Easy Yummy Cranberry Sauce
The easiest, jammiest, most crowd-pleasing cranberry sauce your table has ever seen—no ridges required.
Let’s talk cranberry sauce. It’s the dish everyone claims to hate but somehow always ends up on the table. Most people either go full nostalgia with the canned stuff (respect the ridges) or overdo it trying to reinvent the wheel with, like, pomegranate molasses and star anise. No thanks.
It’s the perfect balance of tart, sweet, and not trying too hard. Fresh cranberries, orange juice, a hint of sugar—simple, classic, and actually delicious. Plus, it’s stupid easy to make, which is my love language. You just throw everything in a pot, simmer it into jammy perfection, and voilà: a side dish that actually pulls its weight on the Thanksgiving table.
Trust me, your guests will thank you—or at least not actively judge you. Win-win.
1 pound fresh cranberries
Juice and zest of 1 orange
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
Add all the ingredients to a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce the heat to medium. When the cranberries begin to break down, use the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher to crush them.
Simmer the cranberry sauce for 10 more minutes, or until it is slightly reduced.
Remove the pot from the heat and allow the cranberry sauce to cool before transferring it to a jar.