This speedy stovetop cranberry sauce is ready in 15 minutes! Your holiday meal prep just got a whole lot easier. And tastier!
My crockpot cranberry sauce tends to get all the attention this time of year.
But what happens if you don’t have dried cranberries? Or need it NOW!? Well that’s where this scrumptious and speedy stovetop sauce comes into play.
It’s a total breeze to make, and you’ll never want to go back to the canned stuff after this!
Speedy Stovetop Cranberry Sauce
Serving a crowd or planning for leftovers? Feel free to double or tripe the recipe as needed to serve your crew.
The recipe below yields an impressive 2 cups of cranberry sauce. You can also halve it if needed!
We love making a bunch so we have extra sauce for my totally irresistible Cranberry Sauce Muffins and my famous Cranberry Walnut Croissant Sandwiches — SO GOOD!
It’s even freezer friendly too!
All that’s left to do is pour this on everything in sight!
Speedy Stovetop Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries approx. 4 cups
- 1 naval orange zested + juiced
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup honey
- ground cinnamon to taste
Instructions
- Wash berries. Discard any smashed or bruised berries.
- Use a microplane zester to remove desired amount of orange zest to flavor the sauce (I usually aim for ½-1 tsp) and set aside for later. Then juice the orange.
- No zester? No problem! You can use a paring knife to cut two thin strips of orange zest from the peel – just avoid getting any of the white pith as that portion tastes bitter. Add that to the sauce while it simmers for lots of extra flavor!
- Heat a medium-small saucepan to high heat and add orange juice, ¼ cup water, and ¾ cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar.
- Next add the cranberries, orange zest, and ¼ tsp salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer and cook, uncovered, until the cranberries burst and the sauce has thickened. Approx. 10-12 minutes.
- Once sauce is nice and thick and the berries have burst, stir in the honey and season with cinnamon, to taste. You can also add more orange zest and a little more sweetness if you'd like — let your taste buds be your guide! Enjoy!
- For an extra smooth sauce, feel free to puree in a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender. I personally love a blended sauce!
Notes
Nutrition
I love that it can easily be made in advance, stored in the fridge or freezer and reheated when needed. Easy peasy!
Planning your Holiday Menu?
Here are some more awesome ideas for your Thanksgiving spread:
Every Thanksgiving my husband begs me to make my Spicy Southern Hot Corn! This recipe has been part of our holiday meal tradition for years and doubles as a side dish and a dip!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Clementines is one my favorite way to eat brussels sprouts. It’s flavorful and colorful and overall a winner in my book!
Love stuffed mushrooms? This Stuffed Mushroom Casserole is the ultimate entertaining shortcut and turns the popular appetizer into an easy to make side dish!
Have some extra sauce handy? Check out my collection of Recipes to Make with Leftover Cranberry Sauce!
If you get a chance to try this speedy stovetop cranberry sauce recipe, let me know. Leave me a comment or review using the form below. I’m always so excited to hear from you!
Questions & Reviews
Jenn, could an immersion blender be used to puree this sauce?
Hi Carolyn! Yes 100% I used mine this year and it worked like a charm. I’ll add a note to the recipe card.
Thanks, Jenn!! Planning to make this for our Christmas Eve gathering.
Hope y’all have a fantastic Christmas! xoxo
I would totally pour it on the bubbly baked brie. Delicious.
A nice twist on the even more basic recipe on the cranberry package– definitely a bit of an upgrade, yet still easy.
After hours in the kitchen and two failed “pumpkin spice” Pinterest projects … I whipped this up just now and it’s really good! SO my family can have some real cranberry sauce now and we can avoid that creepy can 🙂
Awww yay!!!!! Thanks love! So glad you liked it!!! My family grew up on the sketchy canned stuff and once I realized how easy it was to make I’ve never loooked back either! <3 Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Lime zest in cranberry sauce, so there! Sounds delish! This is my all time favorite thing during Thanksgiving, turkey, veggies all of that is whatever to me but cranberry sauce…WOW! Thank you for sharing <3 Lots of Love C
Haha! Love the little plug for your crockpot recipe! And I swear, only YOU can make a glass full of red gloop look so amazingly delicious! GORGEOUS! Winterized cherry limeade? Don’t mind if I dooooooo!
I low how simple this is. I’m obsessed with cranberry sauce on Greek yogurt and on oatmeal with PB—so freaking good.
This looks great and perfect timing, thanks!
Perfect side for Thanksgiving, always a classic…always loved! Great job 🙂
Hey Carlie! So excited you’ll be making the sauce! My crockpot sauce uses orange juice and zest so you can follow the measurements here: http://peasandcrayons.com/2012/11/crockpot-cranberry-sauce.html or simply use orange zest and juice in the same ratios as the lime zest/juice in this recipe and adjust the sugar to taste. It will come out sweet yet tart (in a good way!) and you can always add a bit extra if you have a sweet tooth. Cinnamon is also a great addition! Feel free to email me if needed! Happy early Thanksgiving! Xoxo
This will be perfect to whip up tomorrow!
Quick question- how could I make this using orange juice? Should I cut down on the honey and/or brown sugar? Thanks! 🙂
Ahh I hate when that happens! What flavor profile are you looking for with the sauce? This one is tart and sweet and you can adjust the level of sweetness [via the honey and sugar] to your liking at any point — same goes for the tartness and lime flavor — its beyond customizable! As for the texture, pureeing the sauce helps it thicken and smooths out the skin of the cranberries for more of a sauce versus a compote. I also have a link in the post for a sauce that combines orange, cinnamon, and apples along with honey for a super yummy sauce! Hope that helps! <3 Let me know what you think! xoxo
yum!! I love cranberry sauce!! Though I made one last week that I thought would be really good and it was not 🙁 here’s to hoping this is more what I’m looking for! 🙂
Annnnd now I want summer cherry limeade. 😉
mmmm looks a lot better than the canned stuff! xo