Cranberry Sauce

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!

Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing: A classic homemade bread stuffing for Thanksgiving turkey.   Cooked in the turkey or oven baked, this turkey dressing is just like the one grandma would make!

Stuffed Baked Potatoes: Baked potatoes stuffed with  creamy chicken, beef, and cheese. Perfect for a weeknight meal, filling side dish, or appetizer!

7 Layer Salad:  A classic 7 layer salad that is crisp with a creamy dressing.  Full of chopped lettuce, celery, green pepper, onions, cheese, tomatoes, and bacon, this salad makes a quick and easy side dish!

Simple Baked Goulash: A classic goulash baked with mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs to give it a gourmet taste! Easy for a weeknight kid friendly dinner.

Oatmeal Bread: Easy bread made with oatmeal and drizzled with honey. Baked in a dutch oven to give it a crispy crust and a soft middle. 

Hash Brown Casserole: Hash brown casserole baked with a cheesy sauce and topped with corn flakes. Easy side dish for brunch or dinner and serves a crowd!

Homemade Baked Beans: Homemade baked beans that are made with crispy bacon, onion, green pepper, molasses, and brown sugar. Easy to throw together and tastes even better when made ahead. 

Minestrone Soup: Easy and hearty minestrone soup recipe. This soup is full of fresh veggies and beans that are flavorful and healthy.  

Pasta Fagioli: A hearty Pasta Fagioli soup that is loaded with beans, veggies, and ground turkey.  An easy and healthy comfort soup!

Creamy Broccoli Soup: Creamy broccoli soup made with fresh broccoli, carrots, and onions in a creamy broth. A healthy and easy meal for any day of the week. 

Butternut Squash Soup: Butternut squash soup full of fresh onions, potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, and celery. Added spices of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, makes this a perfect autumn soup!

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.

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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