Easy Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

Easy spiced orange cranberry sauce is not your average canned cranberry sauce! Fresh cranberries are paired with a blend of warm fall spices and cooked in orange juice to brighten it up. It’s sweet and tart and adds a rich pop of color to your holiday table!

Spiced cranberry sauce is the perfect side dish for your holiday meal. It pairs beautifully with roast turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing. It’s a super easy recipe to make, just add the ingredients to a pan and simmer until it’s done. It tastes even better if you make it ahead of time because the flavors have had a chance to meld. That certainly makes prepping your holiday meal much easier!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Fresh cranberries: I used a 12oz bag of fresh cranberries. You can find them in the refrigerated section of the produce department. Frozen cranberries can be used as a substitute.
• Sugar: I used white sugar in this recipe, but other types of sugar would be delicious. Try brown sugar, maple syrup or even honey.
• Ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves: Warm and cozy spices that taste like fall (if fall had a taste). You can use different spices or leave out ones you don’t like. Play around with it.
• Orange juice: Cranberry and orange is a classic holiday flavor combination.

How to Make Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

• Add cranberries, water, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves to a medium saucepan. Mix all the ingredients together.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce to a simmer.
• Simmer, uncovered, until cranberries pop and the mixture is thickened, 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
• Remove from heat and allow it to cool a bit. Serve it warm, at room temperature or cold.

Expert Tips

• Use frozen cranberries – If you don’t have any fresh cranberries on hand, use frozen. Thaw them out before using.
• Swap out the spices – Try other spice combinations like allspice, cardamom or nutmeg.
• Give it time – Make it ahead of time so the flavors have a chance to blend together. That’ll make the sauce even more delicious.

How to Serve Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce

• This is delicious with my Swedish rice porridge (risgrynsgröt) or my rice porridge pancakes (klatkager)!
• Makes a wonderful accompaniment to my Danish breaded pork patties (karbonader).
• Serve it with my kålpudding (Swedish meatloaf with caramelized cabbage).
• It’s pairs perfectly with my Swedish meatballs and gravy!
• Warm it up and serve it over vanilla ice cream.
• Spread it on top of cheese and crackers. Try it with cream cheese, brie or any other cheese you like.

Can You Make This Ahead of Time?

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time and it will taste even better once the flavors have melded together! Also, that’s one less thing you have to do on Thanksgiving.

How to Store

Store this in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When you’re ready to enjoy it, let it sit out and come up to room temperature, or just microwave it for a bit to warm it up!

Can You Freeze It?

Yes, you can freeze spiced orange cranberry sauce. Once it has cooled, put it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve it, remove it from the freezer and allow it to come to room temperature, or place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.