Orange Cranberry Sauce with Maple Syrup
Orange Cranberry Sauce is a warm, cozy spin on homemade cranberry sauce. Tart cranberries are highlighted with bright orange flavor, thanks to orange zest AND orange juice. And then it’s all balanced with the warm sweetness of pure maple syrup plus infused cinnamon flavor.
With just 5 ingredients and less than 30 minutes to make, this cranberry sauce will be your new fave. It’s simple, easy, and honestly one of the best cranberry sauce recipes out there!
Whip up your cranberry sauce early and freeze it for your Thanksgiving feast! You’ll be SO glad you did.
The Story Behind the Recipe
Every year, one of the first things I make for the big Thanksgiving feast is cranberry sauce. For one, I usually like to create a new Thanksgiving recipe or two for here on the blog.
But also, homemade cranberry sauce freezes perfectly, so it’s a super easy thing to make weeks (or even months!) ahead of time, then I freeze it and forget about until Thanksgiving.
I’ve created a cinnamon apple cider cranberry sauce, ginger pear cranberry sauce, raspberry red wine cranberry sauce, plain ol’ (yet still delicious!) homemade cranberry sauce, and even a cranberry sauce spiked with lots of warm spices.
But this time, I thought I’d try something a little different – a delicious, maple-sweetened cranberry sauce with orange juice and cinnamon flavor. I love the warm, cozy vibes that pure maple syrup brings to this homemade cranberry sauce. The maple syrup could not pair more perfectly with the orange and cinnamon. This orange cranberry sauce is a vibe – the very best kind of vibe!
What Does It Taste Like?
You actually can’t really taste much of the maple syrup in this recipe – just a hint. Part of the reason is because cranberries have such strong flavor that they overpower any maple subtleties. The other reason is that I use Grade A syrup, which is much lighter than the more-intense and much more flavorful Grade B. So keep that in mind if you make this cranberry sauce recipe.
The orange and the cinnamon, on the other hand, you can definitely taste – though not in an overpowering way. Orange zest and juice highlight the best of the cranberries. Meanwhile, simmering the sauce with a stick of cinnamon adds another festive note.
Orange Cranberry Sauce Recipe Ingredients
- Cranberries – You’ll find them in the produce section of most grocery stores. Tip: Buy them as early as possible! The last couple of years, they’ve sold out in my area. You can even freeze the cranberries ahead of time until you’re ready to make your cranberry and orange sauce.
- Pure maple syrup – I tend to use Grade A for more subtle maple flavor. If you prefer deeper maple flavor, use Grade B.
- Orange juice and zest – The natural sweetness and citrus flavors of orange goes perfectly with cranberries in this orange cranberry sauce recipe. I recommend using a microplane zester to make quick work of zesting your orange. Then just cut it in half and juice it!
- Water
- Cinnamon stick – I like how a simmering this orange cranberry sauce with a cinnamon stick adds lovely cinnamon flavor without the grittiness you can get from ground cinnamon.
How to Make It
Homemade cranberry sauce is truly SO easy to make! Once I started making my own cranberry sauce, I never went back to canned.
To make this Orange Cranberry Sauce:
- First, rinse your cranberries, then give them a quick once-over and remove any mushy or underripe berries and pick out any stem stragglers.
- Add the cranberries, 1/3 cup of the maple syrup, orange zest, orange juice, water, and cinnamon stick to a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries break down.
- Taste and add more syrup a tablespoon at a time until the orange cranberry sauce is the perfect sweetness for you.
- Allow the cranberry sauce to cool and serve now or refrigerate or freeze for later.
Tips for Success
- Tips for zesting the orange: Use a microplane zester to finely grate off the peel all around the orange. Take care not to take off only the first layer and avoid the white pith (which can make the sauce bitter). If you don’t have a microplane zester, use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel, take off any of the white pith, and mince it finely.
- Start with 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, then add more at the end of you want more sweetness. Cranberries can vary in tartness/sweetness, so the amount of sweetener can be tricky to dial in exactly in a recipe.
How to Store Cranberry Sauce & Freeze Ahead
Make it now, freeze it for later. That’s the very best thing about homemade cranberry sauce – other than the fact that it tastes incredible, of course!
Just cook it up, let it cool, and put it in an airtight container or storage bag. Store for up to 5 days in the fridge or freeze for up to 3 months (make sure you have a freezer safe container). To thaw, put it in the fridge overnight and it’ll be thawed by morning.
I hope this orange cranberry sauce is a hit at your Thanksgiving table! We’ve made this one for years and it’s always a winner.
Did You Know?
Cranberries were once called crane berries, because the cranberry flower has an especially bird-like shape – similar to a sandhill crane. Over time, the “e” disappeared, leaving us simply with “cranberry.” (source)
Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 cups cranberries (1 [12-ounce] bag; fresh or frozen )
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup ( + more if needed)
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from two or three medium oranges)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick (one 5-inch or two 3-inch)
Instructions
- Rinse the cranberries. Discard any mushy or underripe berries and stems.
- Place a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat and add the cranberries, 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, orange zest, orange juice, water, and cinnamon stick. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling over medium heat until the berries burst and break down, forming a sauce, 15-20 minutes.
- Taste for sweetness. If it’s too tart, add more syrup – a tablespoon at a time – until the sauce tastes sweet enough for you.
- Remove from the heat and let cool. Spoon into your serving container to serve or store in an airtight container, refrigerated, for 3-4 days. You can also freeze your cranberry sauce for up to 2 months – I do this every Thanksgiving! Just place the sauce in an airtight container or zipper freezer bag and transfer to the freezer. Move to the fridge to thaw about 24-48 hours before the big meal.