Smooth Homemade Cranberry Sauce Without Orange Juice

This homemade cranberry sauce has plenty of tart cranberry flavor, with a little cinnamon and lemon. Straining removes the skins for a smooth sauce, and there’s no orange juice. It’s a large batch for a holiday meal, so make it the day before and let the fridge do the rest.

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Ingredients for Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Lemon juice: Adds a little brightness to the cranberry flavor. There’s no orange juice in this recipe, but it does contain citrus.

Cranberries: Use fresh or frozen cranberries. Their natural pectin helps the sauce thicken as it cools. Add frozen berries straight to the pot without thawing. Dried cranberries won’t work for this sauce.

Granulated sugar: Balances the tart cranberries. This recipe uses less sugar per pound of fruit than many traditional cranberry sauces, so expect a tart result.

Water: Helps dissolve the sugar and cook the berries without scorching. Stir regularly, especially as the mixture thickens.

Cinnamon stick: Adds a mild, warm flavor. Using a whole stick lets you remove it before straining and keeps ground spice specks out of the smooth sauce.

Find the full ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.

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How to Make Smooth Cranberry Sauce

Start the Sauce

Rinse the cranberries and remove stems or soft, damaged berries. Put all the ingredients in a large pot, about 8 quarts (7.5 liters), with room for bubbling. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and move the berries through the liquid.

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Cook Until the Berries Soften

Reduce to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10–15 minutes. Stir from the bottom so the sauce doesn’t stick. The berries will pop and soften; they’re ready when they crush easily against the pot with a spoon. A large or frozen batch may need longer. Follow that cue rather than the timer alone.

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Press Through a Sieve

Remove the cinnamon stick. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a heatproof bowl and add the warm sauce in batches. Press with the back of a sturdy spoon, then scrape the sauce from the underside into the bowl. Discard the skins left behind.

A colander lets skins through, while blending breaks them up without removing them. Use the sieve for a smooth result.

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Cool and Chill

Divide the sauce among shallow containers so this large batch cools faster. Let it cool briefly, about 30 minutes, then refrigerate within two hours of cooking. Chill for at least four hours, or overnight. Check the thickness after chilling; warm sauce looks looser.

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Tips for Success

• Stir more often as the sauce thickens, especially around the bottom and edges of the pot.
• Strain while warm. A cold, thick sauce takes more work to push through the sieve.
• If it’s still runny after chilling, simmer uncovered for a few more minutes, then cool and chill again.

Variations

Sweeter sauce: This batch uses less sugar per cranberry than many classic recipes, so it may taste more tart. Taste a cooled spoonful. Add sugar to the warm sauce ¼ cup (50 g) at a time, stirring until dissolved and tasting again.

Looser texture: There’s also less water per berry, so the cooked mixture may be thicker. If needed, warm gently and add water 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time. Less sugar can also give a softer set, so don’t assume it will become a firm jelly.

Stronger cinnamon or lemon: One cinnamon stick and one tablespoon of lemon juice give a mild flavor in this large batch. For more spice, cook with a second cinnamon stick and remove both before straining. For more lemon flavor, stir in extra juice 1 teaspoon (5 ml) at a time; it will also add tartness.

Chunky sauce: Skip straining and keep the cooked berries. This gives you a higher yield.

Make Ahead and Storage

Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to one week. This isn’t a canning recipe, even if you store it in jars.

Freeze for up to three months in freezer-safe containers, leaving room for expansion. Thaw overnight in the fridge. The sauce may be looser after freezing.

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Serving Ideas

Serve chilled with turkey, roast chicken, or pork. Spoon leftovers onto sandwiches or plain yogurt.

Try my Christmas jam for another cranberry spread, or add a sparkling cranberry lime mocktail to your holiday menu.