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Joanna Gaines Holiday Cranberry Sauce

Joanna Gaines holiday cranberry sauce is made by simmering fresh cranberries until they burst, then chilling for a thick, spoonable texture. Bright orange juice and zest plus warm cinnamon and ginger create a classic sweet-tart side with crunchy toasted pecans.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chill time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 210
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
  • 0.06 salt pinch
Topping
  • 0.5 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Cook the cranberry mixture
  1. Combine sugar, brown sugar, orange juice, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt in a saucepan, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Look for a rolling boil where the sugar is fully dissolved.
  2. Add fresh cranberries and reduce to a simmer, cooking 10-12 minutes until the berries burst and the sauce thickens. Stir occasionally and watch for the sauce to coat the back of a spoon.
  3. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in orange zest until evenly distributed. The mixture should look glossy and slightly thickened.
Chill, then finish
  1. Cool the sauce to room temperature, then chill until serving, about 1 hour. It should thicken further and hold its shape when spooned.
  2. Stir in the toasted pecans just before serving to keep them crunchy. The finished sauce should be chunky with visible pecan pieces.

Notes

For the best set, chill the sauce until fully cold (about 1 hour) so it becomes spoonable rather than loose. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days; freeze up to 2 months for longer storage. Dietary swap: use a 1:1 sugar substitute for the sugars to keep the sweet-tart balance while reducing added sugar.