Perfect jellied cranberry sauce recipe (3-ingredients) - Rhubarbarians (2024)

Holiday classic jellied cranberry sauce recipe! Here’s how to make perfectly smooth cranberry sauce at home for your Thanksgiving table.

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Hi, Rhubarbarians! Gather 'round, because today we are diving into how to make jellied cranberry sauce!

For many of us, cranberry sauce is a MUST HAVE on our Thanksgiving or holiday tables. But, do you know how easy it is to make it at home from scratch?

If you love the classic can ridges on store bought cranberry sauce, try making it yourself and see the difference. Making jellied cranberry sauce is so easy and only uses 3 ingredients: cranberries, sugar, and water. That's it!

What is jellied cranberry sauce?

Picture this: It's Thanksgiving, and you're gazing at a bowl full of ruby-red cranberry goodness. That's jellied cranberry sauce in all its saucy glory.

At its heart, jellied cranberry sauce is the smooth version of traditional whole berry cranberry sauce. It's a thick sauce made from simmering cranberries, sugar, and liquid that can retain it's shape.

As the cranberries burst when simmered, they release natural pectin. This magical pectin is what gives the sauce its jellied texture. After a little sieving action, you're left with a smooth and tart sauce that's ready to grace your holiday table.

When is cranberry season? Cranberries are in season from September to November here in the cooler, Northern US states.

Don't forget to try these Thanksgiving recipes:

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Ingredients and equipment

Here is everything you need to make homemade jellied cranberry sauce. Full ingredient amounts with instructions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this article.

Ingredients:

• fresh cranberries (frozen are great too)
• sugar
• water

Equipment:

• Medium sized sauce pan. We love our Green Pan saucepan!
• Measuring cups.
• Wooden spoon or spoonula. We use this spoonula for everything.
• Heat safe container. This one is the perfect size!
• Fine mesh sieve. Here's the sieve that we have.
• Large mixing bowl.

How to shop for fresh cranberries

Right around October, you will usually start to see bags of fresh cranberries popping up at your supermarket. They are fairly inexpensive and sold in twelve ounce bags, which is the exact amount needed to make this recipe. You'll need one twelve ounce bag to make one cup of jellied cranberry sauce. Go ahead and get two if you need to double it!

To make the best tasting cranberry sauce, you will want to find cranberries that are still very firm and have not been damaged. Look for bags of berries that don't have any smashed or broken cranberries and have mostly round, firm berries. The color will range from light, bright red to a dark, deep red. Both are very normal.

Get yourself an extra bag and try some of these ten best fresh cranberry recipes!

Step by step instructions

Here is a visual step-by-step guide to making perfectly smooth cranberry sauce. Full instructions with ingredient amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this article.

• First, figure out how much cranberry sauce you will need to make. The recipe is written for 1 cup of cranberry sauce. Go ahead and double or triple the recipe if needed.
• Combine the cranberries, sugar, and water in a medium sauce pan over medium heat on your stove top.

• Give everything a good stir and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• After about 5 minutes, the berries will start to burst, and you will need to stir more often to keep the berries from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

• After 15-20 minutes, your berries should be completely broken down and resemble whole berry cranberry sauce.

• Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool a bit.
• Grab a fine mesh sieve and place it over a medium bowl.
• Spoon your cranberry sauce into the sieve and start to press the sauce through the sieve with the back of a large spoon. Do this until all of the sauce is in your bowl and the skins are left behind in the sieve.

• Spoon the strained sauce into a serving container and evenly flatten out the top a bit. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Refrigerating gives the sauce time to set, so refrigerating overnight is best.

Serving suggestions

For Thanksgiving: We love to serve cranberry sauce in a fancy bowl on the Thanksgiving table! Be sure to include a large spoon or a small knife so that guests can scoop (or slice) some onto their plates. It's the perfect, colorful side dish that serves as a bright contrast to all that brown and rich Thanksgiving food.

Serve it chilled: We prefer to eat cranberry sauce cold rather than hot, especially the jellied sauce, as it can get thinner as it warms up. Serving the sauce cold will result in that thick, jelly like consistency that we all love.

Fancy presentation: For an elegantly colorful presentation, sprinkle some orange zest on the top of the sauce!

As a jelly: Cranberry sauce is for so much more than a side dish on your holiday table! Try using it as a jelly on your morning toast, stirring it into yogurt, topping on ice cream, spreading it on your sandwiches (hello leftover Thanksgiving sandwiches), or using it to make baked goods and appetizers.

Recipes that pair well with cranberry sauce:

• Apple and cherry stuffing muffins
• Chive mashed potatoes with gravy
• Butternut squash rolls

Recipe tips and variations

• Fresh vs. Frozen Cranberries: While fresh cranberries are fantastic, you can absolutely use frozen ones too. The sauce may need a few extra minutes to thicken due to the excess water.
• Sugar Swap: Try swapping brown sugar for white sugar for a richer flavor. You can reduce the amount of sugar if desired as well. I don't recommend using maple syrup, honey, or artificial sweeteners for jellied cranberry sauce unless you are using pectin.
• Add orange: We're all about that orange flavor! Feel free to swap the water for orange juice or add orange zest to the sauce. It's your cranberry sauce, so make it your own.
• Add warm spices: Elevate your sauce with a pinch of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, or a sprinkle of cloves. These warm spices add a cozy holiday vibe to your cranberry creation.
• Chill it: Don't skip chilling the sauce! This makes sure that it thickens and provides that smooth consistency. Go for a minimum of one hour, but overnight is best.
• Make extra: Hosting a crowd or want to make sure you have leftovers? Double or triple the recipe; it's super easy to scale up. Just make sure you have a roomy saucepan to accommodate all those cranberries.

Storing and freezing

You've made a ton of jellied cranberry sauce so that everyone has leftovers, and now it's time to ensure you can enjoy it beyond your festive feast. Here's how to store it and freeze it, so that delightful cranberry goodness doesn't go to waste.

Storing Your Sauce: Once your homemade jellied cranberry sauce has cooled down, place it in an airtight container and pop it in the fridge. It will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Freezing Your Sauce: First, make sure your sauce has cooled to room temperature. Then, transfer it to an airtight container or a resealable freezer bag. Leave a little space at the top to account for expansion as it freezes. It will stay good in the freezer for up to 6 months. When you're ready to use it, simply thaw it in the fridge overnight or give it a gentle warm-up on the stovetop.

How to use leftover cranberry sauce:

• Use it as a glaze for vegan cranberry co*cktail meatballs
• Make cream cheese cranberry crescent rolls
• Try easy cranberry orange hand pies
• Use it in some leftover cranberry sauce muffins
• Make cranberry coffee cake to go with your morning coffee

You can find all of our favorite easy recipes with cranberry sauce here!

FAQs

More cranberry sauce recipes to try:

• Apple cranberry sauce with bourbon and cinnamon
• Mulled cranberry sauce
• Whole berry cranberry sauce

Did you make this recipe? Leave us a review and star rating in the comments below! We read every single review and appreciate your feedback.

Recipe

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