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Joanna Gaines Holiday Cranberry Sauce

Joanna Gaines holiday cranberry sauce with a quick simmer that bursts fresh berries and thickens into a chunky texture. Bright orange juice and zest round it out, finished with crunchy toasted pecans.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 190
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cranberry sauce base
  • 12 oz fresh cranberries
  • 0.5 cup sugar
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp ground ginger
  • 0.125 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Cook the sauce
  1. Combine sugar, brown sugar, orange juice, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt in a saucepan, then bring to a boil with visible bubbling around the edges.
  2. Add fresh cranberries and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the berries burst and the sauce thickens enough to cling lightly to a spoon.
Finish and chill
  1. Remove the pan from heat and stir in orange zest, then scrape any darker bits from the bottom to fully combine.
  2. Cool to room temperature, then chill until serving.
  3. Stir in pecans just before serving so they stay crunchy and don’t soften in the cold sauce.

Notes

For the best thick texture, simmer until the sauce looks glossy and mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freezing is not recommended because the cranberries can become watery after thawing. For a lower-sugar option, replace the sugars with a 1:1 no-sugar-added baking blend and simmer until thickened as directed.