With hints of orange, fresh ginger, and cinnamon, this truly is THE BEST Cranberry Relish Ever! One taste, and you’ll never buy store-bought again!
The Only Cranberry Relish Recipe You Need!
Growing up, my mother would buy that canned cranberry gelatinous stuff for no reason. Now I’m not knocking it, but there is just something odd about it. I think it’s that suction sound it makes coming out of the can that wigs me out more than anything. Food shouldn’t make that sound. Just saying.
With decades of homesteading and being a professional chef, I sought to create an easy, homemade version of real cranberry relish that was full-bodied in flavor, so that anyone could make it. Let me show you just how easy this recipe is!
Now I love love LOVE fresh cranberries, and one of my favorite things is my Lemon Cranberry Orange Bruffins; however, I’ve never found a homemade cranberry relish I’ve liked.
They were either sickening sweet, had 9,000 things in them (seriously.. nuts in cranberry relish? No, never “in” it), OR it was so bitter that every part of your body puckered. So that being said I set out on making what I feel is the ultimate cranberry relish.
The ONLY time I add toasted pecans is when I serve it on a sandwich or atop baked brie. I don’t like it with nuts in it.
TKW Family Love
Yummy. Best Cranberry relish ever. Even those who turn up their noses at cranberry jelly, in the past, will love this. Yes you will never go back to the can. Also thank you for the tip with the butter it really works. We have started new traditions of topping our Thanksgiving morning bagels cream cheese and yes the Cranberry relish. If there is any left it’s a good topper on breakfast toast and your Black Friday shopping.
Cranberry Relish Recipe ingredients
Cranberries are crazy tart, so you need to balance them out. I went with:
- Fresh cranberries
- Sugar
- Fresh ginger
- Cinnamon
- Orange zest
- Cranberry juice: Note, that it’s not a juice cocktail but actual cranberry juice. If you can’t find it, you can use orange juice. Just avoid the cocktail mixes, as they are typically high in sugar and contain little to no real fruit juice.
Sugar is a given, as they are crazy tart. The ginger gave it a zing, while the cinnamon added a warm tone. The orange zest helps keep it light and bright.
How to make the best cranberry relish
This recipe is ridiculously easy to make.
- In a large, heavy saucepan, add sugar, juice, cinnamon, and grated ginger.
- Boil just until the berries start to pop.
- Skim the foam off, ladle it into jars, and store it in the fridge once cooled.
Note: When you make this, if you don’t like the whole berries, once it’s cooked, puree it or run it through a food mill: same great flavor, just no chunks. But then I’d guess you’d have to call it Cranberry Sauce, not relish, ’cause relish kinda implies chunks.
Why You’ll Love THIS Cranberry Relish Recipe
This recipe has stood the test of time over the decades. It’s tried and true, and it’s easily become a global favorite! Folks are OBSESSED with this recipe and rightly so!
- EXPLODES WITH FLAVOR: Bright cranberries meet orange zest, spicy ginger, and warm cinnamon for a flavor combo that pops!
- ONLY 6 SIMPLE INGREDIENTS: No fuss, no mystery additives – just fresh, clean, bold ingredients.
- SWEET-TART PERFECTION: Balanced beautifully, enhancing turkey, ham, sandwiches, cheese boards, and pretty much everything.
- HOLIDAY AROMA MAGIC: Orange + ginger + cinnamon = instant holiday vibes!
- MAKE-AHEAD FRIENDLY: Gets even better as it rests, making it a holiday must-have!
- ENDLESS VERSATILE: Serve it as a relish, spoon it over yogurt, swirl it into cookies, top croissants, or spread it on leftover sandwiches.
- CONVERTS STORE-BOUGHT LOYALISTS: One taste and people will swear off that canned stuff forever.
Chef’s Tips for Fresh Cranberry Relish
When you boil almost any fruit, foam will form. This isn’t anything bad. It’s simply air bubbles trapped in the cooked-down fruit. It looks funky and unappealing.
I recommend adding a small dab of butter to the mix to help curb the foaming. You want to remove that stuff for your final presentation. It doesn’t muddle the taste much, but it makes the mixture cloudy. You will still get a little foam, but the butter helps reduce it considerably.
Adding items to your Cranberry Relish
- If you wanted to kick this up a notch, you could easily add some minced jalapeno to give it an over-the-top taste while the mixture is cooking.
- Add in some bourbon or whiskey while the liquids boil to give it a true flavor treat!
- I do have a Grownup version of this that includes Bacon and Bourbon!
Uses for Cranberry Relish
- Smoked Gobbler Sliders – I have figured out how to transform Thanksgiving leftovers into the best sandwich you’ll ever eat! We’re talking about a Smoked Gobbler Slider!
- Thanksgiving Gobbler Rolls – seriously, these rolls are the epitome of Thanksgiving in a sweet roll!
- I always keep a jar of this in my fridge. It’s great in cakes, sauces, or, yes, even on toast.
- Thanksgiving Gobbler Meatballs – trust me when I tell you these meatballs are Thanksgiving in a single delicious bite!
- For a savory treat, add this to the top of a brie round, wrap it in the dough, and bake. Oh, dear LORD child, you will think you’ve died and gone to heaven!
- This is the fruit filling of a cupcake or cake with cream cheese frosting or, better yet, cheesecake. It’s epic!
- Let a brick of cream cheese come to room temperature, spoon some cranberry relish on top, and serve with crostini! *Kick it up a notch and use SMOKED CREAM CHEESE!!!
How to Store Cranberry Relish
You have a couple of ways to store or preserve this:
- Pour into glass mason jars and store in the fridge for a few months
- Can (preserve) them. Fill the jars like you would when making homemade jam/jelly, and maintain them using the water bath method. I put them in the water bath for 15 minutes, removed them to a cooling rack, and allowed them to set until completely cooled. Check your seals to ensure they are properly sealed. By doing this, they will last for upwards of a year.
TKW Family Love
This recipe is delicious! I’ve been making it for several years, and it is so easy to make. I use my immersion blender to mince the cranberries because my husband loves it as a spread on turkey sandwiches.
These make GORGEOUS gifts!
One note, though, is that if you add any meat to this, you cannot use the water bath method to preserve it. You will need to use a canner to preserve meat.
What I tend to do is buy about 4 pounds of cranberries when they are in season and then freeze them, as this stuff is incredible over grilled pork chops in the summer. And trust me, I learned my lesson the hard way one summer trying to find cranberries in the store. Yeah, you can buy frozen cranberries, but they’re not the same as the ones you get fresh.
Anyway, I thought it was time to share this with you since Thanksgiving is next week. Now, please continue buying the canned stuff, as it’s good in its own right; however, I strongly urge you to make this! You see, once you taste this amazing relish, you’ll use it more than just for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
So, this Thanksgiving, in addition to your turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, you also need to have this gorgeous dish.
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TKW Family Love
Good grief!! I have been almost licking the pot. It is not just good. . . it is out of this world WONDERFUL!! Thank you for this amazing recipe!! I looked at how many 1/2 pints it would make but the recipe said 64 servings. . . being the Einstein that I am, I thought that would be a lot. However, now I am going to have to make more as I wanted to give them away to the people coming to dinner. Can you make double batches?? I make cranberry gelatin that my mother made when I was a little girl. But I have to make several batches of it, but like this. . . it is worth it!!! THANK YOU AGAIN for making a big difference!!! Blessings on you and yours for a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
The best Cranberry Relish… ever! No really, like EVER!
With hints of orange, fresh ginger, and cinnamon, this truly is THE BEST Cranberry Relish Ever!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 cups
- Category: sauces
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Fruit Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 – 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (go with 1 cup if you prefer a more tart version)
- 1/2 cup cranberry juice
- 1/2–3/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
- Zest of 1 orange – just the orange part
Instructions
- In a large, heavy saucepan, add sugar, juice and cinnamon and grated ginger.
- Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves, syrup is clear and comes to a rolling boil, about 3 minutes.
- In a colander, rinse and pick over the cranberries to remove any mushy ones.
- Add cranberries to boiling syrup and continue cooking, uncovered, just until they begin to pop, about 2-5 minutes (set the timer). Be careful not to cook them too long or they will get mushy.
- Skim the foam off the surface with a metal spoon and discard.
- Remove from heat, stir in orange zest and cool to room temperature, uncovered.
- Place in container, cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Notes
If you prefer to have it smoother, once you add in the orange zest either use an Immersion blender on it or run it through a food mill/sieve to remove any pieces.
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