Name: Homemade Fresh Cranberry Relish
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces fresh cranberries (frozen work as well); 1 whole orange (juiced and zested); 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/4 tsp cinnamon; 1/4 tsp nutmeg; 1/8 tsp clove; 1/2 cup golden raisins (standard raisins or currants work as well); 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

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It’s that time of the year! We are making our grocery lists and checking them thrice. I have an easy recipe for you, and it has such great flavor, you will never want your holiday table to be without it! Cranberry Relish is nothing like your average cranberry sauce. Full of spice and nuts, with a punch of orange flavor, it is amazing served with any poultry or as a condiment on a turkey sandwiches! Bonus: it takes less than 15 minutes to make.

dish full of cranberry relish with spices, orange zest scattered around the dish, pilgrim salt and pepper shakers are in the background

Why I love cranberry relish

As a kid I never touched the traditional cranberry sauce. It was always plopped out of a can, onto a plate, and laid sideways to do a jelly dance. I must have been forced to try it at some point because I have the memory of my eyeballs being sucked back in my head and my tongue shrinking inside my mouth from the bitter tart taste of the jellyfied substance. At some point early in our marriage, when I was just in the beginning of developing my Thanksgiving Day menu, I came across a Cranberry Relish recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. This recipe made me a believer! Now it’s one of my favorite things to accompany a holiday meal. I’ve made fresh cranberry relish ever since, with a few minor adjustments. One being that I zest an orange and squeeze the juice from it adding enough additional water to make 3/4 of a cup of liquid. The original just calls for 3/4 cup orange juice. I also use brown sugar, and walnuts instead of pecans. Although, I have been known to use pecans depending on my mood. One of the best things about this recipe is you can make it a week in advance. Check it right off your list. If you do make it ahead of time, store it in an airtight container, and pull it out an hour or so before dinner. Relish should be room temperature when served.

Gather these ingredients

fresh or frozen cranberries
raisins
walnuts or pecans
brown sugar
orange, juiced and zested
spices: ground clove, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon

dish of cranberry relish on a wood cutting board surrounded by cranberries, an orange slice and some fresh herbs a gold spoon is laying off to the left side of the dish

This is how to make cranberry relish

cranberries in a medium sized sauce pan on a gray background

Add 12 ounces of frozen or fresh cranberries to a medium saucepan.

side by side photos of squeezing the juice from an orange and zesting an orange over a sauce pan of cranberries

2. Take one orange and squeeze 1/2 cup of juice from it, pour fresh orange juice over the cranberries.

3. Zest the orange, add up to 2 tablespoons of orange zest to the saucepan. Turn heat on medium high and stir. When berries start to pop add remaining ingredients.

all ingredients added to cranberries in saucepan

4. Add remaining ingredients to the cooking cranberries. Stir continuously. Cranberries will pop, you may need to turn the temperature down depending on how fast it seems like the relish is cooking. You don’t want it to burn.

cranberry relish cooking in a medium sized saucepan

5. Continue to cook and stir until all the berries have popped and the mixture begins to thicken about 5-10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and let cool. If making ahead, allow relish to fully cool, and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

cranberry relish in a mason jar, view of mason jar from the top with cranberry relish written on the top with the date it was made

Tips & Variations

Nuts or no Nuts? If you have nut allergies in your family, this relish can be made nut free. Leave out the nuts, no substitutions necessary. If you prefer pecans over walnuts this is completely acceptable. I use either or depending on my mood, or what’s available in my pantry.
Storage: Make sure before you put a lid on your relish it has fully cooled before placing it in the refrigerator. This recipe makes approximately 2 cups of cranberry relish.
Get creative: I challenge you to make this relish your own. Add more spices if you like. Use a lemon instead of an orange. Add a splash of red wine or 100% apple juice. I have added a chuck of fresh ginger and then I remove it when done cooking. As always, taste it and adjust if need be.
Cranberries: Fresh or frozen cranberries work, however if you can’t find either. You can use whole berry cranberry sauce. I would leave out the brown sugar or use less sugar since there is already sugar added. Continue with the recipe as written in the recipe card below. Cook time is about 5 minutes.
Leftovers: The leftover cranberry sauce /relish is magnificent on turkey sandwiches, and just on toast the next morning, or eaten with a spoon straight from the jar.

cranberry sauce on a wood cutting board with ingredients encircling the dish, pilgrim salt and pepper shaker in backrground

Ma and Pa Pilgrim are looking on, they always make an appearance at our Thanksgiving table. They have been known to be up to some shenanigans around the holiday season.

I promise this is the best cranberry sauce and it will be a welcome addition to your table. We keep it very traditional when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. We always have Thanksgiving turkey, and maybe ham. Thanksgiving was my dads favorite. About five minutes into the meal like clockwork he would yell “bring on the second Turkey!” He cracked himself up every year with that one. I hope you have many things to be thankful for! I’m thankful for you all! Happy cooking, Sheila