The perfect sweet and tart side to compliment that Thanksgiving day turkey – in about 10 minutes of cook time!
Besides the gravy…cranberry sauce is just about the perfect complement to that Thanksgiving turkey!
Even as a kid I used to take a little bit of the cranberry sauce with a bit of turkey and it was just heaven together! Sweet, salty, tart, and delicious all in one bite!
I did grow up on the canned cranberries, and a number of years ago I decided I wanted to learn how to make “real” cranberry sauce. Because let’s face it…our ancestors would not have been busting out the can of cranberry sauce at their big meal!
I thought I would miss the “jello” texture of the canned cranberries, but…oh! Was I wrong! This was even better! Fresh cranberries are so delicious – not a fake, high fructose corn syrup jello, but there is a depth of flavor to using real cranberries.
Making homemade cranberry sauce doesn’t get any easier. Just a quick cook on the stovetop and this Thanksgiving side dish can be prepped days ahead of the big meal. This is the batch I make for our large family Thanksgiving gathering – it makes a lot. If you have a smaller gathering definitely half this.
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Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 cups fresh cranberries I get the large bags at Costco - if you are using the smaller 12oz bags from a grocer you will need 2 bags
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 cup organic pure cane sugar
or coconut sugar I get our organic sugar in bulk at Costco. - 3/4 cup raw honey You can swap more sugar for this if you want to leave it out. I get my raw honey from a local farmer in bulk but this is a good brand too.
or 
Instructions
- Put the cranberries, water, and sugar into a large, high walled skillet, or soup pot and bring to a simmer.
- Low simmer the cranberry mixture, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. You will hear the cranberries start to pop and you can squish some of them with the back of your wooden spoon if you like. The mixture will start to thicken after about 10 minutes.
- Add the honey to the cranberry sauce, combine, and turn the heat off. The cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
For more real food dinner ideas you can check out my Dinner Ideas board on Pinterest!
More real food recipes you might like:
Homemade Gluten Free Stuffing
Gluten Free Pie Crust For ANY Pie!
I LOVE cranberry sauce! I look forward to it every year. Yours looks great! Your white pots are so beautiful too, I swoon every time I see them on IG.
Thank you Emily!