This 30-Minute Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Cinnamon is an easy from-scratch recipe that will fool people into thinking you spent hours slaving away over a hot stove. It’s the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving menu!

Well, I was supposed to be taking a little break from new recipes while I work on some other fun things for you, but after whipping up this 30-Minute Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Cinnamon for our Friendsgiving this past weekend, I couldn’t resist sharing it with all of you. It is THAT good.

What Cranberry Camp Are You In?

So, tell me. Are you staunchly in the canned cranberry camp or do you HAVE to have something homemade? Or could you not care less? To be honest, I grew up eating the canned stuff with our family’s Thanksgiving meal, but once I found my love for cooking and realized just how easy it can be to make a fresh batch from scratch, I’ve forced my entire family down this road with me and we’ve never turned back.

As with everything else “made from scratch,” I love the idea that you can control all of the ingredients you use to create the finished product. There’s also no high fructose corn syrup in a homemade version, which we can probably all do without with all of the pumpkin pie, whipped cream and other sweets we’ll be consuming for the next two months.

What Goes Into this 30-Minute Cranberry Sauce?

The answer: Just enough ingredients to make it truly NEXT LEVEL without getting totally crazy. That’s right, you’re likely to have most of these ingredients on hand in your pantry or in your crisper already.

Here’s what you need:

Fresh cranberries (this time of year they’re easy to find in the produce section of most grocery stores)

An orange

Orange liqueur (like Grand Marnier or Triple Sec)

Cinnamon sticks

Water

That’s it! I don’t know about you, but EASY from-scratch recipes without a ton of weird ingredients in them are totally my jam when it comes to the holidays, much like these Pumpkin Popovers or this Cranberry, White Bean and Grain Salad.

How Do You Make It?

Let me tell you, if you’re looking for a simple dish to make for Thanksgiving that will wow your crowd, this is it. If you know how to add ingredients to a pot and turn on the stove, and can remember to stir your ingredients every once in a while, then you can totally master this dish. Because that’s all it takes!

Simply add all the ingredients to a saucepan and let it simmer away until the cranberries have burst and an enticing aroma is filling up your house.

How to Store Cranberry Sauce

Another great thing about this 30-Minute Cranberry Sauce – aside from how few ingredients it takes and how easy it is to make – is that it can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a few days. So, Meal Prepping Mamas, this one’s for you!

Just transfer it to an airtight container after it’s come down to room temp and then pull it out right before you’re ready to serve. It doesn’t even need to be reheated!

How to Serve Cranberry Sauce

I’m normally not one to make a big deal about serving dishes, but when it comes to Thanksgiving, it’s worth paying a little extra attention to what we’re putting all of these delicious homemade recipes in. Here are some serving dishes that would be perfect for your fancy Cranberry Sauce! (These are affiliate links.)

3 crystal serving bowls for serving cranberry sauce

This 3-bowl crystal serving set let’s the bright red color of your sauce really pop!

This serving boat is a modern way to dress up your Thanksgiving table.

I love pumpkin coquettes from Staub so much that I own two of them! Such a fun way to jazz up any holiday table.

Now, tell me, are you adding this to your Thanksgiving menu or what??

30-Minute Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Cinnamon