Homemade cranberry sauce is an essential if you are cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for a crowd. To be honest, for most of my life, I thought I didn’t like cranberry sauce. The only cranberry sauce I ever saw was gelatinous and shaped like a can, not my idea of yummy. My parents generally cooked very clean when I was growing up, and canned goods weren’t a staple of any meal, let alone thanksgiving. 
However, the highlight of every Thanksgiving for me was my mom’s raw cranberry relish. So that was my cranberry sauce of choice, and still is. 
When I moved to Massachusetts, I was amazed by the over abundance of fresh cranberries during the holiday season. I began experimenting with this tart and delicious little berry, and loved everything that it went into! 
A couple of years ago I began experimenting with making homemade traditional cranberry sauce, and low and behold, it is easy and delicious. I am not sure why the canned stuff even exists! 
Early this morning, my friend Danielle Hall from high school (who happens to be a Thanksgiving guru and a hockey mom extraordinaire), posted a new type of cranberry sauce with apples, my other favorite fall fruit. Her version was almost like a crumble, with an oat and brown sugar topping. I decided to play with it a bit to make a new to me cranberry sauce this year to go with my cranberry relish (that will never be replaced). 
The result is fantastic! This may have earned a permanent spot at my Thanksgiving alongside the relish. The prep was incredibly easy, and I especially like that it is baked, so it doesn’t take up valuable stove space, or turn my pots and sink blood-red.
If you have never played with making your own cranberry sauce, this year is your year! Try one, or both, of these easy and delicious recipes and let me know what you think!
- 1 lb fresh, raw cranberries
- 1 whole navel orange (with peel, cut into eighths)
- ¾ cup sugar
- Place all ingredients into a blender
- Blend on low until no large pieces of orange peel remain
- That's it!
- This is best if made and refrigerated overnight, or you can eat it right away!
- 1 large sweet apple, chopped (skin on, I used Cortlands)
- 1 lb fresh cranberries
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- Dash of nutmeg
- Preheat oven to 325
- Mix all ingredients together well and place in a shallow baking pan
- Bake for 45 minutes
- Stir well
- Bake another 15 minutes
- Remove from oven and slightly squish cranberries with a plastic spoon
- Allow to cool before covering and placing in the fridge, cranberries should gel
- Have a happy Thanksgiving!
