cranberries. I didn't thaw them before adding them to the boiling liquid. After 10 minutes at a simmer, most of the berries were completely broken down and the sauce was thin, but syrupy. )I cooled the sauce on the counter, which took quite a while. It could be served warm, which would shorten the total prep time. When the sauce was room temperature it was pretty much solid. I could turn the jar upside down and the sauce didn’t pour out. (This is not a bad thing, I love thick cranberry sauce.
So far, I've only used the cranberry sauce as an accompaniment to roast chicken, but I am looking forward to slathering some on a turkey and Swiss sandwich. And I'm dreaming about dolloping some on buttered toast for a twist on ordinary jam and toast at breakfast.
A vibrant ruby red cranberry sauce that is as delicious as it looks. Mixing honey and sugar gave it a subtle sweet flavor that was just enough for the tart cranberries and the lemon zest added a lovely citrus punch adding depth of flavor. This would be wonderful with roast turkey or chicken or pork chops. But why wait for your meat to cook when you could slather it on crackers with a creamy Brie or tangy goat cheese. Possibilities are endless.
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Delicious!! Perfect during Christmas time! Keep it up
Thanks, Monique. So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to let us know.