Spiced-Brandied Cranberry Sauce

A bowl of brandy cranberry sauce on a wooden platter with twinkle lights behind it.

Cranberry sauce never tasted so good. Bursting with warm spices, lively orange and rich dark brown sugar, this boozy brandied cranberry sauce makes for one show-stopping holiday side dish and adds an elegant touch to your holiday table. You'll never need another cranberry sauce recipe again.

Course Sides

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 225kcal

Author Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

Medium saucepan
Microplane grater

Ingredients

1 cup orange juice
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1 (12-ounce) bag of fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Zest from an orange

Instructions

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add orange juice, sugars and spices and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers for a couple minutes.
Bring heat back up to medium-high and add cranberries. Boil the cranberries until they pop and the mixture thickens to a gel-like, jammy consistency. If the mixture starts to boil too much, turn the heat down to medium. Stir occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in brandy, lemon juice and orange zest. You can serve it warm or cold. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

You can make 10-14 days ahead of serving time as long as you store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Feel free to use frozen cranberries. No need to thaw -- add them straight to the saucepan frozen.
Once the cranberries start simmering, they turn to a rapid boil quickly. If you don’t keep an eye on it, the mixture could boil over, so make sure you pay attention.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition