Vegan Cranberry Sauce with Orange

Looking for a delicious and healthy way to enjoy cranberry sauce this holiday season? Look no further than this delicious vegan cranberry sauce with orange! Made with just a few simple ingredients, this sauce is perfect for topping your favorite Thanksgiving dinner dishes. Plus, it's vegan and gluten-free, so everyone can enjoy it!

I don't know about you, but I cannot wait for Thanksgiving. Not only is it my favorite holiday, but it also means that I get to eat all of the delicious food!

One of my favorite dishes is cranberry sauce. If you are looking for a healthy and delicious option for your Thanksgiving feast, then you should definitely try this vegan cranberry sauce recipe. It is sure to please everyone at the dinner table!

The store-bought canned version doesn't even come close in terms of flavor. When does store-bought anything taste better than homemade? Plus, this cranberry sauce is a gorgeous shade of pinkish-red, making it a festive addition to the table throughout the winter season.

What makes this cranberry sauce vegan?

Although sugar itself is vegan, the processing may not make it so. Some refined sugars are filtered through bone char. However, this isn't the case with organic sugar.

Ever since I went vegan several years ago, I've been buying organic cane sugar. The brand I typically use is listed in the recipe, although you can use any organic cane sugar. If you prefer, use maple syrup instead.

Equipment

Here's what you need to make this easy cranberry sauce:

• Colander or bowl to rinse the cranberries and sort through them
• Microplane zester for the fresh orange zest
• Medium saucepan, preferably a deep saucepan because the cranberries pop as they cook.
• Wooden spoon
• Spatula

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you need to make the best cranberry sauce:

• Oranges for fresh orange juice and zest.
• Cranberries - fresh or frozen. You can use frozen cranberries, which are available year-round.
• Fresh lemon juice for adding brightness and acidity
• Organic brown sugar and organic cane sugar - you can use maple syrup instead, or only organic cane sugar.
• Sea salt - a pinch of salt to bring out the flavors.
• Cinnamon stick for holiday spice, this is optional.
• Optional: cognac, gin or brandy (not pictured).

How to make this Vegan Cranberry Sauce with Orange

It's easy to make your own fresh and homemade easy Vegan Cranberry Sauce! Cook fresh cranberries with fresh orange juice, orange zest, organic sugar, and lemon juice for a tart yet sweet addition to your holiday table in twenty minutes!

This cranberry sauce is on the tart side, so feel free to adjust the amount of sweetener to your own tastes.

Rinse the cranberries and sort through them, discard any that shriveled and soft cranberries (not fresh). How to tell if a cranberry is fresh? A fresh cranberry will bounce.

• Zest one orange, then juice the oranges. If you're a little short on orange juice, it's okay, just replace the missing orange juice with water. If you have a whole cup of orange juice, that's okay! Taste as you go, and adjust the amount of sugar as needed.

Preheat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix all of the ingredients together and bring to a gentle boil.

Simmer for 15- 20 minutes uncovered. Lower the heat to keep the mixture just simmering. Stir often until the cranberries have popped.

The vegan cranberry sauce is ready when it coats a spoon.

Let the cranberry sauce cool and then refrigerate in a glass jar for up to one week, or two weeks if you add alcohol.

• Stir in gin, cognac, or brandy if you wish after removing the saucepan from heat.

Substitutions

• Organic brown sugar and organic cane sugar - you can use maple syrup or date syrup instead, or only organic cane sugar.

Variations

• Add nuts such as walnuts or pecans if you like a bit of crunch. I prefer not to unless I'm putting the cranberry sauce in another recipe.
• Try lemon zest instead of orange zest.

Expert tip

Make this easy vegan cranberry sauce ahead of time for your holiday dinners!

Storage

You can make the sauce up to a week in advance and store it in an airtight glass container in the fridge. Once you make it, it will last in the fridge for about a week.

If you make it the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas, you have a week to enjoy it! If you add gin or brandy, the cranberry sauce may last for two weeks.

Freezing: You can try it, however, when thawed, it may be too watery. You can try cooking it down on low-medium heat. I tend to consume cranberry sauce within a week or two of it being made, so I don't recommend freezing it.

How to serve

You can enjoy this cranberry sauce with savory dishes, alongside brussels sprouts or green bean casserole, or save it for dessert to go on vegan ice cream. Or enjoy it as cranberry jam!

What to do with leftover sauce

• Try my Vegan Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites, they have only 5 ingredients and take 30 minutes to make.
• Put this cranberry sauce on toast, just like you would with jam. It's so good! You can also put it on French toast, crepes, pancakes, or waffles.
• Serve it with granola and vegan yogurt.
• When you are baking, try swirling cranberry sauce in the batter.

FAQ

More vegan recipes

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Vegan Cranberry Sauce with Orange

Emily Miller

There's nothing like fresh, homemade Vegan Cranberry Sauce with Orange! Fresh cranberries are cooked with orange juice, orange zest, and lemon juice. Gin or brandy is optional and makes a festive addition to the holiday dinner table at Thanksgiving!

5 from 94 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 93.4 kcal

Equipment

• Medium saucepan
• wooden spoon
• Microplane zester

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 teaspoon orange zest from 1 large orange
• ▢ ¾ cup orange juice from 2 large oranges
• ▢ 12 oz fresh cranberries picked and sorted or frozen, 3 cups equivalent
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ ⅓ cup organic light brown sugar packed, or organic dark brown sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup organic cane sugar
• ▢ Pinch Sea salt
• ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cognac optional, or gin or brandy

Instructions

 

• Preheat a medium saucepan with high sides over medium heat.
• Add orange zest, orange juice, cranberries, lemon juice, brown sugar, cane sugar, sea salt, and cinnamon stick.
• Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes uncovered, stirring often, until the cranberries have popped. The cranberry sauce should set on a spoon on a plate. It should not be runny.
• Remove from heat, stir in gin or brandy if desired. Pour into four 1 cup glass jars leaving ½ inch space from top. Place lids onto jars.

Notes

Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks if gin, cognac, or brandy is added, otherwise, store for up to one week in the fridge. 

If frozen, the cranberry sauce may become watery. I don't recommend it.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 8peopleCalories: 93.4kcalCarbohydrates: 24.1gProtein: 0.4gFat: 0.1gFiber: 1.6gSugar: 20.2g

Keyword 30-minute, easy, fall, fruit, holiday, Thanksgiving

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Resplendent Kitchen offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy. Although resplendentkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information from online calculators, these figures are estimates.