Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe: Orange, Apple, Red Wine
This homemade cranberry sauce is made with fresh cranberries simmered in a spiced sugar syrup, then finished with grated apple, red wine and fresh orange. I guarantee that once you’ve tasted it, you’ll never go back to store-bought.
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Cranberry Sauce
The sugar is infused with a cinnamon stick and a star anise before the cranberries go in, so the spice runs through the whole sauce. The grated apple dissolves into it, the red wine adds depth, and the orange juice and zest go in at the end. It takes about 25 minutes, it makes 750 ml, and it makes your house smell like Christmas.
It is ten times better than anything off the shelf, and it is not hard to make.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You need 340 g of fresh cranberries, 170 g of sugar, 100 ml of water, a cinnamon stick, a star anise, one navel orange, 240 g of eating apples, 125 ml of red wine and a small pinch of salt. The full list is in the recipe card below.
Frozen cranberries work just as well. To check that fresh ones are really fresh, drop one on the work surface: if it bounces, it’s fresh. Any type of sugar works, and I use unbleached caster. Gala, Granny Smith or Pink Lady apples are all fine, and 240 g is two regular apples or three small ones. I like navel oranges because they are seedless and in season through the winter.
If you don’t want to use red wine, use 60 ml of port, sherry, whisky, brandy or cognac instead. My rule for cooking with wine is that if you’re willing to drink it, you can cook with it.
How to Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
The whole thing takes about 25 minutes on a low heat. You need a frying pan or saucepan, a microplane or fine grater, and a box grater.
Infuse the sugar syrup
Put the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and star anise into the pan and place it on a low heat. Don’t stir it or do anything else to it. Leave it for about 10 minutes, until the sugar has fully dissolved and the caramel is just starting to darken.
Use that time to prepare everything else. Pick through the cranberries and remove any soft or rotten ones and any stalks. Zest the orange into a bowl, then squeeze the juice in. Peel and core the apples, then grate them on the large holes of the box grater.
Add the cranberries
Be careful here. The sugar syrup gets extremely hot, and if it splashes on you it sticks to your skin. Add the cranberries and stir them until they are all coated. The sugar may set on the outside of the cranberries, especially if they are fridge cold, but it melts again as everything heats up. Keep cooking on a low heat, stirring occasionally, until some of the cranberries start to burst and a red sauce begins to form in the pan.
Add the apple, wine and salt
Add the grated apple, the red wine and a small pinch of salt. Stir until the apple is evenly mixed through the cranberries, then cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apple has dissolved into the sauce a little. If the apple has browned, it doesn’t matter.
Finish with the orange
Stir in the orange juice and zest and simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes, until around half the cranberries have burst and the other half are still whole. Drag a spoon through the sauce. If it leaves a slight trail for a few moments, that’s a good thickness.
Jar it
Spoon the sauce into small sterilised glass jars. I use 250 g (8.8 oz) jars.
Tips for the Best Cranberry Sauce
- Don’t stir the syrup while it infuses with the spices.
- Add the cranberries carefully, because hot sugar syrup sticks to skin.
- Don’t worry if the sugar sets on cold cranberries. It melts again as the pan heats up.
- Stop when around half the cranberries have burst and half are still whole.
- Check the thickness by dragging a spoon through the sauce. A slight trail that lasts a few moments is right.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe: Orange, Apple, Red Wine
Equipment
- Frying pan or saucepan
- Microplane / Fine grater
- Box grater
- Wooden / Stirring spoon or spatula
- Jars / containers for storing the sauce
Ingredients
- 340 g fresh cranberries frozen also work well
- 170 g sugar I use unbleached caster, any type works
- 100 ml water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 1 navel orange zest and juice; seedless and in season through the winter
- 240 g eating apples Gala, Granny Smith or Pink Lady, 2 regular size or 3 small, peeled, cored and grated
- 125 ml red wine or use 60 ml of port, whisky, brandy, cognac or sherry
- 1 pinch salt small
Instructions
- Put the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and star anise into a frying pan or saucepan and place it on a low heat. Do not stir it. Leave it for about 10 minutes to infuse, until the sugar has fully dissolved and the caramel is just starting to darken.
- While the syrup infuses, pick through the cranberries and remove any soft or rotten ones and any stalks. Zest the orange into a bowl, then squeeze in the juice. Peel and core the apples and grate them on the large holes of a box grater.
- Carefully add the cranberries to the pan, as the sugar syrup is extremely hot and sticks to skin if it splashes. Stir to coat them. The sugar may set on the outside of cold berries but it melts again as everything heats up.
- Keep cooking on a low heat, stirring occasionally, until some of the cranberries start to burst and a red sauce forms in the pan.
- Add the grated apple, the red wine and a small pinch of salt. Stir until the apple is evenly mixed in, then cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apple has dissolved into the sauce a little.
- Add the orange juice and zest, stir to combine and simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes, until around half the cranberries have burst and the other half are still whole. Drag a spoon through the sauce: a slight trail that lasts a few moments is the right thickness.
- Spoon the sauce into small sterilised glass jars (250 g / 8.8 oz). It keeps for 1 to 2 weeks before it starts to ferment and lose its fresh flavour.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
| Total Fat | 0.1g |
| Saturated Fat | 0g |
| Cholesterol | 0mg |
| Sodium | 13.1mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 22.2g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.9g |
| Sugars | 18.4g |
| Protein | 0.3g |
| Potassium | 77.2mg |
What to Serve With This
Spoon it alongside my crispy skin roast chicken, with roast potatoes that work with any variety.
If you like cranberry with your vegetables, my charred Brussels sprouts come with an orange, cranberry and walnut dressing. For other sides, my braised red cabbage cooks in one pan, and my mum’s make-ahead leek gratin can be prepared in advance.
Storage and Making Ahead
Keep the sauce in sterilised jars in the fridge. It makes a great gift, too.
How long does homemade cranberry sauce last?
Homemade cranberry sauce lasts between 1 and 2 weeks in sterilised jars. After that it starts to ferment and lose its fresh flavour.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you thicken cranberry sauce?
Simmer it on a low heat until around half the cranberries have burst and the other half are still whole. Then drag a spoon through the sauce. If it leaves a slight trail for a few moments, it is the right thickness.
What spices go well in cranberry sauce?
This recipe uses a cinnamon stick and a star anise, infused in the sugar syrup before the cranberries go in.
How much sugar should I use in cranberry sauce?
This recipe uses 170 g of sugar for 340 g of fresh cranberries, plus the grated apple and orange. Any type of sugar works, and I use unbleached caster.
