Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Honey – Naturally Sweetened
This homemade cranberry sauce with honey is the perfect combination of sweet and tart! Whole cranberries, fresh orange, and honey combine to make a flavorful and delicious sauce. Serve it up for Thanksgiving, or use it throughout the fall for sandwiches, pastries, and yogurt!
I remember growing up thinking that cranberry sauce was just the can-shaped blob of jelly that we pulled out of the pantry right before it was time for Thanksgiving dinner.
When I finally discovered just how good cranberry sauce can be when you make it yourself, it quickly became one of my favorite parts of the holiday!
This year, I decided to make it with honey instead of sugar, and it was the best cranberry sauce I had ever had. Not only did I reduce the amount of refined sugar in my meal, but the flavor was so much richer because of the honey.
If you want to make your own whole cranberry sauce this season, try my honey-sweetened cranberry sauce. You’re going to love it — you may even find yourself making it on repeat this fall.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- As I said, homemade cranberry sauce is so much better than store-bought, and it’s even better when it’s sweetened with honey!
- This cranberry sauce is naturally sweetened, which means you can cut down on your refined sugar consumption.
- The citrus in this cranberry sauce really makes the flavor pop. Orange cranberry sauce is so much better than just the usual cranberries and sugar.
Ingredients
- Cranberries: Fresh or frozen. If you use frozen, no need to thaw them first.
- Orange: We’ll use the juice and the zest — no waste! I recommend choosing an organic orange since we will be zesting it.
- Honey: Raw, local honey is always best. This sweetens the cranberry sauce and gives it a rich honey flavor.
- Optional additions: If you want more flavor, feel free to add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and/or toss a cinnamon stick in as it simmers. I’ve made it both ways and I actually like the simpler recipe!
How to Make Honey-Sweetened Cranberry Sauce
Step 1. Combine the cranberries, orange juice, zest, and water in a small saucepan.
Step 2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the temperature to medium-low heat. Stir in the honey.
Step 3. Allow the mixture to simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the cranberries have popped and the sauce is at your desired consistency, remove it from the heat.
Step 4. Allow to cool, then garnish with orange zest and serve.
Tips
- If you like your sauce less chunky, you can mash it with a potato masher or fork as it cooks. This is what I did to achieve the consistency in the photos.
- Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools, so you’ll want to cook it to a tiny bit runnier than you’d prefer.
- You may want to adjust the amount of honey depending on how you like your cranberry sauce. This recipe makes a very middle-of-the-road, balanced sauce.
- A pinch of salt will enhance the flavor of your cranberry sauce. Give it a try!
- Make sure you don’t get any of the pith (the white part) of the orange in your sauce when you zest the orange. The pith is very bitter and won’t taste good in your cranberry sauce.
What to Do with Leftover Cranberry Sauce
Don’t let your leftover cranberry sauce go to waste — it is such a useful and delicious addition to meals! You can always just eat it with leftover turkey or on a turkey sandwich, but here are some more ideas:
- Use it to make a cranberry and brie grilled cheese sandwich
- Mix it into plain yogurt and add some granola to make a cranberry yogurt parfait
- Use it in a homemade cocktail, like my cranberry lime tequila cocktail
- Spread it on toast with butter
- Use it as a jam in a homemade Danish or similar pastry
- Scoop some over a bowl of vanilla ice cream
Recipe FAQs
Cranberry sauce should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge, and it’ll last up to 2 weeks!
First of all, keep in mind that the cranberry sauce will thicken quite a bit as it cools. If you still need it thicker, simply simmer it longer until it reaches your desired consistency.
Yes, you definitely can. I recommend still buying a fresh orange, though, so you can add the orange zest. It gives the cranberry sauce a bright, tasty flavor.
Absolutely; cranberry sauce freezes very well. Once it’s completely cool, freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 6 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before serving.
More Recipes for Fall
- Fall Fruit Salad
- Apple Cider Sangria Mocktail
- Baked Pears with Honey and Maple Whipped Cream
- Autumn Spiced Rum Cider Punch
- Homemade Pear Sauce
🍊 Enjoy the seasonal flavors of autumn with this easy recipe! If you try this cranberry sauce with honey recipe and love it, I’d love it if you come back and leave a review. Thanks for visiting!
Cranberry Sauce with Honey
Equipment
- Small saucepan or pot
Ingredients
- 12 ounces cranberries (1 bag)
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup water
- Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Combine the cranberries, orange juice, zest, and water in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the temperature to medium-low heat. Stir in the honey.
- Allow the mixture to simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. For a smoother cranberry sauce, mash it with a fork a little bit.
- Once the cranberries have popped and the sauce is at your desired consistency, remove it from the heat.
- Allow to cool, then garnish with orange zest and serve.
Notes
- If you like your sauce less chunky, you can mash it with a potato masher or fork as it cooks. This is what I did to achieve the consistency in the photos.
- Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools, so you’ll want to cook it to a tiny bit runnier than you’d prefer.
- You may want to adjust the amount of honey depending on how you like your cranberry sauce. This recipe makes a very middle-of-the-road, balanced sauce.
- A pinch of salt will enhance the flavor of your cranberry sauce. Give it a try!
- Make sure you don’t get any of the pith (the white part) of the orange in your sauce when you zest the orange. The pith is very bitter and won’t taste good in your cranberry sauce.
This cranberry sauce is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving! It’s got such a rich flavor and strikes the perfect balance between sweet and tart. I make it every year!