This quick and easy cranberry orange sauce makes a wonderful addition to your holiday table, but it’s so simple and tasty you’ll want to make it year-round.
For this orange cranberry sauce recipe, we take a short cut and use canned whole cranberry sauce. Then we add a few special touches with fresh orange juice, orange zest, and sweet orange marmalade. It’s sweet, tangy, and delicious.
Ingredients
- Cranberry sauce – Use canned whole cranberry sauce. It is typically plentiful and cheap during the holiday season at larger grocery stores.
- Sweet orange marmalade – Find it in the jelly aisle of the market. A little goes a long way with marmalade because it’s flavorful and very sweet. If you’re wondering what to do with the rest of the jar, try this orange chicken and our orange beef recipe.
- Orange – You need a fresh orange for this recipe because we need the zest and the juice. One large orange should be plenty, but I always pick up an extra just in case. Sometimes they’re not very juicy so I like to have a backup.
- See the recipe card for quantities and preparation.
Instructions
Zest the orange before juicing. If you are using a zester then chop the peel finely. If you are using a Microplane chopping is not needed. Juice the orange.
Add the cranberry sauce, orange juice, marmalade, and zest to a small saucepan. Stir well.
Heat the sauce over medium-low heat until it just starts to simmer, about 5-7 minutes. Stir often and do not leave unattended.
Take the saucepan off the heat and let the cranberry sauce cool down.
Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least a few hours until chilled, 1-2 days is better.
Remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving and stir well. Garnish with extra orange zest, if desired.
Cook’s note
Heating the ingredients lets the flavors combine better than just stirring room temperature ingredients together. It only takes a few minutes, and the results are worth it.
Storing instructions
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Freezing is not recommended as it may become too watery when thawed. Use the leftover cranberry sauce on a turkey sandwich, with roasted chicken, with pork chops or sliced pork tenderloin for a delicious meal, or layer it with cream cheese on crackers for a tasty snack.
For more information on food storage and safety guidelines visit U.S. Department of Agriculture and foodsafety.gov.
One final note
This is a small batch cranberry sauce for small gatherings but it’s easy enough to double. For more holiday staples try our sweet potato casserole (also a small batch recipe) and our favorite green bean casserole that’s made with cream of chicken soup instead of mushrooms.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Cranberry Orange Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 (14 ounce) can Whole Cranberry Sauce
- 2½-3 tablespoons Orange Juice typically the juice of one large orange
- 1 tablespoon Sweet Orange Marmalade
- ½ tablespoon Orange Zest plus a pinch or two for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Zest the orange before juicing. If you are using a zester then chop the peel finely. If you are using a Microplane chopping is not needed. Juice the orange.
- Add the cranberry sauce, orange juice, marmalade, and zest to a small saucepan. Stir well.
- Heat the sauce over medium-low heat until it just starts to simmer, about 5-7 minutes. Stir often and do not leave unattended.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and let the cranberry sauce cool down.
- Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least few hours until chilled, 1-2 days is better.
- Remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving and stir well. Garnish with extra orange zest, if desired.
Notes
- Heating the ingredients lets the flavors combine better than just stirring the room temperature ingredients together. It only takes a few minutes, and the results are worth it.
- Make the cranberry sauce 1-2 days ahead of time and refrigerate in an airtight container. This lets the sauce set allowing the flavors to meld. Plus, it’s one less thing you need to do when preparing a big meal.
- One large orange should be plenty for this recipe, but I always buy an extra just in case. Sometimes they’re not very juicy so I like to have a backup.
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
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