Lemonade Cranberry Sauce
With just 4 ingredients, this lemonade whole cranberry sauce is a cinch to make.
Here’s one of my favorite recipes for whole cranberry sauce because it’s easy to make, has only 4 ingredients and can be made ahead of time.
I especially like this cranberry sauce because the tart flavor from the lemon is a nice complement to the cranberries.
About Serving
Cranberry sauce is such a colorful side dish on a Holiday table.
When served in a pretty bowl, the deep vibrant ruby-red color of the cranberry sauce almost looks like a decoration on the dinner table.
About the Leftovers
This lemonade cranberry sauce is the perfect addition to leftover turkey and stuffing sandwiches which is a nice treat after the holidays.
Let’s check out the ingredients.
Fresh cranberries, lemon, sugar and water
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.
Rinse:
Start off by rinsing the cranberries and set them aside.
Water and Sugar:
In a medium size pot, add the water and…
…sugar.
Lemon Zest:
Zest a lemon and…
add the zest to the pot.
TIP – For recipes where both the zest and the juice of a citrus fruit is needed, make sure to first zest the fruit before cutting and juicing it.
It’s much easier to zest (scraping or cutting from the outer colorful skin of unwaxed citrus fruits) citrus fruits while the skin is still whole.
So many times I’ve made the mistake of first cutting the citrus fruit and squeezing it to get the juice out before I realized I forgot to zest it.
Next,
Lemon Juice and Cranberries:
Add the juice from the lemon.
Heat the pan on low to medium heat and stir.
When the sugar is completely dissolved,
add the cranberries.
Stir and cook for about 10 minutes.
TIP – if the cranberries aren’t opening up, turn the heat up to the medium setting.
Then, turn the heat way down to the lowest setting.
Cover Pan and Simmer:
Cover the pan and let the cranberries slowly simmer for about 15 minutes or until the desired thickness is reached.
Stir occasionally.
Cool:
Remove from the heat and let cool.
The sauce should continue to thicken.
Chill and Serve:
Chill in the refrigerator before serving.
Or it can be served warm if preferred.
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Lemonade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
- 1 cup water
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1 whole lemon First zested, then juiced
Instructions
- In a medium size pan, add the water, sugar, zest and juice. Heat the pan on low to medium heat. Stir while it's cooking; let cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the cranberries and stir.
- Cook for another 10 minutes and then turn the heat down to the lowest setting. If the cranberries aren't opening up, turn the heat up to the medium setting.
- Cover the pan and let simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the desired thickness is reached. Stir occasionally. The sauce will thicken as it simmers. Remove from the stove and let cool.
- Serve chilled or warm.
Notes
TIPS:
- For recipes where both the zest and the juice of a citrus fruit is needed, make sure to first zest the fruit before cutting and juicing it. It's much easier to zest (scraping or cutting from the outer colorful skin of unwaxed citrus fruits) citrus fruits while the skin is still whole.
- When cooking the cranberries, if they're not opening up on low to medium heat, turn the heat up to the medium setting.
Recipe for Leftover Cranberry Sauce
If by chance, there are any leftovers, here’s a delicious recipe using cranberry sauce you may like “Cranberry Sauce and Blueberry Galette“.
Recipes with Cranberries
Here are more recipes with cranberries…”Limeade, Cranberry and Blackberry Compote“, “Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Spice” and “Turkey, Cranberry and Cream Cheese Pecan Wrap“.
Holiday Recipes
More Holiday Recipes:
No-Bake Cherry Cheese Pie with Helpful Hints
Pumpkin Pudding Puff Pastry Desserts
Cherry, Pineapple and Mandarin Orange Ambrosia
Irish Cream and Chocolate Cake Raspberry Dessert
Comfort Food Recipes
Comfort Food Recipes you may like:
Candied Yams (Sweet Potatoes) with Pecans and Marshmallows
Candied Sweet Potatoes (Canned Yams), with Walnuts and Marshmallows
Baked Herb and Parmesan Potato Slices
Biscoff Cookie Butter Blondie Brownies
The cranberries dont open up on a low to medium setting (at least not for me). I turned it up to medium and they started popping. LOVE this recipe! I always disliked cranberry sauce until I tried this one. Its wonderful
Hi Cristy, thank you so much for your comment. I’m so glad you like it! I’m going to update the instructions to note that if the cranberries don’t open up to turn the heat up to medium. Thank you for mentioning that!