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This easy spiced cranberry sauce is a healthy holiday recipe can be made as a side dish, or as a naturally sweet dessert.

Having a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings usually means a lot of cranberry sauce in my home. When I was growing up, cranberry sauce was slid out from a can and just laid on the plate, looking sad. It was even worse when my mom would cut it, and slices of jellied cranberry sadness was placed on each plate. 

It may come to no surprise to you that I didn’t like cranberry sauce when I was growing up. The gelatinous glob had little to no flavor, and the texture was something between jello and despair. Learning how to make homemade cranberry sauce from scratch actually wasn’t hard. 

This easy cranberry sauce is now a family favorite at our holiday meals. 

This easy cranberry sauce is a healthy holiday recipe can be made as a side dish, or as a naturally sweet dessert. #sidedish #holidaymeals #thanksgiving #cranberries #cranberryrecipes Click to Tweet

Ingredients you need:

• Cranberries
• Orange juice
• Cinnamon
• Ground cloves
• Fresh grated ginger
• Honey

Making your homemade cranberry sauce:

1. In a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, add all the ingredients, and stir to combine.
2. Allow the cranberries to simmer. When the cranberries have burst a bit, turn the heat down and simmer. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.
3. Continue to simmer for a few minutes to allow cranberry sauce to thicken. Cool before serving.
4. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

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Do I use fresh or frozen cranberries?

For this cranberry sauce recipe, you can use either fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries. Depending on the time of year, frozen are probably easier to find. They will both cook up nicely, but the frozen may take an additional 2-3 minutes.

I don’t have fresh ginger. What now?

I love using fresh grated ginger, but dried ground ginger will work just as well. Use 1/2 of the amount of dried ginger if you substitute for the fresh grated.

Add these for your complete holiday meal including homemade cranberry sauce:

• Cranberry Oatmeal Bars
• Roast A Turkey
• Pumpkin Cream Pie