Seriously, people. Homemade cranberry sauce is the easiest thing to make on the menu. Yet it’s so pretty, it’ll look like you worked that kitchen hard. It’s travel-friendly, and you can make it days ahead. In fact it’s better when you do. So let’s do this quick, easy, pretty, portable, make-ahead thing.

Photo by Meredith

Fresh Cranberry Sauce
This is as basic as it gets. Cranberries + sugar + water. Put it all in a pot and simmer until you hear the cranberries pop, then keep cooking for a few more minutes until it’s as thick as you like. When you chill it, the sauce will thicken up even more.
prep time 5 min | cook time 15 min

Cranberry Sauce
Basic + orange juice (replaces water). Watch the video to see it all come together.
prep time 5 min | cook time 10 min

Photo by footballgrl16

Can you handle a little fancy? For this next group, prep time is still a mere 5 minutes, but cook time is slightly longer to let the tasty extras do what they do.

Holiday Cranberry Sauce
Basic + cinnamon + cloves + allspice
prep time 5 min | cook time 15 min

Photo by mis7up

Apple Cider Cranberry Sauce
Basic + apple cider (replaces water) + cinnamon + cloves + orange zest
prep time 5 min | cook time 20 min

Photo by bd.weld

Cranberry Raspberry Sauce
Basic + Merlot (replaces water) + raspberries
prep time 5 min | cook time 25 min

Photo by lutzflcat