Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce

Combine tangy cranberries, sweet orange juice, and a kick of ginger for this simple homemade cranberry sauce. This ginger orange cranberry sauce is easy and delicious.

Growing up, my mom made her “family” recipe for Thanksgiving cranberry sauce. No frills – just sugar, cranberries, and water. Always tasty, but never the standout dish as it impossibly seemed both too sugary and too tart.

Sugar is needed to balance the sourness of cranberries, but we started to look for alternatives to reduce the white sugar load and amp up the flavor. Orange juice does both. With the sweetness of fresh orange juice, we reduced added sugar by 1/2. Plus the juice and zest adds a lovely, fresh citrus note. Ginger came next, lending a peppery warmth. We’ve experimented with other additions, like garden-grown horseradish (a little overpowering) and jalapeño (not a hit with the kids), but always come back to ginger.

This cranberry sauce is a perfect side for a Thanksgiving or holiday meal; it nicely compliments turkey, baked ham or a roast. We also use the cranberry sauce as a condiment on a turkey leftover sandwich or as a jelly on toasted bread with a slice of brie or finely diced pickled jalapeños.

If you have extra turkey, try this leftover turkey tortilla soup.

Just four ingredients, the ginger orange cranberry sauce requires little prep, cooks quickly and can be made a day or two ahead of the big meal. This is one of those dishes that seems to get better after giving the ingredients time to blend. Save some cranberry sauce to make a slightly bizarre, but delicious, cocktail – try a muddled cranberry sauce martini.

Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce Ingredients

Cranberries: Tart cranberries partner so well with all of the Thanksgiving fixings, especially when combined with orange and ginger to mellow the sour. Plus, the deep red looks gorgeous on the table and plate.

Ginger: Ginger root adds a wonderful zesty kick to this sauce. We buy a large ginger root, then freeze what we don’t immediately need. Fresh and frozen ginger grate easily on a microplane grater/zester. Ginger root freezes well; place whole root in freezer safe container and use as needed.

Orange: We strongly recommend fresh squeezed orange juice for this recipe. Nothing beats the flavor and this recipe also uses the zest, which is packed with flavor and aroma. Use the same microplane grater/zester for the zest and ginger. In a pinch, substitute 1/4 cup bottled or frozen orange juice for fresh squeezed.

Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Makes 4 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) bag fresh cranberries, inspected and washed
• ½ cup sugar
• grated zest from 1 medium orange (approx 2 tablespoons)
• juice from 1 medium orange (approx ¼ cup orange juice)
• ¾ cup water
• 1 inch of fresh ginger, grated

How to Make Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan.

Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a boil then reduce to medium. Stir occasionally until cranberries pop, about 5 minutes. Reduce to simmer and cook cranberry sauce for another 5 minutes. 

Remove from heat and let cool. Serve at room temperature, or store in refrigerator for up to a week.

How did the ginger orange cranberry sauce pair with your holiday meal?

This post contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!