You'll love this mandarin orange cranberry sauce recipe. It's a perfect side dish for Holiday meals, whether it is at your Thanksgiving table, for Christmas, or for New Year.
But this sweet-tangy homemade cranberry sauce can complement so many dishes—it's good on everything—and since it freezes well, you can enjoy it all year long.
Usually, I make this beautiful ruby red sauce every year in the winter season when fresh bags of cranberries pop up everywhere in the store.
And it's not just something I prepare to fill up the Holiday table.
If you have a soft spot like me for anything sweet and tart, then keep a jar or two of this jam-like mandarin orange cranberry sauce in the fridge or freezer for its many versatile uses.
So, unless you are quite nostalgic about the canned stuff, I'd say homemade is better. So let's make it!
Quick healthy Holiday meal suggestion: pair this fresh cranberry sauce with my cast-iron roast chicken and creamiest mashed cauliflower.
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Ingredients & substitutions
Let's look at the few ingredients you'll need to make this whole-berry cranberry sauce recipe.
Fresh or frozen cranberries: Cranberry season is short—from October to January— and I try to buy them fresh during that time of the year.
You can also buy them in bulk by the end of the season when they are on sale and freeze them for later use.
Note: Rinse frozen cranberries in cold water and use them like fresh cranberries directly in this recipe—no need to defrost.
Mandarin orange juice: It will naturally balance cranberries' tartness, reduce their bitter flavor, and help burst open the cranberries over the stove.
Note: you can also use orange juice or juice of clementines, a hybrid of mandarin and sweet oranges. Around the Holiday season, these fruits are so easy to find in the produce section at your local grocery stores as a favorite winter citrus snack.
Coconut sugar: It adds a deep flavor and a mildly sweet taste to the cranberry sauce without overpowering it.
Note: Don't have any coconut sugar or don't use it that often? Replace it with maple syrup or brown sugar.
Butter or dairy-free alternative: Butter or coconut butter balances out the sweet and tart flavors and adds that irresistible creaminess to this sauce.
It is just the magic in this recipe. If using butter, make sure it is unsalted.
A tad of Brandy, cognac, or Cointreau (optional): If you like to jazz up the flavor, then a tad of Brandy will do the trick. Replace it with some cognac, Cointreau—French orange liqueur, or even port if that's what you have on hand instead.
The alcohol will evaporate but adds a fun complexity to the flavors overall and results in a delicious sauce that pairs well with all kinds of meat dishes.
Note: If you plan to add a bit of Brandy, I suggest adding at least half a cup of any sweetener to even out the intensity of its flavors.
Step-by-step instructions to make mandarin orange cranberry sauce
Storage & how long does cranberry sauce last
For storage, I prefer to use mason jars with an airtight lid or an airtight container. Transfer leftover cranberry sauce to the jar(s). Once slightly cooled, seal and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Then, when ready to use it, thaw overnight in the fridge.
How to use cranberry sauce in everyday healthy recipes
A fresh cranberry sauce or spread is so much more than a simple side dish on a fancy Holiday table.
At home, I enjoy it in a variety of ways. I literally can't stay away once I have a jar or two in the fridge.
So, if you're wondering what goes with cranberry sauce or ways to use leftovers after Thanksgiving day, then here are a few ideas.
Cranberry sauce for breakfast
- Serve this delicious recipe as a buttery fruit spread. It tastes great on toasted farmer's bread, Crispbread ( I love the gluten-free one from Trader's Joe), French toast, bagels, muffins, or as a topping on your Sunday pancakes or waffles.
- It adds a delightful sweetness as a topping on yogurts mixed with some crunchy homemade granola.
- Or add it to chia seed puddings, then top it off with pecans or any of your favorite seeds for a quick breakfast during the week.
- Stir some in your oatmeal bowl to add some sweetness.
Desserts with cranberry sauce
- You'll love it when served on a slice of yeast cake or my orange clove butter bread.
- Or add a couple of spoons to these flourless rich chocolate brownies. Dare to add some vanilla ice cream.
- It'll taste delicious when spread in between two buttery chocolate chip cookies.
- And I imagine that it tastes delicious over a slice of cheesecake.
- Or add some to this warm apple crisp.
Cranberry spread for sandwiches, meat dishes, and more
- Leftover Turkey sandwiches are not the only ones to use up that cranberry sauce.
- My daughter loves our peanut butter and cranberry sandwiches. It goes well with any nut butter. Or she adds a tablespoon of it to butter on bread.
- It's divine with seed crackers and a soft ash goat cheese or Brie—a lovely crowd-pleaser. I am crazy about the super seed crackers from Mary's Gone Crackers.
- And it can replace the rhubarb compote in these Sweet Rhubarb-Rosemary Biscuits. It adds such a unique flavor, and the biscuits are super easy to make.
- A delicious fresh cranberry sauce also goes well with meat dishes in general, especially chicken and, of course, turkey. But also these beef ribs.
- Or add it as a compote to mashed potatoes or a cauliflower mash—simply delicious.
These are just a few suggestions, but reasons enough to make this recipe more often than only around the Holiday season.
Video
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A few extra notes
- The sauce naturally thickens as most of the liquid cooks off. Don't overcook and reduce the sauce too much on the stove because it will thicken further as it cools down.
- Listen to your cranberries! Cranberries will start to pop on the stove and burst open (about 5 minutes in). At least most of them, but you may need to mash some of them with a wooden spoon while stirring to help some of them out unless you like a chunkier texture.
Enjoy!
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📖 Recipe
Mandarin Orange Cranberry Sauce
Mariska RamondinoIngredients
- 2 tablespoons organic butter or coconut butter vegan-friendly
- 12 ounces organic fresh or frozen cranberries 340 grams
- 1 cup fresh clementine or mandarin orange juice the juice of about 6 to 8 mandarins or clementines. You can also use fresh orange juice.
- ¼ cup coconut sugar (35 grams) or up to ½ cup if you prefer it sweeter. You can also use brown sugar or maple syrup instead.
- 2 tablespoons brandy optional—up to ¼ cup or 15 grams based on preference. You can also use cognac, port, or cointreau.
- 1 or two extra peeled mandarins for garnish
Instructions
- In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add the cranberries and stir to coat them with the melted butter.
- Bring the mixture to a steady simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, frequently stirring, allowing the cranberries to pop open. Don't let it come to a boil.
- Note: you can hear them pop open, almost like popping popcorn.
- After 5 minutes, or when most of the cranberries have popped open and become mushy, reduce the heat to low.
- Stir in the mandarin orange juice and the coconut sugar. Optional: add Brandy.
- Bring the mixture back to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or until berries have broken down and somewhat thickened, occasionally stirring.
- Crush any remaining unpopped cranberries with a wooden spoon during stirring.
- Taste test and add more sugar for a sweeter taste, if preferred.
- Stir in extra mandarin slices (optional).
- Remove from stove and allow the spread to cool.
- Enjoy immediately or transfer to glass jar containers.
- Seal and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Notes
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Nutrition (% Daily value)
Disclaimer: This nutritional data is calculated using third party tools and is only intended as a reference.
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