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Basic Cranberry Sauce

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on July 16, 2011

Time

15 minutes, plus 1 hour cooling

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes about 2 cups)

Basic Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

¾ cups water 1 cup granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 (12-ounce) bag cranberries (see note), picked through

Before You Begin

Fresh and frozen cranberries work equally well. If you are using frozen, add one to two minutes to the cooking time.

Instructions

  1. Bring water, sugar, and salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cranberries and simmer until slightly thickened and two-thirds of berries have burst, about 5 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl and cool completely, at least 1 hour. Serve. (Sauce can be refrigerated for 1 week.)
Basic Cranberry Sauce

Basic Cranberry Sauce

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

15 minutes, plus 1 hour cooling

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes about 2 cups)

Ingredients

¾ cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) bag cranberries (see note), picked through

Ingredients

¾ cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) bag cranberries (see note), picked through

Ingredients

¾ cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) bag cranberries (see note), picked through

Why This Recipe Works

The standard back-of-the-bag recipe for cranberry sauce came out a little soupy. Cranberries contain a lot of water, and cutting down on the additional liquid yielded the ideal consistency. We found frozen cranberries worked equally as well as fresh, but we needed to increase the cooking time slightly. Leaving our Basic Cranberry Sauce on the stove for too long left us with a mushy red mash, so it was important to keep a close eye on the sauce as it cooked.

Before You Begin

Fresh and frozen cranberries work equally well. If you are using frozen, add one to two minutes to the cooking time.

Instructions

  1. Bring water, sugar, and salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cranberries and simmer until slightly thickened and two-thirds of berries have burst, about 5 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl and cool completely, at least 1 hour. Serve. (Sauce can be refrigerated for 1 week.)

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