Homemade Cranberry Sauce (3 Ingredients, 15 Minutes)

Homemade cranberry sauce is the easiest dish on the Thanksgiving table. You need three ingredients, one pot and about 15 minutes. It tastes fresher and brighter than the canned kind, and you can make it several days before the big day.

What you need

• Cranberries. One regular 12-ounce bag. Fresh or frozen both work, so you can buy them early and keep them in the freezer.
• Sugar and water. One cup of each.
• A medium saucepan. Cranberries foam up a little when they pop, so don't use a tiny pot.

How to tell it's done

Listen and look: the berries pop as they cook. After about 10 minutes, most of them have burst and the sauce looks loose and shiny. That's it. It will still look runny, but it thickens as it cools, so don't keep cooking it.

Make it ahead

This is the best Thanksgiving dish to make early. Cook it up to about a week before, let it cool, and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Serve it cold, or let it sit out for 30 minutes first.

Variations

• Orange cranberry sauce: use 1 cup orange juice instead of the water, or stir in 2 tablespoons of grated orange zest at the end.
• Warm spices: add a cinnamon stick to the pot with the cranberries, and take it out before serving.
• Cranberry pear or cranberry ginger: stir in a diced pear, or a little grated fresh ginger, while it cooks.

Want more Thanksgiving sides? Our green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole can both be made ahead too.

Step by step

1. 
   Step 2: Add the cranberries

   Once the sugar and water boil, pour in the cranberries and bring it back to a boil.

2. 
   Step 3: Cook until the berries pop

   About 10 minutes at a gentle boil, stirring now and then. It still looks runny, and that's normal.

3. 
   Step 5: Cool it, then chill it

   As it cools, it thickens. Keep it covered in the refrigerator until you serve it.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Whole-berry cranberry sauce made with fresh or frozen cranberries, sugar and water.

Prep5 min

Cook15 min

Total20 min

MakesAbout 2 1/4 cups (9 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and drained

Instructions

1. Put the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
2. Add the cranberries and bring back to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and let it boil gently for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until most of the berries have popped.
4. Take the pan off the heat, cover it and let the sauce cool completely at room temperature. It will look thin while hot and thicken as it cools.
5. Put it in the refrigerator until you serve it.

Tips:

• Frozen cranberries work exactly the same. No need to thaw them.
• Don't worry if it looks runny in the pan. The natural pectin in cranberries sets it as it cools.

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Nutrition per serving (1/4 cup)

Calories

105

Fat

0 g

Saturated fat

0 g

Carbs

27 g

Fiber

1 g

Sugar

24 g

Protein

0 g

Sodium

1 mg

Cholesterol

0 mg

Estimate per 1/4 cup, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values.

Storage: keep it covered in the refrigerator and use it within about a week.

Questions people ask

Sources

Recipe checked on November 9, 2026, against these published recipes and guidance:

1. Ocean Spray, "Homemade Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce" (amounts, method, times, yield). oceanspray.com
2. Blue Jean Chef, Meredith Laurence, "Cranberry Sauce" (doneness, orange juice, cinnamon and flavor variations). bluejeanchef.com
3. Science Buddies, "Cranberry Sauce" (why the sauce sets as it cools: pectin). sciencebuddies.org
4. New Mexico State University Extension, Guide E-118 "Storing Food Safely," revised April 2025 (refrigerator storage of opened fruit products, about 1 week). pubs.nmsu.edu
5. USDA FoodData Central, for the nutrition estimate.