Bring the heat to your holiday with an unforgettable cranberry sauce that will have everyone wanting to know the recipe. It's sweet, it's spicy, it's everything nice-y. It's just 5 simple ingredients and 15 minutes of your time. Drizzle it over turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. Everyone will reach for this one second!
For ideas on how to use up your leftover cranberry sauce and other holiday leftovers, try our Thanksgiving Leftover Egg Rolls or us Thanksgiving Leftover Pizza.
Why our recipe?
- A spicy twist on cranberry sauce that's an instant favorite and ready in 15 minutes.
- It only takes 5 ingredients to create an unforgettable sauce that will have people licking their plates clean.
- Serve it hot as a drizzly sauce or let cool completely and gel up for scooping.
It may seem easy to reach for a can of cranberry sauce at the store, but you won't believe how much more delicious cranberry sauce is when it's made at home. Then you add the jalapeño and it's truly out of this world. Say goodbye to store-bought cranberry sauce and hello to a new holiday tradition!
Material notes
- Cranberry: These tart berries are the star of the show, so definitely do your best to get fresh! Frozen cranberries can work too, but you'll need to add a few minutes to the cooking time.
- Orange Juice: Don't go for fresh squeezed on this one. A bottle of orange juice will do the trick.
- Jalapeño: If you want the sauce to be a little less spicy, remove the seeds from the jalapeños. If you want it spicier, use a serrano instead.
Preparing the cranberries
Fresh cranberries should be washed in cold water and sorted. You want firm, plump and deep red berries. As you pick, watch for any stems or damaged berries and remove them before you start cooking the cranberries. Spoiled berries may be mushy, soft, shriveled, discolored or moldy. If the cranberries are a little soft, you can still use them, but firmer cranberries will lead to the best flavor.
Spicy levels
If you or someone at your table doesn't like a ton of spice, you can certainly adjust the heat level by removing the seeds, using less jalapeño (1/4 or 1/2), or adding your jalapeño to your cranberries. A long cooking process dulls the heat of the jalapeño giving you flavor, but a little less burn.
For more heat, swap out your jalapeño for a spicier pepper like serrano. Be careful not to go too spicy with peppers like habanero as the heat intensifies as it sits.
Serve hot or cold
Cranberry sauce is a traditional item on a holiday dinner table, but if you've never tried it, you may wonder what cranberry sauce is even for! A perfect accompaniment to meats such as this delicious sweet and tart sauce the turkey or porkBut it's also great as a spread on sandwiches. Goes great with it too staffing, mashed potatoesAnd green beans. You'd be surprised how many things taste good with this cranberry sauce!
When this sauce is hot It has a smooth, pourable texture similar to something like barbecue sauce.
When this sauce is cold It has a gel-like consistency similar to canned cranberry sauce. You won't get the shape of a can as a log on a plate ready for slicing, but you'll still get that scoopable, spreadable consistency.
Storage and reheating instructions
Keep in fridge Leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.
to freeze Leftovers in an airtight container up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before use.
Reheat In the oven on low heat until it reaches the desired temperature, or in the microwave, stirring in 15-second increments for small amounts and 30-second increments for large amounts.
