Drunken Cranberry Sauce
Sweet and spicy, Drunken Cranberry Sauce pairs perfectly with a traditional holiday dishes like turkey, gravy and stuffing. Ready within 15 minutes, this lightning fast spiced cranberry sauce side dish adds sweetness to a meal. Makes 6-8 servings.
Love easy holiday side dishes? Don’t miss Vegan Green Beans with Toasted Pine Nuts, Roasted Lemon Brussels Sprouts and Honey Roasted Carrots!
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This dish sounds a lot boozier than it actually is.
The cranberries aren’t really drunk; they’re just jazzed up by a little spiced rum.
Because rum jazzes us all up sometimes, right? Right.
If you’re looking for a classic, booze-free recipe, try Fresh Cranberry Sauce or Cranberry Chutney.
Why I love this recipe:
This recipe for Orange Cranberry Sauce with Spiced Rum is fast and one of my all-time favorite sides at the Thanksgiving table.
When it was initially made, it was conceived and executed in about 10 minutes before we sat down for Friendsgiving dinner… and it was utterly perfect.
I’d purchased cranberries, knowing I wanted to make a simple cranberry sauce for the meal with them. I completely forgot about them until everyone was at our home, and we were carving the turkey.
There’s something so sweet and lovely about a simple side, and this cranberry sauce is that to a tee. It’s also one of my favorite dishes to pair with a holiday meal because it plays well with so many flavors.
Please note that the alcohol from the rum burns off as the sauce cooks, but the taste still shines through, bringing some depth of flavor to the cranberry sauce.
This spicy cranberry sauce is sweet, simple and pretty darn tasty. It calls for a handful of ingredients, and it highlights orange juice, which pairs beautifully with the tart cranberries.
Whether you serve it alongside a Thanksgiving dinner or the holiday table for another celebration, this not-quite-traditional cranberry sauce is special.
Other holiday recipes that involve cranberries: Cranberry Turkey Puff Pastry Tartlets | Cranberry Feta Brussels Sprout Salad with Candied Pecans and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette | Puff Pastry Baked Brie with Cranberry Chutney
Need holiday food inspiration? Be sure to swing by my Thanksgiving Food Recipe Index for tons of recipes!
What you need to make this recipe:
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- Medium saucepan
- Citrus juicer if you’re juicing an orange for this recipe
Let’s talk ingredients!
In addition to the tools above, you’re going to need some ingredients to make this recipe, too! Chances are, you might already have some of them in your fridge or pantry. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full measurements and instructions.
Here’s what you’ll need to grab from the store:
- Whole cranberries — you may use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries for this recipe. You’ll need a bag of them.
- Spiced rum — your favorite brand works! I like to use spiced rum because it adds a little kick and some aromatics to the orange cranberry sauce. You can also use homemade spiced rum!
- Fresh orange juice — freshly squeezed is my favorite, but the bottled stuff works, too
- Brown sugar — my recipe says to use dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar works, as well. I like this significantly better in this recipe than white sugar because it brings in molasses notes.
- Kosher salt — we just need a pinch of salt to balance the flavors.
If you want more orange punch to this recipe, add some orange zest or orange peel to the cranberries as they cook! Please note that we are not adding lemon juice because orange juice is providing the acidity for our sauce.
Add more spices. Cinnamon stick, fresh ginger and star anise would add extra flavor while the cranberries cook down.
If you’re in the market for another unique cranberry sauce, check out my Vanilla Cranberry Sauce, which is sweetened with maple syrup and involves more warm spices and vanilla beans.
How to make Drunken Cranberry Sauce with Orange
Combine the cranberries with the rum, orange juice and brown sugar in a large saucepan.
Heat the mixture over medium heat and bring to a boil.
Simmer until the cranberries have popped (watch out! they’ll be hot!) and the sauce begins thickening.
You may stir it with your favorite cooking spoon.
Give it a taste. You can up the amount of sugar by a tablespoon or two if it is too tart for you at this point.
This takes around 10 minutes, depending on how hot your stove gets and how evenly your pan cooks.
When the sauce has thickened, remove from the saucepan, and transfer to a serving bowl.
Serve warm or cold with your favorite holiday meal!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips and Tricks
There’s not much more quintessential than a tart cranberry sauce to pair with a Thanksgiving meal or any holiday spread.
I love this recipe for entertaining because it’s so simple!
Here are a few tips and tricks for making this recipe for a crowd:
- Make it in advance. This recipe can be served warm, at room temperature or cold, and it keeps well in the fridge. Cook it 1-2 days before your gathering, and keep it cool in the refrigerator until it’s serving time.
- Double the recipe. If your people love cranberry sauce, you’ll definitely want to do this! This recipe never lasts long with my family because we adore the combination of sweet and tart. You’ll need a few bags of cranberries if you do that.
- Transform it into a Leftover Cranberry Sauce Cocktail. This cocktail, which I’ve mixed up before with my friend Aline, is utterly delicious and such a fun way to use some extra cranberry sauce.
- Serve in cute glass jars or another vessel that matches your table decor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Warm fall spices, like cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg, pair beautifully with cranberries. Consequently, you can get hints of these spices in this cranberry sauce from the spiced rum.
This whole berry cranberry sauce recipe thickens because of the combination of cranberry juices paired with the sugar. We want the cranberries to burst as they cook and release those juices and mingle with the sugar… and then cook off a little so the sauce gets sticky. 🙂
When stored in a food-safe storage container in the refrigerator, this spiced cranberry sauce recipe can last for 5-7 days.
Quick tips and tricks to the best cranberry sauce recipe
- Make it early. Since this recipe keeps in the fridge, make holiday entertaining as easy as possible on yourself by making it when you’ve got time well before the festivities.
- Add more orange! Orange zest and peel add awesome orange flavor to the cranberries.
- How to store: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
What else can I serve alongside this recipe?
If you’re making a Thanksgiving Day feast, let me suggest baking a Browned Butter Sage Turkey or Herb Butter Turkey Breast to pair with this.
For a side dish, we love Vegan Fresh Green Bean Casserole, Bacon and Baguette Stuffing, Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole and Creamed Cornbread Casserole.
Looking for a way to use leftovers? Serve this cranberry sauce alongside Turkey Pot Pie with Puff Pastry, Turkey Cranberry Sandwich and Cranberry Turkey Puff Pastry Tartlets.
Interested in making this super simple, super flavorful cranberry sauce at home this holiday season?
Scroll on down to learn how you can make it at home!
Drunken Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz. fresh cranberries whole
- 1 oz. spiced rum
- ½ cup orange juice
- 1 cup brown sugar dark brown or light brown OK
- A pinch of kosher salt
Equipment
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Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine the cranberries with the orange juice and brown sugar. Add a pinch of salt.
- Heat over medium heat, and cook, for about 10 minutes, or until cranberries have popped and the sauce has thickened.
- Pour in the rum, and stir, cooking until it has evaporated. This should take 2-3 minutes, depending on how hot the sauce is.
- Serve warm or cold as a side dish at the holiday table.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on November 13, 2013. The blog post was updated and republished in November 2020.
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
I have to admit that while I love cranberry sauce (more like the gel that comes from a can, let’s be honest), I have yet to make it myself. It just seems intimidating. Thanks for this recipe, which looks simple and delicious. And the rum can’t hurt. 🙂
Girl, I hadn’t made cranberry sauce until two years ago, so I feel you on the nerves and being intimidated by it. (My grandmother’s homemade cranberry salad is the actual BEST, and making it under the guidance of my mom made it a little less scary.) If you give making your own a try, I’d love to know what you think of this… and you’re right, the rum does NOT hurt. 😉
This looks yummy. My homemade cranberry sauce is probably what I’m most “known for.” It’s the one and only thing I make that I swear could go head to head with a professional chef. Funny enough your recipe, which really does look delish, is somewhat similar to mine.
I love that you’re known for your cranberry sauce and that you’d go head-to-head with a professional chef with your recipe. I’m curious what yours calls for and how you make it now!
I’ve always just eaten (and loved) the weird can go. I’ll have to try making this!
Hey, nothing wrong with that! We’ve all got our own things. 🙂 If you do make this, I’d love to know your thoughts!
I feel terrible but we eat cranberry sauce out of the can–yikes! My parents hate it but I just can’t make it 🙂 I’m going to have to try this out
Pssh. Everybody does their own thing, and I know so many people who eat their sauce out of the can. But IF you do try out this recipe, let me know what you think!
This dish sounds amazing! I love how simple it is. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Aubrey! Sometimes, the simple stuff is just the best.
I love this recipe! I was searching for a little something different to do with cranberries this year and you had me at drunken 😉 I’m definitely going to try this!
I love this recipe! I was searching for a little something different to do with cranberries this year and you had me at drunken 😉 I’m definitely going to try this!
Hi there can you store this in sterilised jars and if so how long for?
Thank you xxx
Hey Eleanor. I’ve never stored these in sterilized jars before, so I can’t say for sure what time this would work for, long-term. I would look up canning information for similar fruit-based sauces/jams and see how long those last. (And if you’re looking for short-term, we kept some in our fridge for a few days afterward!)
Has anyone tried the recipe yet and if so how did it taste?? Not sure how the dark brown sugar will taste
Hey Emily! I extensively test all the recipes that I share here at The Speckled Palate. The recipe will work if you substitute granulated sugar or light brown sugar, but I like the robustness that the dark brown sugar to them the best. This is a recipe we make yearly, and we think it’s absolutely delicious.
Omg this is the best! Added some raisins to make it more of a relish.
Omg this is the best! Added some raisins to make it more of a relish.
Thanks so much, Maiya! Happy this turned out for you and that you added some pizzaz! ENJOY!
I made this for Thanksgiving, and it was a real hit. Maybe because I did exactly what the receipt called for except I put in SIX tablespoons of Gosling’s Black Seal 80 Proof Bermuda Black Rum!! We ran out of this cranberry sauce, so next year I’ll make a double recipe.
I am SO thrilled to hear this, Susan! And I love that you added a bit more of the rum because it’s DELICIOUS. I’m gonna have to try that brand next time I’m looking for some rum and love to hear that this was such a hit! Well done!
I just made this for our Thanksgiving tomorrow. I substituted Splenda Blend Brown sugar to save a few calories and it tastes great. 15 minutes and I was done, I used to make a very similar relish but it took almost 2 hours !! Thanks !
Bob, I am SO happy to hear this worked out so well for you! I hope you and yours enjoyed this cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving!
I want to use this for meatballs at Christmas. First, can I make and freeze ahead of time? Second, what can I use if I need to think it out to stretch for the meatballs without compromising the taste? I am so excited to try this.
Hi there, Tracy Ann! I’m so excited you’re going to use this cranberry sauce with meatballs for Christmas. I’ve never tried that before, but I have no doubt it’ll be delicious.
1. You can make and freeze the cranberry sauce ahead of time. Make it now (or soon) and then let it thaw in the fridge before tossing with the meatballs.
2. As far as stretching the ingredients… I’m not 100% sure, as I’ve never done that. I would say you could add an extra splash of orange juice to give the cranberries some more liquid, but I would be hesitant to add more than that, as it will change the overall taste. I would consider doubling the recipe if you think you’ll need more since this can be frozen.
I hope that helps! Please let me know how it turns out. 🙂