Homemade cranberry sauce made with apples and walnuts. Super easy and delicious recipe to serve as a side dish for the holidays!
Making your own cranberry sauce is easier than you might think! This recipe only has a few ingredients and takes about 20 minutes to make. This is a perfect side dish to make ahead in advance and store in the refrigerator until it is time to serve.
What I love to do is save the cranberry sauce for when you have leftover turkey. Making turkey sandwiches with this sauce spread in between the bread and turkey and then layering on some stuffing and gravy makes for one tasty sandwich!
This is my grandma’s recipe and putting in the apples and nuts is always optional. So if you want to have a regular cranberry sauce just leave these two ingredients out, and you will still have delicious cranberry sauce.
More delicious side dishes!
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Italian Pasta Salad: Easy Italian pasta salad that is bursting with color and flavor! Lots of veggies and tri-color pasta make this a beautiful side dish for a party.
Ingredients for Cranberry Sauce
Fresh Cranberries: A 12 ounce bag or about 4 cups. Rinse and pick through them to remove any bad ones.
Water: Used to cook the cranberries in.
Sugar: Added to the water and dissolved before adding the cranberries. Adds sweetness to the cranberries.
Orange Zest: Sprinkled on top for added flavor.
Apples and Walnuts: Optional to add these extra ingredients. Chop up small if adding them in.
Cinnamon and Cloves: Ground cinnamon and cloves add a hint of sweet and woody flavor.
How to make Cranberry Sauce
Combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil and then cook for an additional ten minutes, stirring frequently.
While the water is boiling, rinse the cranberries and pick them over, to remove any bad ones.
Add the cranberries, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest. Cover, and turn heat down to medium/low. Simmer until they stop popping and the consistency is like a jam, about 10 minutes or so, stirring frequently.
Skim off foam and pour into a bowl to cool.
Once they are cool, add in the chopped up apple and walnuts. I left the skin on my apples, but you can peel the skin off if you prefer.
The sauce will thicken upon sitting and cooling.
Refrigerate after making, serve cold.
Cranberry Sauce
Description
Homemade cranberry sauce made with apples and walnuts. Super easy and delicious recipe to serve as a side dish for the holidays!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil and then cook for an additional ten minutes.
- While the water is boiling, rinse the cranberries and pick them over, to remove any bad ones.
- Add the cranberries, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest , cover, and turn heat down to medium/low. Simmer until they stop popping and the consistency is like a jam, 10 minutes or so. Stir frequently.
- Skim off foam and pour into a bowl to cool.
- Once they are cool, add in the chopped up apple and walnuts.
Notes
- The sauce will thicken upon sitting and cooling.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Substitute 1/2 cup orange juice for 1/2 cup water for sweeter flavor.
Desserts Recipes to try!
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls: Perfectly soft and chewy homemade cinnamon rolls. A breakfast treat filled with cinnamon swirl and topped with cream cheese frosting.
Pumpkin Bars: Moist cake like pumpkin squares with a whipped cream cheese frosting. These squares are the perfect autumn dessert that will feed a crowd!
Peanut Crunch Candy: Super fast no bake peanut crunch candy, made with Captain Crunch Peanut Butter cereal and almond bark! Easy birthday and holiday treat!
Apple Pie Bars: Homemade apple pie bars, all done in a sheet pan. Made with apples, cinnamon, and a flaky pie crust, this will feed the whole family!
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies: Soft and chewy oatmeal peanut butter cookies made without flour. Super quick and easy dessert the whole family will love!
Pumpkin Spice Cookies: Soft and chewy pumpkin spice cookies. A perfect fall cookie that is topped with a delicious cream cheese icing!
Blueberry Coffee Cake: Soft and moist blueberry coffee cake drizzled with vanilla icing. Delicious breakfast or dessert treat that everyone will love!
Homemade Cream Puffs: Light and fluffy homemade cream puffs with a vanilla cream filling. Easy pastry dessert that everyone will love.
7 Layer Cookie Bars: 7 Layer cookie bars with chocolates, butterscotch, coconut, pecans, topped on a graham cracker crust! Made in one pan for an easy dessert.
Strawberry Bundt Cake: Strawberry bundt cake filled with fresh strawberries and drizzled with icing. An easy and delicious dessert!
Vanilla Cupcakes: Moist vanilla cupcakes that are topped with a buttercream frosting. These are so easy to make from scratch using simple ingredients.
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[…] Cranberry Sauce: Homemade cranberry sauce made with apples and walnuts. Super easy and delicious recipe to serve as a side dish for the holidays! […]