“The Indians and English use them much, boiling them with sugar for sauce to eat with their meat. And it is a delicate sauce” – John Josselyn 1671 (first written reference to cranberry sauce)
Cranberry Sauce with Orange & Vanilla uses whole, fresh cranberries, and is cooked down to a sauce fragranced with freshly squeezed oranges and the warm autumnal notes of vanilla bean.
The best part? You can make make this cranberry sauce 4 days ahead of time and bring it to room temperature when you’re ready to serve. However, if you need it last minute, you can do that too – in less than 30 minutes you can have an elegant cranberry sauce on your holiday table.
Another reason to love this recipe? It is so forgiving! You can control exactly how thick or thin you’d like this cranberry sauce to be.
Pro Tips:
Keep in mind that traditional whole cranberry sauce is a thick, somewhat jellied, yet spoon-able sauce. It should not be so thick that it lacks movement – or so loose that it can be poured. If you take your time, and use your judgment, you’ll likely add just the right amount of water once and be satisfied. However, sometimes things happen in the kitchen, and you might find that the cranberry sauce is too thick or too thin, don’t worry, here’s a few tips to help get you through:
What to do if the cranberry sauce is too thick
Add a little fresh water to the cranberry sauce after it has cooked to thin it out. Keep in mind though as the cranberry sauce cools, it will thicken-up or “jelly” a little more, so don’t add too much water at once. Take your time. Add a little fresh water at the end if you think it’s necessary, and then wait as it cools before adding more.
Even if it sits tightly covered in the fridge for a few days and you find it’s too thick after coming to room temperature, just add a little warm water and gently stir before serving.
What to do if the cranberry sauce is too thin or loose
If you inadvertently added too much water, simply bring the cranberry sauce back to the stove top and bring it to a low boil, cooking it down just a bit to help thicken it up.
At What Temperature Should Cranberry Sauce Be Served?
That’s really a preference. I make this cranberry sauce a day or two ahead of time, take it out the refrigerator early in the morning on the day I plan to serve it, and let it come to room temperature. Before serving, I check the consistency to make sure it is to my liking, give it a gentle stir, and bring it to the table in a nice serving dish with its own little ladle or spoon.
Cranberry sauce is typically served alongside piping hot turkey, gravy, and all the holiday trimmings, so it doesn’t need to be hot. However, if you have a desire for warm sauce instead, feel free to heat it up before bringing it to the table. My only suggestion would be not to serve it icy-cold straight out of the fridge.
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Ingredients
- 24 oz whole cranberries
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice from about 3 large oranges
- 1 vanilla bean
Instructions
- Rinse the cranberries and sort through them discarding any unsightly berries and any stems.
- Add the cranberries to a large saucepan. Over low-medium heat, add the sugar and the orange juice, gently lift and stir to combine.
- Split the vanilla bean down the middle using the sharp point of a paring knife. To scrape out the seeds use the back, dull side of the knife, and scrape down the length of the bean collecting the seeds onto the knife. Add the vanilla seeds to the cranberries.*
- Raise the heat a bit to obtain a low boil, stir often until the sugar fully dissolves and the cranberries become quite tender and break down, about 15-20 minutes - they'll take awhile at first, rest assured, they will burst and break open. Adjust the heat, lowering if necessary, to keep the mixture at a low boil/full simmer.
- If the sauce is too thick when done, and it likely will be, add a little fresh water (see Cook's Notes below). Note that the sauce will thicken more while it cools. Once completely cooled, adjust the consistency further, only if needed. Keep tightly covered in the refrigerator if making it ahead of time.
- Serve warm or room temperature. If the sauce was made in advance, let it stand a few hours before serving.
Notes
© chasingtheseasons. All images & content are copyright and trademark protected. Please do not use my photography without prior written permission. If you would like to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.
This looks beautiful and sound amazing!! Novice-cook, first time Thanksgiving Host here, where do I find a vanilla bean??
Hi Shauna! Thank you! You can find vanilla bean in the spice aisle of your local market. Usually the spices are organized alphabetically, so you should be able to find it near the vanilla extract. It typically comes in a jar with just a couple of beans inside. You’ll only need to use one of them. As a first time Thanksgiving host, check out my recipe for Butter Roasted Turkey – at the bottom of the blog post you’ll find some helpful recipe tips and tricks for getting through your holiday. Good luck! Check back to let me know how it goes!
This cranberry sauce looks delicious, and I am going to serve it this Thanksgiving. Question: At what point should the vanilla bean be removed?
Hi there! Just remove it before you serve – or when it’s finished cooking. Let me know how it goes!