This Cranberry Orange Relish is the freshest, brightest, prettiest addition to your Thanksgiving plate! The best part is that it is SOO easy, it’s literally 3 ingredients and only takes a couple minutes to make because you don’t even cook it. Oh, and did I mention you can make it 3 days ahead?? What more could you ask from a Thanksgiving side dish? Originally posted November 19, 2012.
My parents used to take us kids to Home Town Buffet at the end of each semester if we had made good grades. I remember one time going to the huge salad bar and piling my plate with little or no lettuce, tons of cheese, ham, bacon bits, sunflower seeds, croutons, and a gallon of ranch dressing. My brother Nathan and I discovered a tray of cranberry sauce at the end of the bar.
Cranberry sauce, as we knew it each Thanksgiving, was shoonked out of the can in one ker-splut, then placed sideways on a plate and sliced into neat little disks. And here it was at Home Town Buffet, in the middle of June. What luck! We piled it onto our salad plates, ran back to the table, and quickly discovered that we did NOT like beets.
Well, don’t worry, even though I have come around on beets as an adult (I was offended for a very, very long time), there are no beets in this cranberry orange relish. It’s literally just 3 ingredients: fresh cranberries, fresh orange, and sugar. Thaaaat’s IT.
The best FRESH cranberry sauce
My mother-in-law Kris gave me this recipe over a decade ago, and I quickly became obsessed with it. It’s SO good with turkey. It’s SO good with stuffing. It’s SO good on a leftover sandwich. It brightens up your whole plate!
All you do is take an entire bag of cranberries, straight from the bog (how often do you get to say bog in real life? Gotta take advantage of these moments), toss it in a food processor with a whole orange, a little bit of sugar and blend until it’s in itty bitty pieces but not pureed.
Yes, RAW cranberries. Yes, the WHOLE orange with the peel. I know, I know, this feels weird, but trusttttt. You actually WANT that pucker up sour peel, and even the bitterness of the pith (the white stuff under the peel.) It brings dimension and flavor to the final relish!
I eat this stuff with a spoon, I love it so much. (I’ve even been known to spoon it into my mouth with some cream cheese or sour cream) But it becomes NEXT LEVEL when you eat it with your turkey and stuffing. And spooning this onto your heavily-mayonnaised cold turkey sandwich on Friday at noon? Forgetaboutittt
But which one do I make?
I can’t give up my regular Cranberry Sauce. I make today’s Cranberry Orange Relish AND the traditional kind every single year. (Well. ACTUAL tradition for my family is sauce from can, so we always have three kinds 😂) My favorite from-scratch Cranberry sauce also has orange peel in it, because I just can’t quit this flavor combo. It’s SO good. There is something magical about cranberries and oranges together!
Why you need cranberry on Thanksgiving
I will never forget when I heard Samin Nosrat, my favorite celebrity chef, talk about cranberry sauce the first time. She is Persian and didn’t have a traditional American Thanksgiving meal until she was an adult. She thought the whole meal was SOOOO boring. Why, Samin, why??
Because there is not enough acid on the plate. There is no balance. Think about it: creamy mashed potatoes. Herby turkey. Bready stuffing. This all sounds DELICIOUS to me, because I grew up with it. But Samin says she just kept adding more and more cranberry sauce to her plate as the meal moved on, because the rest of the food was so…bland.
I mean, it does make sense. But I refuse to give up on tradition. Stuffing-potatoes-and turkey forever. Now I just have a lot more respect for The Cranberry. Hence: two types every year. Cranberry Orange Relish. And traditional Cranberry Sauce. (Oh, and the can. So, three, haha.) It’s a beautifully balanced plate every year!
Important ingredients
Well folks, there are only 3, so they are all pretty important!
- Fresh cranberries, no canned stuff here. The tartness and crunch of the fresh uncooked cranberry is what makes this dish so unique!
- Fresh navel orange WITH THE PEEL. You are actually going to feel so cool, guys.
- Granulated sugar helps temper the acidity and tartness of the cranberry and orange. You can adjust the level to your preferred sweetness!
How to make cranberry orange relish
This recipe is so easy it falls into the category of “it’s hardly even a recipe!” Here are the 3 ingredients!
Wash your cranberries, if you’re into that:
I like to slice off the ends of the orange, just to remove a little bit more of the pithy ends.
Roughly chop the orange…
And toss it in the food processor. Add a little bit of sugar. I like to use a half cup, but you can add as much as you like! It depends on how sweet the oranges and cranberries are too.
Start blending! Use the pulse function and just go in short bursts.
Until it looks like this!
It’s best if you let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors marry. Overnight is best. Or on Monday, well ahead of the big day on Thursday!! I’m telling you, it gets even better with time.
What to serve with cranberry sauce
You need all the typical Thanksgiving staples!! You should 100% check out the Thanksgiving Recipes page on the blog to explore all the amazing options that will make your day delicious!
- Herb Roasted Turkey >> it’s hard to beat a basic, simple, but deliciously moist turkey! If you don’t love turkey, you can always make the Best Honey Baked Ham Recipe instead! Love that recipe.
- Best Thanksgiving Stuffing >> the very best buttery, herb-y flavor and irresistibly crunchy edges. I can honestly say that this is my Thanksgiving recipe that I am most obsessed with.
- Best Make Ahead Turkey Gravy Recipe for Thanksgiving >> just say no to the stress of same day gravy making. This recipe is EASY and freezes until you need it! (And scratch what I said earlier about the stuffing, I’m even more obsessed with this gravy.)
- Aunt Shirley’s Mashed Potatoes Recipe with Cream Cheese >> the best, creamiest mashed potatoes of your life, and the recipe I choose pretty much every holiday
Variations
- Add spices. I love that the recipe is simple, so I don’t think it needs it, but you could add some cinnamon or nutmeg or cardamom, just a hint!
- Add a seeded jalapeno. For a fun little kick!
- Add a little knob of ginger. Lean into the holidays!!
How to store leftovers
Add leftovers to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator. It will stay good for a week or two, but the flavor and texture will be best if eaten within 4-5 days.
What to do with leftover cranberry sauce?
If you end up with a mountain of leftover cranberry sauce, the possibilities are endless! Once Thanksgiving is over, think of your cranberry sauce as a sophisticated, autumnal jam, and add it to whatever you deem delicious. Some ideas:
- Stir it in with plain or sweetened Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of granola, add it to a smoothie, or mix it with whipped cream for a fruit dip
- Put it on a turkey or ham sandwich with mayo, or alongside meatballs or other deli meat
- Make it an appetizer. My favorite thing to do with leftovers is dump it straight onto a block of softened cream cheese and serve it with crackers as an appetizer. Exactly like this beloved Cranberry Jalapeno Dip! You could even just add a jalapeno to today’s recipe.
Can you freeze cranberry relish?
I mean, technically yes, you can, but I don’t recommend it. The beauty of this dish is in the FRESHNESS of the flavors, and you lose that in the freezer. Also, the slighlty crisp-yet-juicy texture will be ruined, sad!!
But if you are determined, freezing is super simple! Just put the leftovers in a freezer ziplock bag, remove as much air as possible, and seal. Keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. You can thaw the relish right in the bag in the fridge overnight, or on the counter for an hour or two. There may be some separation or more juices than when it was fresh, but give it a good stir and you will be good to go.
I posted this recipe in 2012
This photo hails from the earliest days of the blog! Do you love my ice-cream-sundae-glass of cranberry relish that has been over-blended? The turkey that I piled on only half of a large platter? The fake leaves that I pulled from off the top of my piano, trailing onto said half-platter?? Oh dear 😂
Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium navel orange
- 1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the fruit. Cut the ends off 1 navel orange and chop the rest into a few chunks – don’t peel!! Wash 1 (12 ounce) package of fresh cranberries. Add the orange pieces & cranberries to a food processor.
- Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar to the bowl.
- Blend in short bursts, using the pulse button, until it’s finely chopped but not pureed. See photos!
- Taste it: does it need more sugar? Add a bit more, a tablespoon at a time. Remember that it will continue to sweeten over time as the sugar absorbs into the fruit, so don't overdo it.
- Transfer the relish to a tupperware with a lid,* and refrigerate for at least a few hours. Overnight is even better! This gives the flavors time to meld. Plus then you have one less thing to do on Thanksgiving!
- Serve cold or room temperature.
- Storage: Put any leftovers back into the tupperware and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. To freeze, add to a ziplock freezer bag and store for 1-2 months.
- Makes about 2 cups.
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5 stars, every time! Another winner winner chicken dinner! It’s not Thanksgiving without this! Thanks for reposting it! (I do love your old photos and blog stories, for sure)🙂
I confess to still liking cranberry-from-a-can- but this relish on a turkey sandwich is sooo good, I’ve become a convert!
Great minds must think alike–this is my mother’s cranberry recipe as well. The orange adds such a great zing to cranberry relish. I can never go back to plain cranberries again.
Awesome! I will never go back either!
We made this! It was delicious. I think I will try your turkey enchiladas next.
I’m so glad you like it! Let me know how you like the enchiladas!