What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner?
Everyone has their thing. Some people can’t get enough of the mashed potatoes with gravy, others need that green bean casserole or it doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pie is pretty high on my list, but sitting firmly at the top is something that a lot of people ignore: The cranberry sauce.
Of course, when most people’s version of cranberry sauce is full of processed sugars and is sitting on the serving plate still in the shape of the can, I can’t say that I blame them. But homemade cranberry sauce is super simple to make, and tastes amazing in comparison!
I love to eat cranberry sauce on my turkey on the big day, but my favorite day after Thanksgiving meal is a simple turkey sandwich, smothered in lots of cranberry sauce. Yum!
This version is a little different because I decided to kick things up a notch.
Lately I’ve been loving the combination of spicy and sweet in my cooking. This recipes gives you the classic cranberry sauce taste, but with just a little bit of surprise heat at the end to add some interest. My husband is usually pretty “meh” about cranberry sauce, but couldn’t get enough of this version!
Are you a fan of sweet plus heat?
- One 12-oz bag fresh cranberries
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup honey (real maple syrup can be substituted)
- Zest of one orange
- Juice of ½ orange
- ¼-½ tsp red pepper flakes (yes, here’s the kick!)
- Combine all ingredients in a pot.
- Cook on medium heat for around 35-40 minutes, stirring often. You will need to stir more toward the end of the cooking process, so don’t go too far!
- It is done when it has thickened and most of the berries have popped.
- Allow to cool before serving.