Cranberry Sauce

This flavorful cranberry sauce recipe uses apple cider rather than orange juice. Whole cardamom pods, star anise and cinnamon will make this sauce the highlight of your dinner!

Break out of the cranberry sauce rut with this cozy, aromatic twist on a holiday classic. Tart cranberries simmer with brown sugar, apple cider, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, and a hint of tangerine zest for a sauce that’s bright and deeply spiced.

This isn’t Nana’s cranberry chutney! It’s smoother, a little more vibrant, and definitely unexpected. Cranberry sauce is enough for a weeknight roasted chicken, yet special enough for a coveted spot on your Thanksgiving or Christmas table! Try serving it with spicy peach pork chops, spooning it on some cranberry cinnamon jam bars, or on some yogurt for an easy dessert!

However you use it, this one will stand out from any other cranberry sauce throughout the holiday season!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Cranberries: This recipe calls for fresh, whole cranberries. If you can’t find fresh cranberries, you can buy frozen cranberries instead. You don’t even need to thaw them before cooking the cranberry relish! Just keep the heat low until they begin releasing their juices.
• Light Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: You can add more sugar according to your family’s taste preferences but I like to keep this sauce tart.
• Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon is best here as opposed to cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon will add a warm flavor to the sauce that tastes like the holidays.
• Cardamom Pods
• Whole Star Anise
• Natural Apple Cider
• Apple: Peel and core the apple before finely dicing it! Different types of apples will lend different flavors to the sauce. For a more tart sauce, select a green variety like a Granny Smith apple. For something sweeter, try a Honeycrisp apple.
• Orange or Tangerine Zest

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations for Homemade Cranberry Sauce

• Make it a little boozy. Replace ¼ cup of apple cider with ruby port wine, it’ll add a rounded sweetness to the sauce. 
• Use different citrus zests. Lemons, limes, orange zest or even fresh orange juice all add their own sparkle.
• Swap the apple for pear. Substitute half or all of the apple with finely diced pear. It’s especially lovely with chicken, turkey, and pork!
• Can you make cranberry sauce with dried cranberries? I would not recommend making this recipe with dried cranberries.

Professional Tips 

• Test sauce thickness. Test thickness by running a spoon through the sauce, it should slowly close back over itself.
• Tie your spices in a cheesecloth. For ease of removal, you can tie the star anise and cardamom pods in a small piece of cheesecloth tied closed with kitchen twine. This makes removal easier! You can also count the pods before they go in and dig them out!
• Use quality apple cider. If you can get apple cider from a farmers’ market or while out apple picking, these ciders have a more concentrated and full flavor, which will be transferred to your cranberry sauce.

How to Make Cranberry Sauce

Use these instructions to make the perfect cranberry sauce every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Bring cranberries to a boil. In a small saucepan, heat the cranberries, sugars, and apple cider over medium-high heat until the sauce boils and the cranberries pop (photos 1 & 2).

Cutting your apple into a uniform dice will allow it to cook evenly.

Step 2: Simmer with spices. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the star anise and cardamom pods. You could stop cooking it at this point but I like to cook my cranberry sauce for at least an hour (photo 3).

Step 3: Finish and cool. After simmering for an additional 30 minutes, allow to cool or serve warm (photo 4).

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef-tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed Thanksgiving recipes! Or, amp up your apple cider obsession with this apple cider donut recipe!