About Cranberry Sauce with Apple, Orange, and Cinnamon
Nothing quite says the holidays like cranberry sauce.
Because really, cranberry sauce is the staple fruit option to round out any respectable Thanksgiving dinner, amirite?
And maybe that’s because cranberries are one of those few flavors we reserve for the winter months, or maybe it’s because cranberries go amazingly well with all the turkey, but you know what?
Even if it wasn’t the holidays, I’d make cranberry sauce anyway simply because of the delicious sweetly tart taste.
How long is cranberry sauce good for?
Great news here: sauces like this do very well in the fridge.
In fact, homemade cranberry sauce can typically be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to three to four days.
Can you freeze cranberry sauce?
Yes! Due to the high sugar content in cranberry sauce, it will keep it’s texture and flavor very well once frozen.
Once frozen, cranberry sauce should remain good for one to two months.
Should you serve cranberry sauce warm or cold?
In the end, this comes down to personal preference, but to give you some ideas of how to decide:
- A warm sauce will be more liquid and may be better if you’re serving it to be eaten with other foods, like drizzling cranberry sauce over turkey.
- A chilled cranberry sauce might work best when served as a side dish, designed to be enjoyed on its own like creamed corn or green beans.
How long can you leave out cranberry sauce?
Whenever you’ve served perishable food, you should always keep track of how long it sits at room temperature. This can be especially tricky when hosting a holiday dinner.
For most foods, the general rule of thumb is that a perishable item should not be in the “danger zone” for more than two hours. And by “danger zone”, this is usually at or just above room temperature.
If you serve this sauce warm, that should give you another 30-60 minutes before needing to keep track of the time. So, in total, this sauce can be left out for an absolute maximum of three hours, depending on the temperature of the room. However, be sure to still check the sauce every now and then and use your best judgment on its condition. Once you pass the recommended time, you can warm it up in the microwave again. For best results, I’d recommend using a warming tray so that the cranberry sauce stays warm and above the “danger zone” temperature.
If you’re serving this sauce cold, try to keep it out for two hours or less. After that point, you can chill the sauce for another 30 minutes or so, then serve again.
More great sauce recipes
How to make homemade cranberry sauce
This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.
Step 1 – Toss the fresh cranberries, water, orange juice, orange zest, brown sugar, maple syrup, apples, and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan.
Step 2 – Stir everything well.
Step 3 – Allow sauce to simmer until cranberries begin to burst and the sauce turns a creamy dark red color.
Step 4 – Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Details
Cranberry Sauce with Apple, Orange, and Cinnamon
This homemade cranberry sauce is cooked with the fall flavors of apples, orange, and cinnamon, giving this traditional holiday classic a melody of new flavors.
Ingredients
Instructions
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In a large saucepan over medium heat, add cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, brown sugar, maple syrup, apples, cinnamon stick, and water.
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Bring sauce to a boil and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes. Sauce has finished cooking when cranberries have have burst, giving the sauce it’s trademark thick texture. Before removing from heat, taste test the sauce; if sauce is too tart, add 1 tablespoon of syrup or brown sugar until desired sweetness is reached.
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Remove sauce from heat and allow to cool slightly.
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Serve immediately.
Oh yum! I know a few people who are die-hard cranberry sauce lovers who will appreciate this on Thanksgiving! Saving and bringing this one out for Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing!
I love the pre-prep guide! I also have family coming in from out of state and am super duper excited about preparing a huge meal! 🙂 This sauce looks great! I think I will have to add it to my menu!
I’ve been looking for a cranberry recipe for Thanksgiving and I think this is it! Thanks for sharing!
Love homemade cranberry sauce. Like that you used a apple in this. Beautiful and colorful pictures.
Love the chunks in this cranberry sauce.This can be enjoyed in so many ways I think, not just for Thanksgiving. I can see myself putting it in my pancakes, oatmeal, yogurt.
Okay, first of all prepping ahead of time for thanksgiving is genius! Second, omgosh does this look amazing. I am absolutely making it this year for our dinner.
This looks so good! I can already smell the scent of Christmas in my house! Also, I love that holiday prep guide – so useful!
This cranberry sauce recipe looks wonderful and perfect for the upcoming holidays! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
YES, this will be perfect for my Thanksgiving table! YUM
I like the idea of adding apples to cranberry sauce. I am not usually a huge fan of the Thanksgiving staple, but with apples, I think it would be really good.
I LOVE this with the apples! I usually make a cranberry sauce with a vanilla bean in it but I may have to do this one instead.
Sounds like such a great recipe for Thanksgiving. Baked apple was a great twist.
I love that you combined orange + cranberry! Sounds delicious. Pinned to my Thanksgiving board 🙂
This looks delicious. It’ll work great for Thanksgiving.
YUM! This looks like the perfect dish for the Thanksgiving table.
LOVE that you added apples to this cranberry sauce. What a delicious addition…yum!
My mother makes an amazing cranberry orange sauce, but without cinnamon! Must add.
Wonderful post! I love making my own cranberry sauce for the holidays. I will have to try the apples to my recipe.
I just made a double batch of this. Going to freeze half for Christmas Day. Tastes amazing and the house smells wonderful too!
I’m so glad you liked it Kimberly! Ironically enough, I served the batch I made on Thanksgiving and my mother was having none of it 😀 To each their own I guess! an old friend of mine and I loved it.
This looks really good. Any chance of obtaining a pdf version?
Why hefty bags? Can I just store it a Tupperware or Pyrex container? And can I substitute ground cinnamon instead of a cinnamon stick?
Hey, KC! Yes, you can use any container you like and the cinnamon stick for ground cinnamon. If you need it, here’s a guide on how to do that: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/cinnamon-stick
I like to make this with 1/2 cup red wine instead of water. I add blueberries too 🙂 love this recipe, people who use canned cranberry sauce (yuck) are totally missing out!
Made this for our Thanksgiving dinner, the best cranberry sauce I’ve ever had. Used more brown sugar in place of maple syrup, because I didn’t have any syrup. It was so yummy!!!
I was thinking of adding some Mandarin oranges to this… How would that pair, and when would I add them to the schedule of things?? 🙂
Oranges would compliment the sauce, so I would add them the last 5 or 10 min. You don’t want them to be too mushy.
really yummy! i didn’t have apples so i used pears instead and added nutmeg and cardamom spices along with the cinnamon. such a treat =)
Looking for a cranberry pie recipe which was lost in the move. The recipe needed cutting the cranberries in half, sugar, and a little flour. Put it in the pieshell and bake.
The result is a beautiful, bright red, jelled pie. I searched on line and in cook books. No sucess. Cutting the berries in half seems to be the secret of releasing the pectin and natural jelling. Please help.