Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Sauce
This naturally sweetened cranberry sauce recipe is made simply with fresh cranberries, honey or maple syrup and orange zest! It's ready in 10 minutes.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
Let’s talk about cranberry sauce! It’s the neglected, afterthought condiment of Thanksgiving, but no holiday table is complete without it. Cranberry sauce adds a very necessary burst of sweet-tart flavor and ruby red color to an otherwise beige meal.
This naturally sweetened cranberry sauce recipe is much prettier than store-bought, not to mention extra delicious thanks to the honey or maple syrup.
Plus, this homemade cranberry sauce couldn’t be easier to make. It’s ready in about 10 minutes. If you need a quick and easy Friendsgiving option, sign up for the cranberry sauce!
Here’s what you’ll need to make this cranberry sauce recipe:
- 1 bag of fresh cranberries
- Honey or maple syrup
- Water
- Zest from one orange, or orange juice
…and a pot to cook it in. That’s it.
Watch How to Make Cranberry Sauce
Naturally Sweetened vs. Conventional Cranberry Sauce
There is something fantastically retro about a gelatinous, shimmering cylinder of canned cranberry sauce on a plate. I’ve always wondered when we started buying cans of cranberry sauce instead of making it themselves. Did we experience a fresh cranberry shortage in the 50s? Maybe fresh cranberries weren’t readily available back then?
Fortunately for us modern Americans, grocery stores are overflowing with cranberries this season. I picked up a can of cranberry sauce at the grocery store recently and glanced at the list—cranberries, followed by high fructose corn syrup, and that’s about it. High fructose corn syrup is heavily processed, flavorless sweet stuff that I try to avoid, and I know you all do, too.
Most homemade versions call for about a cup of white sugar. Today, I thought I would offer you a more nutritionally redeeming, naturally sweetened option that calls for 1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup.
Uses for Leftover Cranberry Sauce
- Swirl leftover sauce into yogurt with granola.
- Dollop it into your oatmeal (like this).
- Spread it onto toast topped with almond butter or goat cheese (like this).
- Basically, treat it like jam.
Please let me know how this cranberry sauce turns out for you in the comments. If you have any other fun ways to use up your leftover sauce, I’ll add them to the list.
Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? Check out my roundup here.
Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Sauce
This naturally sweetened cranberry sauce recipe is made simply with fresh cranberries, honey or maple syrup and orange zest! It’s easy to make and tastes amazing, too. Recipe yields about 2 cups cranberry sauce.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (1 bag) fresh cranberries
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- ½ cup water
- Zest of 1 medium orange*, preferably organic (about 1 teaspoon)
- Truly optional add-ins: ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and/or ¼ cup fresh orange juice
Instructions
- First, rinse the cranberries well and drain off excess water. Pick through the cranberries and discard any squishy ones.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the cranberries, honey and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped and the mixture has thickened to your liking, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in the orange zest. If you’d like to add cinnamon or orange juice, add it now. Taste and, if the mixture is too tart (keeping in mind that cranberry sauce is supposed to be a little tart!), add more orange juice, honey or maple syrup to taste.
- The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. It will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my cranberry crostini.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Prepare in advance: You can make this sauce up to 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then let it warm to room temperature before serving.
*How to remove zest: I use a Microplane grater (affiliate link), which easily removes the zest. You could also use the fine holes of your box grater. If you want to simplify, skip the zest and stir in ¼ cup orange juice instead.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Delicious on top of vanilla ice cream! Can’t wait to try on chocolate.
Can this r Naturally Sweetened Cranberry Sauce recipe be frozen?
Thank you
Hi Joan, I think it would freeze ok. Let me know!
I freeze cranberry sauce because I can’t find a suitable recipe to can.
It comes out awesome.
Bery easy, different and I will try looks delicious. I love cranberry sauce with chicken and turkey,ECT. Or alone. Thanks for sharing your recipe I will look for more later. I like simple recipes with little ingredients.
You’re welcome, Lydia!
Question- how far in advance can this be made? In 1 place it says 2 days; elsewhere it says 2weeks. Opinion? Experiences please? I would love to make it today or tomorrow for T-giving 4-5days from make-date. I would guess the zest might be the issue…?
Thanks.
Hi! It can be made in advance. I hope you love it!
Success! I followed recipe – doubled. Perhaps by doubling it, it was a tad too ‘zesty’ for me – so in addition to intending to use maple syrup only, once I tasted it this zesty momma, I added honey to mellow it.
I would remake but cut back on zest (with those proportions).
And Yes, I made it 6 nights ahead without problem.
Thank you!
This turned out great!! Only thing, I reduced the maple syrup to half due to a diabetic in my home. Added the OJ, & next time I’ll add a bit of orange zest. My family loved the sweet/tartness of this sauce. No more canned cranberry sauce for us anymore! Thanks
You’re welcome, Shawn!
We’ve been making this for a few years now for thanksgiving. We all love it! I add crystallized ginger for a little kick. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Susan! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I love that you posted this version. I haven’t made it yet, but I know I’ll love it. I’ve made similar versions before. What do you think about replacing the water with orange juice?
Hi Bonnie! It could be interesting. Let me know!
Thanks for sharing this great, easy & quick recipe. The old recipe I had called for 1 cup of sugar—figured I’d give the honey a try and it’s so good. Happy Thanksgiving!
First time making recipe. We are diabetics and this recipe turned out fantastic! Very easy to make. Everyone seemed to love it! Even the one’s who were not diabetics enjoyed this recipe.
I’m glad it worked for you, Michelle!
Tastes amazing!!! I used part Vermont maple syrup and part local Tupelo Honey. I added just a little bit of lemon zest from lemon from our tree. Love that I was able to keep it very natural!
Yum! I did add a 1/16 cup of regular sugar, pumpkin pie spice and a little cayenne as well as the orange and orange zest!
Made this tonight for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner! So easy and so delicious!!
Thank you for your review!
Thank you so much for sharing this on Instagram. I saw your recipe post & a similar one by alittlelesstoxic and it inspired me to try your recipe!! We always have canned (and I’ll probably always love it lol), but my dad and I always talk about trying something homemade. I know it is healthier too. It tasted good when I tested it but it was quite warm. Im looking forward to serving it to family tomorrow & tasting it after its been chilled. Thank you so much for your Instagram post & sharing recipes!
You’re welcome! I hope it was a hit with everyone, Kay.
I made this last year for my first time hosting Thanksgiving, and even the most staunch cranberry sauce haters loved it! I made it exactly to the recipe with both optional add ins. Loved the leftovers in oatmeal, cottage cheese, and even on toast for a few days after. Glad I can make it this year after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes, too. Thanks so much, this is a great recipe!!
Hooray! I love when that happens. Sounds like a great way to use the leftovers, Alex.
Fourth year in a row I’ve made this! Never liked cranberry sauce until this recipe. Thank you!
Do you ever add diced celery to your cranberry sauce for a crunchy texture and flavor?
I don’t. I like it best as written.
Great, easy way to make cranberry sauce. I used what I had available and that was apple cider and lemon juice and zest. I thought that it was very sweet with 1/2 cup of coconut palm sugar. Oh and I love cinnamon so I added 1/2 tsp of it.
This cranberry sauce is delicious. I’ve made it two years in a row and don’t plan on trying any other recipes.
If you decide to add the orange juice, I recommend adding a little at a time and tasting as you go, rather than putting the full 1/4 cup in and then tasting. Last year, I added the full amount and it was perfect, but this year the fresh-squeezed OJ was sweeter so the full 1/4 cup was more than necessary.
100% perfection!! This cranberry sauce is so simple to make and honestly the best recipe I’ve ever tried. For reference, I chose maple syrup over honey for no particular reason. I added some of the left overs to my [Nancy’s dairy free oat milk]yogurt per your recommendation and WOW!! I will make this recipe until cranberries are out of season ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Umm this was DELICIOUS! I’ll never use sugar again! I followed recipe but split honey and maple syrup. This turned out perfect and I’ll make this for the rest of my life!
Love it! My new go to for Thanksgiving!
Great to hear, Lisa!
Aloha!
This is similar to the recipe my grandmother in NH used, except she also added ground cloves with the cinnamon and zest. Always fresh cranberries and maple syrup, of course! I never tasted canned cranberry sauce until I went away to college. She wouldn’t have it in the house, and neither would my mom or aunts.
I live in Honolulu now and made some for a Thanksgiving potluck. Everybody loved it. Now I have to make another batch, since they ate it all up. Luckily, I bought an extra bag of cranberries. They’re not available here all the time.
Alan
Thank you for sharing your grandmother’s version!
I wanted to try a a cranberry sauce with less sugar. Our family recipe tasted too sweet, even when I cut back on sugar.
Your recipe was simple to make and delicious. I usually put the sauce through a food mill for a smoother, but I cooked this recipe Dow and left the cranberries. Yummy to the max, and I’m enjoying it with plain, plant-based yogurt, granola, and walnuts. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Patti! I appreciate you taking the time to comment and review.
I made this for Thanksgiving 2020 and again this year. It was so good, I’m making it again now!
That’s great! Thank you for your review, Katie.
This recipe is great! I typically use 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup honey. It is a very tasty recipe and I love the brightness of the orange. Thank you, Kate.
You’re welcome, Lexi! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
How much does this approximately make? Could I double the recipe and can it?
Hi Ashley! It’s noted in the recipe card. Roughly 2 cups. I hope you love it! It can be doubled.
I have just made this and it tastes superb. I used blossom honey, the zest of a large orange and the juice of half that orange. I have been invited for Christmas dinner so I am sure that people will be as pleased as I am. Thank you.
I made this with orange zest and a little orange juice and it’s dynamite! I could eat the whole thing!
How far in advance can the sauce be made? Freezer safe? Love your other recipes and can’t wait to try!
You can make this sauce up to 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then let it warm to room temperature before serving. I haven’t tried to freeze it, so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
I apologize if I missed this question. Can orange extract be used in place of orange zest? Looking forward to trying this recipe. Sounds perfect. It’ll be my first T’giving not dumping and slicing cranberry “sauce” from a can.
Hi Sherri, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. If you do, let me know!
Easiest cranberry sauce I’ve ever made! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Larisa!
Make it every year for Thanksgiving and it’s the best!
Just made it – wow! Accidentally added the zest at the beginning and it still turned out fine. Added the cinnamon plus a tbsp of the orange juice. It’s Perfect.
Great to hear, Miranda! I appreciate your review.
Hi, My 8 year old son and I made this for the first time today, and it’s delicious and so easy to make. I let him taste test and he keeps asking for more :).
Delicious! I didn’t have an orange to make zest, so substituted organic OJ with a dash of pineapple juice. Skipped the other add-in’s, and otherwise followed directions.
It received many compliments… which I hand over to you! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. [Could eat it & not feel the rush I get from granulated white sugar.]
I’m glad you loved it even with your adjustments! Thank you for your review.
This was a hit at Thanksgiving!
Great to hear, Jen!
Always a hit! Even my parents couldn’t get enough of it. We were eating it out of the pot. I make this multiple times every holiday season.
This recipe is very simple to make with great results! This is a very tasty holiday favorite of mine. I would definitely recommend.
hi, just wondering if this cranberry sauce could be used to simmer turkey meatballs in.
Hi Shelley, I’m a vegetarian so not great resource for you here. Sorry!
This is exactly what I was looking for. A healthy, clean recipe for cranberry sauce. I just tasted it and it’s divine. I’ll be keeping this recipe to use every time! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Kate! I appreciate your review.
Can I freeze the cranberry sauce?
I haven’t tried it, but it should work ok. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Hi, thank you for this recipe, I make it every year to take on holidays with us. We use it on cheese platters, it’s delicious with cheese on a cracker. I live in Australia and the only time I can buy frozen cranberries is around Christmas
Excellent recipe! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Lynette!
I love your cranberry recipe I like to make cranberry aoili for my turkey breast sandwiches. Thank you for the recipe
You’re welcome, Mike! Thank you for your review.
Hi thanks so much for the great recipe! :)
Hi sorry my last comment submitted without the stars highlighted! 5 star recipe! – thanks so much! :)
You’re welcome, Emily!
I’ve been making this every Thanksgiving for a few years now and I’ll be making it again this year. My mother in law always insists on bringing the canned stuff in case anyone wants it, but everyone ends up going for this one.
I’m looking forward to making a vegan option for my family. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Happy Thanksgiving!
This is now my go-to cranberry sauce recipe. My family loves it–not because it’s “healthy,” but just because it tastes so good!
making this for our thanksgiving meal! cant wait to try it!