Classic Cranberry Sauce Recipe (2024)

After reading several of your comments, we checked with Julia, and the sauce needs to be cooked WAY down (her words) until the water evaporates and the pectin in the cranberries is activated. We've edited the recipe to reflect that instruction. I hope that helps all of you!

4 cups dry measure, not 32 ounces weight. But don't make this. It's just plain awful. Follow the recipe on the side of the Ocean Spray Cranberries package if you want a classic cranberry sauce.

Just looked at the ingredients in Julia's recipe and said, hmm, not nearly enough sugar! This echoes several of the readers' comments below who tried it. I have been making cranberry orange relish from the old NY Times cookbook (Craig Clairborne - page 496) for at least 40 years. It calls for 16 Ounces of cranberries (wt) I/2 cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup of water and TWO CUPS of sugar and it is wonderful. just made it yesterday.

1. Buy a bag of fresh cranberries.
2. Follow the cooking directions on the package. Add the 1/4 cup fresh orange juice and toasted pecans if you want to get crazy.
3. Either drink the Grand Marnier neat, or make a margarita, substituting the GM for Triplesec...you'll feel better soon.

For over 30 years I have cooked cranberry sauce until the berries pop.
Then I simmer for 5 - 10 minutes at the most. This preserves the beautiful red colour, thickens the sauce and I think it preserves its nutrients.

This is NOT a good basic recipe, and anyone who follows it will be sorry they did. Too much liquid, not enough sugar. Proportions totally wrong.

It is very, very frustrating that both Melissa Clark and Julia Moskin have posted this identical recipe--Clark even recommending a short cooking time, with only some of the cranberries popped--when so many cooks have found the amount of water excessive and the amount of sugar very scant. I tried this, after years of using the classic recipe, because I've always found that rather too sweet and have come to trust this site, but this recipe will lead first time cooks astray: change it!

Nothing could make this better except making something else.

This recipe has caused a lot of unnecessary grief. Just follow the directions on the bag.

This one is easy. Used a 12oz bag of cranberries with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 of a large orange juice and its zest, no Grand Marnier or pecans. I think the trick to get the right amount of water/cranberry ratio is put all ingredients in a small sauce pan and fill with just enough water to cover the cranberries. Cook until the berries have all popped. When cooked, place in a covered glass bowl and cool in the refrigerator. This sauce is best left to jell in the refrigerator overnight. Good luck.

This Classic Cranberry Sauce is terrible! Too much water, not enough sugar. I'm not going to add the Grand Marnier because I don't want to waste it. I've been making all kinds of cranberry sauce for years and should have known better!

Ummm.Wash an orange.Cut it in quarters or eighthsPut it in your food processor/blenderAdd a bag of raw cranberriesProcess until medium-ly choppedFridgeServe.Fresh, easy, bright flavours--all adult family members have been loving it for three decades now.If there's any left over (there never is here), turn it into muffins or whatever pleases you

Way too much liquid. Wasted my cranberries.

This is definitely better with Grand Marnier. I also add 1-2 tsp of orange zest for flavor.

So much whining about a delightfully tart sauce that cooked down in about 15 minutes.

Using the proportions given, it took an hour to cook down to the desired consistency. Was a tiny too tart for my taste, and 1T more of sugar gave the right balance for me. Still not too sweet.

I’m sorry but I love the tartness and jamminess of this recipe. And since I find cranberry sauce addictive, I feel better about eating bowls full when there’s less sugar. Also makes a good spread on toast, scones, croissants- you name it.

I found it too acidic. I added less than 1/4 c chopped crystallized ginger and 1 more Tbsp of sugar. Magnificent.

I made the Craig Claiborne cranberry relish from his NY Times cookbook for over 40 years, it’s absolutely delicious. This year I tried Julia Moskin’s recipe as a base, I reduced the water to a cup, 3 cups cranberries, pinch of salt, cooked 30 minutes and added 1/4 Cointreau after letting the sauce cool. Tart, tasty and it helps cut the richness of the Thanksgivings meal. It was all eaten up.

I made this as revised as a challenge to the many negative reviews from 5 years ago and this is now my go-to recipe for cranberry sauce! Still as simple as the back-of-bag recipe I loved and cutting the sugar to less than half did not sacrifice flavor, especially if you love the tartness of cranberries - not at all too tart for my buds. Boiling for the full 25 minutes gives the sauce a wonderful jammy speadability for post thanksgiving sandwiches.

After a serendipitous blending on a Thanksgiving dinner plate, I now add pomegranate seeds and ginger to my whole cranberry sauce using the recipe on the bag. Everyone at our holiday table loves it.

I followed your revised notes and cooked the berries way down. I added both fresh orange juice and Grand Marnier which added a fresh citrus flavor. This is a keeper.

Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit -- folks at the table preferred this more tart, less candy-like version of cranberry sauce. It's definitely not the same as canned sauce, but may be a feature rather than a bug. We used the prescribed 2c of water and then boiled it down (around 20 minutes), adding the orange juice and then refrigerating overnight. Worked great.

Wish I had read the comments before making this. Had to toss, start over, should have known the water was way more than needed, the sugar way less.

25 mins

Add zest of 1 orange

Complete failure. Never thickened, even after an hour of boiling.

I cook this with orange juice and walnuts (if I do not have pecans on hand). I also reduce sugar a bit. My 12 y.o. is a super picky eater but this has been a hit with him for the past few years. Thanks!